Alpha Protocol Interview

The guys at Play.tm have interviewed senior producer Ryan Rucinski on Alpha Protocol, Obsidian’s upcoming espionage-themed RPG.

What is the significance of character interactions?

This is a primary feature of Alpha Protocol, because all the relevant story information is fuelled by talking to the characters.

When the player is in a dialogue with one of the many NPCs in the game, the attitude or stance being used will determine which information will be received and how future dialogues with the NPCs will unfold.

If the player shoots a guy in the kneecap to get some information, the next time the player visits the NPC they might not be so willing to share information… or they might be extra-willing to share information because they don’t want to be capped in their other leg. The player will have to figure out what may be the best way to handle folks.

How will the story be told without it degenerating into cliche?

Great effort was taken with the writing to make sure that we didn’t fall into any of the traditional pitfalls. In fact, the story had to be written several different ways to take the player’s decisions into account, making it quite the endeavour.

That, and we don’t have any evil masterminds stroking white hares.

Spotted on RPG Codex.