Nextgame.it: Project Eden is based on many cyberpunk themes; is there a particular book or a game which has inspired this background?
Project Eden Team: The idea of the giant city that the game is set in came from Judge Dredd and Mega City 1. It made me think about what it would be like to live in such a city, and I realised that everyone would want to live near the top, so that the lower sections of the city would be the slums or even deserted. I took this idea further, so that in Project Eden, the lower parts of the city are officially outside of City Limits and only criminals and other outcasts live down there. The only reason anyone goes there is to strengthen the supports for the upper levels so that the city can grow higher.
Nextgame.it: The story seems very important, but we only know an engineer team disappeared: can you reveal us a bit more?
Project Eden Team: Basically, the UPA team is called in to deal with a problem at the Real Meat factory. The whole place is going haywire, and the engineers sent in to deal with it have gone missing. So, our characters are supposed to get the factory systems back under control and find out what happened to the engineers. As far as they are concerned, it is a routine mission that will be finished very quickly. However, their investigations into what happened to the engineers lead them further down into the city, and into more and more problems!
Nextgame.it: The strays dwell the downtown, the first levels: how will be the relations between our party and these bums? Will be there dialogues, help and collaboration or a straight fight?
Project Eden Team: Some people are friendly, others are not. So there are certain characters who you need to talk to and who will give you help, and there are others that are enemies who you have to fight.
Nextgame.it: We start as an Urban Protection Agency party: will be there an evolution about this role and in our goals?
Project Eden Team: The mission goals are changing throughout the game as the team discovers more about what is going on - they are in constant contact with Control who issues them orders and sends them information and equipment. They are also required at certain times to collect evidence for analysis by the UPA laboratories.
Nextgame.it: We heard our characters will have different skills. Are these abilites fixed or could we raise them with the experience, as in a RPG?
Project Eden Team: The abilities of the characters are fixed throughout the game - it is the problems they encounter that get more difficult. There is no experience or other RPG type statistics, as we prefer to leave it to the player's skill. For example, hacking a computer requires playing a mini-game that gets harder as the game progresses, so it is up to the player to get more experienced at this game rather than their character.
Nextgame.it: Will be there in PE Story the possibility to choose an alternative path for the player? I mean: will be there either the possibility to solve a problem fighting or with diplomacy/trick either just the possibility to reach many different paths and endings?
Project Eden Team: Because of the range of skills and equipment available to the player, there are often multiple ways to solve problems. However, there is one overall story that links the missions.
Nextgame.it: What about enigmas? How will be the puzzle solving side?
Project Eden Team: There are plenty of puzzles throughout the game, and you have to use the different skills of the four characters as well as the equipment they have at their disposal to deal with the situations.
Nextgame.it: How much of your early and famed work, "Tomb Raider", will be there in EP? Will be there no common elements, neither in the action and fighting?
Project Eden Team: We're obviously influenced by what we've done before, but the game is very different to Tomb Raider in the way you control the characters. For example, there is no auto-aiming, and the characters don't spend so much of their time climbing and jumping.
Nextgame.it: We heard will be used the latest graphic devices: can you tell us exactly which and the main differences between PC and Dreamcast version?
Project Eden Team: Actually, we're not doing a Dreamcast version, it's PlayStation 2! (strange news, considering that the official website still reports PC and Dreamcast as platforms for the game, Ed.) The game should be pretty similar on both PC and PlayStation 2. The main difference is that the PC version will have a multiplayer network version, whereas the PlayStation version will have a split screen multiplayer version.
Nextgame.it: We read the facial expressions will change according to circumstances. Can you provide us any example?
Project Eden Team: The characters can talk and look angry when they're firing their guns, and surprised when they are knocked off their feet etc. Their eyes move and they blink. It's all designed to make them look more alive.
Nextgame.it: You are the team of the first Tomb Raider, you have created the "Lara" phoenomenon. What is changed in your life and in your developing's approach after Tomb Raider?
Project Eden Team: Creating Tomb Raider has given us more confidence in our ideas and taught us a lot about what works and what doesn't in a game... We also have been given a lot more freedom in how we design our game. Also, we drive nicer cars and live in bigger houses than we used to do!
Nextgame.it: On technical side, what are the bests features in the Project Eden's graphic and audio engine?
Project Eden Team: We have lots of surface types in the environment, like shiny and bumped mapped surfaces and mirrors. The characters are fully skinned and use an advanced animation system that allows us to blend smoothly between animations. We can also morph between character models (which will be used in game to make creatures change from normal animals and humans into monsters).
