Korea: Forgotten Conflict Q&A

Ferrago chats to the designers of Korea, a game that could be a surpise hit.

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Korea: Forgotten Conflict is a squad based strategy game from Cenega, Ferrago sat down with Designer Michael Lekovski and lead Programmer Petr Smilek for a nice chat.

Q: How is development on Korea progressing at the moment?

A: At the moment the development is in the alpha stage (2003.04.10). From the 15 missions that will be in the final game we are at the stage where we have 5 functional missions. We are, of course, working on other missions and tuning and working on most aspects of the game.

Q: Commandos is clearly an influence, but what other ideas are thrown into the Korea melting-pot?

A: First of all, Korea: Forgotten Conflict is based on new and unique technology. The surroundings are in full 3D, which has benefited from this technology. The graphical level of detail is of the highest possible intensity and we believe it really brings a new dimension in the development of future games of this genre.

There are many facets of the game we believe gamers will be surprised by, including the realistic weather conditions.

From the playability point of view, the real-time action is supported by giving orders in advance, which makes it possible to give several orders to a soldier, and he will then undertake a number of specific tasks. I.E., this soldier will pass a specific number of checkpoints, etc. The player will also have to think ahead!

The inventive programming mode enables the player to carry out several actions at the same time, which provides great playability. Korea: Forgotten Conflict also provides better possibilities with interaction/cooperation of soldiers at the same time.

Q: What missions will the player undertake?

A: Well as you would imagine in a game like this variation in missions, giving lots of strategies, having numerous events that mirror real life events from the Korean War is essential. The aim is to give the player a feel of actually being there!

Every mission has got a unique surrounding with appropriate weather conditions, mostly according to, as mentioned, real events.

The player will fight in the streets of the capital of Seoul - capture the prototype of a Soviet airplane from an enemy airport - free captives from a camp - carry out an action in a harbour or in a station. The player will also use gunboats, trains or a truck as means to achieving his tasks and beating the enemy.

The missions are located on plains, in villages, cities, and enemy bases. Players will welcome action in an old monastery, chemical factory or near a large dam (Varity they say is the spice of life!).

For successful completion of the mission it is essential to fulfill some primary objectives, which are supported by secondary ones.

Objectives will be explained during a briefing, however during the game, and depending on the player’s success ranking, the objectives may change and new objectives may arise but this all goes to make the game more pleasurable.

Your diary will remind you that a new objective has appeared. If the player wants to achieve a higher rank, he has to fulfil these bonus objectives as well. Some of them are hidden and available only if specific steps are undertaken. For example, if you kill an enemy officer, you get the safe keys, then you get entry to secret maps and other important material. A nice sequence of events gives the player an intuitive feel to the game!