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World in Conflict Interview with Massive Entertainment

By: Antti Summala Jun 15, 2007

Gameplay features: roleplay-based multiplayer

YouGamers: Can you tell us more about the use of cover in World in Conflict?

Karlson: We have a roleplay-based multiplayer, and one of the roles is Infantry command. Infantry can use buildings as cover. So there are several ways you get advantage in urban areas, as long as you control infantry units. This also applies to the single-player game, although the single-player game experience is very different from the multiplayer game.

YouGamers: When I played your demo earlier, my infantry was getting hammered by armor and I was left with severely depleted units. Can you reinforce the units?

Karlson: In the final retail version, yes you can. Armor and vehicles can also be repaired.

YouGamers: What benefits do infantry units get from going into buildings or forests?

Karlson: They have both a stealth bonus and damage reduction when in cover. Primarily [they become] less visible, but especially in buildings they take less damage. Your infantry will still probably die before the building is destroyed, but not much earlier.

YouGamers: But there isn't actual modeling of where they are in the building?

Karlson: There is! You'll see them opening windows, blowing out walls et cetera, but that's only in our latest builds back home.

Niklas Westberg, Technical Director: There's some cool stuff coming in. We did something really cool to the landscape that you're going to see later, and we're looking forward to having that in a public build.

YouGamers: Can you tell us more about the role-playing aspect of multiplayer games in World in Conflict?

Karlson: There are four roles - Infantry, Armor, Air and Support. The roles are actually a rebate system: you have a fixed set of resource points, which is typically 6000 in 6 vs. 6, 8 vs. 8 games [which is the maximum number of players]. You spend these points on buying units. Within a role, some units are much cheaper, and you have unique units limited to your roles. You can buy other units, but at a higher price.

Westberg: You really want to stick to your role.

Karlson: Together with that, we have an emphasis on team play in multiplayer - the different roles help each other.

YouGamers: Are there any other forces you can bring to battle, like off-map support?

Karlson: Tactical Aids, or you could call them super-weapons, are our off-map support. You gain points for completing objectives and dealing damage, which you can spend on tactical aids - everything from unit drops to napalm and really big explosions, like the tactical nuke that everyone loves. The B-52 carpet bombing run is pretty cool too.