Project: Snowblind - Official Website

Experience the dramatic intensity of the frontlines of a war through the eyes of the first of a new breed of super soldiers in this gritty and epic first-person action game.

In the not so distant Future, Lt. Nathan Frost is challenged to stop a renegade regime from eradicating the civilized world.

Hong Kong, 2065. 2nd Lt. Nathan Frost is just a regular grunt until he volunteers for a super-soldier transformation for an international army called the Liberty Coalition. A painful series of surgeries gives Frost extra-normal abilities via implanted enhancements, which place him on the frontlines of a war against a destructive regime. After a military coup leaves him stranded in hostile territory, cut off from command with only a handful of men, Frost must stop the militia's secret weapon that threatens to plunge the world into darkness.

Features:

  • Robust online multiplayer experience with 16 players and voice over IP support - classic and new multiplayer modes are offered, including exclusive modes for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox console gaming platforms
  • Use Bioenhancements to exploit the superhuman powers of your character
  • Arsenal of experimental weaponry and secondary high tech gadgetry inject new depths of gameplay never before realized, especially when leveraged in multiplayer play
  • Pick-up-&-play, intense battlefield action starts at minute 1, pulling the player through a cinematically immersive storyline
  • Wide variety in mission pacing ranges from frenetic action of battlefield chaos to infiltration style missions
  • Vehicles serve as functional obstacle solving tools and as weapons in both single and multiplayer gameplay
Game Chronicles goes inside this exciting new game with an exclusive GCM interview by Maggie Smith.

GCM: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us about the team behind Project: Snowblind?
John Chowanec: My name is John Chowanec, Producer on Project: Snowblind. The team that built P:SB comes from all different parts of the industry – some of them have been with Crystal for quite a long time, while others are new to our walls, but have been in the industry a while.

GCM: Could you tell us the story behind Project: Snowblind and introduce us to the main character?
John Chowanec: Players will fill the shoes of Nathan Frost, a new recruit for the Liberty Coalition, an international peacekeeping force that has been sent to Hong Kong to help quell some civil unrest. When things go terribly wrong during an operation, Frost is mortally wounded and must be rushed into experimental surgery… Once he recovers from the procedure, Frost is reborn as the future of war – a literal one-man army capable of wielding some incredible weapons and abilities that surpass that of the average soldiers on the battlefield.

Because of this, Frost is thrust back onto the frontlines of war, where he and his comrades uncover a plot that threatens the safety of the entire world.


GCM: The plot has elements that may remind players of some of their favorite movies and games: I immediately thought of Cyberpunk and Bladerunner. What were some of your sources of inspiration?
John Chowanec: Well, you hit on two of them already… In all honesty, inspiration lies everywhere – books, movies, other games, etc. What I found truly inspiring, however, was what our artists would think up during the concept phase… That was by far the most rewarding for me – watching the guys dream up something on paper and then turn it into a reality over the course of the production. One of the things we rather enjoyed during production was mixing the old world with the new-near-future world that we were creating. It was specifically that juxtaposition that provided some interesting settings for the game: an old Buddhist Temple converted into a Liberty Coalition base, the English-Inspired Opera House that has since become an internment camp for political prisoners – it was these ideas that sprang from the pens and pencils of our concept artists.

GCM: Project: Snowblind seems to have a lot of different choices for people who enjoy multi-player features, including options for online play. Please tell us a little about these.
John Chowanec: P:SB features a pretty robust online experience. We support 16 players with VOIP support, stats, clans, friends lists, etc. From a gameplay standpoint, multiplayer is a class-based affair. You pick a specific class: grunt, heavy, sniper, scout, agent or berserker, and based on the class you choose, you get a specific loadout. Each loadout has a specific set of weapons, demolitions and 1 augmentation. This becomes important based on what mode you might be playing – the most effective teams have a balanced set of classes. So check before you join and try to play them all…

And then there’s all the modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (and the variant, Fast Flag Capture), Hunter, Assault, Tactical Assault, Demolition and it’s variant.

My favorite mode is Hunter mode. Hunter is basically a King-of-the-Hill mode where players are vying for control of the Hunter Token. This token, when held, grants its owner access to all weapons, abilities and demolitions available. And… he’s cloaked the entire time he has the token. The only downside is that in Hunter Mode, the Hunter displays on everyone’s radar – so while he may be cloaked, you’ll always generally know where he is hiding… It’s a pretty chaotic mode – the token changes hands a lot – it’s really fun. :-)

If you want more weapons available to you in the other modes, you can turn on Arms Race. Arms Race is a rule modifier that you can initiate when you create a game. Arms Race allows you to gain the loadout of whatever class you kill. If you’re good enough, you can have access to every weapon and augmentation at once… would make you pretty tough to kill… :-)


GCM: The sheer number of different weapons and gadgets in Project: Snowblind allows for great customization, but what are some unique features of the weapons and gadgets that you think set them apart from those in other games?
John Chowanec: We’re incredibly proud of the huge arsenal that is made available to the player during the course of the game. Between your main weapons (and their alt-fires), demolitions and augmentations, you’ll have over two-dozen weapons and abilities at your fingertips.

Because of the game’s setting, a near-future Hong Kong, these weapons start off very familiar – a carbine, shotgun, rocket launcher, etc. As you continue to dig a bit deeper into the universe, you’ll see some of the more futuristic weapons. Take the HERF gun for example… It’s basically like an electrical version of a flamethrower except it can chain lighting attacks between multiple enemies at once, which is great if you have a cluster of enemy soldiers all grouped up – use the HERF and take them all out. And then there’s the Flechette gun which fires a burst of high-energy rounds which ricochet off the environment, allowing you to bank shots around corners, off ceilings, etc.

And then every weapon grants the player a more fantastic Alternate Fire. All of these act vastly different that the weapon’s Primary Fire and really help to change the overall gameplay experience. The Alternate Fire for my favorite weapon, the Flechette, is one of our “Smart Weapons” available to the player. The Flechette’s alternate fire spits out a swarm of Attack Drones that are capable of searching out enemies and neutralizing them on their own – this is fantastic when you’re pinned down by hordes of enemies at once. Fire off the Attack Drones and let them search out and kill some of the enemies while you focus your attention on a different group. The coolest bit, I think, is that the Attack Drones will cause panic in the enemy soldiers, often causing them to try and attack the drones – when they do this, more often than not, they’ll create a cross-fire and cut each other down in the process.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a full complement of secondary grenades, which includes everything from your standard explosives to mobile cover that the player can deploy anywhere, plus, there’s Frost’s Augmentations, which allow him to slow time, turn invisible, see through walls and many other abilities.

We’re going to place an immense amount of firepower in your hands when you play P:SB. We also made sure that they interact in a variety of unique ways so that you can continue to discover new strategies right up until the end of the game.


GCM: Tell us a little bit about the vehicle options in Project: Snowblind. The Combots are so cute!
John Chowanec: Cute?! They fire beams of energy at the player! The player will have access to a number of vehicles, though, in both single and multiplayer. You’ll have the option in Single Player, to drive the Phoenix (small car), Hydra (combat buggy) and the Ogre (a 12 foot walker). Aside from that, you can also dominate enemy bots (or your own if you’re feeling creative) and navigate them through the environments: sentry bots, combat bots, security bots, military bots and my favorite, the Spider Bot.

In single player, the AI is aware of whether or not a vehicle is empty. If it is, often times they’ll make a run for it. Nothing worse than losing a footrace only to be staring down the barrel of the Ogre’s high-caliber machine gun…

In Mulitplayer, the Hydra and the Titan (tank) can be used by two players simultaneously – that is to say, one person can drive while the other shoots. This creates some pretty interesting battles on some of the larger multiplayer maps…


GCM: One of the most interesting elements of Project: Snowblind is the use of Bio-Augmentations in addition to weapons and vehicles. Bio-Augmentation played a huge part in the Deus Ex games. What steps are you taking to put a fresh spin on the concept?
John Chowanec: One of the important aspects of the Augmentations is that they are used in conjunction with the weapons, gadgets and demolitions. You’ll gain Enhanced Vision, which lets you see through walls and is especially useful when combined with the Rail Laser, a gun that shoots through solid objects – use your imagination on that one in multiplayer. :P

You’ll also get Ballistic Shielding which absorbs damage for you, Cloaking, which renders you invisible, Reflex Boost which slows time down significantly for the enemies, but leaves you at near-full speed and Electrical Storm, another of our smart weapons that creates a sentient bolt of lightning that seeks and destroys any hostiles in your immediate vicinity.

The game never forces you to use anything – how you decide to overcome the challenge of a large army bearing down on you is almost entirely up to you and how you choose to dispatch them.


GCM: While it's often described simply as a first-person shooter, it sounds like Project: Snowblind will have stealth, strategy, and action elements. Could you elaborate on this?
John Chowanec: First and foremost, there are multiple mission types that you will experience in P:SB. You’ll experience our Total War, Solo Battle and Infiltration missions. Total War missions are incredibly hectic – dozens of enemies and friendlies on screen at once – you are always under pressure to keep moving. Enemies and friendlies fight with one another, it’s a very intense experience.

Then there’s the Solo Battle missions – these are like the Total War missions, except as the name implies, you’re alone on the battlefield. In these missions you’ll learn to really rely on your wits and weapons to get you out of a tough spot.

Finally there’s the Infiltration type missions. In these missions you generally have an objective of sorts – blow up the Rail Cannons that are pinning down the Liberty Coalition forces. In these missions you’ll be alone, but will be dealing with not only enemies, but security systems, trip wires, cameras, auto turrets, sentry bots, security bots, combat bots, etc. You’ll most likely learn to use your augmentations a bit more in these missions as a bit of planning can keep you alive much longer.

In terms of strategy, one of the cooler things you’ll notice when playing the game is that you can start to combine various elements of your arsenal to gain a strategic advantage… (Fire a HERF Alt-fire EMP Mine onto a friendly spider bot, for example, and send it into battle…)


GCM: Setting the game in a dystopian world has allowed you to play with some interesting combinations for locations, with the idea that buildings designed for something very different are now being used as military bases or prisons. What are some of your favorite locations in the game?
John Chowanec: As mentioned above, two of my favorite locations are the Liberty Coalition Base and the Hwa-guang Prison.

The Liberty Coalition base is a Buddhist temple that has been converted into a military outpost. As such, there is a vibrant mix of old world tradition with new world technology. It is as if the technology of the future has been grafted onto the ancient history of the temple. The War Room, where you receive your briefing from Lt. Col. Kanazawa, actually has a 20 foot statue of Buddha in it.

Then the Hwa-guang Prison is another example. Since space is a premium in Hong Kong, the Prison is an old English-style Opera House where large shipping containers have been brought in to act as prison cells. There is a giant fresco on the ceiling, curtains on the walls, and armed guards everywhere. We realized, even at a conceptual phase, how compelling this juxtaposition of old world and new world would be.

Finally, we were very specific in choosing a color palette that wasn’t drab. Notice that the colors in P:SB are very vibrant and bold. We think this really helps set the game apart.


GCM: What can we expect from the graphics in Project: Snowblind?
John Chowanec: As mentioned above, you can expect a vibrant game – with a strong sense of color. Furthermore, we’re pushing quite a bit on the consoles. The first thing you’ll notice is the soft blooming of lights, the hazy depth blur in the rain, puddles that dance on the cement.

We’ve also got a physics system behind the scenes which allows us to fling bodies through the air… ;)

All the while we’re pushing anywhere from 12-20 guys on screen at once, with no real frame rate implications – it’s something we’re very proud of.


GCM: Will there be any significant differences between the PC, PS2 and Xbox versions of the game, gameplay or otherwise?
John Chowanec: The console versions each have a unique multiplayer mode: Assault for PS2 and Demolition for Xbox. The Xbox version also has higher resolution textures and supports downloadable content.

GCM: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Would you like to leave us with any final thoughts or comments?
John Chowanec: Thank you for taking the time. We appreciate all your support. I’d like to take a quick moment to thank everyone on the team who has worked so hard on making a game that we’re so immensely proud of. It’s the product of a lot of people’s hard work.

Thanks again for all your support.