THE BRINK OF SUCCESS

CEO of Splash Damage, Paul Wedgwood, hopes to revolutionise first-person shooters with Brink, his parkour-fuelled vision of the future that blurs the line between single- and multi-player gaming

Sounds ominous. What is the player’s role?
You come into the game around 2045. Rising waters have led to a refugee influx into The Ark—built to house a few thousand—resulting in massive overcrowding. With tensions and resources pushed to breaking point, The Ark has been split down the middle, with The Resistance in the south fighting for refugees living in squalid conditions against what they perceive as an oppressive security force, that is fighting on behalf of the original founders.

There are two sides to the story, then?
What makes Brink unique is the point where you enter the story. You can choose to fight for The Resistance or for The Security, and both have completely different storylines, completely different arcs. It will really confuse and confound players as to who the real ‘good guys’ are—the ones fighting for freedom or the ones fighting for law and order.

How does Brink differ from the many other first-person shooters on the market? We have a new system called SMART: Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. It allows you to move and shoot in a more fluid way. We have consistent character advancement so you’re completely upgrading and investing in a character, irrespective of if you play offline or on. We’re finally blurring the line between single-player, co-operative and multi-player gaming to provide a seamless experience.

What character classes will be available?
When you’re on the battlefield, taking into account the location of your squadmates and what they’re doing, the fluid objective wheel will generate five or six missions specific to that exact moment. You can play a soldier, medic, engineer or operative, and you’re never forced to take any specific route. Our focus is on replayability. You will
want to play through each map hundreds of times, not once.

So the goal with Brink is longevity?
Absolutely. It’s not enough just to get a playable version done and ready to ship. It literally takes thousands and thousands of hours of playtests so that we’re predicting what players will be doing in three months, in six months, not just what they’ll be trying on the first weekend. We want to make the game continuously compelling, which is why we focused so much on character customisation and weapon attachments and modifiers—so your aesthetic will instantly reflect your status.


Do you adopt a hands-on approach, or do you allow your team room to create?
I’m really more of a conductor than a composer. With such a great team filled with numerous directors, and their teams supporting them, all working in unison, we’re just endeavouring to make Brink the best title we can.

What would you like gamers to take away from playing Brink?
We want gamers to co-ordinate tactics. Enjoy the run-and-gun shooting offline, or use the eight-player co-op online, so you can jump straight in and the mission system adapts.