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Warface: Bringing free to play to consoles
Why Crytek’s next-gen leap is a free-to-play game on the web and Xbox 360?
Warface: Making Crysis run in your browser
© Crytek
Crytek needs little introduction. The German studio didn’t just spawn a hit franchise with Crysis, its jaw droppingly beautiful first person shooter: it created a meme in the process. “Can it run Crysis?” made light of the fact that all but the most powerful gaming rigs could run the game at anything close to max settings - and even by next-gen standards it still remains a monumental visual achievement.
Crytek’s Next Big Thing isn’t a next-gen Crysis sequel however - it’s the lo-fi answer to Crysis we’ve been waiting for. Co-op team shooter Warface isn’t just free-to-play - it runs right inside your web browser. As of this week though, it’s also free-to-play for anyone with an Xbox Live Gold subscription on their Xbox 360 console.
To celebrate the launch, we spoke to Warface senior producer Wim Coveliers about the game, its 25 million players worldwide, and what’s next for one of blockbuster titles proving “free-to-play” doesn’t also mean cheap.
Hi Wim - you’re now senior producer for Warface at Crytek’s Kiev studio. What else have you worked on in the past?
Before joining Crytek, I worked at Spicy Horse in Shanghai on titles like Alice: Madness Returns. Crytek Ukraine is the studio that originally started working on Warface, and I have been working with them on Warface for a good three years now.
Tell us about the game’s origins. Where did the idea start, who came up with what, and who/where were the team that built it?
Sometime in 2006, Crytek’s CEO, Cevat Yerli, visited South Korea. While there, he realized that Korean gamers were playing games that were different to what people in the West are used to: games as service. These games were generally free-to-play and went through a continuous development even after being released so that players received a constant stream of updates throughout the game’s lifecycle.
Having seen a bunch of these games and having realized the potential of them, Cevat decided that Crytek should also develop a game like that. Crytek, however, would not just develop a game as service for South Korea or Asian territories, but for the entire world. That’s how Warface started. The development of the game was assigned to the then new Crytek Kiev studio, and we’ve been working on it ever since.
What we want to do with Warface is to infuse this game as service model with the DNA of a Crytek game. So not only do people get a game that is free-to-play and that brings with it a constant stream of updates; they also get a game that is an absolute blast to play and that looks and sounds like a Crytek game!
Warface
© Crytek
What did you identify as missing from other popular class-based shooters like Team Fortress 2? What did you think you could do better?
It’s not so much that we think we can do things better, but rather that we think we can offer an experience no other game has been able to provide. Sure, there are other games that offer class-based first person combat, but we also offer an engaging co-op experience where the player can play new missions every day. Those daily missions mean there are constantly new challenges to look forward to, and they are also tailored so that players of all skill levels can find an appropriate challenge.
There’s also a rock-solid versus mode where players can play against each other. There’s the constant stream of new levels, weapons, features and much more. There’s the exhilaratingly fluid core gameplay. There’s the great graphics and the awesome sound design of the game. Combine all of that, and we believe we have an amazing proposition for any fan of shooters and games in general.
What was the biggest challenge in developing the game?
Creating a game that works on a global level. Making sure that the game is accessible and fun for gamers in Russia, China and the West has been a fun challenge. In the end, I believe that this focus on the ‘global’ gamer has really helped the game stand out.
Another challenge was setting up the service pipeline: making sure that the team is set up to deliver more content to the players, while also supporting the game while it is live. This requires an approach that was very different to the development of the more traditional boxed product games.
Tell us about the business model - why an in-browser game? Has the gamble paid off? Can you share any stats so far about number of players?
While we started as a browser game, we have now put in place a more traditional ‘launcher’ by popular demand. This is one example where we were able to take feedback from fans and quickly turn that around into a product that better fits players’ needs.
Crytek is obviously known for the technology behind its games as well as the creativity. What’s the secret behind a fast playing, good looking in-browser shooter?
Warface is powered by Cryengine, which has been essential in ensuring a great experience, both in gameplay and in visuals. The secret really is focus. We knew what we wanted to achieve, so we focused on just that and were able to put together an amazing looking game.
Do you see free-to-play shooters becoming much more common in the west on console, and competing with typical AAA grade shooters in the near future?
I believe that what we’re proving with Warface is that free-to-play can be a valid alternative pay method to the more traditional boxed product or downloadable game, by showing that this is, above all, a great game. In the end, it doesn’t really matter how you pay for a game, as long as the game you’re playing is a fun and engaging experience. By putting fun as our first and most important objective, we will convince players that the ‘free-to-play’ stigma does not necessarily equal ‘mediocre game’. Once that’s done, people will be much more comfortable with free-to-play shooters. As a result, they will be real competition for the more traditional shooters.
Warface
© Crytek
Tell us about your first experience with the game, what you saw or played where you knew you were onto something?
The first time one of the Co-op missions came together was a really important moment. That’s when we realized that we had something in store that would be really exciting to players. Since development for the game is on-going, we have these kinds of moments every couple of months - when a new environment or game mode comes together, or when we see how players are responding to fresh content it reminds you of the potential of the free-to-play model.
How do you balance the classes in the game? It must be challenging to do that whilst retaining the fun - do you have to test it on a vast scale to figure it out?
What’s great about Warface is that we get a lot of real-time data about the game, directly from people playing the game. With the classes, we worked out a set-up that we knew was going to work in terms of balance and fun. We then used our different closed beta tests to figure out if this balance really worked and adjusted it where necessary. This resulted in a system that we know is balanced.
Warface
© Crytek
What countries is Warface most popular in, and why do you think that is?
It’s currently the most popular in Russia. This is mostly because the game has been out in Russia the longest, but we’re seeing other territories starting to catch up.
Tell us about the main differences in making the game for PC and console - is it harder? Do people play differently?
The biggest difference is the different hardware. On PC, people have many different configurations, while on console, everybody is using the exact same configuration. Part of that is the controller. Ensuring that the controls on Xbox 360 were as fluid and responsive as they are on the PC was very important to us, so we went to great lengths to ensure this was the case. It also meant that we needed to update our menus to be controller-friendly. In terms of in-game content, we are aiming for parity between 360 and PC.
Was there ever any consideration of Warface on Xbox One as well as Xbox 360?
Why did you decide to stick with the older platform only?
Since the Xbox 360 is a well-established platform with lots of users and because Xbox Live is such a stable platform, we decided that we should go with Xbox 360 first. We are currently focusing on the 360 version; we’re making sure it’s everything it needs to be for a successful launch.
Could we ever see a PS3/PS4 version?
Right now, all our focus is on bringing the best possible Warface experience to Xbox 360 players.
Warface
© Crytek
What features are you working on right now for the game?
We’re always working on new maps, weapons and mission settings for the game – as well as some secrets I can't talk about right now! Beyond that, there are a lot of smaller tweaks and features that we’re bringing to the game on a very regular basis to make sure Warface is always evolving and becoming even better.
What do you see as the biggest problem in Warface right now, and how do you plan to address that?
We're keen to develop the game's social features even more, so getting more social content into the game and working on how we connect players is a focus for us right now. We also want to build out our Versus mode some more with new modes and maps.
Tell us where you see the game a year from now - what does it look like?
One of the things that’s really exciting to me, both as a gamer and as a developer, is that Warface is a service. We want to be able to quickly react to how players enjoy the game and to feedback that we’re getting from the community. Because of that, we don’t want to set in stone what we’ll be doing over the next 12 months, but we do know what we want to focus on, and will have a crazy amount of new maps, levels, weapons and other cool stuff.
Warface
© Crytek
What features aren’t available in the game just yet, but you’re dying to include?
We're constantly coming up with new ideas, and on top of the improved social features I mentioned before there are some great ideas in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Lastly, what do you play as in Warface?
It depends on the circumstances. Generally, I like to play as medic in Co-op. I like being a lifesaver, I suppose! In Versus, I mix it up between all four classes, depending on what the latest gun is that I’ve unlocked.
