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It's middle of the summer vacations, so the pace has slowed down a bit. Well, looking at all the promos we're running and the recent releases you can't really say it's "silly season" at GOG.com, but you know what we mean. We decided to take a more in-depth look at the games we've released, especially the ones from Electronic Arts, and chat with some of the developers that made those classics.

Thanks to our own Silencer - Vagabond - we got in touch with Tony Zurovec, the lead designer of Crusader games, and asked him some questions about these awesome classics. As we love getting you involved in pretty much everything we do, we'd like you to ask your questions about Crusader: No Remorse to Tony. We'll pick 5 most interesting ones and forward them to him to get the answers, while the authors of those questions will receive a GOG.com game of their choice(this includes the awesome The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings!). Post your questions in the comments section until end of Sunday, July 24th.
how exactly do you turn a person into a Silencer, and vice versa, how do you un-Silence him? :)

EDIT: I mean, the intro doesn't show us what did the resistance do so that he "changed his mind" :D
Post edited July 20, 2011 by Kunovski
Is there any particular book author that inspired you to create this game?
Why was the series so short-lived? It was popular at the time, and the concept felt fresh, so why have there been to no sequels?
What was the one thing you wanted he game to get known for, while you were developing it?
I would love to see a new version of this, only, stick to the same 2D graphics, or at least the same isometric style. I am so sick to death of all games turning 3D.

I just played this for the first time recently and must say I liked it. Also as a game programmer myself, I have been playing this to get some insight on how to create this sort of game.

Nice work anyhow.
Tony, would you work with the IP again? On which conditions would you do it (total creative control, owning the IP itself, maybe any conditions at all)? Would you rather put together a new game in the series or take a new look at the classic games, maybe changing somethings along the way? What changes would you make? Do you believe in the classic gameplay for a modern audience? If not, what gameplay would fit best the universe of the Silencer in your opinion?
Did you know back then that a wireless number pad for laptops would make a perfect controller for this game? :)
Were you ever concerned that the vagueness of The Captain's personal details would result in players being less invested in him as a character, and was there any discussion of expanding his character's dimensionality?
I'm always curious how games would end up these days:

If you were to work on the Crusader-games today, what modern-day games would your publisher ask you to emulate?
Would there be any possibility for a HD remake/remix if not a full own third game for the series?

How about possibilities to continue the storyline or expand the series in book form? My suggestion would be a small short story (10-20 pages even, depending on quality) on ebook format, to see what kind of sales that would generate, and based on that make further plans.
What's the actual relationship to the Wing Commander series (or maybe even other Origin games)? Crusader is using the same dating system as the WC games (and placing it before those, as far as I remember) and the WEC is being mentioned in the WC series as part of terran history. Did you just add some WC references as easter eggs to the Crusader games or did you actually think of them as part of the same universe?

Also: I believe I read a long time ago that the series was originally intended at least as a trilogy. If so, what were your general ideas for the third game? Where was the plot headed, what were the greatest improvments that you planned? And what would have been the game's title?
Post edited July 20, 2011 by F4LL0UT
Tony, how do feel about Free (Libre/Open Source) Software remakes of classic games? (C:NR in particular)
It's been said by the developers at Nintendo that the history of their most successful game franchises is the history of interface improvements, and Crusader: No Remorse was the first video game I played as a child that tried to merge the mouse and keyboard in that particular perspective; Syndicate and its ilk were mouse OR keyboard, but not both. So my question is: Were there any major video games of the era whose interfaces inspireed the decisions made in Crusader? Were you developing and evolving techniques you had seen in other games, or was it genuinely a push to do something new that the PC could manage that other control schemes could not?
What is your take on seeing EA recycle Origin name in completely different form?
Just to clarify, this not a snarky comment towards EA or anything. Personally, it is very weird seeing that same name present something completely different.
Post edited July 20, 2011 by kalmis666
I do not own, nor have ever played Crusader - how does this game represent you, in what ways have you put your heart and soul into it, and give me a reason good enough for you, on why I should buy it 16 years after its release, with so many other modern and better-looking games around?
Post edited July 20, 2011 by Fifeldor