{"id":11223,"date":"2011-04-11T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"interview-red-redemption-fate-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/11223-interview-red-redemption-fate-of-the-world","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Red Redemption – Fate of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

MyGaming recently reviewed the socio- and eco-awareness sim and management strategy title Fate of the World<\/a>. We were impressed with its solid and challenging gameplay. Clearly developers Red Redemption didn’t merely make a game that made a statement about the current direction the Earth is heading – it’s also a complicated and in-depth strategy title that should entertain and challenge fans of the management genre.<\/p>\n

We caught up with Amy O’Neil, Games Designer at Red Redemption, to find out more about the developer and Fate of the World.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Can you provide a brief overview of the Red Redemption development team.<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Red Redemption was founded in 2001 by Gobion Rowlands and Matthew Harvey. The social relevance angle emerged from a drunken brag by founder Gobion Rowlands to friend and climate scientist, Dr. Myles Allen. At the time the company had run a small MMO called Steel Law Online which was more focused on the “hardcore” gamer, and did smaller multi-media projects, but we were struggling to find our niche. Dr. Allen challenged Gobion to make a game about climate change; Gobion assured him it could be done. A bet was scrawled on a napkin, and that was the start of Climate Challenge (FotW’s predecessor).<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: When not developing games, how does the Red Redemption crew relax?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Well, all of us are gamers, to be sure. Multiplayer games are always welcome. Pastimes in the company are pretty varied – we’ve got amateur video editors, board game fanatics, amateur photographers, music film and comic fans, a juggler\/stilt-walker and a race car mechanic.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: What were the challenges involved in making Fate of the World a reality?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: These fall into two areas: cash and gameplay. On the cash side, we were funded through investment into the company and getting those funds took considerable effort. On the gameplay side it was largely the problem than any innovative product has – without clear examples to build upon working out core gameplay for a complex subject like climate change isn’t straightforward.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: With a Mac version coming in April, does Red Redemption plan to implement Fate of the World support for Linux operating systems? Plans to release the game on console platforms? (WiiWare, XBLA, PSN).<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: There is a strong possibility of a Linux version but as with any new platforms we are still deciding what is a good fit as each have their own complications for porting.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: What is the message Red Redemption wants to convey with Fate of the World?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Climate change is probably not as straightforward as you thought and the choices aren’t easy but there are solutions to be found.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Does Red Redemption feel that Fate of the World has fully conveyed that message? Would Red Redemption consider a sequel to the game with an improved feature set and expanded scope?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: The vastness of the subject is only thinly covered in our game, really. There are many other facets and aspects to discover and we hope to be expanding the game to give an even richer picture of the problems.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Fate of the World boasts scientific models for climate change along with realistic social, political and environmental scenarios. It appears to be a tough challenge to balance all these factors and lead the world to a bright future. How accurate do you believe the simulation of the game is? Are we on a downward slope into a dystopian future?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: It’s a game, first of all, and many of the axes of play are balanced for play (support, for example). That said, a lot of narratives in the game are understood to be likely futures – peak resources causing economic crashes, population rates in India, Amazonian deforestation and so on. We definitely think we have some major problems to overcome – the game is difficult because the problem is pernicious and affects everyone. One silver lining is that in the game it takes a long time to deflect from the path of environmental collapse – you start in 2020 and there is a further delay in setting up projects before you can really start to make a difference. We can start right now and the 2020 we could reach could put us in a much better situation if sensible choices are made.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Some of the technologies that can be researched in the game seem as if they are the stuff of science fiction. Are all of the technologies actually feasible solutions to the Earth’s problems?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Most of the technologies in the early\/mid game exist in some form already, or are at the very least in prototyping. For example, atmospheric aerosols are technically possible already. The late-game techs (the sun mirrors, the advanced Ais) are speculative but by no means improbable in the near-future.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Is there a ‘perfect’ way to play through Fate of the World, i.e peace and prosperity for all mankind, no extinct species and a healthy planet Earth?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: If there is a perfect play, it’s not been found but there are many very good strategies. Saving all the species in their natural habitat is probably the hardest thing as there are so many already critically endangered. In terms of long term prosperity, there are a lot of strategies that see a pretty healthy future after riding some pretty harsh bumps.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: How are the proceeds from sales of Fate of the World divided among yourself as developers and charitable organisations?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: We have special versions of the game for each of the charities we are partnered with where we do a matched donation with the customer. For these editions, £2 from each purchase goes to the charity.  Additionally, we’ve had a few promotional days where all of the profit from players purchasing the game via Oxfam or Tck Tck Tck goes to that charity. Other profits go to funding further development of the game and future games like this.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: How much money has Red Redemption raised for charity thus far (and which charities)?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: We are still awaiting reports from all of our partners and I wouldn’t want to give selective details at this point, I’m sure you understand.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Have sales for Fate of the World been promising? Has the problem of piracy impacted the financial success of the game?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: While the game has been pirated it would be purely speculation to think these are lost sales – in fact some players have told us they bought it after playing the pirated version. So far we’re encouraged by [the] response and are continuing to promote the game.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Do you have a way to measure the impact of your game on attitudes toward environmentalism and global warming issues?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Nothing more formal than player and reviewer feedback; but we’ve been hearing consistently that, at the very least, players come away thinking about what they encounter in the game, and how that relates to their lives, and we consider that a huge success.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Have you noticed a particular response from South African gamers? Any way to gauge sales figures from South Africa?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Only some of our distributors have real-time tracking so we don’t have a full picture yet, all we know is that we definitely have some but haven’t had any particular feedback from them.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Will there be content add-ons for Fate of the World? (New scenarios, new technologies, policy cards, etc). Will you charge for any future content updates?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: There is a mixture of free and paid content planned. We’re adding on some missions to the current game in future patches and we’re planning some larger content as paid DLC in the near future which will expand the scope of the existing game.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Could the game be modified by a modding community? Would Red Redemption consider providing a mod tool set?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: We already have one mod that we know of and we’re currently putting in place a formal structure for mod support.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Any news on Red Redemption’s next project? <\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Right now we’re focused pretty tightly on polishing, Mac versions, localisation and DLCs.  We do have some exciting ideas down the pipeline, but nothing we can announce at this stage.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: As a developer concerned with conveying the importance of environmental issues, is there anything that Red Redemption has learnt that can be passed on regarding the balance between raising the quality of life in developing nations against environmental sustainability?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: One thing that has become clear is that the environment cannot support a world where everyone is consuming at the rate of developed nations. Working on the game has really opened all our eyes about how much of what is made is for the benefit of the privileged few, ourselves included. Convergence is such an important aspect of future sustainability – if we can need less and improve the standard of living for those who right now don’t have enough there is a middle ground of contentment which we can maintain instead of the unsustainable living we have right now.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: South African gamers recently celebrated the IGF success story of Desktop Dungeons. Have you played this game? If so, what were your impressions?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: We had a good 3 months where nearly everyone on the dev team spent their lunch breaks trying to tear through.  It was good, solid dungeon-crawling fun, balanced to be challenging but delightfully moreish.  I preferred the Human Wizard.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: I understand that your knowledge of South Africa’s development scene is likely limited; however, do you have some general advice for South African indie developers looking to make a name for themselves?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Make sure you get in touch with indie game sites and blogs – your success can be carried by the cheerleading of others and if you have faith in your game that faith will carry. Also, good luck!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Quick Fire Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Favourite multiplayer game currently being played at the Red Redemption offices?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Left for Dead 2 and Minecraft.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Your favourite mainstream game of 2010?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: I am obligated to reply “Star Craft II”<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Your favourite indie game of 2010?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Very difficult to choose, there’s been so many gems. The IGF was full of riches this year and I recommend everyone look to the finalists and play them all.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Which unreleased game are you most looking forward to and why?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Portal 2 is going to so much fun.<\/p>\n

MyG<\/span>: Who would win in a brawl between Ezio Auditore, Commander Sheperd, Duke Nukem and Marcus Fenix?<\/p>\n

Amy<\/strong>: Sheperd.<\/p>\n

Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fate of the World review<\/a><\/p>\n

Fate of the World intro trailer<\/a><\/p>\n

Fate of the World screenshots<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We speak to game designer Amy O\u2019Neil about Fate of the World, upcoming DLC, indie games and piracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}