 Nerf
Arena Blast
Developed by: Hasbro Interactive
Published by: Hasbro Interactive
Genre: Action
Expected Release: Winter 1999
First person action game with a soft touch. Jump right
into the Championship world of Nerf and go for the
glory of the ArenaBlast Championship. You will be
recruited by an amateur Nerf arena fighting team called
The Twister, which is based out of Indiana. The Twister
has just won the Amateur title giving them a chance
to play in the ArenaBlast Pro League. Your mission
is to jam your way through eight different colorful
high-tech arenas against an on-slought of challenging
professional opponents, and win the coveted ArenaBlast
Championship title. Play
with the newest array of Nerf accessories and weapons
including the Wildfire, Secret Shot II and the powerful
Triple Shot rifles.
Interested
by another non-bloody use of the Unreal engine, I
was able to arrange a question and answer session
about the game with Dave Wallis, who heads
up Hasbro's creative group.
EP: Why did you choose the Unreal engine over any
other?
A:
We looked at both Quake and Unreal. When we found
a developer we liked, they really knew the Unreal
engine so we went with it.
EP: Most games using the Unreal engine
are scored in kills, how will Arena Blast be scored?
A:
When we started Nerf, we made a decision that the
game would not be about "killing." What is interesting
is that this seemingly limiting factor actually helped
us go further with the game play than the usual Frag
based play. The system is that you are wearing Nerf
outfits that record when you are hit. Everything is
point driven - so you are competing to get the highest
score. You score in a couple of different ways. Of
course, you get points by shooting another players,
but also, you get more points for a better shot. You
also get points for hitting targets and secrets in
the arena. The coolest thing is that when a person's
energy runs out by getting hit too many times and
they get knocked out, they will leave points behind.
You have to run and grab them before anyone else does.
Plus, the amount of points left behind is dependant
on the position of that person in the game, so if
you take out the leader, you can grab a bunch of points,
whereas a weaker player won't be worth as much. It
all makes for a very dynamic, intense game that goes
beyond the usual frag system.
EP:
How many Nerf weapons will be in the game?
A:
There will be 10 weapons. Some are actually really
cool Nerf guns that are coming out this year, like
Triple Strike and Wildfire. Some are classic Nerf
guns like Ballzooka. Others are totally new guns invented
for the game like the Whomper.
EP:
Is there anything else that you would like to tell
us about the use of the Unreal engine or the progress
of the game's development?
A: The game is already looking and playing great.
It is tons of fun (we have to make sure the developer
doesn't spend too much time playing). Using the Unreal
engine has been excellent for us because we've been
able to focus on game play and not on the black magic
of 3D engines. It has allowed us to spend more time
developing new ways to play rather than fiddling with
technology.
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