Interviews// id Software's Peter Sokal and Steve Nix on Wolfenstein

SPOnG: Did you ever consider going for the colourful, cartoony Wolfenstein look as opposed to the fairly in-vogue, saturated style you've gone for?

Steve Nix: No, there was never any serious discussion of doing something cel-shaded or going for a more 'cartoony' look. Wolfenstein 3D at the time was always as realistic as possible; the engine used in 1992 was very cutting-edge. The textures and approach to Wolfenstein has always been that of a realistic nature.


SPOnG: Could you run us through some of enemies that we saw in the presentation - the Assassins, Sniffers and the Scribes?

Peter Sokal: Most of the enemies in the game - and all the ones you just mentioned - are results of a load of Nazi experiments that either went sideways or worked out really well. A great example is the Sniffer, who came back from loads of weird experiments as these feral beasts that have no mind of their own, they just run around mindlessly killing people. They're just in this berserker mode all of the time. You'll come across plenty of those in the game.

The Scribes, as you guys saw, are about the only enemy that can control its 'feral mode', so to speak. They're a bit more tactful in its methods, they can use shields and use the surroundings better, and so he's a good one to take out. Scribes are also able to teleport around and shoot veil energy at you.

You also have the Assassins, who ended up as the more successful experiments and wound up as cold-blooded killing machines that can turn invisible and go in and out of the veil at will. They're lightning quick - one second he might be running away and in the next he'll be behind you.

One thing about the enemies is that they need different combinations to take out, so say you have a Scribe who's putting a shield up and an Assassin that's teleporting in and out all the time - it's a good example of the sort of challenges that you'll face and how you have to change your game to adapt to the difficulty.


SPOnG: You guys have mentioned a puzzle element to the game, where you have to destroy the veil nullifiers to progress. Are the puzzle elements going to be solely based on this sort of thing, or will there be other brainteasers to work out during the course of the story?

Peter Sokal: Well, there's a lot of stuff like that, but we also have some more 'real world' puzzles going on, where you approach a situation and it's obvious that you can't just run in and expect to win. Let's say you have multiple MGs shooting at you, that's the sort of real world puzzles you can expect to find - things that make you go "Okay, how the hell am I supposed to get past this?"

And one of the nice things about Wolfenstein is the number of different ways you can approach these puzzles. For example, if you go into Veil Sight, you might see a veil ladder on the side of the building, which will give you a high vantage point to snipe a bunch of enemies blocking your path. Or you could use Mire to slow down time and avoid all the bullet fire. So there are impromptu puzzles that the player will have to figure out, but many different ways of going about those situations too.


SPOnG: Wolfenstein has treasure in the game, does this fit into any kind of system that you have in place, for upgrades and such maybe?

Peter Sokal: Absolutely - treasure hunting has always been a big part of the Wolfenstein franchise since the beginning, it was in 3D and Return to Castle Wolfenstein but this time around we've added an economy system to it so that the treasure actually means something besides bragging rights.

All the treasure and gold that you find will build up towards unlocking upgrades for your weapons and veil powers. So the more you explore, the more money you get which will make your guns and special abilities that much cooler. And every gun is upgradeable - even the Tesla Cannon can be built up quite a bit!

The nice thing is this system allows players to cater to their specific play style. If you're the kind of person who likes to sneak around and snipe you can add a silencer to your rifle, attach a scope on there and further enhance your experience.