Half-Life Game Hostile Intent Interview feature

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modDB.com: Mods are played but many don't realize your a human being so! State your real name, job, place where you are from and age!

Ikusa: My name is Christopher R Harris and I am the Lead Architect and Operations Manager. I'm the old man on the team at 30, father of one boy, and in the hospitality reservations business when I go to my day job. J

modDB.com: Hostile Intent was thought up when? Why the futuristic feel? Is the mod like another game or mod in your opinion?

Ikusa: Well Hostile Intent can from a few places. There was this mod being made of Half-Life a few years back called The Sherman Project. It was a Rainbow6 influenced game (this was when R6 was first on the market). A few fans saw that the mod was dying so we asked if we could continue the work. From then on, Hostile Intent was born a few times like a phoenix from the ashes.

I don't think the feel is really futuristic. It's more modern definitely, and try to stick with what is actually being issued buy the modern military world-wide. This feeds into the feel and type of game HI is. It's about immersion, fear of the unknown, and about knowing your fellow players. This game is about tactics and how you would apply them in the field. Above all I think the game is designed to provoke teamwork both in design and how it is played. These parts alone make HI stand out above the other games.

modDB.com: How long have you been working on Hostile Intent?

Ikusa: I have always been a forum moderator since the birth of HI. I just recently joined the team officially back in October or November of 2003, but have been a consultant and friend of the community always.

modDB.com: Describe the best feature in the mod in your opinion? What should the person look for that they might miss?

Ikusa: Well the big shocker is the lack of a HUD. It takes a few rounds to get use to, but once you do... It's second nature. Another big thing about HI is the Ironsight system and player movement. This of course, works together. HI is a slow-paced tactical simulator, but you are immersed.

I also think the fact that 2-3 hits can cause your player to do down. In HI, you're "dead" either by a "kill shot" or from getting incapacitated.

You will notice in the scoring window, there is no kill count. This also is a big part of our objective system. We promote teamwork through objective completion and working as a team.

modDB.com: Describe the weapons in Hostile Intent or what you do to challenge the other player?

Ikusa: Well weapons tend to be a bit balanced but our major challenge for the player is completing listed objective to win. We offer an FGD that is dynamic. You can make an objective be anything from a suitcase bomb, to intelligence recovery, to hostages. (Hostages still to be implemented and few other things in the next coming releases)

Now this objective system mixed with tactical team play can make this game exciting and different game every time you play.

modDB.com: How is the damage system or score system in Hostile Intent?

Ikusa: Well 1-4 hits will kill depending on the shots fired. All of the players are issued body armor, so that is already in the design. We tried to mix in the best realistic damage we could. You're not always dead. A player in HI can be incapacitated by massive wounds as well which takes you out of play.

Score as mentioned about is based on objectives. While eliminating the treat on each side can cause a round completion, it does not score like a small tactical team completing the primary objectives. If you are within a radius of the person who actually completes the primary objective, the players "assisting" also gain objective points.

modDB.com: I see on the site "Many maps for the mod. My favorite is: hi_majesty" for a new modder to your mod explain how you chose your maps a little more!

Ikusa: We took some ideas from actual events that have happened around the world, novels, news, current events. The Majority of the settings come from the level designers. They have made a great combination of closed quarter and medium range combat levels. They provoke many ways to go about completing the objectives they place within. The New FGD update allows them to go further in the design by allowing more to become an objective.

modDB.com: Explain how the player classes will work and why I should be one over the other in your opinion:

Ikusa: Well at this time we have only two classes, NATO and Tango. As opposing forces inside the game, they tend to be equal but it's the players who make the classes themselves. By this I mean they talk on the role within the squad. Again this causes the players to think about tactics and their role with by communicating.

modDB.com: What mods do you like in Half Life?

Ikusa: to be honest, I have not played many mods. HI has always been the mod for me, kind of why I have always been involved in its design and community.

modDB.com: Final words

Ikusa: I think the best final words I can give are to become part of Hostile Intent. The community alone is a great reason to be around, but this flows into the game as well while playing. Give it a try, play a couple of times, and get the feel. We mark all of our testers and developers inside the scoreboard so you can come to them with questions while you're learning. Check out Thr.hostileintent.org. They have a great beginner's guide that can help you walk into the game with some basic knowledge for play within the game.