Antarctica. The snow buries all secrets. Those who dig deep find the truth. But what truths exist?

Report RSS Modding Today Interview

Aaron H, from Modding Today, interviews Dredile, a developer of Crypt: an upcoming horror adventure game for Half-Life 2 Episode 2.

Posted by on

Moddingtoday.com

Modding Today: First of all, let me thank you for agreeing to be interviewed!
Dredile: Your welcome, interviews are always fun.

Modding Today: Tell us a little about yourself and your modding background.
Dredile: Well I am 15 years old, I picked up mapping around the age of 12. Around that time I first got my hands wet in modding when I applied to Operation Black Mesa, I didn't make the team, however I got picked up by Opposing Force 2 which was my first mod. After that I worked on other mods such as Guard Duty which was the main one, and Condition Zero: Source before really working on Crypt.
Over time I kept getting better and better until here we are.

Modding Today: To begin; give us a summary of what Crypt is all about — what are you trying to achieve?
Dredile: Crypt is a Half Life 2 Episode 2 horror adventure modification set in Antarctica in 2013. Basically you're a soldier who was sent out to detonate a remote military base in Antarctica, that had been abandoned for about 50 years.

Upon reaching the perimeter of the base, a sensor was tripped and turned on EMP Pulsars causing your helicopter to crash. I don't want to say too much of the details, but upon entering the base, you start to realize that something is very wrong...

What we're trying to accomplish with this mod is creating a heavily story driven mod where you feel connected to the world and the story like no other mod has done before. There isn't a lot of combat in the game so we have to replace it with other things such as puzzles, hiding and the amazing story telling. There are side plots and many really incredible things we have planned, and even in the stage we're in right now the atmosphere is absolutely incredible. We're trying to make a mod that inspires a cult following basically.

Modding Today: How long have you and your team been working on Crypt?
Dredile: In terms of actual development, about 2 years off and on. But now we're more determined and have a better way of pushing content out the door.

Modding Today: Is there any particular inspiration for you as a developer, perhaps from other games?
Dredile: I particularly was inspired by mods such as Flesh, Afraid of Monsters and Nightmare House. I really think Flesh got their story right and the immersion was incredible. Nightmare House and AomDC were great in terms of horror and game play but I think they lacked the immersion and story aspect. So I want to make a mod where the world is a character and where everything is balanced perfectly.

Modding Today: From what I have read on your mod, it seems to very much be a mystery adventure game — are you planning any audio tape or note-style story-telling mechanics in Crypt?
Dredile: Absolutely, in fact they will play a vital part in both the main story and some of the side plots we are planning on having. They will introduce a lot of back story, foreshadow new areas, and give the player info on things that you might not even see in the base.

Modding Today: You recently announced an overhaul of the project — and it looks like it is going well, judging by the new screen shots. Has it been tricky going back and starting some parts over again or has it gone fairly smoothly?
Dredile: I think that making Old Crypt was a lot more rocky and harder to develop then New Crypt so far. Basically I would write up a sketch of what I wanted the level to be in Old Crypt, I would make it and that would be that — no discussion on what in that level could be unique or intriguing for the player. In New Crypt me and my co-leader, Dr. Doozer, sit down and discuss how the level should play out, and what we can do in the level to offer something fresh and immersive to the community/player. I personally love going back and redesigning it because as I do it I know the project is benefiting from it and will turn out better because of it.

Modding Today: Moving onto the modding scene in general now; any upcoming mods out there that you think look interesting?
Dredile: I'm particularly excited about Scintilla at the moment. A friend of mine, Leon_Kilean, is leading the project which makes me excited because he really has done some outstanding work. He made my favorite mod of all time: Flesh. I love the adventure horror genre because it's a throwback to the days where you would try and "find the key" and fun puzzles like that. I love the lore and back story in a video game, and I truly think that the horror adventure genre today captures that greatly.

Modding Today: Any final comments?
Dredile: Yeah, track Crypt on moddb and keep an eye out on it. I truly think that the storytelling in it will blow your mind when you play it, and horror fans will be browning their drawers as well. And when it comes out I want to see some blind let's plays of it, please!

Modding Today: Thanks again for your time. It has been a pleasure talking and I am genuinely looking forward to playing Crypt!
Dredile: Thank you very much for the interview, and good luck with your website.

Post comment Comments
radutanasie
radutanasie

If you want true immersion you should get rid of the half-life 2 assets, because they break it completely.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Tokoya
Tokoya

Replacing all of HL2's content isn't really worth the effort to a small modding team, it takes up a ton of time and energy that could otherwise be spent making the gameplay better.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Dredile Author
Dredile

I agree with Tokoya, there will be custom props believe me, but there wont be a million of them. And i think that when you play you wont notice the hl2 props as much as you think you will. :)

Reply Good karma+1 vote
jjawinte
jjawinte

Truly interesting read Dredile. Your a really sharp guy with great things ahead of you for certain ! Your working in my favorite genre and needless to say, I'm eagerly awaiting Crypt's release. All the best to you !

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Dredile Author
Dredile

Thank ya sir :D

Reply Good karma+1 vote
climber68
climber68

What jjawinte said.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
TrooperHUN
TrooperHUN

Sounds generic. Untrack.

Reply Good karma Bad karma-1 votes
Dredile Author
Dredile

ok, you don't even know the story yet...

Reply Good karma+2 votes
TrooperHUN
TrooperHUN

The story shouldn't be the best part of a game you know. Books are for that.

Reply Good karma Bad karma-2 votes
Dredile Author
Dredile

The only things i talk about in the interview are atmosphere, a small bit of the story, and immersion. So how could you say its generic only from those things? lol

Reply Good karma+2 votes
Post a comment

Your comment will be anonymous unless you join the community. Or sign in with your social account: