GSC on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. rumours

By Tom Bramwell Published 9 June, 2006

Not a rubbish scripted shooter.

GSC Game World's Oleg Yavorsky has refuted suggestions that much-delayed PC title S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl - currently on track for Q1 2007 - has been cut down to a scripted, corridor-based first-person shooter.

In a lengthy post on GDC's official forum aimed at clearing up questions that have arisen since E3, Yavorsky offered a detailed explanation not only of what the game is doing - but also the developer's reasons for avoiding certain approaches.

"Indeed, one of the initial S.T.A.L.K.E.R. concepts was a fully life simulation-driven gameplay [known as 'A-life' -Ed] with unobtrusive storyline. However with the very first tests it got obvious that such game can only be good in theory," Yavorsky writes.

"Creating an uncomfortable play-through and confuse the player traditionally accustomed to being 'led' is clearly not the best goal to achieve. That is why it was decided to shift the focus during the first playthrough primarily towards storyline, placed, as previously, within the A-life world."

Yavorsky also comments on the role of vehicles in the game, the removal of voluntary sleep ("Only the story-based sleep for cut-scenes was preserved") and points out that player-hunger and eating (as in, players eating food, not player-eating) remain.

Overall it's a refreshing insight into a few key areas, and concludes with a message from the team, where Yavorsky admits that such a long development reflects a large number of mistakes made in the process. "Once the project is done we could release a book 'The ways you don't want to make your games'," he jokes.

"5 years ago nobody on the team had experience to create a project of such level, and 'experience is a son of tough mistakes' as the saying goes. After all, however, we are on the finishing line. We want to release S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in a way to bring you fun and justify the long wait. Thanks to everyone genuinely supporting the project. We love S.T.A.L.K.E.R. It's our child. A problem child. And you will meet it soon."

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Wrestlevania #1 6 years ago

    "Once the project is done we could release a book 'The ways you don't want to make your games'," he jokes.

    ...not the most endearing comment, is it?

  • mezzomorto #2 6 years ago

    I was so looking forward to this game when they first announced it. Now I just hope that:

    1) It actually sees the light of day

    2) It's as good as it sounded (at least at one time) on paper

  • Eldritch #3 6 years ago

    Is Stalker a Phantom launch title?

  • Empedocles #4 6 years ago

    Phantom 2 launch title I should imagine..........

  • Kiigan #5 6 years ago

    "...not the most endearing comment, is it?"

    Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Making great games is difficult.

  • Sko #6 6 years ago

    "Is Stalker a Phantom launch title?"

    Been patiently waiting for a DNF news article to break but finally caved and used that line here instead, eh? :)

  • Teeth #7 6 years ago

    Ooh, Bezzy's gonna have a fit when he reads this.

  • d0bbo #8 6 years ago

    This will be shit.

  • towser #9 6 years ago

    *cough

    Duke nukem

  • TheBozBoz #10 6 years ago

    Does anyone remember a 3D game called "Hunter" (i think) on the Amiga?
    No plot, just an archepelago which you had to get to the northern side of via any means. You could grab any vehicle or take any route, it was completely open ended. You couldnt just plough up the centre of the map though, you had to carefully pick your way through the enemies.

    I was hoping Stalker would turn out like that.

  • tenma #11 6 years ago

    Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Making great* games is difficult.

    *"Great" only applies for the first year and a half of the delay. After that, it's probably mediocre at best.

    I can't think of a single game that's been delayed this long that's managed to still live up to the hype and expectations.

  • smoison #12 6 years ago

    So if a game takes more then 3 years to make its labeled Vapourware for some of you?

    I guess Episodic content was made for the likes of you.

  • Wrestlevania #13 6 years ago

    tenma: I can't think of a single game that's been delayed this long that's managed to still live up to the hype and expectations.

    Er, Half-Life 2 anyone?

    Prey's looking very promising too.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/06 @ 12:12

  • Eldritch #14 6 years ago

    "Does anyone remember a 3D game called "Hunter" (i think) on the Amiga? "

    "Midwinter" and "Flames of Freedom" were ace.

    @Sko: They were asking for it, mate!

  • Freek #15 6 years ago

    Half Life 2 was delayed for about a year. There's a difference between a game that takes a long time to make and game that was supposed to be ready at a certain date but gets pushed back again and again and again due to development problems.
    Those games tend to fall victim to thier problems and end up crap.

    Prey was also completely canceled. The game you see now only shares the original idea but is otherwise a new game made after Doom 3 technology became availebel.

  • Hunam85 #16 6 years ago

    @Wrestlevania: He said that lived up to the hype :p

  • nickthegun #17 6 years ago

    This many posts and not a single 'Yeah, its coming out at the same time as Duke Nukem Forever'?

    You people are slipping

  • stoopidgreg #18 6 years ago

    still can't wait for this game

  • Pike #19 6 years ago

    V.A.P.O.U.R.W.A.R.E.

  • Roachdog #20 6 years ago

    Hunter was a brilliant game......nice one, brought back a few nostalgic memories :)

  • Wrestlevania #21 6 years ago

    /holds up hands

    I stand erected.

  • Razz #22 6 years ago

    Urgh! Cover that shit up

    /throws towel

  • Ryuken #23 6 years ago

    "Half Life 2 was delayed for about a year. There's a difference between a game that takes a long time to make and game that was supposed to be ready at a certain date but gets pushed back again and again and again due to development problems.
    Those games tend to fall victim to thier problems and end up crap. "

    Funny, I don't recall games like Diablo II, WarCraft III or World of WarCraft as crap. They also had many so-called 'deadlines', had multiple look/design changes over the years and each one took easily more than three years of development to finish. It can go either way with this one, just like with TF2 or DNF.

  • Eldritch #24 6 years ago

    /grabs towel

    At least let the Germans do the towel throwing, okay? Don't take that away from us, too.

    /throws towel @ Wrestlevania
    /hits deckchair instead

  • Freek #25 6 years ago

    Blizzard is the exception that proves the rule. And with Starcraft Ghost even they are starting to slip.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/06 @ 13:16

  • Phreedh #26 6 years ago

    Woah... Hunter. What was that all about, really? I don't remember much, but there were tricycles, some sort of aircraft, military themes and... ducks. Right? I know I loved it, but I can't remember me playing it.

    /Phreedh

  • Pike #27 6 years ago

    Well, I really hope not. The original concept sounded fantastic.

    But things haven't sounded promising lately.

  • tenma #28 6 years ago

    Er, Half-Life 2 anyone?

    There's a difference between a game that isn't slated to launch for a long time and a game that's been delayed countless times. STALKER's engine, the last time I checked, looks pretty dated and I can't remember HL2's engine ever getting to that point.

    And Prey looks like shite so I'm not even going to acknowledge that.

  • smoison #29 6 years ago

    I guess the Wii and PS3 are V.A.P.O.U.R.W.A.R.E. to Pike aswell.....

  • Teeth #30 6 years ago

    " Which publisher?

    A major one..."

    That'll be THQ then.

  • DarkTimes #31 6 years ago

    I remember reading a PC Gamer preview of this years ago and thinking that it sounded completely over-ambitious and pretty impossible to pull off, especially for a developer who's never even shipped a game before... I'm sorta glad they've pulled back the reigns a little and made the game more focused, and that they've taken the time to get things right. I have high hopes that the game will still be a good one, even if it's maybe not the game everyone was lead to believe it was... I hope people don't get too hung up on their preconceptions and judge it on its own merits, it still sounds like a very cool game to play.

    In game development there's a general consensus that it's not a failure to throw a broken design away, far worse is sticking to your guns and seeing a broken design through to the end and making a broken game.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/06 @ 16:07

  • Salaman #32 6 years ago

    I was excited about this game when it was first unwrapped. I've gotten a bit sceptic with the delays but this sounds a bit more promising again.

    I think it'll turn out rather good if they can achieve their vision for the game.

    Just wait and see. No need to start crying DNF and all. (yet)

  • Bezzy #33 6 years ago

    <ul>Ooh, Bezzy's gonna have a fit when he reads this. </ul>

    I had suspected that stalker was in for cut backs when most of the team got offered better jobs and left the company with a half done engine (according to the rumour mill). That, and I've some amount of experience in designing games which are far too ambitious for a young team.

    Open world stuff is nothing to be sniffed at. Just because one developer hasn't succeeded at pulling it off doesn't mean that it isn't possible. They're finding out that although it's a dream game, it's not the sort of thing you want to bite off as your first project. You really need to work up the experience, and work WITH people who already understand this area - stand on the shoulders of giants, as it were.

    If they're not burned out from this, they'll surely have a lot of well earned experience.

  • LittleB69 #34 6 years ago

    I think they problerly just learned the hard way that realism not always make a perfect game. The question is now how did they recover..?