Underrail Interview
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Indie-o-rama: Let's talk about the elephant in the room. It's obvious that Underrail was heavily influenced by Fallout, among other post-apocalyptic games. As we all know, Bethesda decided to go a different route with Fallout 3 or, as it's commonly known, (Oblivion with guns). That meant some fans were left craving for a game with the style and gameplay of the original. How much of a compromise has been met in order to acknowledge that influence, while at the same time staying true to your own ideas and concepts? Are the fans that approach Underrail expecting another Fallout, or would you rather prefer that they play the game without such prejudices?
Dejan Radisic: Well, I'm not so sure about the Fallout release timeline, but I think I started the development of Underrail even before Fallout 3 was released. Or at least I started working on the engine with the intention to build this kind of a game.
So back then there wasn't, or at least I was not aware of, this craze with the fans that wanted the old Fallout back. And it certainly all started before this Wasteland sequel thing and all that. The game obviously draws some inspiration from Fallout, such as the mood, environments, some weapons, etc, but it wasn't ever meant to be the new (real) Fallout. I don't have a problem with people considering it that, though, and I believe that those who come to this game with such expectations won't be disappointed and will find some of the old Fallout elements that are missing in the newer games. So in short, I do not mind it, but I'm also happy when people point out design differences and acknowledge the game as being it's own thing.
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IOR: Underrail is set within a post-apocalyptic world; a vast underground universe inhabited with other survivors. What role do the NPCs carry among the Underrail story? How can a one-man crew write such a huge amount of dialogues?
DR: The player's character is a member of one of the station-states on the fringe of Underrail. It's a station that's one of the more powerful in the vicinity but it's not up to par with the major factions of the world. Its remoteness is the main factor keeping it independent.
One of the main themes of the game is this imbalance of power that's currently occurring in the Underrail. Where one faction has become too powerful and is moving through the metro system, annexing other stations one way or the other. So a lot of the things that happen in the game will revolve around this conflict. And the player will have options to help different factions in their struggle against this big force or other factions in the game.
IOR: And have you written every line of dialog in the game?
DR: Yes. I'm not much of a writer so I try to keep it as straight forward as possible. [laughs] Hopefully in the future I'll be able to delegate this work to someone else.
