Alpha Protocol Interview with Ryan Rucinski & Play.tm

The guys at Play.tm have interviewed senior producer Ryan Rucinski on Alpha Protocol, Obsidian’s upcoming espionage-themed RPG.

Alpha Protocol with Ryan Rucinski
Level-up Daniel Craig..
FEB 26 2009
Obsidian and Sega believe they’ve struck gold with the original premise behind Alpha Protocol, an RPG that dismisses fantasy worlds, or sci-fi futures in favour of a gritty, geo-political present. Jason Bourne would be proud. Alpha Protocol is looking like Mass Effect meets James Bond, and we’re promised a game of subtlety and intrigue, where conversation and plot are perhaps more crucial than guns and fists. Without further ado, we sat down with senior producer Ryan Rucinski to learn more.
Alpha Protocol represents something a different premise from most RPGs. Where did the idea come from?
The idea actually came from a couple of the owners, Feargus Urquhart and Chris Jones, who were talking at lunch. They had just seen one of the Bourne movies and were talking about it when they brought up the question, “Why aren’t there any espionage RPGs set in the current day?”
This started the ball rolling. Not only did it seem like a good idea, they couldn’t think of any reason why not to do it. They pitched it to the other owners and everyone seemed to like the concept. It didn’t take too long after the product proposal before the title was picked up and we started work on what would become Alpha Protocol.
Is it risky setting an RPG in the present day? How do you create that sense of being elsewhere in such a setting?
The biggest risk we had with our concept being set in the present day and not some far away future or mystical land was the fact that we wouldn’t have any crazy technologies or magic to call upon to make it game-y.
We have to make sure to sell our theme for a particular hub by having them look very different than the other areas of the world.
What influences have you called upon in developing Alpha Protocol?
The JBs (James Bond/Jason Bourne/Jack Bauer) have been the primary influences. We allow the player to choose what kind of spy they want to be: aggressive, suave, or professional. This doesn’t mean that a player can’t mix up how they want the character to be but we use these as our basic archetypes for the options given while playing the game.
How does the new ‘classless’ RPG system work?
In the very beginning we have some suggested archetypes that are geared towards particular playing styles, but we also allow a ‘Freelance’ character where a player can put points wherever they want. Later, they can choose to change their skills or specialize in the high-end abilities.
This allows the player to put advancement points into the skills that they want to use. For example, the player could put advancement points into technologies and stealth. They could then use their abilities to remotely hack into computers, lay traps, and skirt around sentries without ever being detected.
Conversely, the same player could get to a point where they might prefer a different play style and instead of putting points into stealth skills, they could easily put them into assault rifles and then specialize into the top tier abilities. They would be loud but deadly from a distance.
We basically just let the player make the kind of character they want to play but we do reward focusing into the higher end of the abilities. The Jack of All Trades is the master of none.
Which settings will we take in during the game, and how are these being brought to life?
After the initial foray into Saudi Arabia, the player has the option to go to Moscow, Taipei, or Rome.
A lot of our lighting style comes from the Bourne movies, Traffic, Ronin, Nacho Libre, and Syriana. When you look at the movies you can see a distinct saturation dependant on where the movie is taking place. Our Saudi levels are bloomy and brighter in the yellows. Moscow with blues. Rome using greens. We use the same techniques that these movies use to make sure that each hub looks and feels differently from the others.