'The most blatant enhancement has to be the fact that you can assume the role of one of three characters - the mage, the warrior, or the cleric,' says Id's Mike Wilson. 'Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses and forces you to play the game differently, depending on who you are.'
The idea of having characters with different skills and abilities is borrowed from role-playing games (RPGs) like Dungeon Master, which usually feature an array of classes for players to choose from. But don't expect the trudgingly slow pace of a typical RPG in Hexen: the game is still a full-on 3D blaster. Raven Software, starting with the Doom programming from Id, believed the introduction of three classes would make Hexen a more varied playing experience. 'The game actually unfolds differently, depending on which character you choose,' says Wilson.
The first hub you have to negotiate your way through in Hexen is a castle-type affair with a huge magical belltower at its centre, and halls and dungeons full of traps spinning off to form the spokes. Wilson is also promising hubs set in mountainous and swampy areas. And as if this rich variety of terrains isn't enough, Raven has given Hexen a far more immersive environment than you'll find in Doom or Dark Forces. Leaves flutter in the wind as eerie sound effects filter through the speakers, and you can go around the levels smashing stained glass windows, clay vases and other adornments.
Naturally, the weapons in Hexen are very different from those in other 3D blasters. An enchanted hammer that hurls magical energy at monsters is just one example of what replaces Doom's double shotguns and rockets. Furthermore, the mage character can pick up talismans and spells, enabling you to turn minotaurs to ice. In fact, it's partly due to its imagination in designing weapons that Raven was permitted by Id to make Hexen.
If that trademark Doom game style really is enhanced to such a great degree, Id can expect an even greater response from Mac owners than they've received from the recent releases of Doom. 'Of course, there's an "it's about time" reaction,' Wilson admits, referring to the gap between the releases of Doom on the PC and the Mac; 'I think the quality that came with Doom made up for the wait. And the fact that we brought in the ability to play against the PC crowd in multi-player: that's huge. It's not a market we'll be slow to enter in the future.'
'Our goal is to bring the multi-player experience more into the mainstream so that everyone has access to an enjoyable experience, especially on the Internet. Doom and that generation of titles was not designed for play on the Net, and there are still issues to overcome even as we design for Net play with our next generation titles,' concludes Wilson.
'The possibilities are limitless and we are a small group. Because of this, what you will see from us will be technologies that we can make a great game with, and that are modular enough to allow other developers to build on them and create possibilities that we could never get around to. While that's going on we will move on, and hopefully continue to lead the pack in 3D development.'
