What Went Right 1) Identified core franchise elementsĪs proud as we were of the original No One Lives Forever ( NOLF), released in late 2000 (for which I also wrote a Postmortem, available here), we didn’t want the sequel to be more of the same with different levels and new characters. Judging by early reactions, we were fairly successful, although the game is certainly not without its shortcomings. Our mantra for the recently released No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’S Way ( NOLF 2) was to create a game in the spirit of the original but not necessarily in its image. You’ll find that many fans really want more of the same, only better, so you have to strike a balance between evolution and reiteration. So you have to evolve the design sufficiently to excite the team, present new challenges, eliminate or rework elements of the first game you didn’t like, and explore new gameplay concepts.Īt the same time, you have to stay true enough to the essence of the previous game that you don’t completely alienate your fan base. No one wants to spend a year and a half rehashing a game they just spent a year and a half developing. There’s also the problem of keeping people motivated. In other words, you’ll spend more time on less content. Your characters and environments will probably be more detailed, with more animations, more special effects, and more layers of complexity. Unfortunately, the dizzying rate at which game technology evolves means you’ll probably be rewriting major engine components, such as your renderer or physics, as well as adding and revising game systems and overhauling tools and exporters. In order to meet fans’ higher expectations, you have to surpass it. When creating a sequel to a critically successful first-person action-adventure game, it’s not enough to measure up to the original. This in-depth look at what went right and what went wrong during development was written by Craig Hubbard, who was Monolith's creative director at the time. But the story behind its design is still fascinating. Sadly, this venerable franchise from Monolith Productions has not received the rerelease that it richly deserves, and that many are clamoring for, due to what seem to me insurmountable licensing issues.