John Carpenter’s iconic 1982 horror traditional “The Factor” has impressed numerous creators over time, together with Laptop Artworks, the studio behind 2002’s The Factor, a online game adaptation that takes place after the occasions of the movie.
Within the sport, Captain J.F. Blake leads a workforce of U.S. Particular Forces in an investigation of Outpost 31. There, Blake and his crew should defend themselves from hostile alien life, and one another, as infections come up.
Regardless of being launched 20 years after the 1982 movie, The Factor has develop into extra of a problem to revisit than its authentic supply of inspiration. Whilst you can simply buy or stream the movie, 2002’s The Factor typically requires nostalgic avid gamers to trace down a bodily copy together with the mandatory {hardware} to play it on.
That is the place Nightdive is available in with The Factor: Remastered, obtainable on Xbox Sequence X|S and Xbox One immediately. It’s a revitalization of the almost-lost sport that stays true to the creators’ authentic imaginative and prescient.
Understanding The Supply Materials
Nightdive’s objective is to deliver misplaced and forgotten video games like The Factor again from the depths. Not solely so folks can revisit their favorites on trendy platforms like Xbox Sequence X|S, but additionally to protect these video games for future generations.
Sport preservation is one thing I lately careworn the significance of whereas writing about Killing Time: Resurrected, and the identical stays true for The Factor: Remastered. All video games should be preserved, however preservation isn’t so simple as making use of a recent coat of paint. One of many challenges in utilizing remasters as a type of preservation is maintaining the remaster as devoted to the unique as doable.
With this in thoughts, Nightdive labored carefully with members of the unique Laptop Artworks employees, together with artwork director Ron Ashtiani and technical director Mark Atkinson, each of whom are well-versed within the sport they helped create and the 1982 movie.
“I‘d seen the movie earlier than the undertaking, however re-watched it a number of instances after we began the sport,” explains Laptop Artworks technical director, Mark Atkinson. “We needed to protect the texture of the film and what made it scary by way of a survival horror.”
For Ron Ashtiani, the film “scared the hell out of me, but additionally sparked my curiosity in sci-fi horror.” He went on to mirror how forward of its time the movie was. “It was made earlier than the times of studios counting on an abundance of CG results to wow the viewer.”
Along with being forward of its time visually, “The Factor” benefited from the charming efficiency of actors like Kurt Russel and Keith David, and well-written screenplay courtesy of Invoice Lancaster.
“I feel one of many causes ‘The Factor’ nonetheless holds up is as a result of lingering thriller on the finish — who was the Factor? It’s a wise film, a masterclass in cinema,” remarks Joel Welsh, artwork lead on The Factor: Remastered at Nightdive Studios.
Whereas it’s not required to observe “The Factor” earlier than enjoying The Factor: Remastered, it does assist broaden your information of the peril Captain J.F. Blake and his workforce face as they discover Outpost 31. Each from alien creatures, and one another.
“Each scene was rigorously detailed to make you marvel and be suspicious about everybody the entire time,” says Grover Wimberly IV, Nightdive’s undertaking supervisor and producer on The Factor: Remastered. “For followers of Nightdive video games who haven’t had an opportunity to observe ‘The Factor,’ I’d recommend watching earlier than diving into the sport.”
Remastering With The Masters
Mark Atkinson oversaw many technical facets with 2002’s The Factor along with contributing to the sport’s authentic design and coding alongside Laptop Artworks’ gifted workforce of engineers. Engaged on The Factor: Remastered with Nightdive, Atkinson took on an identical position.
“On the remaster, Ron and I have been concerned from the beginning, resurrecting the previous code and grasp high quality artwork belongings, and serving to information the Nightdive workforce, e.g. what was intentional vs. the place we simply ran out of time to shine,” notes Atkinson.
“The remaster provides many vital upgrades by way of gameplay, stage design, UI, HUD and so on., which transcend a easy 4K reskin. Ron and I gave the inexperienced mild to all of that, in addition to consulting Andrew Curtis, the unique sport designer. In sensible phrases, I did a big quantity of C++ work as we needed to essentially take the chance to make the remaster pretty much as good as doable.”
When requested about his expertise engaged on 2002’s The Factor, Ashtiani remembers, “I joined the artwork workforce at Laptop Artworks simply after the sport was absolutely signed after a profitable prototype. Again then, artwork groups weren’t siloed into particular fields, however I primarily labored on the environments and constructed round half of the degrees within the sport.”
Once more, Ashtiani reprised this hands-on position with The Factor: Remastered: “My position with Nightdive has been to co-lead the artwork workforce because the imaginative and prescient holder for the look of the sport. I labored on setting the artwork course for the remaster and making certain that whereas we remaster the graphics and artwork belongings, we don’t lose the essence of the unique sport.”
And that is vital, as a result of the essence of the unique is inherently particular. For the whole workforce, not simply the artists, 2002’s The Factor wanted to align with the 1982 movie, and that took benefiting from the expertise and instruments that have been obtainable on the time.
“We did one of the best we may with what we had,” Ashtiani explains. “We put a whole lot of work into capturing the isolation of the Antarctic and created a number of latest and attention-grabbing creatures. Nevertheless, lighting was an space we couldn’t match till the remaster.”
In addition to the technical limitations, time constraints additionally contributed to a few of the quirks gamers encountered in 2002’s The Factor, which Atkinson says has been addressed within the remaster.
”Individuals beloved the unique sport, however had some legit complaints, e.g. the scripted burst-outs, the issue is uneven, the fight was just a little janky, the boss fights weren’t nice,” admits Atkinson. “We went exhausting on fixing all that.”
The Factor: Remastered additionally advantages from the addition of contemporary gameplay components comparable to third-person aiming, fast choose wheels, the flexibility to make use of a controller on PC, and extra. When it comes to issue, Atkinson notes, “the sport continues to be pretty exhausting, however not in such an uneven and typically irritating method as the unique.” There’s additionally the choice now for gamers to pick out a neater issue setting, additional increasing the sport’s approachability.
Seconding this, Ashtiani says the remaster is true to 2002’s The Factor, however with improved gameplay balancing, management programs, UI enhancements, amongst different quality-of-life changes.
“Graphically, it’s an enormous leap ahead,” Ashiani provides. “We’ve been ready to make use of all of the lighting expertise of immediately, plus increased decision fashions and textures. We even managed so as to add some belongings that have been lower from the unique sport, creature variations specifically.”
A Staff Effort
Having a workforce you possibly can belief is vital, not solely when making an attempt to outlive on the earth of The Factor, but additionally in growing a top quality remaster. Belief, communication, and teamwork between the unique builders and the builders at Nightdive Studios have been integral in resurrecting 2002’s The Factor.
“We made it some extent to verify Ron and Mark’s enter have been taken all through the event course of by consulting and having them at our workforce conferences when discussing changes, enhancements, and fixes to verify it match the spirit of the unique 2002 launch,” explains Wimblerly IV.
“Ron and Mark definitely left their mark, together with the remainder of the workforce,” praises Welsh. “That is Nightdive/Atari’s most formidable remaster so far, and we hope Xbox gamers have a blast with it. Simply bear in mind: No One Survives Alone!”
You don’t must take our phrase for it, although. Whether or not you’re a fan of 2002’s The Factor, or just need to take a look at a traditional sport you beforehand missed out on, you’ll be capable to pay an eventful go to to Outpost 31 when The Factor: Remastered releases on Xbox One and Xbox Sequence X|S immediately.
The Factor: Remastered
Nightdive Studios
No One Survives Alone.
The 2002 third-person survival horror shooter that serves as a sequel to the genre-defining 1982 movie is again, remastered by Nightdive Studios to deliver this progressive mix of quick paced squad motion meets survival horror to the fashionable period. Together with Antialiasing, Per Pixel Lighting, 4K Decision and as much as 120 FPS.
The place the film ended, the true terror begins.
You might be Cpt J.F. Blake, chief of a U.S. Particular Forces rescue workforce despatched to analyze the blood-curdling occasions and enigmatic deaths of the American scientific workforce that transpired on the Outpost 31 analysis facility positioned within the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. Inside these inhospitable environment your workforce encounters a wierd shape-shifting alien life-form that assumes the looks of those that it kills. Trapped by the weather and contaminated by this horrific entity, utilizing all of your workforce members is vital in the event you hope to perform your aims, not to mention survive. For those who solely knew which of them have been nonetheless human…
