SOCOM is one of those franchises that tend to have a hardcore following on the PlayStation platform.  Zipper Interactive has always looked at the franchise as being a very hardcore FPS title for the company, and the fans have always been there with each iteration from its roots on the PS2, all the way to its shift on to the PSP.  Zipper was not around for that last release, because of their involvement with MAG on the PS3.  But with SOCOM 4, they are back and they are taking the lessons learned with MAG to create a solid single player experience on the PS3, as well as cater to the hardcore fans of the multiplayer modes as well.  Aeropause Games had a chance to sit in on a developer call with the folks at Zipper Interactive to hear about the development of SOCOM 4 and the feature set that they are bringing to the PS3 on April 19^th, 2011.

Humble Beginnings

We started the call getting some background on the company that has become synonymous with the SOCOM series.  Zipper got their start back in 1995, making simulation games for the Department of Defense.  They used these early development experiences to fund their development of the first SOCOM game, SOCOM: Navy Seals.    Their goal for this title was to create an experience that was focused on realism.  As they moved forward they started to push forward the technology side of the PS2 platform, as they were the first company to use the modem addition for the PS2, and created the largest battlefield in a console video game with the release of MAG on the PS3. 

It was interesting to hear about the early beginnings of the company, as I had never realized that they had been so intertwined with the Department of Defense.  But they mentioned that as a company, they look at themselves as a company of technology experts.  They have people that know tech in and out and it translates to pushing their games to the forefront by advancing the platforms that they are on.

Pillars of Development

As we moved forward, we got to the topic at hand, which was SOCOM 4, and the process of development that the team was setting forth for the game.  Zipper had created three pillars for the development of SOCOM 4 – team focused gameplay, authenticity and innovation.  It sounds basic in nature, but there are so many games where developers lose sight of the core development features as they expand their focus.

Starting with Team Focused Gameplay, the team has stated that they never want a player to feel like a superhuman soldier; instead they want them to feel as if they are part of a core team.  Most SEAL teams work as a group, with each member having a focus, or specialist ability that they provide to the team.  Sure, others might have a basic understanding of medical or scouting, but one team member will have a focus on this skill and you need to use your team to be effective.  Sure, you can storm a point, guns blazing, but you will find yourself being less effective, and you may lose out on some important side missions or goals because you were less than effective as a team unit.  The idea is to give squad commands and orders to teammates, specific to their skills to succeed in your missions quietly and effectively.

Authenticity is something that should not be strange to anyone that has played a SOCOM game.  Zipper has worked with actual SEAL teams in the past to get a real world field of the battlefield.  Weapons have a real heft and weight to them, or the fact that when you take down an enemy quietly, they don’t just disappear. 

How About a Little Move with You Gunplay

Zipper looks at Innovation a little differently than other companies might see this goal.  For Zipper, it is not just the in-game innovation, but the outside the box innovation that comes into play.  In this regards, Zipper decided early on that they wanted to use the PlayStation Move controller in the game.  But they did not want this to be a tacked on feature, but a quality, integral experience for anyone that owns a Move controller.

With the Move controller, Zipper felt that they could get the most precise shooting experience for those that own the peripheral.  If you own a Move controller, you calibrate it for the game, and from that point on, it becomes the reticule for the game.  Where you aim, the game aims.  If you edge the Move controller to the side of the game, you turn your characters orientation.  For anyone that has played an FPS on a PC, this control scheme will feel very intuitive.  Zipper also made mention of the fact that the Move controller became an option early in development once they found out that it had a host of buttons on it, making it a full featured controller.  Some might have their doubts about the fidelity, but Zipper has always found a way to push the technology in a proper manner, and if you own MAG, you can see the early iteration of the Move control scheme.  Zipper has also integrated the Sharpshooter controller peripheral function, which they really like for use in SOCOM 4, as it has additional buttons on the controller that have been mapped to additional game functions, like ammo switching.

This innovation also comes in the form of full 3D support for SOCOM 4 for televisions that support the technology.  It was a bit humorous to hear the folks at Zipper talk about the push that Sony has made for 3D technology, and they seem to be towing that line, even though it seems the general public is less than enthused for anything related to 3D right now.

Skulking around Southeast Asia

With most of the technical information behind us, we finally got to the meat and potatoes of SOCOM 4 which is the single and multiplayer components.  The story for SOCOM 4 is set in a near future Southeast Asia location and you are infiltrating the region to locate a peacekeeping force that has lost contact with its handlers.  Your specialist team is sent in to locate this team and you character has been granted some serious command authority for the mission, with the ability to call in assets, command field squads and more.  While in the region, you also link up with another specialist squadron, the South Korean 707 specialists, to take out a terrorist threat in the region, while looking for the initial missing squadron.

The single player campaign will take place over 14 missions and a lot of attention and focus has been put on creating a solid script with a focused narrative.  It has also helped that they have created diverse characters that you feel for and want to know more about, along with making sure that they service the story.

It helps Zipper that they have worked on creating a believable AI for the enemies in the Single player as well as random locations.  Normally, most FPS title use a standard location for the enemy, with X enemy showing up here, and Y enemy showing up over there.  SOCOM never puts the enemy in the same location with each mission play through, making each run a distinctly different experience.  The enemy AI will also perform advanced squad tactics, flanking your team, providing suppressive fire, and on some instances, bugging out due to a better equipment force.

Time to Get Some Friends

While they have spent a lot of time with the creation of a solid single player narrative, the folks at Zipper are not oblivious to the fact that multiplayer tends to be where their bread is buttered.  Fans have always raved about the multiplayer quality of the SOCOM titles and SOCOM 4 looks to keep up that tradition.  Multiplayer is slated to contain four different modes of gameplay, as well as several co-op modes of play, so you can get with your friends to enjoy the action.

The first mode of gameplay is Suppression, which is 16 vs. 16, team deathmatch where you want to eliminate the other team.  It is as simple as it gets, but you will need to work with your team to operate effectively.  Bomb Squad is the next mode on tap, and plays like a VIP escort styled game, where one person plays as a bomb disposal tech, and his teammates have to protect and escort him to a series of bombs that have to be diffused.  The other team will be out to kill the Bomb Squad tech.  It is a different style of game, as the Bomb tech moves very slow and it will take him time to get to each objective, leaving you exposed at every turn.  Control Points has you struggling against another team to take over a series of three control points.  If you manage to hold all three control points, you can then send in a strike and can attack the enemy’s main base.  Finally we have Uplink, which features one team trying to get to a series of nodes to collect Intel, while the other team is trying to defend the Intel points.

Co-op features two unique gameplay modes and then a third that requires a little more explanation.  The first mode is Takedown, which has your team trying to kill an enemy VIP.  The second mode is Espionage which has you finding certain Intel items to unlock the main objective of the meeting.  In both of these modes, enemy locations and objectives will always be randomized and react differently with each play.

The third mode is the custom campaign creator for co-op play.  With this, you set up some objectives, and layouts and the game will create a custom scenario.  After this scenario is created, you can either play through it will friends, or create several more which will link them all together and create a narrative to link them all.  As with the other co-op modes, while you set the general items and specifications for a mission, enemy and objective placements will randomize with each play.

The Final Cut

Towards the end of the call, we did get a few more tidbits about SOCOM 4 in general.  It was confirmed that it was definitely going to be 32 player multiplayer in SOCOM 4.  The music for the game is being scored by one of the composers from the Battlestar Galactica television series.  Zipper talked about how the development of MAG was a great learning experiment of how to program for the PS3 environment, and they have taken what they have learned to this new platform.

With all of this information about SOCOM 4, it sounds like the experience is shaping up for old fans of the series as well as curious new visitors are going to have bundles of fun with SOCOM 4 when it comes out in April 2011.  It is looking to bring the quality of the old SOCOM titles to a next generation platform.  Thanks to the developers over at Zipper Interactive for all the new info and for the time they gave us with this call.