SpyParty dev claims it'll be the most diverse game ever
SpyParty creator Chris Hecker has said he wants his espionage title to be the most diverse game ever - not just in terms of characters - but for its many play styles, and the hope that people of varying skill levels will get involved.
Kotaku reports that the game is in open beta now, and it tasks one player with being a spy at a cocktail party, where they must mingle with the AI revellers while completing espionage objectives. Meanwhile, the other player controls a sniper on a nearby rooftop, and it's up to them to identify which party-goer is the human-controlled spy. It's all about blending in, you see?
The site adds that since the SpyParty open beta began, user numbers have shot up 50%, bringing with it new breeds of players. Hecker believes that this, along with a diverse roster of playable characters will ultimately make the game better.
Speaking with Kotaku, he said, "I have such a perfect community right now that I’m hoping we have a really slow steady growth. I don’t want a big giant influx of people to swamp the community. Because this game is so weird and different and hardcore but in such a different way from most games, that I really want that kind of inclusive community and the diversity of community in addition to setting the example in the game.
Hecker then explained why he wants a rich diversity of characters instead of just boring, run-of-the-mill avatars. "While you could get to some of the psychology stuff [with that approach], it is so much more powerful and so much more interesting when the game is full of men and women at a cocktail party.
"There are so many more subtle effects on how you feel while you’re playing. When a waiter comes over and offers you a drink, that does not operate [the same way] as [when] another square comes over to you and delays your time for a second. Or anything like that.
“It really is like, ‘Oh, I should take a drink. He’s offering me a drink. That’s nice.’ As crazy as that sounds, that stuff matters once you’ve decided to make a game about people, which is my goal. There’s tons of Sims [games] but there’s basically no [other] games about normal people. Sims and SpyParty, basically. That’s starting to change.”
What do you make of the SpyParty premise? Does making a more diverse array of characters benefit this type of game? Could it be one of the most diverse games ever made? Let us know below.