No longer satisfied to simply design add-on packs for Bungie Entertainment, Double Aught, the developer of the Marathon Infinity expansion, recently announced its first original game, the first-person action game, Duality. Gamecenter caught up with Double Aught's president, Greg Kirkpatrick, to get the inside word on this new 3D action/adventure.

Like the lion's share of upcoming 3D action games, Duality is not simply preoccupied with nonstop carnage and gibing. According to Kirkpatrick, telling a compelling story and creating a believable 3D world are the priorities. "We are really trying to put in a narrative and world with characters," said Kirkpatrick. "Not just a plot, but an actual story--something that might actually grip someone." He added, "It's got a lot of epic themes...duality, opposing forces, good and evil, light and dark."

Not unlike Ion Storm's Anachronox, Duality is set on an alien world light-years from earth--literally and figuratively. The game's story involves two feuding human factions with no recollection of how their ancestors came to inhabit the exotic planet. As it currently stands, the planet's minority, dubbed the Deciding Factor, are enslaving the majority, the Polys. Within this sordid society, the player is cast as a mute and nameless Frankenstein-like creation of the Deciding Factor, designed to eliminate Poly rebels. Ironically, the player joins the rebellion once he is freed from the clutches of his masters by the Poly insurgents.

On one level, the player's goal is to dismantle the Deciding Factor's regime; on another, the player's job is to unravel several planetary mysteries and contend with the contradictory sides of his nature. (Kind of sounds like Dark Earth, huh?) To facilitate this, a significant amount of exploration, character interaction, and puzzle-solving will augment the game's first-person combat. There will also be some minor story branching depending on your actions and maybe even a karma system, in which your good deeds are rewarded, while your evil actions earn you the ire of other NPCs.

Speaking of NPCs, expect reoccurring good guys and bad guys. "There are characters that show up repeatedly that have personality," said Kirkpatrick. "There are people you'll get to know."

Interaction with NPCs will mainly be necessary to gain information and inventory items to solve puzzles. Moreover, in the style of Marathon, NPCs will aid you during combat against specific evil characters. Prepare for hand-to-hand combat and gunslinging. Right now, there are only a few generic weapons to speak of: a standard hand gun, rocket launcher, and fast-projectile rifle. "We are trying to put them in the context of the world," reassured Kirkpatrick. "They exist because somebody put them there."

There will be a few surprises. Because the main character is an unworldly creation, he will have some inhuman characteristics, which will have a significant effect on the gameplay. For instance, your mute alter ego will be able to jump multiple building stories and fall great distances. Kirkpatrick kept other details under his hat, weary that he might give away too much about the game's grand finale.

As for the game's 3D graphics, Double Aught currently supports OpenGL and RAVE (Mac) and is using its own proprietary 3D engine, which, not unlike 3D Realm's Prey engine, uses polygon-based portals, rather than standard BSP-based geometry, to build levels. Kirkpatrick said the engine supports interior and exteriors spaces, curved surfaces, dynamic lighting, and the latest effects, including fog, smoke, and translucent surfaces. The main point for Kirkpatrick is that the Duality team "can build really organic spaces."

Double Aught is currently in search of a publisher for Duality; no release date has been set. When it does ship, it will be available for both the PC and the Mac.

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