An Exclusive Interview With
The President Of Apogee Software, Ltd.
Scott Miller April 1997

We recently conducted an interview with Scott Miller, president of Apogee to learn more about the upcoming 3D ninja-fest Shadow Warrior, and the exciting new announcement that Duke Nukem Forever will use licensed Quake 2 technology!
http://www.avault.com/articles/scottint.asp


Shadow Warrior (portion only)

AV: Everyone knows that 3D Realms sold the full rights to Blood to Monolith Productions. Blood has been getting a lot of great publicity lately, and gamers may be questioning the wisdom of that decision. Why exactly were the rights sold, and how has this affected Apogee/3D Realms and Shadow Warrior?

Scott: We sold the rights to Blood back to Monolith mostly so that we could focus fully on Shadow Warrior (SW) and making it the best game possible. Working on both Blood and SW was too time consuming for us, and SW was suffering a bit due to the split attention. So we made the choice to go with one and do it right. We knew Blood was in great hands on its own, so this way both games are done to perfection.

Also, 3D Realms still makes a very significant cut of Blood's profits because (1) it uses our Build engine, and (2) we had invested in the game a great deal. So, we're very happy to see Blood do well. ;)

AV: Can you give us some idea as to how all this extra attention will affect the game?

Scott: The extra attention put into SW will allow us to put in all of the little details that players loved in Duke 3D, including the highly interactive environment, and the great pop-culture gags. Plus, we've really done an outstanding job developing Lo Wang, the game's main character. I think players will like Lo Wang as much as they did Duke.

AV: Tell the world about Lo Wang, Shadow Warrior's enigmatic ninja hero. Who is he, and what is his mission in life?

Scott: Lo Wang is a master Ninja and assassin. Without going into much detail yet, he's been double-crossed and it's pay back time. Lo Wang is not Duke-in-a-Ninja-suit! He's a distinct character and has a different take on the world than Duke. We've had a ton of fun with Lo Wang and his comments in the game. One thing we've done is make him talk like we've heard in those badly dubbed Japanese karate movies -- it's really hilarious. We're sure players are going to like this guy.

AV: Because of the situation with both games, it seems that comparing Shadow Warrior with Blood is unavoidable. Blood makes special use of the Build engine, and has such effects as floors-over-floors, flame effects, and squirting blood. How has the Shadow Warrior team used the Build engine in new and creative ways?

Scott: SW uses the more advanced version of Build, too, with truer 3D buildings (real floors over floors), plus we have plenty of new and never-before-seen special effects. The spirting blood in Blood is nice, and we've done an equally good job. :)

AV: Judging from the screenshots and what I've read, Shadow Warrior boasts an incredible array of weapons. Can you tell us about them?

Scott: The shareware version has six and the full/retail version has nine weapons. Many weapons have dual or even triple firing modes, so there's really a lot of variety. One of my favorite weapons is the rail gun, which we got after seeing Eraser. We've copied the effect from that movie very closely, including the rings you see when the rail gun is fired. What's cool about this weapon is that the projectile always continues along a straight line until it hits a wall. This means it can pierce several enemies with one shot if you line them up right. It's very, very cool and fun to use.

AV: How is Shadow Warrior progressing, and how close is it to completion? When can gamers expect a shareware version? When will the full version be released?

Scott: The shareware version is so close you can smell it -- hopefully by May 15th at the latest (but no promises). The full version will take about two months longer to finish.

AV: Duke 3D level creating has taken on a life of its own, thanks to the versatility of the Build engine. Will Shadow Warrior also ship with a version of the Build editor?

Scott: Of course. :) Giving out the Build engines with Duke 3D really helped out fans of the game get started in level design quickly. We hope the same excitement develops around Shadow Warrior with regard to building levels.

AV: If so, how will this version of Build differ from the one offered in Duke Nukem 3D?

Scott: Not a whole lot. What is different, though, is the game itself, and all of the tags and special effects, etc. Players will have an entire new bag of goodies to play with.

AV: Obviously, Shadow Warrior will offer extensive multiplayer capabilities. Will Shadow Warrior have any *special* multiplayer options, like team play or capture the flag?

Scott: We're calling SW deathmatch "WangBang." One of the cool things we're adding is a handicapping system so that novice players will have a chance against the top players. We've also added team play, which is a ton of fun. I'm not sure if Capture the Flag will be included, depends on if we have the time.

