It's an exciting time to be working on Conflict: Desert Storm as we've already covered a lot of the groundwork, such as building the basic game engine, and we're now moving on to tackle the more interesting issues.

As I'm sure you already know, Conflict: Desert Storm is a game in which you take control of up to four characters at once, switching between them at will. The only way to really master the game will be to make use of the whole team at your disposal. Recently the Programmers have implemented an orders system that allows you to do all this while still controlling one of the characters, and it rocks!

[Image - '..make a little love, get down tonight..']
Progress is also being made on other features such as the multiplayer game, the AI, and the in-game movie editor, which is part of the custom-built World Editor used by the Artists and Designers. To test the movie editor, the Artists supplied a ballet dance animation which was quickly applied to all the soldiers in the game with amusing consequences.

Downstairs the Art and Design departments are busy working on the levels, which are coming on very well. The aim is to get as much variety into the game as we can, and this is coming through in both the graphics and the gameplay (everything from stealth and VIP protection missions to out and out destruction of enemy forces, with a few surprises thrown in). The big challenge for the artists is to make each map look as different as possible within an overall style, and so far they've succeeded admirably. Meanwhile the Designers have to ensure that the missions are correctly balanced and above all fun to play. With each level we're trying to allow for a number of approaches, the idea being that you can replay them and succeed in entirely different ways. Should we steal the tank or blow it up as a distraction? As the game progresses, players will need to control and co-ordinate all four members of their team to complete missions effectively, and this should really make it stand out.