Interviews// Jacob Minkoff - Lead Designer - Damnation

SPOnG: Spirit Vision? Sounds like drunkenness but I understand that it has something to do with Native American culture. What other special powers do we have to look forward to?

Jacob Minkoff: Spirit vision is given to Rourke by a native seer in the single-player campaign, and allows you to briefly see the auras of your enemies through walls at the expense of being able to move or shoot. In order to keep the gameplay simple and fast-moving we haven’t tried to complicate things too much by adding numerous special abilities, but I can confirm that some characters will have the ability to heal others during the single-player campaign.

SPOnG: Already – even in early previews – comparisons have been made with other games. Are you still happy to have Damnation called Gears of Persia? Or Prince of War? Or has the once-mod now progressed?

Jacob Minkoff: Tough question. I think Damnation stands on its own two feet as a game different from all the rest, but if I was told that there was a game out there combining the best elements from Price of Persia and Gears of War, well… I’d buy it.

With that said, I do think that Damnation is one of the most unique shooters come along in years. Beyond its innovative gameplay, it also takes place in a very distinctive, Steampunk world.

It’s not the same old space marines or WWII. My hope is that people will look at the trailers, the screenshots, and the box art. Then they’ll pick it up – thinking to themselves, "Wow, this looks different, but I still totally get what it is. I’m bored of everything looking and playing the same way, but I don’t want something completely wacky. Let me try this."

That’s what Damnation is – it’s an evolution of the shooter genre, not a complete reinvention. It’s new and unique, yet comfortable. I think that word-of-mouth will really make Damnation shine.

As for how far the game has progressed, in many ways Damnation has far exceeded my expectations. If you look back at the UT2k4 mod we made back in 2004 to test out our original concept, it was so primitive and small and clunky compared to what Damnation is now.

Damnation really does evolve the shooter genre forward in an innovative new way with smooth, fast-paced, vertical gameplay and a unique, steampunk world – and that’s exactly what we wanted to accomplish.

SPOnG: Thank you for your time.