Haemimont Games, Omerta: City Of Gangsters Interview
We got a chance to do a Q&A interview with Haemimont Games regarding their upcoming Omerta: City Of Gangsters tactical strategy mafia game all rolled into one package and got to find out the inspiration for the game as well as the differentiating development choices as the game progressed.
The below interview is with Boian Spasov, Game Designer at Haemimont Games (HM), and ourselves (TGH). We hope you enjoy it as much as we did conducting it.
TGH: After doing a title like Tropico 4 that is primarily upbeat and relaxed, what made the development team decide to undertake a gritty title like Omerta?
HG: As much as we love the humor, atmosphere and charm of our Caribbean dystopia, we wanted to craft a completely different experience this time. We’ve never done turn-based tactical battles before and the strategic part of the game is also fundamentally different from our past city-builder and economy-management titles.
The gritty, realistic setting is part of our and Kalypso’s decision to explore a new direction with this project. It fits the gameplay of Omerta better and defines the theme and tone of our new game.
TGH: Where does the development team draw their inspiration from for Omerta?
HG: Of course we were inspired by our favorite crime stories, like Goodfellas and the movies of Guy Ritchie, but since our game is set in the Roaring Twenties, we took a look further back in the past. Classics like The Great Gatsby were instrumental for getting the right vibe for this period. We also watched some great TV documentaries like Prohibition (2011, PBS) that helped us nail down the little details. Finally, HBO’s series Boardwalk Empire impressed us with the accurate and immersive recreation of Prohibition Era Atlantic City.
Setting aside, the tactical combat was inspired by games like the cult classics X-Com and Jagged Alliance, the online game Dofus, as well the 4-th edition of D&D role-playing game. We are proud that the combat ended up very differently from combat in those great games, but no less engaging and tactical.
TGH: How does the team feel when comparisons between Omerta: City Of Gangsters and Eidos Interactive’s Gangsters: Organized Crime/Gangsters 2: Vendetta are made?
HG: Have we played Gangsters and Gangsters 2? Yes. Do we aim to recreate the same gameplay in Omerta? No. This may disappoint some hardcore fans of those games, but we don’t see Omerta as a successor of Gangsters. Mechanically it is much closer to “Jagged Alliance meets economy management genre” and the only obvious parallel with Gangsters is the criminal setting.
Still, I think that fans of Gangsters will like Omerta. Even though they are very different, both are “mobster sims” and both do things that have never been done before, combining elements of different genres to create an unique gameplay experience.
TGH: Will the title have specialist classes such as Hitmen, car bomb specialists, arsonists, getaway drivers,etc?
HG: Those roles exist in the game, but not as “specialist classes”. Instead, they are support roles – you assign team members to them, thus tilting the combat circumstances in your favor.
All gangsters have attributes like Smarts, Guts, Finesse, etc. Those attributes determine how successful the gangster may be in any of those support roles. For example, a skilled driver will make allied reinforcements appear faster and an assassin may eliminate some enemies before the battle takes place.
TGH: Will there be an overarching story or will it be a series of connected missions that your player will go through?
HG: The game campaign presents an overarching story, covering the entire Prohibition Era. The individual campaign missions focus on a particular timeframe or theme, moving the main story forward. A campaign mission plays out in one neighborhood of Atlantic City and encompasses several strategic objectives and mandatory or optional tactical combat. Not all campaign missions must be completed in order and the player often must choose which challenge to tackle next.
TGH: How many different weapons are in the game at this point? What is the final amount you guys hope to put?
HG: We have eight different classes of melee and ranged weapons. Each weapon class utilizes different attacks and promotes unique style of gameplay. For example, all attacks of a character equipped with a bat inflict concussion, hindering the opponent’s ability to attack in the following round, while a character equipped with revolvers interrupts enemy ranged attacks and fires retaliation shots when targeted.
We have several different weapons within each weapon class, including unique weapons with exceptional properties such as extended range or wider hit area.
TGH: How many authentic vehicles will be in the title and will they be licensed from the time period?
HG: We are not making GTA, so vehicles are not our main focus, since they are only peripheral to our core gameplay and exist more for providing ambience than anything else. Still we have several models cars, trucks and I think a tram. They are close to real-life models authentic for the period, but are not direct representations of them.
TGH: What made you guys decide on Atlantic City instead of lets say the crime ridden era of Las Vegas, Chicago, or New York?
HG: We actually started with the idea of setting the game in Chicago, but this meant more or less retelling the story of Al Capone. Same with Arnold Rothstein and Lucky Luciano in New York.
Since we wanted to tell our own story, a new story, we chose the less well known Atlantic City as our setting. You may see or hear about some prominent gangsters of the Prohibition Era, but the game will tell the story of your own character and you will not know how it ends from the start.
TGH: Will you be able to dress your gangsters or at least ‘The Boss’ in attire true to the era and to your choosing?
HG: All clothing is authentic for the period and unique for each gang member, but currently you cannot customize the clothing of individual characters. One reason to take this approach is that we wanted each gangster to look unique and to allow the player to recognize them at a glance, even from a far away camera.
TGH: We know it is very early in development and you are focused on the final product but will the development team be open to DLC if the title is successful? If so, can we get a hint at what sort? Missions, new city ect.
HG: We are open to the idea of DLCs and depending on the game’s success; we are looking to provide players with meaningful expansions and add-ons to the existing game. I’m afraid it is far too early to comment in more detail. Any news on this will be announced by Kalypso Media.
TGH: Any plans to bring this title to consoles? Why or why not?
HG: We would love to bring Omerta on consoles, as we did with Tropico! We believe that an audience for tactical and management games exists on consoles, even if the released games are few and far between. Stay tuned for more information from Kalypso in the near future.
TGH: Thank you, it has been a pleasure talking with you.
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