First Impressions: APB

As part of the NEoN Festival SquareGo got their first look at APB (All Points Bulletin) and the principles about the development of the game. These were really early screens but what we saw definitely looked searingly hot, exciting and something PC and 360 users should be thinking about saving for in 2010.

APB, from Realtime Worlds is moving towards a fully interactive experience. Yes you've heard of this before and not until you don a body suit and can't tell the difference from the real world will it truly be "fully" interactive but APB impresses greatly.

Looking good in two dimensions

A living world is the basic principle behind this. Initially we were shown a 2D overview of a junction as dots representing cars and people moved across the surface. You could already recognise some of the patterns from your own experience of being in cities or watching TV. The patterns formed were recognisable as a busy flowing junction but when they pulled it back to the full city. Well just in this simple diagrammatical style. Wow.

Realtime Worlds did the original Crackdown but were quick to note that they only broke even on this game, some of this down to not owning the Intellectual Property (IP). Therefore it was time to choose a new platform. APB follows the three C's of Creativity, Conflict and Celebrity and they were looking to use these to create a social dynamic within the gameplay.

Using the three C's

Starting with conflict APB is looking to have over a hundred players per city with persistently living environments. This means there will be no lobbies or waiting to get started. Once in the game will source other players of your skills and abilities and match you together. Not only this but other players will add to the environment be it by graffiti tags they leave or what they're talking about as you walk by. Even music is there to add to the players and other characters identity the game sourcing appropriate music based on the player's wishes.

This moves us nicely towards creativity allowing the player to make their character completely unique. This isn't just to do with the style of clothes but to a much finer detail. Characters can change the patterns and colours of the clothing and design their own logos or tags to use, whether they are for the body in the form of tattoos, a wall poster for a room or a decal on their vehicle. This adaptability is immense crafting truly individual characters. The engine also means that ethnicity can be represented clearly in character design and impresses in the true look.

Audio tags

As said audio is also adaptable so now you can create a death tune for your character playing as they die. Identify sources of music for your character as well as the game sourcing music itself relevant to your own tastes and designs. Audio tracker and design.

Celebrity is what players will achieve by making their own designs or becoming the best they can be. The best designers will be sought out for their fantastic abilities but so will the audio wizards out there. These players may not be the best at fighting and so may seek protection, in the end this may depend who you're fighting for. Your fame is displayed in the world.

The fourth element

There's a fourth C though. Commerce. With players being able to produce art and design other players will be sourcing this. In a way this will merely add to the community. The potential of an internal commerce system to take place alongside the criminal or lawful action your characters are undertaking potentially requiring payment for jobs to afford certain equipment and items is nothing new but in APB this seems even closer to reality.

APB looks impressive, seems exciting and looks to brush closer to reality than what's gone before. With the European beta testing happening soon (sign up for the chance to get involved on the website) APB could be the game that blows you away, sometimes quite literally and almost always with your own chosen tune.