'Warco', the First Person Shooter Without a Gun

[qubit]

Well, this looks different to your standard gaming offering. Warco, short for "war correspondent", is a game that's a first person shooter, but without a gun. Instead, you play journalist Jesse DeMarco thrust into the middle of battle, armed only with your wits and your trusty video camera, who is tasked with documenting the horrors of war. You then have to edit your footage into a compelling news story, ranging from all-action shootouts to quiet moments, as you discuss the events of the day with your fellow journalists. This appears to be more a trainer for how to be a war correspondent than a game, as it's the brainchild of Tony Maniaty, an Australian journalist who has reported from regions like East Timor and post-Soviet Eastern Europe.


Defiant Development's Morgan Jaffit had this to say about it:

It's been a great partnership, with Tony giving the game a great grounding in the real world issues of war journalism, Robert lending his structural and cinematic eye, and Defiant helping to channel that into something that's interactive and engaging. It offers a new perspective on a familiar theme, which enables us to use the tools and techniques of other FPSes to build a completely different kind of narrative and experience. From a design perspective, that's what excited me.
It's also about navigating through a morally gray world and making decisions that have human impact," he explained. "It's about finding the story you want to tell, as each of our environments is filled with different story elements you can film and combine in your own ways. It's both a story telling engine and an action adventure with a new perspective.

However, a game that looks a lot like an FPS, yet doesn't allow the player to actually fire any bullets is a hard sell to publishing executives - and terribly frustrating for anyone who mistakenly buys this expecting to fire guns at baddies. This leads on to the obvious question of who is the target market for this product? It doesn't seem clear. The game has been in development for four months now and the developer is currently in talks with several publishers. So, can a unique game like this succeed in the highly competitive world of video gaming?

YouTube gameplay video

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Pokemon snap.

 

[ViperXTR]

*is having thoughts about a first person perspective sports games

 

[ensabrenoir]

Pokemon snap.

 

[Maelstrom]

Pokemon snap.

Ah, the childhood memories of that game .

 

[erocker]

Most game I usualy want to try once. This game I seem thoroughly uninterested in. Sometimes you gotta put the camera down and pick up the assaut rifle.

 

[cdawall]

can i hit people with the camera?

 

[TheLaughingMan]

I will just watch the anime Flag again. At least it had giant mechs.

 

[DrPepper]

Pokemon snap.

Isn't that more of a rail shooter ?

 

[HossHuge]

can i hit people with the camera?

And give them paper cuts with the photopaper.

 

[MilkyWay]

Its not really a shooter then if you not actually shooting anyone. Hasn't there been first person perspective games where you dont shoot anyone or even attack anyone?

I dont know what to make of it, worth a try i guess but is it compelling enough to keep playing?

 

[newtekie1]

Its not really a shooter then if you not actually shooting anyone. Hasn't there been first person perspective games where you dont shoot anyone or even attack anyone?

I dont know what to make of it, worth a try i guess but is it compelling enough to keep playing?

Well you are "shooting" news footage.

 

[Steevo]

Umm. This has a very targeted audience. Unfortunately they are releasing it to a bunch of us who consider red mist to be funny in FPS. Perhaps try elsewhere?

 

[MRCL]

That actually sounds pretty interesting. Documenting the horrors of war, the daily struggle of survival, the blatant truth about the victims, and the soldiers alike...

Wait, this has a LOT of potential to get bashed by the media just as shooters. "Morality" and such, y'know. Filming people get killed in the most spectacluar way etc.

 

[buggalugs]

Its good to see people are thinking outside the box, games without guns can be good like Amnesia where you solve puzzles.

I'm getting a bit sick of shooter clones with the same kind of gameplay.

 

[MilkyWay]

Well you are "shooting" news footage.

I like that "shooting" the news! I just thought filming but that sounds catchy they should use that as their slogan

Its good to see people are thinking outside the box, games without guns can be good like Amnesia where you solve puzzles.

I'm getting a bit sick of shooter clones with the same kind of gameplay.

There you go ive played Amnesia and forgot all about it, its a first person perspective. Great game with lots of atmosphere and crapping yourself.

 

[DannibusX]

Interesting concept. Probably boring as shit.

 

[95Viper]

Well, it should make through the censors in certain countries (as, it is an AU Dev).

Looks interesting. I would have to try a demo first, to see if it would hold my interest...

@Defiant Development, if they come this way, READ> "gimme a demo to play with!"

 

[bostonbuddy]

Pokemon snap.

first thing I thought when I saw the thread title

 

[eidairaman1]

Sorry, How about a Combat Cameraman, they carry Rifles

 

[HTC]

Interesting concept. Probably boring as shit.

Why don't you try it out? Who knows: you might be surprised ... or not ...

 

[RejZoR]

*is having thoughts about a first person perspective sports games

I've had thoughts about it years ago. I mean we all played football or basketball games high from above, 3rd person. But how ould it feel if it plays like a FPS game? You'd actually be in the shoes of your star player. And i can tell you, the feel would be so much different and you'd have to work harder knowing where everyone is and where the ball is. From 3rd person you see the entire field, from 1st, you see just part of it. The game would have to utilize full body, so you could see yourself by looking down. If done properly, it would be awesome.

I've also had similar thoughts about Tomb Raider game that plays like Mirror's Edge. Same adventure game, just through the eyes of our heroine. It worked in Mirror's Edge, why it couldn't in Tomb Raider. Or even better, 3rd person as usual and if you beat it on Hard, 1st person mode unlocks so you can play it again, using different perspective. That would be awesome.

 

[Volkszorn88]

Looks like a stinger to me.

 

[theonedub]

I've had thoughts about it years ago. I mean we all played football or basketball games high from above, 3rd person. But how ould it feel if it plays like a FPS game? You'd actually be in the shoes of your star player. And i can tell you, the feel would be so much different and you'd have to work harder knowing where everyone is and where the ball is. From 3rd person you see the entire field, from 1st, you see just part of it. The game would have to utilize full body, so you could see yourself by looking down. If done properly, it would be awesome.

I've also had similar thoughts about Tomb Raider game that plays like Mirror's Edge. Same adventure game, just through the eyes of our heroine. It worked in Mirror's Edge, why it couldn't in Tomb Raider. Or even better, 3rd person as usual and if you beat it on Hard, 1st person mode unlocks so you can play it again, using different perspective. That would be awesome.

Aside from scaring the crap out of EA, NFL2K5 also introduced first person mode.

 

[LDNL]

So whats the multiplayer gonna be like? "So we heard you like taking photos.."