Recently I spoke with Chet Faliszek at Valve Software about their pending game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Chet was kind enough to give us tons of news and we want to thank him for taking the time for this great interview.
What is the background and setting for the game?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a new version of the
Counter-Strike. It builds on the previous versions of the game to
deliver the best version yet. We have not only improved the graphics
but added match-making, clan support, and new game modes and more. It
will be released early next year on Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Mac.
Will the game have a solo/story mode or is it online only?
CS:GO will offer offline play against the bots or split screen against
another opponent.
What are some of the new weapons and locales I the game?
We have 8 new weapons including some new throwable weapons. My
favorite is the Molotov Cocktail. It is a great choice for when you
want to block one avenue of entry to a choke point while you attack
another.
Will the game support customizations and mods upon release if not, is this
support planned?
On the PC we will offer the current level of customization
Counter-Strike: Source allows. So if people want to play CS by
shooting at other players while they surf down virtual waves – go for
it!
People who play an aggressive style like myself have at times found the one
kill then wait a bit frustrating, will the game continue this approach or
will other options and re spawns be possible?
Many of the changes in CS:GO have come from looking at what the
community was doing. One of those changes was lowering the round
timer. A shorter timer leads to quicker games and less down time.
Aside from graphics, what are some of the biggest changes and features from
past versions of Counter Strike?
One of the biggest changes in CS:GO is the inclusion of skill based
match-making. Jumping into a match on the current versions of CS
often mean either stomping over the competition or being so thoroughly
owned you don’t have a chance. For CS:GO we want you to always be able
to find a challenging game for your skill level.
What have been the biggest challenges in creating the game and the biggest
rewards?
The biggest challenge is taking a game that has been played by over 25
million people in 10 years and making sure you deliver a game that
stays true to its roots. It would have been easy to look at other
shooters and take our cues from there – it has been 7 years since the
last CS. But we wanted to make sure CS:GO is about competition in the
moment, not the meta game deciding who wins or loses.
As for rewards, we will see. But it was great having some pro players
come in and give us feedback and see them excited to play.
Play balance is always tricky in a shooter especially with so many weapons,
how will the game address this?
One of the concerns we had with CS was players really only cared about
4 weapons. We wanted to rebalance the weapons to give players more
options. This fall we will have an extended PC beta which will help
give us feedback on the balance and let us tune the weapons with the
community.
How will weapons be made available in game and will players still purchase
upgrades?
Correct. In Competitive Mode we offer the classic way to earn in-game
money which you use to purchase your weapons. CS:GO will also offer
a casual mode where money is not an issue and you can purchase any
weapon you wish in any round. This is a great way to allow players to
experiment with different weapons and tactics as they get familiar
with the game.
