Part One of our Raven Interview, commemorating the occasion of Soldier of Fortune having gone gold, talking with Studio Head Brian Raffel. Soldier-of-Fortune.com: What did you find the most difficult task in the design of Soldier of Fortune? Brian Raffel (Studio Head): We had a hard time trying to determine the final approach to the game. Do we make it with Rainbow Six elements which allow the player to plan out missions with waypoints? Do we just make it a straight forward Doom shooter? It was also hard to figure out where to stop the level of realism. I think with GHOUL and the parental lock in place we could have even pushed the realism further with the enemies. Something we will be focusing heavily on in SOF2! S-o-F.com: What restraints did you encounter from using the Quake 2 engine as opposed to what you could have done if SoF was built upon Quake 3 code? Brian: You know this really bugs us. The SOF engine is far beyond the Quake2 engine with GHOUL and CHIMERA as well as a ton of special coding for high level detail texturing and the like. People get way too caught up in with name of the technology. Half-Life used a modified Quake 1 engine but that didn't stop them from making a great game and I feel the same is true with SOF. It has been our experience that it takes time to become fully knowledgeable with an engine and the best stuff comes out towards the end of that engines life cycle. SOF does a great job of pushing the Quake II engine to the full limits! S-o-F: What new horizons do you see your time on this project opening up for you? Brian: I think SOF proves that Raven Software is not just a Fantasy game company. We are a studio with a lot of diversified interests and I really loved working on a Military action game! It was a fresh new experience for me and I cant wait to start on SOF2 and implement the tons of ideas we didn't have time to in SOF1. It will be a lot of fun and very awesome! We are also having a blast working with Paramount on the Star Trek Voyager FPS. Again, Sci-fi other than fantasy. S-o-F: What is your one favorite aspect of Soldier of Fortune's gameplay and why? Brian: I love Deathmatch particularly CTF. I have a lot of fun working with teammates on a common goal. It is really neat when a team mate of yours has the flag and is trying to run back and you are running with him helping to shoot your way back. I also like the realistic damage and animations that GHOUL allows us to present in SOF. S-o-F: What is your favorite weapon in Soldier of Fortune and why? Favorite hit location / enemy body part to dismember and why? >;-) Brian: My favorite weapon is the SMG- It is fast and furious and I love the "dance" it puts the enemies into. I think my favorite hit location is a hard one. I have 3 favorites of the throat, the Groin , and finally shooting the head clean off. But that's me I am a little brutal. [Continue to Pt. 2]