[by Patrick (twisted) Hardy]

Continuing my latest stint on interviewing Raven Software employees, I talked to the one and only Gil Gribb. For those who don't know, Mr. Gribb is the creator of the GHOUL engine, a component in SoF that enabled the 26 gore zones!

twisted: Why do you think Soldier of Fortune has been such a success? Gil Gribb: I think the concept of the game, present day realistic combat, was really what the consumer was looking for. But a concept is not enough, the team also had to deliver a great game, which we did. twisted: For those who don't know, what was your role in the creation of the game? Gil Gribb: I wrote ghoul, plus a lot of work on performance of the engine as a whole. Ghoul gets a lot of coverage in the press, so I think it is important to point out that the artists and other programmers who used ghoul are what really made it shine. twisted: Are there any shortcomings to SoF? How would you correct them? Gil Gribb: We should have added skeletal animation which would have permitted even more animations. The story and especially the ending could have been better. And even the things where we really raised the bar, such as gore could be even better. There are plenty of things to keep us busy with SOF2. twisted: Some people say the game is too violent, what is your reaction? Gil Gribb: I think the violence is the best part of the game. Some people can't seem to understand game violence and gore is unrelated to violence and gore in the real world. The violence can be toned down in SOF, but I would think most people adverse to violence in games should just pick one of the many fine titles that don't feature violence. twisted: What's it like working with SoF Operation's IcePick editing tutorials, etc.? Gil Gribb: I think it was mutually successful. I greatly appreciated her help clarifying and extending the information, not to mention the fact that I can't make decent skins anyway. twisted: Can you tell us what you are currently working on? Gil Gribb: Ghoul2 for the Playstation2. It is going to be leaner and meaner, but also include many new features, especially in the gore department. twisted: Are there any SoF modifications that you are looking forward to? If so, why? Gil Gribb: I really like variations on team deathmatch and I am excited to see several promising mods in the works. twisted: Some have said that Raven Software gives false promises regarding the release dates of the upcoming patch and the newest version of the SoF SDK. How do you feel about these reactions? Gil Gribb: This has been a dismal situation. We are working very hard to provide everything the mod community needs, but I admit we have fallen short. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon, but I can't give out specific dates, as missed dates have been mostly responsible for the frustration of the community. twisted: How would you describe the Soldier of Fortune team and their achievements? Gil Gribb: The SOF team was truly awesome. Everyone worked well together with very little fighting or upheaval. As to the achievements I think we really raised the bar with our gore and animations. I fully expect our innovations to be widely emulated. [Back to the top]