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[techguru]

Here’s another update on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl that does prove the game’s not vaporware and is on track for a 2007 release. Oleg Yavorsky of GSC GameWorld (developers of the game) has addressed a couple of post E3 rumors surrounding the game over at GSC’s official forums.

Now this may come as bad news to some, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will no longer be as open-ended as most of us had come to expect; instead it’ll be a bit on the linear side with a lot of scripted events thrown in. This was a conscious decision made by the team as they felt “such a game was only good in theory” and after a number of playtests they found many players confused. “Sooner or later, the players were lost in the events happening around, they found the links in-between the quests vague and… ‘what shall I do next’ question marks raised”, writes Oleg.

He further states that the use of vehicles has been reduced, but not omitted totally and there are chances you could die in a “four-wheeled coffin”. Sleep has been removed, while eating remains.

I’m glad to see the developers this optimistic and they even poke fun of their situation by releasing a book called “The ways you don’t want to make your games”.