Inside Mac Games Feature: Interview: DS9 The Fallen (The Collective)

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen is a 3rd person action-adventure game being released for the Macintosh by Simon and Schuster Interactive. Unlike previous Star Trek title from Simon and Schuster’s interactive division, The Fallen is a true game rather than a piece of entertainment reference software, such as Star Trek Starship Creator and Star Trek Captains Chair. The Fallen has been in development for nearly two years, and the hype surrounding the release of the title has been in full swing for almost as long.

The programming team behind both the Macintosh and PC versions of The Fallen is a development group know as The Collective. As The Collective puts the finishing touches on “The Fallen” for the Mac, Inside Mac Games had an opportunity to talk with three members of The Collective’s team. We spoke with Doug Hare, the Vice President of Production, Gary Priest, the Vice President of Development and the Lead Designer of The Fallen, Tony Barnes.

IMG: What is the current status of the Mac version of The Fallen?

Doug: Aside from fixing some bugs, integrating the sound system, and the changes that need to be made to the default control configuration, the game is pretty much ported.

IMG: Based on your current progress, when is the Mac version of The Fallen expected to be on store shelves?

IMG: The Fallen is shaping up to be one of the biggest Mac game releases of the year. What factors contributed to the decision to release a Macintosh version of the game?

Doug: Simon & Schuster have supported the Mac platform for a long time and when they asked us to do a Mac version we jumped at the chance.

IMG: The Fallen introduces a number of new characters and locations to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine universe, such as the new race of aliens called the GRIGARI. Was it difficult to find ways to add new elements to a previously established universe?

Tony: When Paramount is happy with what they see, they are very accommodating, so we had a lot of freedom with The Grigari. Now with freedom comes responsibility. You can't just design something completely unlike the rest of the Star Trek Universe. A great deal of work and attention when into making the Grigari fit, as well as the other new creatures and weapons. In the end, the Grigari are scary and formidable foes who are unique enough to surprise Trek fans, but don't look like they came from a different universe.