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Infantry (video game)

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Screenshot (from Mechanized Skirmish) of Infantry Online.

Infantry Online is a two-dimensional, top-down, multiplayer, combat, computer game utilizing complex soldier, ground vehicle and space-ship models on typically complex terrains. Players may choose from a list of game zones to enter, each zone having a unique style of gameplay.

History

Sometime in the late 1990's, now-defunct Virgin Interactive Entertainment (VIE) began to develop a game called Sniper, was later renamed Subspace, which has evolved into today's Continuum. It has been speculated Subspace was one of the major causes of VIE's bankruptcy, as the project was free for many years, it was a drain on the companies resources with no actual income. Some of the developers of Subspace bonded together to form the Harmless Games company to develop a new game engine, the project was named Infantry.

The game was developed, gained a cult popularity and was picked up by Brainscan Development Corporation, also known as Brainscan Interactive, as publisher. GameFan, the parent company of Brainscan Interactive, went bankrupt and hadn't paid its employees in months. The lead designer of Infantry, Rod (Rodvik) Humble, was offered a job with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and left Harmless Games a few months into these tough times. Larry J. Cordner (LJC) also found another job, however, stayed with the development team until shortly after Harmless Games was bought by Sony Online Entertainment. Harmless Games, and its sole game, Infantry Online, was bought by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) from Brainscan Interactive for an undisclosed sum.

The two remaining developers, Jeff Petersen (programmer) and Jerimy Weeks (Artist and Zone designer) were hired by SOE to continue development of the game. Some time later, SOE had them develop Cosmic Rift (CR), an offshoot of Infantry meant to rival Continuum. CR was a relative failure, compared to Infantry and Continuum, however maintains a small but loyal following. In October 2001, Petersen was transferred to EverQuest 2 development and Weeks was laid off. Game development stagnated. In May 2002, SOE rehired Weeks and introduced a monthly $6.95 pay-to-play plan for SOE's three small action games: Infantry, CR and Tanarus, however, both Infantry and Cosmic Rift remain free to play with limited access.

Game setting

The time is set several centuries ahead of the present. There is a war between the government (The Collective) and the various rebelling moon colonies of the outer solar system. The Collective is a pure democracy, every single citizen has a voting unit in which they vote on every single issue, although more often only on the issues that conern them. The rebels are mainly located in the outer colonies of the solar system and are a vast minority compared to the large populations on Earth and Mars. The rebels feel their colonies are being exploited for resources and labour due to the fact that they have little voice on what is decided. The citizens of the larger populations cannot understand why people would rebel from a system where everyone has a say and thus the war. Titan has the largest population of the outer rim colonies and therefore the major battles are between them and the Collective army, however, many colonies provide militia and able bodies to the cause of groups such as the Europan mercenaries. Due to the chaos many privateers have emerged, such as the Morgan Raiders who will throw in with anyone providing the credits, although, they have no particular love for anyone.

Game zones

  • Capture the Flag - Fast-paced basing action. The most popular zone.
  • RPG - Role-playing. Based off of a past-time zone favorite, WZA (War Zone Alpha).
  • Fleet - Real time strategy action. Massive spaceship battles in asteroid fields.
  • Bug Hunt - Marine vs. alien arachnid fighting. Marines are slow-moving and have long-range weapons, bugs are just the opposite.
  • Skirmish - Massive team vs. team fighting. Several variants exist. Some include tanks and other vehicles. Most employ static flags for territory holding.
  • Gravball - Sport zone. Players play on a large map with various obstacles.
  • Boom Ball X - Sport zone. Players play on a small, hockey-like arena and are restricted to either to aft, mid or fore sections of the field.
  • Ambush - Fast-paced action. Players use jetpacks or hoverboards to fly around collecting flags and blowing up other players.
  • Team Deathmatch - Fast-paced action. Players use multitudes of weapons against eachother in tight corridors.
  • TankODrome - Arcade-style play. Players drive tanks, launch projectiles at other players and computer turrets to collect tokens. Tokens are used to buy vehicle upgrades.

Development Credits

Lead Programmer
Formerly Jeff Petersen (aka. Bagman)
Formerly Scott Mitchell (alias unknown)
Jeff Petersen is now lead programmer again
Lead Designer
Formerly Rod Humble (aka. Rodvik)
Lead Designer/Artist
Jerimy Weeks (aka. Yankee/Azathoth)
Lead Artist
Formerly Juan Sanchez (aka. Tswift)
Tools Programmer
Larry J. Cordner (aka. ljc)
Brainscan Producer
Nick Fisher (aka. Trixter)
SOE Producer
Formerly Rob Hill (aka. Qombat)
Formerly Dallas Dickinson (aka. IronEagle)
Thom Terranza
SOE Station Pass CSR
Formerly Paul Williams (aka. soePWilliams/Soepy)
Joe Nelson (aka. no~0ne/SoeJoe)
Map Designers
Black Magic
Mar
Unit92
Un0me
7hm
Military Police
Weltch
lio
Finch
God
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