Interview with Dale Brown, author of Act of War

We had an opportunity to interview Dale Brown, author of the novel that was the basis for a new game from Atari, Act of War: Direct Action. Brown is the author of more than a dozen New York Times bestsellers, a former U.S. Air force captain and navigator and can often be found flying his own plane over the skies of Nevada.

Here are some of the highlights of that interview:

Q. What was your involvement in the development of the game:

A. When I was working on the novel, my agent came to me and asked if I’d be interested in having the novel developed as a computer game. I jumped at the chance and shortly found myself in Paris at a five-day brainstorming session with game developers from Eugen Systems and Atari. It was very exciting, and the creative energy there was filled with ideas, concepts, weapons, targets, outlines, very impressive and exhilarating. Eventually a working storyline and game model was developed. After that session, I went back to finishing the novel and the others returned to begin work on the game. I remained consultant on the game project regarding military technology and weapons. I steered them away from far out sci-fi-type weapons because I wanted to insure a semblance of reality by using weapons already available, those soon to be available or those currently in development by the military.

A. No, the actual script for the game, including the live actor video segments, was written by Susan O’Connor.

A. What sets Act of War: Direct Action apart from other games that are based on novels is that Act of War: Direct Action is not a clone of my book. The game immerses the player in a different experience from the book, including an expanded array of hi tech weaponry and other pluses. People who buy the book because they bought and played the game won’t be disappointed because, although the storylines are similar, the novel provides a different, more personal experience, and those who bought and read the novel first and then play the game won’t be disappointed either.

A. Games like Command & Conquer were disappointing to me because when you amass enough resources, you can win anything. I wanted Act of War: Direct Action to be more realistic in forcing you to recognize your limited resources and use them carefully. If you send out 12 soldiers on a skirmish, only two may return, depending on your decisions. That situation, I thought, was more the reality of combat and important to recognize in your planning.

A. In keeping with my concern to make the game a realistic experience, I recognize that war is violent, bloody and full of (bad) language. My son played the beta version of the game through to the end many times and we talk about it. I try to teach him that war in the real world is violent, bloody with (bad) language and needs to be avoided.

Q. Are you a gamer?

A. (Laughing) Rarely, except for Flight Simulator, and then I only fly planes that I actually fly.

A. Yes, I’m really hoping that I’ll be asked to help in developing a sequel.

The Game Review