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[IbizaPocholo]

Join us on ‪@AIandGames‬ this June as we revisit ‪@AlienIsolation‬ one last time. Tommy sits down with several members of the development team - including some still at ‪@CreativeAssembly‬ working on the recently announced sequel - alongside journalists and modders who can speak to the impact and legacy the game has had in the decade since its release. --'AI and Games' is a YouTube series on research and applications of Artificial Intelligence in video games.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Still can't believe they're making a sequel. I wonder what they'll do with it gameplay wise cuz I'm sure they're thinking that it can't be the same thing again. They need to do something to make it feel fresh and new somehow without going for Aliens direction with more action, or do something completely unrealistic while dealing with Alien while in 100% stealth. It'll probably take them a lot of time to brainstorm just the gameplay and design part of the game alone.

Anyway, can't wait to see the doc, maybe we'll learn something about the ideas for the first game which were scrapped and maybe could return in the sequel.

 

[Judge Magister]

I had respect for Creative Assembly and their Total War series. In Isolation they really captured the atmosphere, the design of the ship of the first movie.
As for gameplay, it can be frustrating but at the same time that's what make us fear the Alien. It's a great mix of narrative driven, survival and stealth.

Isolation is up there with the first two movies, it won't be easy for the sequel to live up to expectations.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Played through Alien Isolation not long ago and it's still a damn fine survival horror experience. It can be frustrating at times but overall it's a tense and scary game that constantly keeps you on your toes. CA has done an impeccable job to recreate the feel and atmosphere of the first movie. The sequel can't come soon enough.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

AI and Games is a fan-funded series, support our work at: http://www.aiandgames.com

On October 7th 2014, British games studio ‪@CreativeAssembly‬ released ‪@AlienIsolation‬ a tight, claustrophobic, and exhilarating first-person horror game based on the classic movie franchise. It's a game that has captured the imagination of players around the world courtesy of its reverence for its source material, and the intelligent and seemingly unstoppable xenomorph.

To celebrate over 10 years since its initial release, we welcome a collection of people from across the games industry who to discuss its development, and its broader impact - including several members of the Alien: Isolation development team, as we explore the AI of Alien: Isolation one last time.

[00:00:00] One Last Time
[00:03:05] Early Beginnings
[00:20:37] The Perfect Organism
[00:38:53] Designing Sevastapol
[00:50:50] The Working Joes
[00:59:22] Bringing it to a Close
[01:19:02] Cracking it Open
[01:25:38] Legacy
[01:38:09] The Future
[01:40:55] Anecdotes/Credits

--
Script, Narration, & Editing: Tommy Thompson
Editing and Production Support: Shraddha Gupta

Interview Guests:
Alastair Hope
Andy Bray
Andy Kelly
Christiaan Jones
Matt Filer
Simon Ridge
Tobias Kleanthous

Special Thanks to:
Lucy Boxall
Kieran Rooney
Will Overgard

After having so much fun putting together our F.E.A.R. retrospective in 2024 - working with Jeff Orkin no less - I realised we need to try and make an Alien: Isolation retrospective. It is of course the topic that this channel is known for, and helped propel AI and Games into something much bigger. Not to mention it was the 10 year anniversary of both AI and Games and Alien: Isolation in 2024! So I figured I'd share a little of the story behind how it came to be.

So I am on the advisory board for the Game AI Summit at GDC, and back in March of 2024 I was at the event in San Francisco when I bumped into Tobias Kleanthous who appears in the video! Tobias and I have known each other for a while, and it was nice to stop for a few minutes to chat. Critically, it was the moment where the spark was lit. He was up for being interviewed, and from there I started reaching out to others who I felt would be a good fit. While some people couldn't participate given their current obligations (it's common for game devs to not be permitted to talk about working on old projects when working at other studios), I was still very happy that we had people sign up to help us make this happen.

For one thing I couldn't do this without Andy Kelly. Not only was I reading his book as I was putting this idea together last summer (a book which references me and my work no less), but considering he is the most vocal of Alien: Isolation advocates it made perfect sense. We're the two Scottish guys keeping the world excited about Alien: Isolation! Matt Filer was jazzed to come and help out after we used OpenCAGE back in episode 50, and I was so so happy to get Andy Bray on board. Everything I've done on Alien: Isolation started thanks to Andy's presentation at nucl.ai in 2016, and he was so friendly and open when we discussed the game during the coffee break afterwards. I continue to be indebted to Andy for supporting me and my shenanigans, and I am so glad we got him on camera for this project. As you will see he is a really interesting and engaging individual, and I'm very grateful to have had the chance to chat with him once again.

Meanwhile a special thanks to none other than Will Overgard, aka the Viking Blonde, who introduced me to Christiaan Jones - who had many an interesting story to tell. And of course a huge thank you to Lucy Boxall and Kieran Rooney at Creative Assembly. When I reached out to tell them we were working on this video in around August/September last year, they were keen to support us and get an 'official' presence in the project. I was really keen to speak with Simon Ridge, but I didn't think we'd be lucky enough to get Alastair Hope - the creative director of both Alien: Isolation and the upcoming sequel - to come on board for a chat. In this past year it's been really cool to foster a stronger relationship between AI and Games and Creative Assembly both through this project, as well as their support and sponsoring the AI and Games Conference. It's been really exciting to see.

So here we are, the last time we're doing an Alien: Isolation video. It still doesn't hold the record for the game we've covered the most - after all we've made four videos on Sea of Thieves, and five videos across Tom Clancy's The Division 1 & 2 - but it's certainly the topic you have watched the most. A big thank you for your enthusiasm and critically to everyone who helps fund these videos. This video has taken around 15 months to make, and that financial support is vital! We wound up with around 8+ hours of interviews, a stack of new footage, plus a lot of back and forth between us, Creative Assembly and in turn Sega and Disney to ensure I get to tell the story I wanted to tell and the studios are happy with how we go about it. We may dig deeper into Alien again on Goal State one day. But for now on AI and Games, I'm confident we can close the book with what is the definitive video on the AI of Alien: Isolation.

Lastly, it's worth reiterating what we said in the video: myself and most of my interviewees didn't know the sequel was in development, and when this project started we assumed it would never happen. We had planned a trailer to announce this project on the games anniversary, only for the studio to then surprise us with the sequel's announcement. It was exciting, but I felt it wasn't worth focussing on this at a time when there is nothing the studio will reveal, given it would distract from the focus of the retrospective and the legacy of the original game. Plus, it's worth saying I am currently under NDA with Creative Assembly, so anything I do know is my secret to keep and their story to tell! But hey, maybe one day we'll get to dig into the makings of that game as well.

Thank you all once again. I hope you enjoy the video.
Stay safe, take care, and I'll be back

-Tommy

P.S. Yes I'm under NDA, but no, I'm not working on the game. I just know stuff and I can't tell you about it.