Heretic

When it comes to preserving long forgotten or unavailable shooters, Nightdive Studios is leading the charge. While older games often struggle to be preserved properly due to a myriad of issues–licensing disputes, asset loss, tech limitations and simply being forgotten chief among them–studios like Nightdive have made a concentrated effort to prove that no game is beyond preservation. In the past few years, Nightdive has restored and released new versions of System Shock 2, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Turok, bringing the beloved classics to modern audiences. Yet even more impressive is the studio’s commitment to including a wealth of accessibility options, making these titles more playable and accessible than ever before.

Nightdive’s most recent re-releases, Heretic and Hexen, are prime examples of this. Released in 1994 and developed by Raven Software, Heretic was one of many “Doom Clones” from that era. Instead of a space marine taking down the hordes of Hell, players took on the role of a spellcaster named Corvus who navigates a dark fantasy world brought to ruin by the Serpent Riders. Heretic is notable for being far more interactive in its environments compared to Doom and even allowed players to look up and down: a rarity for shooters at the time. A year later, Raven Software released Hexen: Beyond Heretic, a distant sequel to Heretic that saw players pick one of three protagonists as they set out to defeat the second of the Serpent Riders. Like its predecessor, Hexen was notable for its distinct features, such as a darker fantasy setting and a central hub that connected all the game’s levels.

While these games had their devoted followings, neither reached the popularity of games such as Doom and Quake and, as such, fell into obscurity. For a long time it felt as if these games would never get their proper due. That all changed, however, at this year’s Quakecon, when Microsoft and Nightdive announced a remastered collection featuring both games–complete with numerous accessibility options and enhancements–was now available. According to Nightdive founder and CEO Stephen Kick, Heretic and Hexen’s focus on accessibility is not a passive effect of remaking the games, but an intentional choice that reflects the studio’s larger priorities.

An image from the Heretic + Hexen collection.

“Accessibility is a ‘key part’ of our mission at Nightdive. When we remaster a classic game, we’re not just making it look better–we’re making sure it can be played and enjoyed by as many people as possible, regardless of their hardware, preferences, or physical limitations,” Kick said.

One of the main new features of Nightdive’s Heretic and Hexen remaster is the addition of a map and waypoint system. The original releases were labyrinthine in design, and a lack of navigational tools resulted in the game turning into a slog. As such, Nightdive’s director of business development Larry Kuperman confirmed that a map was “the feature most requested by fans,” as well as the most praised addition at QuakeCon.

“We knew that Hexen and Heretic could be frustrating to new players not accustomed to this style of gameplay so we implemented a pseudo-waypoint system that marked important objectives on the map,” Kick added. “It doesn’t show you how to get there, but it does give you an idea of where you need to explore which is an extremely helpful feature.”

In addition to the new waypoint feature, Nightdive also included its trademark visual and controller options such as controller and keyboard bindings, visual filters, and anti-aliasing, allowing players to customize the whole experience to their liking. It can be hardcore, like the original release, or more accessible–the freedom of choice is in the player’s hands.

“We have always treated the games that we work on with respect and [aim] to respect the original developers. We know that they did all they could given the software and hardware limitations of the times,” Kupperman added. “We see ourselves as helping to fulfill the original vision using today’s tool[s].”

An image from the Heretic + Hexen collection.

Heretic and Hexen is a prime example of Nightdive succeeding in its goals. While the game is far more playable due to the gameplay and visual changes, the original intent is still there. At the remaster’s core, it is still Heretic and Hexen, just made available to a modern gaming audience. The level layouts remain the same, the gameplay remains as frantic as ever, and the atmosphere lives on in Nightdive’s retooling of it.

Nightdive promises to keep its sights on accessibility for future titles as well, though the team admits there are areas where they can improve. “One area I think we could do better is to include options for colorblind players,” Kick said.

According to Kick, the studio will always strive for more accessibility for the sake of getting beloved and forgotten titles to the widest of audiences on modern hardware. A great example of this besides Heretic and Hexen is the studio’s recent System Shock remake and System Shock 2 remaster. While the former is a full, from-the-ground remake and the latter is an update to current modern hardware, both feature a wealth of options to fine tune the player experience from puzzle difficulty to combat assists. These once inaccessible games (System Shock in particular has often been described as playing an operating system) are now available to anyone to enjoy without the headaches of the past.

While game preservation will always remain an important topic in gaming and could always use more support, Nightdive is leading the charge by helping games not only fall out of obscurity, but also by making them more enjoyable to play. In an era where more and more games are falling into obscurity due to not being preserved properly, Heretic and Hexen is a glimmer of hope for the future of our industry.

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