What innovation or feature will we see here and nowhere else?

The coolest and most unique feature is the fire. We implemented realistic, unscripted propagation across all flammable surfaces and objects. It looks great, and behaves just like the real thing, burning at different speeds depending on the material. It can be a tool - setting fire to a broken table leg makes a useful torch and fire is a key weapon in your arsenal against adversaries, but it can also become an enemy itself - don't hang around too long in a burning room. There's loads of other gameplay innovations, some of which you'll see elsewhere, but we think we've taken them a few steps further than anyone else so far. We'll be showing more about these as we get closer to launch.

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How is the game basically played? Will the traditional third-person fixed camera still be the norm?

We're using all types of cameras and the choice of camera depends on the situations and gameplay. Basic movements of the character for example can be done in third or first person view. Certain gameplay features lock to a mode of camera to have the best camera and gameplay performance for the situation. For example, manipulation of objects is done in third person view, then when using an object like an extinguisher or gun, we jump into first person view.

Other more "film direction" cameras are also placed throughout the game to put emphasis on specific actions or events.

The footage strongly suggests a more action-orientated experience. The bulk of the play-hours in the older tittles were trawling around for the right coloured key, and the later title's was an exercise in careful ammo hoarding. Will Mr Carnby be guns blazing, or still checking every nook and cranny for a missing gear lever?

There's guns of course, but not every foe can be felled with a rain of bullets and it's not just about shooting and killing enemies; you'll be plunged into a major crisis situation, and in the survival spirit, you'll need to face every potential danger using your instincts and improvising with all that is around you: objects, vehicles, other elements from the environment.... Of course there's lots of intrigue too - Carnby has a lot on his plate to work out what's happening to New York city, but it all happens in the context of an action blockbuster rather than a typical puzzle hunt. And this time if there's a locked door you don't have to worry about finding a key. Just smash it in!

Tell us a little of the game's story.

The story is based on the universal theme of life after death and draws on these themes to build a credible and engaging story against the back drop of New York City, the world's greatest melting pot of different cultures, religions and beliefs.

Edward Carnby wakes up in a room in New York in the present day, with no idea how he got there. New York is tearing apart spectacularly all around him, and he has to survive at all costs and work out what the hell's going on. Stay tuned for the next Episode!

The disconcerting setting of the abandoned Central Park in the screenshots and footage give a slightly surreal, type feeling to the game. How does this setting lend itself to the game's overall effect, and is it the only location we will have the pleasure of running through screaming like a girl?

The game starts in a building on the edge of the park, but before long the action switches to the park itself for the rest of the game. Central Park is an iconic place that people will have seen in films and TV series. It's a perfect setting for the game - the beating heart of New York city.

The fact that it's a real setting, and that it's happening in our timeframe, reinforces the terror of the supernatural elements coming into our real world; people will feel disrupted and insecure when this happens in an area where usually people feel at peace. And if you've been to Central Park at night, honestly, we don't need to exaggerate the ambience that is already there to make you feel scared.

It's also a city in the city; it has lots of things in there that are great for people to explore: museums, police departments, lakes, wide open spaces, woods, etc. We also want to raise the question of why there is such a vast space right in the middle of one of the most densely populated cities in the world - it's a very strange anomaly. Did you know that "they" were lying to you, and that there is a deadly secret well protected and hidden in the very heart of the park itself?

Can we have some sort of formal apology for the movie? Maybe some sort of act of public contrition from Christian Slater?

No comment. I haven't seen it, and I don't plan to.

Downloadable content has been suggested. AITD does not seem the kind of title to go down the path of encouraging its players to go replay the whole thing again in a slightly different costume. What sort of material would this include?

We will certainly be looking at the possibilities for downloadable content which continues the story and offers new gameplay, but any firm plans won't be made until we have finished the first season.

Thanks for your time, Noir, best of luck with the completion of Alone in the Dark.

By Duncan Lawson