Mad Max devs on maintaining the game world's 'sense of mystery'

Mad Max developer Avalanche Studios is designing the game's open world in such a way that players will feel a "sense of mystery" about its origins and begin to draw their own conclusions, according to an interview with AusGamers.

The original Mad Max movies don't provide a lot of detail or backstory on the post-apocalyptic setting in which they take place, and Avalanche wants to "maintain that sense of mystery about what has happened in the world" for its upcoming game, said Emil Kraftling, senior game designer on Mad Max, to AusGamers.

In some cases, Avalanche may have created some historical details on its own or consulted with George Miller, the original writer and director of the films, to figure them out. But that information won't necessarily be conveyed to players, at least not openly.

"While we know it, we don't spell it out to people, but it affects how certain areas are constructed and what we find in certain areas," said Kraftling. "There's a lot there for the players to discover if nothing else. They won't get the answer, but they will be able to look at a place and start thinking about how it came to be like that."

Kraftling gave the example of a region called the Great White, a desert area that contains a dried-up seabed.

"There's all this trash and the treasures of the old world that were buried at the bottom of the sea that is now exposed, or semi-exposed. That's a really interesting location to be in and explore," Kraftling explained.

Mad Max is in development on Windows PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and is set for release in 2014. Check out our recent preview for more details.