How do you make arc guns and automatic rifles look appropriate in a game set in Victorian England? For The Order: 1886 developer Ready At Dawn, this was the question to answer.
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In its newest behind the scenes video, Ready At Dawn explains the design process involved in getting powerful weapons that are fun to use into the hands of their 19th-century protagonists. The era is known for the introduction of semi-automatic firearms and more efficient ways of loading ammunition like cartridges and magazines. Though these were important and effective evolutions for the firearms industry, they weren't quite enough to take on the half breed hordes of The Order: 1886.
The design process for the PS4 exclusive's weapons had as much basis as possible in actual history. The developers looked at period prototypes that had been gunmakers' first attempts to create automatic weaponry. By the developers' logic, this technology could have been perfected if inventors had had enough of a need, such as The Order's half breed invasion. The end result, then, is a fully automatic weapon for the player that could have been around during the Victorian era.
Two other materials were used heavily in the designs of the game's weapons: fire and electricity. Thermite is a highly flammable substance that was discovered in the 19th century. Ready At Dawn, then, was able to use this compound to create a crude flamethrower that technically could have been feasible in their chosen time period. Additionally, with the game's inclusion of Nicola Tesla as a main figure, they were able to create electricity-based arc guns by having them be the experimental prototypes of the world's greatest electrical engineer.
The Order: 1886 will release exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on February 20.