THEY is a Mystery-first-person-shooter, which means the storyline and the gameplay utilizes the fascination and fear every player get from unknown things he could not understand or imagine in the beginning. So THEY tries to get away from standard boring storylines of shooters, which normally could be rather more ignored, but will bring to the genre a storyline driven shooter!

The game is set in a near future scenario (2012), where the (yet not unveiled) main character is a soldier of an English army squadron, which was nearly wiped out. Our hero and one of his best friends from the squad – a pilot – are the only survivors from a devastating fight against some strange robots which are close to take over the whole country of England. These robots raised from nothing almost one day to another and a simultaneous attack on the key points and sources of the country proven, that the enemy is well organized and structured.

What the hero at the beginning does NOT know is the fact, that these robots are only the top of an iceberg, which goes much deeper. In fact the robots are more or less “tools” THEY use, which cannot bee seen by average humans. But during the game – without naming now how – the player will get the ability to be aware of them and as well to fight them! What will happen during the storyline with some nice turns, twists and fights in England we will not unveil at the current point stage because it is a mystery first person shooter, so we will keep things hidden as long as we can. :)

You will have a basic weapon with four upgrade slots, which can be individualized on demand to attach the tool and segment of your choice. There are hundreds of updates, modules, upgrades and stuff for YOUR baby to customize it on your own. So the player can create setups and save them to his used 1-0 slots (PC) or defined slots for the consoles – so you could switch between like each player is familiar with in common FPS games.

THEY has joined NVIDIA’s The way it’s meant to be played program after only ten months of development. The developer relations team at NVIDIA have had their eye on the project since August 2007 and, although THEY is not due for release until 2009, its innovative technical and gameplay features mean the title has already become part of this prestigious program.

Phil Wright, Head of Content Business Development EMEAI of NVIDIA: „Our content development team constantly research the development community for new and innovative titles and THEY has been on our radar for some time. This is one of the earliest points in the development cycle that a game has joined NVIDIA’s The way it’s meant to be played™ program, which gives you an idea of how excited we are about its potential. Even in this short time IMC and Metropolis have demonstrated proof of a professional approach and a trendsetting concept for the future. We are happy to have signed this title, which is already promising great things at such an early stage. THEY will be a real highlight for our new and upcoming graphics boards.“

The early deal with NVIDIA allows the developer to be excited and focused. IMC’s Head of Communication Ingo Horn: „We are happy to join the exclusive circle of TWIMTBP developers. NVIDIA’s trust in a European product paid off our efforts and long hours during the development of a top title in the overcrowded market of FPS games. NVIDIA’s tech support will further enhance the technical aspects of THEY, so we are able to release a triple A mystery FPS in 2009, which will present future gamers with the best graphics boards of tomorrow!“

Features :

• Great new nextgen techniques to create an impressive look based on latest Dx10 3D engine technology. The so-called NextNitrous engine will be used to create Hollywood like effects, (e.g. transparent look of “THEY” with glows and shine effects)
• each player can edit his weapon with own skins, so your baby could be really individualized with camouflage, tattoo like tribals, skulls – even the picture of your girlfriend might be attached on the skin of the weapon, if it would exist in the game.
• Unique Weapon system – The standard weapon of a soldier in the future is an extremely flexible gun, which can be customized by its user on HIS special demands and preferences. This means the weapon is YOURS – it is YOUR baby and YOUR best friend and there are several ways to tune functionality and enhance the look and feel…
• mysterious science fiction background story
• diversified enemies - thrilling and intelligent
• heroes to identify with
• heavy usage of physics
• destructible environment relevant for gameplay
• haunting single player mode
• versatile multiplayer modes
• Unique and cool looking robots, tripods, probe droids and stuff!

As the multiplayer is a core feature of the game and during development one main aspect of the whole production, we cannot unveil too much of it now. But as well based on the final publisher’s whish we can guarantee a large variety of multiplayer options. We are well prepared for the standard aspects like capture the flag, death match and stuff – but furthermore we have prepared some very fascinating and fun to play modes, which will utilize the usage of “the weapon is MY baby”! So be prepared to some brand new multiplayer modes, which will be unveiled later on during the development!

Currently we take care of the single player mode, missions, technical issues and of course the game play itself to deliver the player a top game for his joy. The game will feature a story driven single player mode with many different characters to speak and act with – it will have a playtime of around 20 hours (for experienced players of course less than that – for newbie’s much more) and structured in different levels, which will as well bring you to some spectacular places in England (without naming them yet).

The game is currently in development for PC and nextgen consoles, but it is programmed on the PC due to engine issues, as the game “Infernal” was PC only. So the “NextNitrous” engine is superior in many points, ready for DirectX 10 and latest shader models.

Release date: 2008/2009