With just weeks before launch, Homefront: The Revolution is primed for the revolt to begin. The open world, first person shooter puts gamers in the shoes of a resistance fighter bold enough to take on the technologically superior Korean forces on occupied American soil. Stephen Rhodes, narrative designer on Homefront: The Revolution, graciously made some time just before the Homefront PAX East event to share a behind-the-scenes look at the revolutionary process of crafting the story for Homefront: The Revolution.

Interview with Stephen Rhodes, narrative designer for 'Homefront: The Revolution' at PAX East. [Photo by Asma M.]

Given the concerns from the previous Homefront game, as the narrative designer, what are some of the things you’ve done to ensure a lot of the prior issues are resolved and don’t carry over to The Revolution?

First, I need to mention that this is a reboot of the franchise. It’s not a sequel. It doesn’t follow up from the first game. We kept the overarching concept of an occupied America by Korea. That’s pretty much all we kept.

I know a lot of people had issues with the fiction, and like, “how could this happen?” and it didn’t make sense to them. We really spent a lot of time answering those questions, and really delving deep into how this scenario could play out.

It meant we went all the way back to the 1950s and rewrote basically all the events of history from that point involving America and Korea. And, we’ve come to the point now that when you get to 2029 when the game is set, you’re in a very different world and it’s established with a very rich backstory. So, hopefully, people are going to enjoy exploring that side of things.

Alternative history is very hot right now, but what about people who aren’t ready to jump onto that boat because they really like history as it is? What’s in the story that might grab people who like true-to-life, realistic fiction?

I think regardless of where it’s set and when it’s set, it’s a story of the underdogs. You play as a resistance fighter. It’s like the Rebel Alliance versus the Empire [in Star Wars.] People like the underdogs, and I think we’ve definitely got a very underdog story here.

The KPA are numerically superior, technologically superior, and they’ve got drones and all the upper hands. You’re part of a small team trying to fight that machine. I think it’s really interesting to see the human cost involved in a conflict like that, and to go on a journey where you have to constantly fight from the back against this force. I think that — if you’re not really bothered about any of the history stuff or the alternative timeline — is compelling enough to make it worth playing.

Given current events, specifically the situation with Korea, is that going to impact the game launch at all? Is the story maybe too real in some ways? Do you find that might be an issue at all?

I don’t think it’s much of an issue. We do get asked a lot about current events, and stuff like that, but I think it’s really important to understand that this is a complete work of fiction. We’ve taken some inspiration from certain things in history, but it’s a work of fiction. It’s an alternate timeline. The Korea in our game and the America in our game are totally far removed from the Korea and America that we know and live in. So, I think that is separation enough for the game to ensure it doesn’t tread on any sensitive areas. I think we make it clear throughout the game that it is a work of fiction, and it’s just for entertainment purposes. And it’s fun to explore those “what if” questions. Like, “What if Korea invaded America?” What would that look like, and how would that play out? I think it’s interesting to explore those themes.

In terms of narrating this game, how would you say this game is different in this console and PC generation versus the past? Is there anything progressive about the story, and the way you approached writing it, that will be unique for gamers to experience right now?

I think the story has kind of positioned itself in quite a unique way. There’s a lot of shooters out there. Sci-fi is really hot; there’s lots of sci-fi shooters. We had that phase where we went through World War II, and now it’s all [about the] future and sci-fi.

Although our game is [set] slightly in the future, there are light sci-fi elements to it, I think it’s a more grounded story. I think it’s a story people can relate to on a much more personal level. We have a really broad cast of characters, who are very diverse and very interesting. They’re all normal people. You’re not playing the savior of mankind, you’re not playing as Rambo or Master Chief. You’re just a guy who joined the resistance to fight for what you believe in. And, I think that’s quite a poignant thing to have as a theme of a character’s motivation. He’s not trying to rescue the princess. He’s not trying to save the world. He’s trying to just free his country. Which, I think, especially since it’s set in America, that’s happened before. That’s the sort of thing American gamers will probably find a lot of enjoyment out of, feeling that kind of thing again. Nothing else out on the market right now really comes close to doing that.

'Homefront: The Revolution' [Image via Deep Silver]

Going off of that, were there any things you took special care putting into the game that you’d like gamers to look out for? Maybe not just Easter Eggs, but specific historical references that you hope will get picked up on?

I think there are — not to spoil anything — things that people will pick up on. I think that the game’s story, and the themes, they provide a great parallel to things that have happened in our timeline. Like, American foreign policy, for example. Having a story where it flips that concept on its head is really interesting. We have a lot of journals that you’ll find in the game. They are collectibles, but they also tell a lot of the story and they feed a lot of the backstory into the game so players can learn about this world and what it’s like to live in it.

There are a few Easter Eggs in the game. Famously, we did a press event a couple of months back and one of the guys found that there are levels from TimeSplitters 2 that you can play in the game. Stuff like that. The studio’s got heritage, and we want to put that into all the games regardless of the setting. There’s plenty to dig into the game. There’s plenty to find and search around for. Hopefully, players will find it interesting enough that they will want to dig that deep and they want to find those things.

Finally, when you were working on the story for Homefront: The Revolution, did you put any thought into a future title? Or, is everything laid out on the table and there’s not really any room to extend the story?

No, I think the story is a very isolated story. It’s about the Philadelphia resistance: their struggle, their conflict. It is very focused on Philadelphia. But, we’ve designed this narrative, and we’ve written this backstory. This whole situation is happening across all of America. So, I totally can imagine that when this game comes out, people play it, they’re going ask the questions, “What’s it like in Washington? What’s it like in LA? What is the current occupation like elsewhere? Are there other resistances?” We haven’t got any plans right now, but I think down the road it’d be great to explore some of those themes. We’ve basically rewritten the backstory, and basically started from the ground up. We feel like we’ve got a really strong foundation. Now, we can build on it. We can go and explore more. And just keep building on it, fleshing it out — change things to how we want to see them and explore interesting things that maybe we wouldn’t have if we’ve kept with the [story]line from the first game.

Homefront: The Revolution debuts on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 17 in North America and May 20 in Europe.

[Image via Deep Silver]