First and foremost the I.A.O. needed to represent a different type of enemy to those that the player would have already encountered in the game. As opposed to the rough and ready Anarch, I.A.O. are a highly trained paramilitary force hunting a very specific type of prey.
From their hard leather padded extremities or the glaring haze of the thermal weapons, we really wanted the I.A.O. to both look and feel like an adversarial force an elder vampire would think twice about before attacking.
I.A.O. are human and thus use technology and tactics to fight their foe, so it was important that we convey the range of enemies and the threat they pose to Phyre as visually and distinctly as possible. Ranged enemies have large, hooded ponchos framing their piercing eyes from range. The more up-front melee enemies have wide dynamic stances as they swing their thermal batons at you. The weapons are military grade so overall feel harder, heavier and built for a specific purpose. The I.A.O. may not have the perks of ghouls or vampires but they’re a formidable force, using technology to their advantage.
- Project Art Director Ben Matthews
In one of my favourite quests to work on, Phyre explores an I.A.O. stronghold on Harbor Island which is heavily guarded both inside and out by I.A.O. agents.
It’s one of the game’s largest and most expansive combat areas, providing multiple ways to navigate the environment, as well as allowing you to tackle objectives in whichever order you choose. The I.A.O. have set up thermal shielding to block certain routes - touching or going near the shields will damage you. You will need to search Harbor Island to find a way of shutting them down, opening up more areas to explore.
I.A.O. agents are more organized than the other enemies you would have faced by this stage of the game. They patrol the facility in groups making it harder to pick them off one-by-one, and their use of night-vision goggles, searchlights, and personal radios requires you to be more strategic if you want to take them out without being spotted.
If you engage the I.A.O. in combat head-on they will use more militaristic tactics with better accuracy and knowledge of their weapons, knowing where to shoot you for the most damage. They wear combat armor, allowing them to take more damage than other humans, but are still weak compared to ghouls and vampires. They make up for their mortal frailty with an arsenal of anti-vampire weapons, which are the strongest you will face in the game: Thermal Batons for close combat, which unlike other enemies will cause damage if you hit them when they are blocking your attacks; Phosphor Grenades which create pools of burning damage to flush you out of hiding spots; and Sniper Crossbows which fire explosive bolts causing lots of damage if you don’t remove them in time.
A favourite tactic of mine is to catch the phosphor grenades or explosive bolts mid-air and throw them back for maximum carnage. It's also a great quest for using a Ventrue’s Possession ability, getting an agent to attack one of their own and hearing the panicked screams of friendly fire.
- Senior Game Designer Martin Akehurst
