To try a whole new genre and way of doing things,' says Ashdown. Clearly, that's the reason so many other journalists wanted to meet Ashdown too.īut Dead Island 2's zombie smash-up is quite the departure from Spec Ops' anti-war war game. But the fact it's being worked on by Yager is the biggest point of interest for me. I would have been more blasé about the sequel if a lesser developer was involved. I played it because it was there until something better came along.
I got it cheap or maybe even free with a subscription. I found the original Dead Island a fairly simple take on zombies and gore a fun stomp around the undead where its mix of crafting, fetch quests and head shots helped pass away a few hours. But Spec Ops was one of the reasons he applied for the job at Yager.
The PR person overseeing the interview rolls her eyes as Ashdown politely explains that he joined the company just after Spec Ops was released. It turns out everyone meeting him today has asked the same question. When I first meet Isaac Ashdown, senior gameplay programmer at Yager, I ask him if he worked on Spec Ops: The Line. 'What we're trying to do is make it so other players are just one of many things that are going on in the world and help give it a sense of life.' What attracted the developer of Spec Ops: The Line to Dead Island 2? Co-op and California.
