What You Wanna Know About Payday: The Heist? – Interview with Overkill Software

We here at GOS have been in talks with Overkill Software, and the lead level designer of Payday: The Heist Ilija Petrusic was kind enough to have a little Q & A about their new crime shooter.

We issued a series of questions that we hope you the fans would be interested in., because, “When we’re in, you’re in.”

You have already confirmed the “Nixon” mask. Will we see the other Presidents masks? (J.Carter, LBJ, etc.)

A: Yeah, at first we though we would get into legal trouble if we used the likeness of living people – but then we found out that you are free to use caricatures of people any way you want! So now we have a nice mix of presidential masks coming to the Payday!

You will finally be able to do that reenactment of the robbery scene from Point Break that you’ve always dreamed of, trust me!

How many weapons and maps do you have planned for the DLC?

A: We don’t want to discuss numbers, but both heists, weapons and masks are in development.

Can we have some insight to when the official date for your DLC will be released?

A: No, we can’t discuss that at the moment.

Did Left 4 Dead provide any inspiration in making Payday: The Heist?

A: Most people at the office played Left 4 Dead quite a lot, so yes – it did inspire us. I think the biggest thing would be the teamwork aspect of the game,

where you HAD to work with your teammates and could not go solo and “Rambo” your way trough the scenarios. We just fell in love with the co-op stuff in general.

It was quite a while ago that such a good co-op experience was available, and co-op games are somewhat favorites for most of us here at the office. There has been a lot of

Hidden & Dangerous, Commandos, CoD co-op running on lunch breaks and for most of us at home as well.

What was your main inspiration behind Payday: The Heist?

A: Dane Cook! No, joking aside – I remember before Payday was even in production we were working on something else, and going to the supermarket for lunch, when Ulf (our Game Designer) suddenly went:

“Fellas! What do guys want to be a part of more than anything else?” After a couple of wrong answers (yes I thought the answer was sex) Ulf goes: “No! ROB A BANK! Everyone wants to be part of a heist!”

And of course – big movie fans as we are – everybody got hyped and very very enthusiastic about it, and back in the office after that lunch we started designing and working on what is now Payday.

Is there a sequel in the works, and will it be a full Blu-ray release or another downloadable title?

A: If Payday is popular enough, the sky is the limit!

Are you working on another title, and if so is it co-op?

A: We have another game….Don Mitchell aka Blip74: They do have another game listed on their website www.overkillsoftware.com. They are secretive about the game and title at the moment so out of respect we won’t divulge any information we received.

With a future patch is it possible to increase the team co-op from 4 to 5?

A: That would be a huge undertaking, requiring a total rebalance of the game (first off it’s a 25% increase in the team’s general firepower) as well as new voice recordings, redesign of the HUD and the lobby menu, and more.

The ripple effect of such a design decision is enormous, so my spontaneous answer is “hell no!”

Will we see more attachments (Red dots and scopes) for future weapons?

A: Definitely.

The European PSN gets Payday The Heist November 2nd. Is that when the US PSN can expect the DLC?

A: No, the DLC will come at a later date.

Thanks so much once again to the people at Overkill Software Team, Ulf, Ilija, and Dane Cook for an amazing game.

To all the fans of Payday: The Heist, let’s make it as popular as possible because the sky’s the limit.