911 Operator - gamescom Preview

As part of the Polish games industry stand at gamescom this year, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Playway's upcoming simulator game, 911 Operator. As the title suggests, the game puts you in the shoes of a call handler for the emergency services.

You're fielding calls and establishing what the best course of action is for each individual. Just like in real life, some calls are slightly less urgent than others, so you have to decide if you should continue talking to the guy that's got a runny nose or if it's best to get rid of him and take another call, which could be the difference between life and death.

911 Operator is of course a work in progress, so there's only so much in it now, but what little I saw had me coloured quite impressed. The big thing that sprung up for me was the idea of customisable maps. The game uses Google Maps to find locations, so you can play in big cities and small towns alike. Want to control the emergency services in a bustling metropolis like New York City? Well, you can. If you'd prefer the more sedate life of an operator dealing with the tranquil area of Chipping Sodbury then you can choose that instead.

There's a campaign mode planned too, which will have fictional cities, created specifically to play out the game with a suitable difficulty curve. I didn't see any of these at the show, but I can't see how they'd be more exciting than Chipping Sodbury anyway.

You'll encounter various kinds of vehicles you can send out, be they police cars, helicopters or ambulances. A number of events in the game are based on real life events, although the developers didn't reveal what events they are. It's not unlikely that some of the ridiculous calls to 911 that we've all heard about are set to feature, but sensitivity dictates we probably won't be seeing any recent major disasters featuring in the game.

The game reached its funding target on Kickstarter during gamescom so it's expected to be arriving soon. Anyone who did back the game is currently able to get an alpha version, and there will be a preview coming off the back of that very soon, with the game also expected to come to Steam Early Access before full release.