Feature: Timeshift - a new dimension to 3D gaming

Inside the radical new time travel game, and the time machine that makes the technology possible.

The concept of time travel has been the bane of philosophers and scientists since Einstein put pen to paper and brought into existence the Theory of Relativity. One man's bane however is another's blessing and writers have reveled in its paradoxes and impossibilities, even before real science hit the scene. From subtle use in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to HG Wells The Time Machine where no facet of time travel goes untarnished, fiction has had its fun with the concept and will likely continue to do so.

Games have dabbled in time travel or some form of it for years. Perhaps the most notable use in recent times has been by games such as Max Payne and FEAR, which allow the player to slow the passage of time, enhancing their ability to react or deal with overwhelming odds. Despite these uses, the 'bullet time' effect has never been a strong theme in these games and is nothing more than a nifty game mechanic.

Not happy with the situation, developer Saber Interactive has not only designed its own 3D engine, but also a game, to take the craziness of time travel and put it in the hands of the player.

The game is called TimeShift, and not only can you slow time, you can stop it and even rewind it.

  

The dawn of time
TimeShift’s story can best be categorised as an alternate history. It explores what would happen if the ability to travel through time ended up in the wrong hands,' explains Sabre CEO Matthew Karch.

'While the concept [of time travel] itself has been dealt with in science fiction novels and films, it has never really been explored in interactive media.'

Aide from their novelty use in games like Max Payne and FEAR, time travel was used in the 2003 remake of Prince of Persia. In PoP, the player could rewind time if he was victim to some unpleasant fate, but it was essentially just a cool way to reload. TimeShift promises to allow much greater control to the point where it is an integral part of the game.

TimeShift is by no means a one-trick pony and there's a great story lurking in the background. The game's protagonist, Michael Swift, is a retired soldier with a child to care for and no desire to return to the military. It's only after he loses his kid in an accident - or at least we believe this is what Karch was hinting at - that Swift returns to active duty to participate in a time travel experiment.

'He travels back to the year 1911 and then returns to the present. When he gets back everything has changed -- his world has been replaced by one that is dominated by tyranny, oppression and war,' says Karch.

Swift quickly discovers that Chron, the man who sent Swift back to the past, is responsible for the alternate timeline. Of course, it's up to our hero to get everything back to the way it was -- with a little help from his 'Quantum Suit' and 'Chronomicon.