Tim Willits: ‘Rage 2’ is More About Gunplay Than ‘Mad Max’ Was

Nathan Lawrence
Games Xbox
Games Xbox PlayStation PC Gaming

We recently had a chance to sit down with id Software’s legendary studio director Tim Willits at QuakeCon 2018 for a deep dive on Rage 2. The colourful shooter sequel is being pitched as the satisfying gunplay of id’s shooters spliced with the open world prowess and madness of Avalanche Studios’ previous titles.

He’s a veteran of id Software, having played a part in early successes such as Quake. Now, he’s helping Avalanche bring the Max Max vibes into Rage 2.

Here’s all the colourful Rage 2 info we gleaned from Willits during our chat.

Convoy Rage 2 attack
The Mad Max vibes are not exactly hidden.

FANDOM: What’s the elevator pitch for Rage 2?

Tim Willits: Rage plus Just Cause plus Doom equals Rage 2. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to go back to Rage. It has a foundation that people are already comfortable with, but it has enough freedom for us to make a game where you do not have to have played the original. We’ve given the main protagonist a voice [in Rage 2], which is new.

If you haven’t played Rage, don’t stress about it: the main character will tell you what you need to know. We come from a place where people are comfortable, but we have the freedom to make a new game with a new personality and new action. Then you have the id plus Avalanche. It is a formula that just works. I’m very excited about it.

In terms of the original game, what was some of the good stuff that you took from that and distilled and said, “We absolutely need this in the sequel?”

Tim Willits: The original game had a lot of personality, it had a lot of richness. The characters were very unique, [plus] that id-style combat that we’re so known for. Rage was that start of pushing it into the direction that it is now, which led to what you saw with the Doom [Eternal] reveal. So, that id-style combat, unique characters, great AI with the bandits and the factions, and then that over-the-top crazy world that’s fun to be in. With Rage 2, we tried to bring all of that back, but also we can now do it in a true open-world game.

The first game struggled with the tech, honestly, where we had the level loads and it felt disconnected, whereas this [Rage 2] is now just truly open because of the Apex [game engine] technology we’re using. It’s really great to have that intense, fast, quick, powerful gameplay that you know feels like an id game but in this much more open world. It’s really that open-world action is critical.

Giant mutant football helmet miniboss
Things you shoot in this game tend to blow up.

Without getting into specifics, in terms of Easter Eggs, are there plans for those in Rage 2, and does that mean it will be both id stuff and Avalanche Easter Eggs?

Tim Willits: There may be some fun, yes. We just have to be careful because Avalanche doesn’t actually own all of the assets. I’d love to have an Interceptor, but I don’t want Warner Bros. calling me up, so we’re going to have to stick to more id stuff.

You mentioned Just Cause earlier, but it looks as though there’s a lot of Mad Max in the vehicular combat of Rage 2. How have you been able to take that to the next level?

Tim Willits: [Mad] Max had some of the best vehicle combat ever. It was ridiculous. And when we showed the convoy, a lot of Mad Max fans were like, ‘Oh, good!’ Max had, of course, the harpoon, but it was more of a vehicle, melee-type combat.

For us, we’ve added more guns, and we had to build off the experience and not actually the code base, so [Avalanche] brought a lot of experience to the table. We started with a great knowledge base and then our thing is the guns. It’s more of a shooter. If you were comfortable driving in those other games, you will be comfortable driving in this game.

Masked bandit in wasteland desert
According to Willits, the emphasis is on the gunplay but vehicle combat is present.

And Rage 2 is definitely more shooter than RPG, right?

Tim Willits: It’s more of an emergent gameplay shooter than an RPG. There are upgrades for yourself and powers and weapons and stuff like that, but it’s really an activity-based emergent shooter. When you complete the first area, which is Vinelands, where you grew up – it’s our introduction area – once you finish that and the door opens, you can go anywhere you want. You can make a dash for the end if you want. You don’t have to clear one sector, then clear another sector and then clear another sector.

[In] Max, you kind of had to clear each sector, but we have some principle characters [in Rage 2] that you interact with that propel the story. How you interact with them and when you interact with them and what you do is really up to you. We want to give the player more freedom. I feel the game has a high distraction factor where you’re driving along and you see something and go, ‘Oh, I’ll try to jump that.’

Then some mutants show up and you say, “I’m going to fight these mutants,” and then you don’t realise that you’ve spent two hours goofing off in the wasteland. That’s what we want people to do. It’s like those Just Cause videos that people put up where they do crazy stuff. I want some Rage 2 videos.

Rage 2 flying hovering mutant enemy
Airborne enemies will add some verticality.

If you gun straight to the end, are you going to get annihilated?

Tim Willits: If you go straight to the end, yes. We’re still trying to figure that out. It’s also tricky to tell the player because, for me, I like to be told exactly what I need to do. I’m always like, “Uh, what are we doing right now?” And the guys are like, “What do you want to do?” “I kind of want to be told what to do.” We go back and forth on that. But you can go wherever you want.


Stay tuned for our hands-on preview of Rage 2.

Nathan Lawrence
Nathan is a full-time freelance frag-loving games critic who loves shooters.