The Robots, Nazis, and Robot Nazis of Wolfenstein: The New Order

"What would a world created by fascism look like?"

That was the question posed to Andreas Öjerfors, senior gameplay designer for MachineGames' upcoming title, Wolfenstein: The New Order. In this game, which reignites a decades-old first-person shooter with a new twist—the war is over and the Nazis won.

Acquired by ZeniMax Media in 2010, MachineGames teamed up with Id Software, the company that created the lauded and pixelated Wolfenstein 3D in 1992, to discuss what elements went into making a great Wolfenstein game—and how The New Order would add a new chapter to the legacy. "Together we figured out that Wolfenstein is based on a few pillars," Öjerfors says. " It’s the very frantic gameplay. It’s about exploration. It’s about this David and Goliath theme filled with occultism or mysticism."

But Öjerfors quickly adds, "Well, it's more like mystic technology in our game."

That's because in the world of The New Order, the Allies weren't outfoxed by brilliant Nazi tacticians or beaten back by sheer number. Rather, the Third Reich is mysteriously outfitted with ferocious robot hounds, giant walking robots, and super-soldier cyborgs—all inexplicably advanced tech that would baffle even scientists and engineers in the 21st-century.

Even if the war is over, a battle still rages. Now, players follow the series' familiar protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz as he uncovers this sinister secret and fights against a Nazi regime that has swallowed the free world whole.

We spoke with Öjerfors about this twisted technology and how MachineGames created the guns, vehicles, robots, and Nazis of Wolfenstein: The New Order.

Wolfenstein: The New Order will release on May 20th for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. We'll have a full review of the game at launch.

“For the guns, especially in the beginning of the game, it’s rather similar to real World War II weaponry. For example, the assault rifle we have in the 1946 part of the game is essentially the StG (Sturmgewehr) 44.

“Then we did a continuation of that and took one step into the sci-fi universe in the 1960s. We did a 1960s version of that weapon (A) and it has a higher fire rate, for example. It has a recoil compensator and a larger magazine. You can even pop a rocket launcher onto it. It was a somewhat grounded evolution of that weapon. The same thing goes for the handgun (F) you have. In 1946 it’s roughly based on the Luger p08, and in the 1960s version we have additional features. We have an additive burst mode, a larger magazine, and you can add a suppressor to it.

“Another source of inspiration for our weapons, such as the automatic shotgun we have, was retro sci-fi. Retro sci-fi to us would be like people of the 1960s thinking what technology would be in the future. It’s a reflection of that generation’s dreams, so we took them and twisted it for Wolfenstein and that led to the laser weapon (D) and the Tesla technology ideas we have.”

A: AR60 (without grenade launcher attachment) B: Marksmen (based on a AR60 with bipod, scope, and other features) C: MG46 D: Laserkraftwerk E: MG60 F: Handgun 60 with silencer

“Hitler had this mad idea of making bigger and bigger tanks and weaponry. An example of that: There was a tank called Maus (Panzer VIII) that weighed like 188 metric tonnes. They even had a plan that was canceled by Albert Speer in 1943 to build a tank (Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte) that would weigh a total of 1000 tonnes. You have these really crazy ideas. What we did was extrapolate on those ideas—that idea of building increasingly big, heavy, and powerful weaponry and tanks. It definitely affected how we made the robot enemies.

“The fighter jets (D) are very interesting because it’s the first piece of advanced technology that the players see they’ve got their hands on, and that is one of the mysteries of the game that you need to figure out as a player: Where did the Nazis get this technology from? Because it’s not through some cunning tactics or ideas that the Nazis won the war—it’s through the use of superior technology. So the player encounters those jets in the first half hour, which are clearly more powerful than our model planes that the allies have when they attack Deathshead.

“I shouldn’t say too much about the submarine (C) because that’s later in the story, but the submarine was meant to be this giant, enormous almost city in itself. It’s another stipulation of this grand fortress of a vehicle, so it’s built around that idea.”

A: Attack Helicopter B: Troop Transport C: Evas Hammer Concept D: Nazi war machinery jet fighter E: Tunnel Glider

“I think that the sci-fi doesn’t have much of an impact on the look the Nazis themselves. It’s a continuation of the Nazi aesthetic into the 1960s, so it’s blended with the style of the 1960s and the fashion ideals of how to express yourself visually.

“What we were trying to do was create a world and a setting that, even though it’s exaggerated and slightly twisted, it was important for us to make it feel real. And I feel when you play this game you’re immersed in it, you believe in it, so we tried to create a setting and world that feels and expresses the ideas of a world lost to fascism.”

A: Deathshead Commando B: Fire Trooper with Infantry C: Blackguard Elite

“The inspiration was the aesthetics of the very militaristic image of the Nazis. The Panzerhund (D)(E) looks a lot like a tank, but it’s in dog form. So we tried to convey those ideas into new enemies. It’s also about creating a sense of new weaponry and what technologies they would need to be able to control the world. If you’re going to take over the entire world, what kind of technology would you have that can handle that?

“So one example, and it’s one of my favorites I think, is the monitor. Early on, you have the Baltic Monitor (Baltische Auge) and you see other versions of it later in the game, which is this enormous, towering tripod robot using Tesla technology to fry everything. That was built to control masses of people or maybe people in a city to some degree, but even more to quell demonstrations against the local regime.”

A: Supersoldaten 60 B: Heavy Robot C: Guard Robot D: Panzerhund 46 E: Panzerhund 60 F: Supersoldaten 46