We've seen very little from Dead Island: Riptide so far, and we aren't sure how much the game will differ from the first. To give you a better idea of what to expect and what the developers are working on, here are some new details from a recent interview with Techland:

Via VG247: "... the request from the fans after the success of Dead Island was very clear – they want more and they want it now! However, creating a whole new setting will take a lot of time. So the question shifted to ‘do we have enough ideas in the same setting to offer another great experience, or do we have to shift the setting to deliver a full experience?’ Dead Island: Riptide is the answer to that. We changed the setting partially, built in new features fitting to this different environment and now we make sure the experience rocks again.”

“No worries guys, with the flooded jungle the whole experience of this game will feel really different. The additional defensive gameplay, the boat, and the advanced character development will make sure that you are diving into a different experience.”

“Plot-wise, ‘darker’ is good description of where we’re heading, but of course we stay bright and beautiful on the outside. We are taking a very special step in this installment and we are looking forward to see how the fans react to it.”

“There will be a new character, and yes we have a lot of ideas as mentioned before. There will be whole lot more to do. One small example would be that the game now tracks which weapons you use and mirrors that in your proficiency with those weapons.”

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In case you missed out on our previous coverage, here is the teaser trailer, screenshots, and the original announcement for the game:

"Having survived the ordeals of the zombie infestation on the once beautiful island resort of Banoi, our group of survivors thought they had finally found a safe place to escape from this terrifying nightmare. But they were wrong. Shortly after the battle-hardened team had landed their helicopter on a military ship, a furious storm hits and havoc quickly spreads on board. Suddenly they find themselves struggling for their lives again with all hope drowning in the rising waves.

With invigorating new elements infused into a proven mix, Dead Island Riptide will reanimate the zombie terror in the original game. A monsoon has hit the once beautiful archipelago and heavy rainstorms have laid waste to large areas of the islands. The city of Henderson and jungle areas on the island of Palanai were flooded leaving boats as the only remaining way of transportation. Dynamic weather conditions will force the team members to adapt to changing visibility conditions.

A fifth character will join the team, with an all-new and unique skillset. The combined skills of the group will be sorely needed, since terrible, new and unknown zombie mutations have emerged all over the island.

In new hub defense missions, the coop teamwork skills of the survivors will be tested to the limit – they need to strategically place traps, fences and turrets to fend off oncoming Zombie onslaughts and to protect the humans in these sanctuaries.

New communication features in coop mode also allow players to enjoy an even more intense and strategic team experience.

Developed by Techland, Dead Island Riptide will be released in 2013 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and for Windows PC."

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"Furious monsoon rainstorms have laid waste to the island of Palanai in the Banoi archipelago, waters have risen and caused a flood disaster – because of this and the raging zombie invasion, a rescue mission for the survivors seems to be without prospect of success. All hope seems to have been lost for the surviving humans…"

Source: VG247