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| 14 Dec 2024, 00:13 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью с Jon Van Caneghem, данное им онлайн журналу Gamezilla! в конце 1996 года. Источник: http://www.gamezilla.com/reviews2/hommint.htm Jon Van Caneghem, Heroes of Might and Magic 2 Designer Heroes 2 is by New World Computing Interview by: Chad Hanson and Richard Gershwiler How did the Heroes of Might and Magic genre come about? Was Heroes the creation of one mind, or many? The basic goal was to create a compelling strategy game which utilized the monsters and characters from the Might and Magic series. We wanted to bridge the gap between the 'classic strategy gamer' and the 'classic FRP gamer'. Was the overall atmosphere of Heroes I and II something that came about naturally, or were there ideas for different kinds of atmospheres? The Heroes atmosphere was always fantasy-based, being an offshoot of the Might and Magic series. Fantasy settings are compelling to a broad range of people; they make the simplest settings for people's natural escapist tendencies. What's difficult about a fantasy setting is making it cohesive, making it make sense. You can't just throw a few dragons into the woods outside your house without providing a logical means of defeating them. As an example, J. R. R. Tolkien made Smaug a powerful creature, but gave him a powerful weakness that could be taken advantage of. Was the music for the game produced in-house or externally? Was it composed by one individual or many? If produced in-house, what kind of technology was used? The music was produced in-house by Rob King, our full time Sound Engineer. He has produced the sound tracks for most of our titles over the last few years. What development software was used to create Heroes I and II, and how would you compare the development of these titles? Microsoft Visual C 4.0 (for the Windows versions), Watcom 10.0 (for the DOS versions), Miles Sound System, DirectX, and Smacker were our primary tools. All other tools were internally developed. Heroes I took quite a bit longer to produce than Heroes II, for a number of reasons. We had fewer people working on Heroes I, and all of the content had to be developed from scratch. With Heroes II, we only had to make tweaks (some minor, some major) to the content. Another element, though, was that the original programmer on Heroes I left the company a little less than halfway through the project. Most of his original code had to be scrapped because it was poorly written. Interestingly, even though Heroes I contained about 85,000 lines of code and Heroes II had about 165,000 lines of code, Heroes II took only about a third of the time to develop as the original. What major improvements were you going for with Heroes II over Heroes I? How successful do you feel you were? The major focus for Heroes of Might and Magic II was: MORE, MORE, MORE. We wanted more game play, more re-playability, more multi-player support, more monsters, more towns, more battles, etc. I guess we really were just trying to give the gamer more fun. Yeah, I think we were successful but that's not really what matters; what matters is whether the public thinks we were successful. Is NWC going to try its hand at a real-time strategy game any time soon? We're already well into development on one right now. Are there plans to use the basic Heroes gaming environment and adapt it to another theme, like Blizzard's StarCraft cropping up from WarCraft? We've played around with the idea, and have been contacted by several outside developers wanting to do just such a thing, but we haven't found the right concept/design that we want to put the engine into. As for a Heroes of Might and Magic III, we really want to improve upon the whole game, not just segments of it. Are there any patches available for the game, and what plans do you have for future patches/add-ons? Yeah, we have a patch that fixes some minor IPX and sound problems, and we've added a 'random map generator.' We are releasing an expansion pack (Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty) which will add 4 new campaigns and a ton of new stand-alone and multiplayer maps. The expansion may also add a new unit type for each hero. I'm really hoping to see a slew of gamer add-ons in the form of posted maps. Are there plans for more games in the series? If so, can you give us any details about the next project? Heroes of Might and Magic III really needs to have that "quantum leap" feel to it. We're floating ideas around the office right now as to what the leap should be and how it should be implemented, but we don't have anything set in stone yet. What can we look forward to next from NWC in general? Where do you see NWC going as far as computer gaming in the future? We have several pending releases, including two action games and a realtime action/strategy title, and we're working on a Christmas 1997 release for Might and Magic VI. As for the future, we're not Microsoft. What we want to do is make games that are fun to play, not dictate the entire future of the gaming industry. We will continue to develop our technology base and hone our game design skills. And along the way, try to make the majority of gamers happy. Gamezilla wishes to thank Jon Van Caneghem and New World Computing for making this interview possible. Interview Posted 1996. Интервью с Jon Van Caneghem, посвященное Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, данное им Desslock с сайта gamepen.com в январе 1998 года. Источник: http://desslock.gamespot.com/features/mm6/interview.html Desslock's RPG News Interview with with... Jon Van Caneghem, President and Founder of New World Computing and Designer of the Might and Magic series conducted by P. Stefan Janicki ("Desslock") About the Plot : Desslock: I understand that plot of Mandate of Heaven begins in the Kingdom of Enroth with the Ironfist Dynasty on the brink of ruin. Floods, earthquakes, demon invasions - You're having a bad day. Can you give us a few other plot tidbits concerning Mandate of Heaven? Does the story begin shortly after the end of the Xeen games? Jon Van Caneghem: No. The world of Enroth and the world of Xeen are two distinct worlds in the same story "universe". Some of the same elements that were in previous Might and Magic games are retained in Might and Magic VI, and veteran Might and Magic players will know what I mean by this. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for newcomers to the Might and Magic story by describing them here! This Enroth, however, and the Enroth of Heroes of Might and Magic are the same world. The story takes place roughly ten years after the Succession Wars of Heroes II, and things are not going well for Roland’s kingdom (Yes, the good guys won). Disasters, floods, demonic invasions, all these things have caused the people to question the legitimacy of the Ironfist dynasty. People have begun to say the Ironfists have lost the "Mandate of Heaven"—the divine right of kings to rule. Desslock: One of the more interesting aspects to the storyline of Mandate of Heaven is the potential for the plot to branch in different directions depending upon the actions of your party. Can you elaborate on how your party's actions will affect the development of the plot? Jon Van Caneghem: As with all previous Might and Magic games, the Mandate of Heaven will permit players to go pretty much anywhere they want in the world, even if their characters aren’t up to the challenge. Obviously, we can only create a few endgame movies, but there are many legitimate ways to finish the game. Players are pretty much free to be good or evil and to pursue their own character development goals at their own pace. Desslock: Will there be multiple endings to the game? Jon Van Caneghem: Yes! Besides death, there are three distinct ends to the game. More, I cannot reveal at this time. Desslock: Will there be any characters, locations or items that will be familiar to Might & Magic veterans? Jon Van Caneghem: Actually, the most familiar characters will be the ones that have shown up already in Heroes. There will be some story elements that will put in an appearance for this game that have been used in the past. Specifically, Guardians come to mind as the most memorable story element we’ll be using. Desslock: Does the game take place entirely within the Kingdom of Enroth? Will time travel or science fiction elements play a role in the story? Jon Van Caneghem: I can tell you the Mandate of Heaven story takes place entirely within the Kingdom of Enroth. I can also safely say we do not intend to use any time travel. More would be spoiling our secrets. About the Gameplay : Desslock: Have you made any significant changes to the character creation system compared to the Xeen games? How much of an opportunity will gamers have to individualize their four characters? Jon Van Caneghem: Gamers will be able to pick faces, classes, skills, and distribute statistic points for our standard seven character stats. We’ve taken a step away from the recent gaming trends in that not all characters will be able to do all things. Knights, for instance, will never be able to cast spells, and sorcerers will always suck when it comes to fighting. Desslock: I've got to admit, I'm particularly impressed with the manner in which you intend to breathe "life" into the non-player characters ("NPCs") featured in Might and Magic VI. Can you elaborate on how NPCs will interact with your party and pursue their own "autonomous agendas", as your press material has stated? Jon Van Caneghem: NPC’s will have knowledge on topics that are appropriate for their professions, and will receive and transmit news about topics they are "interested" in. They will in many cases be willing to hire on and follow you around, or let you hire them to go and perform a specific task. They have personal schedules and travel itineraries, close their shops at the appropriate times, and refuse to speak to people they don’t like. Some of them are willing to take bribes, or are susceptible to begging or threats. Some only talk to characters with high fame or rotten reputations. We have all types. Desslock: I understand that up to two NPCs will join your party. How much choice do you have over which NPCs tag along with you? Jon Van Caneghem: It is possible to have more than two followers, but if you have more than two, the excess will be quest NPCs that you are escorting or rescuing or arresting. You can hire up to two NPCs on a weekly basis. These hirelings will have some sort of benefit for having them along (usually) and you can fire them any time you like. Desslock: I understand that there will be over 300 NPCs in the game? Will there be different types of NPCs (i.e., relatively static, minor ones as opposed to "major" characters)? Jon Van Caneghem: Absolutely. Our basic rule is this: Anyone walking around can be hired and is expendable as far as winning the game is concerned. Otherwise, it would be possible to ruin your game by killing an important NPC before you got to talk to him. On the other hand, many NPCs that you will speak with in what we call "town events" will be indestructible because we have no combat in such areas. These are the ones who will hand out important quests and be given complex text. Desslock: I understand that certain NPCs may treat you radically differently depending upon the nature of your previous actions in the game. Can you elaborate on the manner in which your actions can affect the behavior of NPCs? Jon Van Caneghem: If your reputation is low, or the NPC you are speaking with has actually seen you commit some heinous crime, that person may refuse to speak with you unless you strong-arm them somehow. If you are known to be a horrible mass murderer of innocent peasants, most people will attack you or run from you on sight. Exactly how they react will be dependent on their personality, their profession, how powerful they are compared to you, and whether they are good, neutral, or evil. Desslock: you elaborate on the manner in which M&M VI will be playable in "real time" mode, as opposed to traditional "turn based" mode (which is also available)? Is the default the "real time" mode, which essentially can be stopped and played "turn by turn"? Jon Van Caneghem: The default is real time. Whenever you want, you can quickly hit the enter key and start turn based mode, which means that you don’t have to make combat decisions based on reflexes alone. Unless you are rather powerful, you won’t want to fight monsters in real time because you won’t have time to react to their attacks with anything but readied spells, bows, and swords. Desslock: Can you elaborate on some of the changes you have made to the "skill based" character development systems? Jon Van Caneghem: Our character development system is, in my humble opinion, simple, yet elegant. Characters begin the game with a few skills appropriate to their class and a few development points to spend on them. To get one rank in a given skill costs the same number of development points as the rank you’re advancing to. For instance, increasing your skill in Swords from rank three to rank four costs four development points. Skill ranks are used to make all sorts of calculations. Everything from the chance to hit with your sword to the damage you do with a fireball is covered. It is also possible to become an expert or a master in a given skill (independent of skill rank). Expert or Master status comes with additional abilities, such as being allowed to use a dagger in your left hand and a sword in your right, or repair magic armor, or expand the radius and duration of your fire spells. Desslock: I understand that you hired an architect to help you design some of the layouts of the dungeons and certain other locations in the game – an outstanding idea, by the way. One of the worst aspects of some role-playing games is the manner in which dungeons and other locations are strewn together illogically (but of course that orc wants to live next to that gargoyle, next to the skeleton, next to the dragon, next to Richard Simmons, etc.), ruining the immersive nature of the gaming world, in my opinion. Can you elaborate on the contributions of your architect? Jon Van Caneghem: One of the primary level designers has a background in architecture. And, we hired two graphic design specialists with lots of CAD experience, and they’ve helped quite a bit with getting the look of the dungeons and towers up to snuff. We’ve had a lot of experience designing dungeon levels, so rest assured that we won’t be putting the dragons next to the Richard Simmons’. Desslock: How many different enemy or monster types do you anticipate including in the game? Jon Van Caneghem: There are a total of more than 180 types of monsters. This does not include different kinds of "human monsters" that you’ll run into, such as bandits, bounty hunters, and other kinds of miscreants. Desslock: How many spells do you anticipate including in the game? What changes have you made to the spell system since the Xeen series? Jon Van Caneghem: There are 99 spells in the game, and the spell system is very different from previous Might and Magic games. There are 9 schools of magic (fire, air, earth, water, light, dark, spirit, mind, body) that are accessible to different classes of spell users, and it is possible to know each school to different skill and expert/master rankings. There are no material components necessary to cast spells, and your spell points regenerate after a sound night’s sleep. By sound, I mean at an inn. Camping is worse, and being hungry when you rest is worthless. Desslock: Can you elaborate on how the new combat system will work? Jon Van Caneghem: That’s a pretty broad question, but I’ll take it to mean "How does your turn-based combat system work?" Taking any action in combat requires a short period of recovery. Skill in the weapon will shorten that period of recovery and better your chances to hit. Different characters will be allowed to take actions at different times, depending on their individual speed statistics and how slow their previous action was. Monsters will attack on their turns based on their own speed and recovery rates. There are no real "rounds" in our system—combatants simply take actions when it’s their turn. Quick fighters will eventually end up taking more actions than slow ones, and this can get as extreme as taking three dagger attacks to every one axe attack. Spells are considered attacks under this system, so each spell has a recovery rate associated with it. Sometimes expert and master status can reduce the recovery penalty from a weapon or spell. The real-time combat is more of the twitch model using whichever default attack you have set for your characters and their speed is dependent on their rate of recovery. Desslock: How interactive is the world of Mandate of Heaven? I understand that certain buildings will open into 3d environments, while others will simply "open" to a graphical depiction of the inside of the building. How detailed is the object interactivity in Mandate of Heaven? For example, will there be 3d objects you can interact with, such as bookcases with real books? Jon Van Caneghem: We really have three places you can be in the game. You can be outside using our Horizon engine (similar to a flight sim engine), you can be inside using our Labyrinth engine to explore dungeons, or you can be in a shop or other special location that is a simple graphical representation of a place. If you are in the either of the game engines, you are able to pick up and manipulate any reasonable item. Physics are modeled accurately for purposes of falling objects, light casting, and objects bouncing off one another. Opening chests and cabinets will give full pictures of the inside of the containers with objects resting properly within them. Desslock: I understand that your characters will both have an "actual" reputation, based upon actions they've done, and a "perceived" reputation, based upon NPCs knowledge (or perception) of your characters' actions. Please elaborate on the role reputation will play in Might & Magic VI. Jon Van Caneghem: True. Sometimes a NPC will not have heard of your crimes or your good deeds before you speak with them. This means that it is possible to outrun your reputation, although eventually everyone will have heard about the things you’ve been doing. Desslock: I understand the "word based puzzles" from the earlier Might & Magic games will be making a return in Might & Magic VI. How big a role will they play in the game? Jon Van Caneghem: Yeah, you should expect to see at least a few word games in Might and Magic VI. Word games have always been a hallmark of the series, and we wouldn’t think of not including some in this game. Desslock: You have indicated that the world of Might & Magic VI will truly be "dynamic", with locations growing, becoming re-inhabited, etc. Can you give us a few details concerning how the world will change throughout the game? Jon Van Caneghem: Just because you clean a dungeon out doesn’t mean that some other enterprising monsters looking for a new home won’t move in at some later date. Also, we will have weather, fluctuating shop prices, and a small population of traveling NPCs. Time marches on with or without you, so quests given out will sometimes go sour if you wait to long to finish them. Desslock: How many hours of do you anticipate it will take the average gamer to complete the main story in Mandate of Heaven? Jon Van Caneghem: We have been pondering that ourselves as all of the elements are coming together as a whole. With the new real-time aspect of the game we really won’t know until we get a chance to play a complete build. Previous Might and Magic games have had broad ranges that have taken people anywhere from 30 hours to 200+ hours. We are shooting for 50-100, but it may take longer to complete it, depending on the player’s skill. About the Graphics, Sound and Interface : Desslock: Might & Magic VI features not one, but two new 3d engines, the Labyrinth engine (for indoor locations) and the Horizon engine (for outdoor locations)- both of which look very impressive. Can you elaborate on the differences between the two engines? What are the relative advantages of the different engines? Will the change between engines change the manner in which your characters interact with the gaming world? Jon Van Caneghem: The Horizon engine allows us to do tricks with the terrain that we otherwise couldn’t have done with a single engine. I think the biggest difference this engine makes is allowing us to have complete towns that you can walk through without having to do some sort of simple town representation on the map. The Labyrinth engine permits a much more constricted viewpoint than the Horizon engine would allow, so it permits us to build dungeons with it. As far as the player is concerned, however, there is no real play difference between the two. Desslock: You've been demonstrating some pretty impressive AVI cutscenes with Might & Magic VI. What's the role of these cutscenes in Might & Magic VI? Do they occur just as part of the Introduction and at the Ending? Jon Van Caneghem: No, there is one other place in the game where we use a lengthy movie scene. In other circumstances, we use the same technology that created the movies to illustrate shops, temples, throne rooms, and other miscellaneous, complex scenes with animation, only more conservatively. Desslock: What kind of music to you anticipate including in the game? Will it be Midi or CD digital? Any particular type or style of music? Jon Van Caneghem: CD digital, of course. And the style is medieval or classical using the same musician who did the Heroes II music. No opera this time. Desslock: There's no doubt that between the Labyrinth and Horizon engines, Might & Magic VI will definitely be the most graphically impressive game in the series. I noticed at the e3 that weather effects, animated water effects and dynamic lighting were all supported. One of the things which gamers may not appreciate from looking at screen shots is that there's virtually no pixelation of the objects in the 3d environment. What trickery is this <grin>? How'd you do that? Jon Van Caneghem: We use big textures and we don’t allow the player to get so close to a texture that pixels blow up enormous size. We also mip-map (resize) distant objects and textures so they appear better at long, medium and short ranges. Desslock: I understand it that the engines will create a true 3d environment although, like most games of the genre, the monsters, etc. will appear as quot;sprites", and not polygonal objects? Jon Van Caneghem: Correct. We don’t think monsters and objects look good enough as polygonal objects to build an engine around that yet. When that technology finally catches up the quality of a simple sprite, then we’ll switch over. Desslock: I understand that Might & Magic VI will include a detailed automap feature. Is there any "note-taking" feature to keep track of conversations with NPCs? Jon Van Caneghem: Of course. If an NPC says something significant, notes will be taken automatically. Maps, as in all Might and Magic games, are also handled automatically. Desslock: I'm sure you realize that you just can't have a first person perspective game these days without getting asked the following question (even though it is more appropriate in respect of action based games with lots of polygons): Are you contemplating any support for 3d accelerator cards? If so, will you support specific cards or general APIs such as Microsoft's Direct 3d? Jon Van Caneghem: Yes. We will be supporting Direct 3D and through it the cards Direct 3D supports. [Editor's Note: Since the interview was conducted, 3DO has decided to nix the 3D accelerated version.] Finally... Desslock: What are two features (perhaps among many) which you believe will set Might & Magic VI apart from other computer role-playing games? Jon Van Caneghem: I would say the most important feature is the technology of the two graphic engines. With this split in focus, we are able to get excellent models of both the indoor world and the outdoor world. Most first person games have to choose to focus on the outdoor world or the indoor world (usually the indoor) and the depiction of the other suffers.The second item is our skill system. We think that it smoothes out the progress of the game so that it is nearly equally difficult to play all the way through. Often a game is either very easy or very hard for certain levels of characters—usually very hard in the beginning and then ridiculously easy at the end. Might and Magic VI won’t suffer from this. Desslock: How close is the game to commercial release? What is your current target release date? Jon Van Caneghem: March ‘98 Desslock: Hey, what's with that Minotaur king guy we keep seeing around? Jon Van Caneghem: Marketing seems to like that monster a lot, and I guess we in development are notorious for resisting their persistent requests for more graphics…so they reuse it a lot. I guess. Desslock: You’ve announced that you’re working on Might & Magic Online. What do you have planned for this ambitious project? Jon Van Caneghem: Not ready to talk much about Might & Magic Online right now. What I can tell you is that it is a collaborative effort between New World and the Internet group from 3DO that have been working on Meridian 59. We are excited about the project given the expertise at 3DO and the RPG expertise at New World. The combination, we anticipate, will lead to a phenomenal "massively multiplayer" FRPG experience. Stay Tuned! Desslock: One last, long question coming up, which ties into the theme of this RPG article on upcoming games. Deep breath: A lot of role-playing game fans are concerned that there have not been many RPGs produced over the past several years. After all, it has been several years since the release of the Xeen series, for example (although you've made two very well regarded Might & Magic strategy games), and there hasn't been a release of a core "Wizardry" or "Ultima" game for several years either. One of the reasons cited for the recent dearth of role-playing games is the perception that such games only appeal to a limited, although devoted, number of gamers. In other words, the commercial market for traditional style role-playing games is perceived to be smaller than the potential market for computer games of other genres, such as first person action games or strategy games. Given the fact that you've decided to go back to the core Might & Magic series and create another role-playing game in this environment, what did your development team do in order to entice more gamers to try a role-playing game? Jon Van Caneghem: We know the role-playing audience is unhappy about the low numbers of good games aimed at them. There is a feeling that role-players are a small audience and some game companies think there isn’t much money to be made selling to them. We think the role-playing audience is quite large. You just have to make a game that people want to play. Build it and they will come. So we’ve done that. And we make no assumptions that our players have played a role playing game before. We obviously want to draw in as many new players as we can while holding the interest of the veteran RPGer’s. It’s a tight wire to walk, but it can be done. Wish us luck! Desslock: Thanks again for taking the time to consider these questions. Jon Van Caneghem: No problem! Always happy to answer a few questions. |
XEL, Арысь-Поле, KypaToP_HM, Gong Zigoton, MadMax | ||
| 05 Feb 2023, 00:31 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью с Jon Van Caneghem, данное им в 1993 году. Источник: Caroline Spector. Might and Magic Compendium: The Authorized Strategy Guide to Games I-V. Secrets of the Games (Rocklin: Prima Publishing, 1994), 361-370. An Interview with Jon Von [sic] Caneghem CS: Let's start with a little background. What kinds of games did you play before you got into computer games? I notice you have a lot of board games, role-playing games, that sort of thing. JV: My hobby is collecting games, so I was playing every game I could find. Did a lot of role-playing, mostly D&D. Also did a lot of wargaming, things like Star Fleet Battles. I also did a lot of Avalon Hill gaming as well. Went to all the game conventions and played in tournament after tournament. CS: Win any? JV: Yeah. I won Star Fleet Battles; I was the national champ in '86. Same with 1830; I won almost every time. It's an Avalon Hill game. And another one called Titan. I played a lot. CS: So it was a natural progression from board games into computer games? JV: Yeah, well, what happened was I was playing with a bunch of friends, D&D and some other board games, on a regular basis. As people got older and started to get responsible, getting together was more and more difficult. Then a friend of mine showed me an Apple II, and he was playing a bunch of simple games on it. I was just amazed. This was great! I could play any time I wanted and didn't have to wait for anyone to get together. So I immediately got one. For about a year and a half all I did was play games on it. The two I probably played to death were Ultima I and Wizardry I. I think I went through each one of those about seven or eight times. CS: So how long was it before you started trying to figure out how they worked? JV: About a year and a half. Then I started to get tired. Everyone started to tell me, You're always complaining about these games. Why don't you make your own? And I said that I didn't have the slightest idea how to program. But it intrigued me. I switched from being a pre-med student to a math and computer science major at UCLA and just started delving into my Apple II, absorbing every magazine and piece of information I could find. That was about 1983. I started this undertaking of trying to write my own game, teaching myself all along how to program the computer, programming the Apple II. Everything I was learning at school was just ancient history as far as the computer was concerned, with punch cards and mainframes. There was nothing about personal computers. So I pretty much had to teach myself everything. When I started on Might and Magic, my first project, I went at it from a gamer's point of view. I was trying to make this game and the computer was just getting in my way. I wasn't a programmer who knew a neat graphic routine and then turned it into a game. I think most people at the time, except for a few, came from that end of it—it was mostly programmers making games. I wasn't, although I pretty much became a programmer at that point. CS: What game influenced you the most while you were working on Might and Magic? D&D keeps coming up… JV: Yeah, that was a heavy influence. Wizardry and Ultima games influenced me a lot. They showed me that this type of game was popular enough to actually sell and make money doing it. That encouraged me. CS: Did you write Might and Magic by yourself, or did you have other people helping you? JV: I wrote the whole thing by myself. I did almost all of the computer graphics myself. Towards the end I had a friend help me with some of the graphics. But I'd say I did about 90% of it—wrote the story, did the manual, pretty much did everything. But it was a three-year undertaking. CS: Did you self-publish Might and Magic? JV: After about two years it was coming together, starting to look like something. I went to a bunch of publishers at a game convention, some of the big names now who were up and coming then. I asked them, "I have this game that I'm almost done with. If I gave it to you to publish, what would I get for it?" And they gave me these ridiculous hem and haw stories about, "Well, if you were an established author and you had two or three games under your belt, you might get as much as a dollar a game." and on and on. Pretty much made me say "Okay. Fine. I'll do it myself." So I begged, borrowed, and stole and took out a couple of ads in A+ Magazine, the Apple magazine at the time, with an 800 number, and had the phone installed in our apartment, and the phone started ringing off the hook. It just took off. This was around November of 1986. By the end of December I was getting calls from all the major publishers again, this time with a lot more lucrative offers, but by then I had got myself enough in debt that I couldn't take just an author's position on a product like that. I had already done so much in advertising and the packaging and production and everything else that being an author for someone wasn't that much of an option at that point. That's when Activision called me. I was in the shower one morning and had a call from Chicago, from then-president Manny Levy, I think his name was. He said he loved the ad, and loved the product, and wanted to talk about his new concept—affiliated label distribution. I visited all the other publishers again, made the rounds, but wound up signing with Activision. CS: So Activision helped bankroll you? JV: Yeah. They gave us some help, both in getting the product translated to other formats like Commodore and IBM, and they also got us some huge pre-orders that we were able to go out and get financing for. CS: And they could get you great distribution, too, since they are everywhere… JV: Which made the difference between selling a few thousand units out of my apartment to going into the 100,000 category with mass distribution. CS: It sounds like a real rags-to-riches story. Basically this all happened in a pretty short amount of time. JV: Yeah. Like a roller coaster, or a rocket ship. It just took off. CS: What happened after you became an affiliated label of Activision? JV: We were with Activision for two years. Then they became Mediagenic. We left there rapidly after our deal was up. We joined Electronic Arts as an affiliate label. They were the best affiliated label situation at the time. We were there for three years and that started to deteriorate. It got too crowded. They got into cartridge games and signed up too many other developers. We left them in June of 1992 and signed on as an affiliated label with Broderbund. We've made the complete rounds now, and hopefully at some point in the near future we'll be able to do it ourselves. CS: It sounds like you've done awfully well. What games besides Might and Magic do you produce? JV: First there was Might and Magic, just called Might and Magic. Then we immediately started on the next one, Might and Magic II, which was done originally for Apple. Right after that we did a strategy adventure game called King's Bounty, a simpler game, although it turned out to be very popular. It's a little like Titan, one of the board games I used to play. That was a fun game to do. And we took on a project called Nuclear War. CS: Was that based on the card game, Nuclear War? JV: That's right. It was a very fun card game. A lot of our employees had met at game conventions and all of our roots were in gaming. At 5:30 the office would shut down and the gaming would start. Everyone was always there until all hours of the night, playing games. We were so hooked into board gaming that we wanted to get into it. So we bought a company called Task Force Games. We moved it out to California. They are the ones who did all the Star Fleet Battles projects, and that was the game that I was a fanatic about. We had that company for about two years. We really wanted to make a big deal in the board game industry. It just kind of muddled along for a couple of years. Didn't make much money, but it was certainly a lot of fun. CS: When was this? Sometime in the late 80's? JV: Yes. There was a decline in the industry, and cartridge games were just tearing dollars away from everyone from toys to hobbies to everything. CS: Unfortunate timing for you to get into that. JV: Yeah. It was fun, though. We really had a good time with it. I had a partner, Ron Spitzer, who signed on in 1987 when I joined with Activision. He was a friend I was gaming with at the time when I first released Might and Magic. He helped negotiate some of the contracts when I went from company to company in 1987. He was real instrumental in the whole Task Force thing. We also had John Olson with us. He was president of another board game company, GDW US (Game Designers' Workshop), and we hired him to come out and run Task Force for us. We had a lot of fun with it. We really made a go at the board games, but compared to the dollars and profitability of software… There was just no comparison. It didn't make any sense. Task Force kind of sidetracked us from software during that period. So, at that time we had only one product coming out, which was Tunnels and Trolls, which again was another license from the board game business, and very popular. It was brought to us by our Japanese affiliate, Starcraft. Tunnels and Trolls was extremely popular in Japan. It's a huge success over there, all the books and the board games. They wanted to do a computer game, and we said we'd publish it for them in the U.S. if they did it. So they did the whole product over there, and the original T&T designers, Liz Danforth and Mike Stackpole, wrote all the scenarios. So we published it here. It didn't go over all that well. The technology for the product was a couple of years behind the times. I think that's been the story of our industry. If the level of technology isn't right, the strength of the game won't save it. That was unfortunate, because it was a really deep and involved product that the die-hard people really liked it, but it didn't have the whiz-bang goods that it needed the year it came out. CS: Did it do well in Japan? JV: Yeah, they did pretty well with it in Japan. For them it was a successful product. For us it was not so good. But, a lot of people liked it. Then after that we got rid of Task Force. John Olson took it back to Texas. Another dead Texas game company. But, he's revived it, and it's doing pretty well now. CS: So after Tunnels and Trolls you went back to Might and Magic. JV: Yeah, we went real heavily back into software. That's when I spent the time designing Might and Magic III, and that's when I was working initially a lot on Planet's Edge, which got to be too overbearing at the time so Planet's Edge got passed off to other people in-house. I just concentrated on Might and Magic III. Those two products were our next two catch-up releases into the world of technology and whiz-bang stuff on the PC. That was the first product I did that was originally designed for the PC. I think it brought us from a catch-up position back to a leading position in games and technology. Might and Magic III did terrific. It won a few awards. Might and Magic III has probably been the most successful award product I've had. Although we've had so many in so many different countries now that I've totally lost track of them. It used to be that I'd scan every piece of literature just for the mention of the name of Might and Magic and now there's just so much, you just kind of wait for the more important ones. Which is kind of sad. CS: Actually, that says you're successful, that you know you're going to be mentioned fairly often, and that you are fairly secure in an insecure business. JV: Right. I look back, and we've been around for a fairly long time in this industry. We've survived some real ups and downs. I started on this in 1983, but we didn't really launch a product until 1986. So that's like seven years from today. That's quite a long time in software. CS: I noticed that you've got some Sega games here. Do you develop those yourself or are those licensed products? JV: We've started doing a lot of Sega and Nintendo work, but not as a publisher. The economics just aren't right for a company our size to get into it. But we did things through Electronic Arts and a number of other Nintendo companies and Sega companies. We went ahead and either coordinated or developed products for them. So that's been pretty good. We've done six Sega cartridges and two Super Nintendo cartridges and one NES cartridge. CS: Yeah, I noticed your Fairy Tale cartridge over there. The graphics look great. JV: That one did pretty well. I was always a fan of David Joiner, who happens to be down the street. He's the original designer of Fairy Tale. When Micro-Illusions went out of business there was an opportunity. We picked up the title and put it on the Sega. And that was all fun. CS: And then you came out with Might and Magic IV. JV: Right. After Might and Magic III and Planet's Edge I had a parting of the ways with my partner, Ron Spitzer. The company had gotten to the size where there could be one head, and it was going to be me. We had a difference of opinion on direction. He saw a different future than I did for the company. So we had an amicable parting, and he went to Electronic Arts. That's when I kind of changed directions with the company in opening the doors more to outside developers, for us to be more of a publisher, and less of a giant development house, in doing everything internally. So we started to take on quite a few outside products, which are starting to show up now. You'll see a lot more this year and next. CS: So now you have development groups working independently and then bringing their work to you to publish? JV: Exactly. We did Spaceward Ho!, a strategy game that way. CS: Who developed that for you? JV: Some guys called Delta Tau, in San Francisco. A really neat, fun game. We shipped the Widows version in November of 1992 and the DOS version just this January. We just shipped Empire Deluxe. There was a famous game called Empire and I had been friends with Mark Baldwin, the original designer/programmer on it, for a long time. When Interstel went out of business he got the rights to it back, and I said, "Hey, let's do the next Empire." He said, "Great." So he developed Empire Deluxe and we published it and it just came out February or March. We did Vegas Games Pack for Windows with an outside developer. That's been doing really well. As far as outside developers coming to us with products, it's been real exciting. I really like doing that. I like seeing people who are where I was a few years ago and this time being on the other side of the fence, I'm trying to be a lot more fair and a lot more giving towards them. CS: It sounds like you are really getting things going now. JV: Yeah. At the same time we're working with outside developers, internally, we're working on the Might and Magic series. We did Might and Magic: Clouds of Xeen. I didn't want to use the number anymore. I felt strongly that everyone wants to see the next James Bond movie, but no one wants to see Rocky IX. So off came the numbers. CS: So, what is the next Might and Magic game, the one after Clouds of Xeen, called? JV: Might and Magic V is called Darkside of Xeen. It's something I don't think anyone else has done before. The story behind Clouds and Darkside is that one game's set on one side of the world and ones on the other side of the world, and if you put both games together on your hard drive, you can freely walk back and forth. There are extra quests that you can't complete unless you have both games and there's a third endgame that you can't get to unless you have both games. But you can play either one by itself. It's huge. CS: I'm overwhelmed by Clouds of Xeen—its a big game. JV: And we get so much criticism, both from the fans and the critics. I hear everything, from, "It was so short! I finished it in 35 hours. I felt disappointed." to "I've been playing it for 200 hours and I still haven't finished it." You have to say to yourself, where do you draw the line here? There's umpteen thousands of people playing it out there, and I've really found that every one of them played it for a different reason. There's no two people who have the same desire. So I guess you try to please as many of the people as much of the time… CS: Do you still create the games to please yourself, the way you did when you started? JV: Yeah. I think so. That's what I started out with—I wanted to make a game that I would like, taking elements of games that I liked and adding all the stuff that I thought of and putting it all together. I still do that now. In fact, the games are getting shorter because I don't have 300 hours to spend playing something. So if I can finish something in forty hours, I think that would be more enjoyable. CS: So, what's the fastest play-though [sic] on one of these games? JV: There's two ways of saying how you finished it. One is to say, "I got to the end game in fifteen hours or twenty hours because I knew all the answers." Or you can say, "I did everything in the game and it took me forty hours." Reviewers ask us about this, too. I even added a feature when you first start the game where you're asked if you want an Adventurer game or a Warrior game. This was my wife's idea. She really liked the game, the adventure. But she wasn't into combat. She was like, well, you know, monsters are fun, but let's get on with the story. I said, "OK, well, I'm sure there's plenty of people out there, just like you, who aren't into the numbers and the hit points. They just want to get on with the story." There's a lot of quests, a lot of fun things to do. So I put the choice in, and what Adventurer does is it makes it easier to win all the battles. So you get through that part of the game a lot quicker. CS: I was really glad you had that. Combat is great every once in a while, but there's other stuff to do. JV: There's other stuff to do and we want to expand our audience, to bring in more and more people who wouldn't normally play this kind of game. CS: What's in the future? Where do you see the company going in terms of new games? JV: We'll keep doing Might and Magic as long as it's popular. It keeps getting more popular, so that's a good sign. We're mostly looking for outside talent now to develop product, whether it's just an idea or a finished product. Being a publisher with roots in game design and development can really help a lot of people. We have a bunch of groups now who are very talented and just never really got a chance to do an original. They were always stuck doing ports (conversions of existing games from one computer to another) to pay the bills. They have fantastic ideas, so I'm really trying to go with those people and give them a chance at it. I'm really excited at what's going to come out of it. We have a couple coming this year, and a couple in early 1994, as well. We're seeing so much of the same old same old because the market is tight and in tough times and you can count on selling X units of Game XYZ 14, but how many units are you going to sell of some new Whiz Bang thing? Will it be the next Sim City, or will it be the next bomb? That's real tough. Still, I want the new guys. CS: I think that sounds like a really neat place to go. We've got your background in terms of board games and computer games. In terms of fiction, would you say you have any favorites that you draw on, like Tolkien, or are you one of those classic computer game guys who didn't read. JV: To tell you the truth, I was one of those kids who didn't read. I was a television kid. CS: Any favorite TV shows? JV: I'm the ultimate Star Trek nut. CS: Old and new? JV: Old. I've tried to force myself, but I just haven't gotten too excited over the new one. I've always thought it was the USS Loveboat with Captain Stuebing. To boldly run away from anything we find. But Star Trek was a big influence on me. I just grew up watching everything. All my background has come from B movies, before Star Wars. CS: Comic books? JV: No, no comic books. I'm not a reader. CS: Not a reader at all. That's amazing. JV: I don't have the patience. I was never a fast reader, which really bugged me. I could never get through. I would always start books, but cheat and skip ahead and read the start of each chapter and then the end and then I'd go on to the next thing. CS: I bet you read the end before you started the book, right? JV: That's right. I meet a lot of people who have grown up not reading very much and they have this same impatience with things that get slow. They are much more visually oriented than text oriented. Which is now lending a lot more to computer games. Text is not popular anymore. It's the TV generation who are buying these games, now. CS: So Star Trek was a big influence—do you see yourself doing science fiction games or other non-fantasy games? JV: Yeah. One of the reasons I did Planet 's Edge was because I was such a sci-fi fan. There was a game that took forever to develop and came out too late as far as technology, but… All these projects, we say "Yeah, eight months." Yeah. Two years later… CS: Do you just reach a point where you're doing all this cool stuff and you have to fight it to get the game out? JV: Yeah, that's what happens. Also, a lot of times we'll spec a product all the way out and we'll just start working on it. Six months into it you realize it will take two or three years to complete it. Too many worlds, too many things, too many characters you have to develop. You multiply it all out, and you go, "I need eighteen million man hours to finish this." To cut it is a real hardship because you've designed the whole thing, all those specs. It'll drive you crazy. And when you're dealing with new technology you say "Eureka! Now we've got this new technology. What can we do with it?" It's pretty infinite. When we first moved over from Apple to IBM, it went over the top. CS: Do you still support Apple at all? JV: No. It's a shame, but I don't think we even have any in the office. We do support Mac. We do most of our product on the Mac. Might and Magic III was just released on the Mac. And it's doing real well. It's being received real well. We put most everything on the Mac. It's been a good platform for us but now our DOS products are getting to the size that it's not becoming practical to put them on the Mac, technology-wise and the size… I'm just holding my breath until CD is the standard. I'm really pushing for it. I'm actually going to stick our neck out this year in putting out a title on CD, and next year we may release a title or two on a CD, that you have to have it. It may be a little early. I know people are talking 1995, but I think we are going to push it in 1994. Just cost of goods, with all the diskettes that we have to put in the box, is really hurting us. CS: It's amazing to me that games take up an entire hard drive… JV: With the CD you don't have that. We will finally recoup some of those supposed pirated copies that we all know about. No one I know pirates software, but I've heard estimates—it's two to ten times the number you sell. Sometimes you start to believe it. With CD's you don't have that, at least not initially, at least not until you make it cheap for people to duplicate them. CS: What do you see, once you go to CD? JV: For me the most exciting thing is going to be sound. Sound and voice. I think that's an area that's not too expensive to develop, yet can add so much to the experience of the game. A lot of people talking about promotions and having actors do that kind of stuff. I don't buy that yet. I don't think we can compete with TV and movies. I think there are other areas that we can do better in. CS: So are you saying that you are not into interactive movies? JV: No, it hasn't done it for me. I've seen a bunch of them now, and they just aren't good. CS: How many platforms do you support in your games? With all the different PC sound boards and graphics cards, and memory configurations, I don't know how any software company manages to make stuff that can actually work. JV: Just in DOS alone, the sound cards, the mice, the memory amount, the configuration, the clones—you have to spend zillions just to have enough equipment to test it on. A lot of people complain, "Your testing is terrible; your game didn't work on this machine or that machine." What do we have to do, spend two million dollars to buy every piece of equipment that's out there to test it? CS: It sounds really frustrating. I've always had this fantasy that I could drop a CD in and it would run, just like that. JV: Yes, that's what it should be like. That's why so many people love the cartridge machines, and that's why they do so well. CS: So, is that where you guys are heading—simplicity? JV: Oh, absolutely. The simpler, the better. The more they are actually playing and thinking, and the less they are dealing with the problems of interacting with the machine… My goal is to get away from huge manuals and have a player card tell you all you need to know to play—tell you the basic start-up stuff, and then let you play. That's what I do. I play a game and never look at the book. I start the game and start pushing. If I can figure it out, then it's a pretty good game. CS: Do you ever feel trapped by your success? Do you feel that you now have an obligation to do things a certain way for players? Do you feel restricted at all? JV: Not really, I don't think, not too restricted. About the only thing I feel is pressure to always work. It's been real tough relaxing after finishing a project. It's been like, I should be working. I should be thinking about the next one. I should be thinking about this project or that project. I should start designing because every day that I'm not designing the next product is another day it's not coming in. That, I think, has been the hardest. |
XEL, Vade Parvis, KypaToP_HM, DOC'a, void_17 | ||
| 23 Nov 2022, 19:57 |
Музей мира M&M |
Mantiss, XEL, Vade Parvis, Mefista, Арысь-Поле, DOC'a, Praktik | |||
| 20 Nov 2022, 00:17 |
Музей мира M&M |
Vade Parvis, Арысь-Поле | |||
| 08 Mar 2021, 20:37 |
Музей мира M&M |
Цитата(Roman2211 @ 07 Mar 2021, 10:37)  Хорошие интервью, есть ешё дневник https://web.archive.org/web/19991013051339/...i_dd/index.html Да, его я уже здесь выкладывал. Сообщение #1161 |
XEL | ||
| 07 Mar 2021, 00:36 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью с Gregory Fulton, данное им на E3 журналу "Страна игр", опубликованное в августовском номере журнала за 1998 год. Интервью с Грегори Фултоном, дизайнером Heroes of Might & Magic III СИ: Мы рады, что вы уделили время ответить на наши вопросы. Heroes of Might & Magic - одна из самых популярных в России игр, и продолжения все ждут с огромным нетерпением. И всех волнует даже не то, насколько новая игра будет отлична от двух предыдущих, а то, когда она появится. Вам знакомы подобные настроения? Испытывает ли ваша команда давление со стороны игроков, которым все равно, будет ли НММЗ чем-то новым, а только хочется поскорее его увидеть? ГФ: Такие настроения частенько бродят вокруг нашей работы. Но принадлежат они, как правило, не тем, кто работает над игрой. Мы очень хорошо знаем, чего хотим добиться в каждой из игр, над которыми работаем, и никогда не «перегружаем» идею. Конечно, сроки - дело важное, особенно для издателей, но выпустить незаконченную игру мы себе никогда не позволим. СИ: Heroes of Might & Magic - это, наверное, единственная стратегическая игра, выросшая из сериала RPG. Самое замечательное в том, что вам удалось создать некую альтернативную реальность Might & Magic и даже самим затащить древний ролевой сериал в свои сюжетные «сети». Что означает это сюжетное объединение двух совершенно различных по своей концепции игр - путь на интеграцию во что-то единое или что-либо иное? ГФ: Признаться, мы об этом пока не задумывались. Если вы думаете, что у нас в офисе висит грандиозный план по развертыванию Вселенной Might & Magic до всеигровых масштабов, с объединениями, разделениями жанров и полными наборами функций новых игр, то это значит, что вы слишком хорошо о нас думаете. На самом деле стратегия определяется максимум на один проект вперед, и то мы до конца не уверены, что в нем будет, пока ни начнем вплотную им заниматься. Объединение же сюжетов объясняется очень просто - команде, работавшей над М&М 6, понравился наш сюжет, да и рекламные менеджеры были не против, ведь в тот момент М&М была значительно менее популярной, чем Heroes. СИ: Необыкновенно интересно, как вы работаете над двумя такими разными играми одновременно. Являются ли ваши команды полностью разделенными, или же вы работаете все вместе? Кому достается разработка сюжета? ГФ: Вообще-то, строгого разделения команд не существует, однако каждый человек в один конкретный момент занимается лишь одним проектом, так что никакой путаницы не возникает. Мы не подходим к художнику из М&М VI с просьбами нарисовать нам в обеденный перерыв пару скетчей, Хотя команда New World Computing невелика, людей нам все же относительно хватает. Над сюжетом с недавних пор мы работаем все вместе, и направление его определяет сам Jon Van Canneghem (президент New World Computing и главный дизайнер сериала Might & Magic - авт.) СИ: Практически все игры и их продолжения, создаваемые New World, выглядят и играются почти одинаково, и порой приходится даже провести с игрой некоторое время, прежде чем удастся выделить отличия от предыдущей части. Каков ваш подход к игровому новаторству? Что, по вашему, необходимо сделать для того, чтобы выпустить хорошее продолжение игры? ГФ: Вопрос этот не из легких. Если бы у нас имелся универсальный рецепт, то все магазины давно были бы завалены Might & Magic'ами 50 и 100. Наверное, точного ответа никто не знает. Мы же стараемся привносить в каждую игру такое количество новых возможностей, которое бы смогло немного перекроить игровой процесс. Иначе говоря, заставить игрока действовать по-новому, в то же время не пытаясь ошеломить его непонятными новыми функциями или совершенно иначе сделанным интерфейсом. Это, скорее, получение новых ощущений через старые источники. Что-то вроде телесериала - герои знакомы, а вот обстоятельства, в которые они попадают, совершенно новые. Что же касается технологии, то здесь все иначе. Разумеется, нужно стараться уйти как можно дальше от оригинала в смысле «продвинутости» движка и всего прочего. Если год назад вам удалось хорошо продать игру со средней графикой, не стоит рассчитывать на то, что такая же продастся и в будущем. Графика для нас стоит не на последнем месте, и то, что не удается исправить движком, приходится украшать дизайном. СИ: Давайте теперь перейдем собственно к Heroes of Might & Magic III. Что, по-вашему, является самой замечательной новой деталью игры, придающей третьей части собственный облик? ГФ: Момент, которым мы особенно гордимся - это ролевое «очеловечивание» героев. Теперь каждый из них имеет персональные характеристики и возможности, не присущие другим, может носить одежду и экипироваться оружием, использовать определенные артефакты, некоторые - лучше, некоторые - хуже. Думаю, что в этом мы максимально подошли к RPG-пониманию характеристик персонажей. Именно эта черта станет отличительной особенностью игры, и нам она особенно нравится. Еще один важный момент - наличие полноценных квестов. С соответствующими наградами в случае их выполнения. Игроки теперь будут не просто бесцельно шататься по карте в поисках обелисков и ресурсов, а начнут выполнять различные задания, которыми их снабдят жители. СИ: Собираетесь ли вы сделать сюжет еще более динамичным? Будут ли в истории присутствовать развилки, какие-то особые квесты, влияющие на весь игровой процесс? ГФ: Мы стараемся сделать сюжет максимально разнообразным, и для осуществления этой цели стараемся действовать одновременно в нескольких направлениях. Во-первых, как и в прошлых сериях, сюжетная линия в кампаниях будет представлена ветвящейся, однако пока я не могу точно сказать, насколько сильно. С другой стороны, теперь в процессе выполнения миссий и прохождения уровней, перед вами будут ставиться чисто квестовые задачи, которые будут влиять на прохождение игры в дальнейшем. Причем задач этих на каждом из уровней будет несколько, что заставит игроков тщательнее присматриваться к картам и стараться не пропускать важных событий и выполнять, по возможности, все квесты, которые только удастся найти. Над содержанием квестов хорошо поработала команда, создававшая их для М&М 6, так что некоторые их них окажутся по-настоящему интересными. СИ: Новая система использования героев особенно интересна. Скажите, намерены ли вы также переработать и все артефакты в игре, добавив новые. Поскольку теперь мы сможем выбирать, одевать тот или иной артефакт герою или нет, то как вы планируете справиться с балансом, наличием откровенно плохих предметов и прочими проблемами? ГФ: Разумеется, плохих артефактов больше в игре не будет. Но мы ввели совершенно новую концепцию, которая позволит нам не слишком уж радовать игроков, находящих артефакты. У каждого, помимо положительных, будут и отрицательные стороны. Не настолько сильные, но все же способные несколько подпортить радость от обладания ими. Вам придется использовать артефакты умело, распределяя различные предметы между героями с разными способностями, усиливая и ослабляя именно те характеристики, которые вам необходимы. К примеру, артефакт будет повышать магические способности и несколько уменьшать при этом силу героя, а также, скажем, добавлять ему какую-нибудь уникальную способность - например, заучивать какое-нибудь редкое заклинание. Некоторые артефакты вы сможете получать в качестве приза после выполнения определенных квестов. Ну, и, разумеется, на картах будут закопаны суперартефакты, местонахождение которых вы будете выяснять, расхаживая по землям и разыскивая обелиски. СИ: Что новенького ждет нас в замках? Насколько нам известно, вы добавляете еще два типа городов. Станет ли больше монстров, каковы будут взаимоотношения героев нового типа с различными монстрами, изменится ли система «прибавления потомства»? ГФ: Главное достоинство новых замков заключается в том, что вы сможете теперь держать в них героев в качестве постоянного гарнизона, так что туповатый командир вам более не понадобится, да и захватывать замки станет значительно сложнее. С другой стороны, оборона священных стен станет более тяжелым занятием, поскольку теперь мы дали игрокам свободу в процессе разрушения стен замка, отдав ему управление стенобитными орудиями. Так что баланс опять несколько качнется. СИ: Что всегда сводило нас с ума в Heroes, это музыка. Таких божественно красивых мелодий, уверен, игровая индустрия еще не знала. То, что было сделано в Heroes 2 - это, наверное, непревзойденная вершина. Да и в М&М 6 мелодии необыкновенно хороши. Скажите, что вы собираетесь делать с музыкой в третьей части. Будут ли там старые «оперные» мелодии или же вы намереваетесь изменить стиль? ГФ: Приятно, что труд наших композиторов оценивают столь высоко. Музыку к игре пишет тот же человек, что и раньше, так что особенных стилевых изменений ожидать не стоит. Но что получится на этот раз, пока неизвестно. До сих пор полностью готовы лишь несколько треков, в том числе и тот, что используется в заставке. Полного же перечня мы еще не слышали. СИ: Последний вопрос. New World делает замечательные игры, и это всем известно. Но игр этих всего две. Не собираетесь ли вы приняться за что-либо новенькое? ГФ: Этот вопрос нам задают довольно часто. Прямо скажу, когда-нибудь мы обязательно возьмемся за новый проект, наверняка даже не относящийся к Вселенной М&М. Возможно даже, что это случится скоро. Однако оглашать подобные планы пока еще не время, и я могу официально лишь заявить, что в данный момент конкретных работ не ведется. Однако некоторые идеи все же имеются. Думаю, что я смогу поделиться ими с вами во время следующего интервью. СИ: Ну, хорошо, Грег. Тогда следующее интервью мы возьмем завтра, хорошо? Интервью с Gregory Fulton, данное им по завершении E3 журналу "Страна игр", опубликованное на сайте gameland.ru 17.07.98. Эксклюзивное интервью с дизайнером Heroes of Might & Magic III. (17.07.98) Как и было обещано во вчерашнем выпуске новостей, сегодня у нас сайте небольшое событие - появление материала, которого, кроме как у нас, больше ни у кого нет. Heroes of Might & Magic - наверное, главная стратегическая игра последних лет. И не из-за революционности концепции, не из-за графики, не из-за звука (который был ах, как хорош). Только из-за одного примитивнейшего обстоятельства - меня эти игры (как первая, так и вторая) заставляли торчать за монитором не просто всю ночь, а чуть ли не до середины следующего дня. Игры в Hot Seat продолжались сутками. Вы можете говорить все, что угодно, но HMM - это гениально. И никакого другого описания быть не может. Неудивительно, что попав на E3, ваш покорный слуга немедленно отправился к тесному павильончику компании 3DO и постарался познакомиться со всеми его обитателями. Какая удача, что удалось не просто познакомиться с одним из создателей Heroes, не просто взять у него интервью для журнала (которое, кстати, вы сможете увидеть в августовском номере), но и просто подружиться. Результатом чему и стало то, что вы прочитаете несколькими сотнями символов ниже. Знакомьтесь, господин Грегори Фултон, ведущий дизайнер New World Computing собственной персоной! Наша беседа произошла уже после E3, и поэтому многие моменты в Heroes 3 уже успели немножко измениться, да и секретов дизайнер "со второй попытки" раскрыл несколько побольше.... Сергей Овчинников: Я очень рад, что вы уделили немного времени для того, чтобы ответить на кое-какие вопросы о новых "Героях". Все три игры, включая и последнюю, буквально обречены на успех, и это просто поразительно, ведь обычно разработчикам не удается так долго удерживать интерес аудитории к каждому новому-старому творению. В связи с этим возникает один простой вопросик - как это вам удается? Не могли бы вы рассказать о том, как организована работа в New World Computing? Грегори Фултон: Это несложно. Хорошие игры мы делаем потому, что любим делать хорошие игры. Создатель игры, Jon Van Canneghem из первоначальной идеи King's Bounty (была у него такая старая-старая игрушка), создал Heroes буквально за пару недель. Просто поместил King's Bounty во Вселенную Might & Magic и понял, что это сработает. Так что, можно сказать, Heroes - детище случайности. СО: А как вы ведете работу над своими проектами в New World. Неужели у вас офис перегорожен стенкой, и с одной стороны сидят те, кто работает над Heroes, а с другой - разработчики M&M? ГФ: У нас, конечно, имеется разделение. У каждого проекта есть свой продюсер и дизайнеры, художники, программисты. В то же время работаем мы все вместе, и все концепции обсуждаем при участии "конкурентов", чтобы особенно не пересекаться или же не устраивать всяческих сюжетных недоразумений. Сам Jon предпочитает наблюдать за процессом откуда-то со стороны. Никогда не знаешь, когда он появится и скажет: "Показывайте". Смотрит, дает советы, одобряет или не одобряет общее направление, а потом опять куда-то пропадает. Как ни странно, без него ничего бы точно не получилось. Такой контроль - то, что нужно для команды. СО: Как разрабатываются идеи для сюжетных линий HMM и M&M? ГФ: Чрезвычайно просто. Мы со сценаристом М&М Полом Рэттнером (Paul Rattner) уединяемся на пару часов в каком-нибудь тихом помещении и пытаемся объяснить друг другу, что каждый из нас хочет сделать с сюжетом. Если возникают конфликты, мы сначала пытаемся убедить друг друга в собственной правоте, потом обижаемся и расходимся по углам, и в конце концов, через пару-тройку часов находим какой-то компромисс. СО: С чего началась работа над Heroes of Might & Magic III? ГФ: Для начала мы решили, что надо делать новую игру на базе Heroes. Эта фаза прошла очень быстро, потому что тут началось обсуждение идей, после которого я отправился к высокому начальству на "головомойку". Jon посоветовал отправиться в странствия по Internet в поисках идей для новой игры. Мы немедленно начали лазить по страничкам фанатов, производить какие-то опросы, чтобы выяснить, что игроки хотят увидеть в новых Heroes. Вот так, отбрасывая все неинтересное и невыполнимое, мы и пришли через пару месяцев к раннему варианту концепции. Остальное - дело техники. СО: Наверное, единственное, в чем обвиняют New World, так это в том, что компания очень скептически относится к нововведениям в своих играх. Иначе говоря, ничто не в состоянии заставить вас кардинально менять стиль ваших игр. Не задумывались ли вы о том, чтобы скажем, сделать Heroes 3 или 4 трехмерными или ввести еще какие-то модные сейчас штучки? ГФ: Наша аудитория постоянно растет, и с каждой новой игрой серии Heroes мы набираем поклонников. Боюсь, что сейчас устраивать революцию жанра было бы несколько опасно. Мы делаем то, что, как это не парадоксально, очень многим нравится. Если мы попытаемся быстро что-то изменить в изначальной формуле, она попросту может перестать действовать. Когда мы думали о том, что же будет с HMM дальше, первой идеей действительно было сделать Heroes 4 в 3D. Однако теперь у нас есть некоторые сомнения - хотим ли мы этого на самом деле? В случае же с третьей частью, самым первым моментом в разработке стало обсуждение того, стоит ли переходить в игре к режиму реального времени. Дискутировали мы недолго, и думаю, игроки не будут разочарованы нашим решением. СО: Это точно. Если бы Heroes превратились в очередной С&С-клон, этого бы вам не простили. Давайте теперь перейдем к самой игре. Нашим читателям, конечно же, не терпится в нее поиграть, но, думаю, они и почитать что-нибудь о ней будут не против. Вот, для начала, такой отвлеченный вопросик: как будет развиваться сюжетная линия в Heroes 3? ГФ: В игре будет шесть мини-кампаний, в каждой из которых будет по три-четыре миссии. Миссии, правда, будут очень большими и довольно-таки прилично ветвиться. Цели в каждом из них также будут различны, а прохождение даже за разные стороны (за плохих или хороших) все равно будет приводить к одной единственной концовке. Нет, не скажу, даже не пытайте. СО: Наверняка все очень любили ваши старые анимационные вставки в HMM и HMM2. В них было достигнуто просто уникальное сочетание фотографичности и в то же время, какого-то движения. Собираетесь ли вы как-то изменить этот подход? ГФ: Нет, даже и не подумаем. Хотя вступление теперь у нас является полностью отрендеренным мультиком, вставки между сценариями так и останутся недвижимыми. Их относительно несложно делать, а уж атмосферы игре они точно придают достаточно. СО: расскажите нам о квестах и о том, как они будут вплетены в игровой процесс. ГФ: Запросто. На каждой карте будет иметься некоторое количество особых хижин, которые называются Seer Huts. Заходя в них, как в самый обычный храм или город, герой сможет получать различные квесты, которые будут постоянно меняться. Как правило, это будут вариации на тему: "Пойди в дальний лес и притащи-ка оттуда мою старую замечательную сабельку. И тогда я тебя щедро отблагодарю". В награду за выполнение подобных поручений герой может получить деньги, ресурсы, каких-то особых монстров или пополнение к войскам. Более того, возможно и получение интеллектуальной поддержки в виде изрядного количества experienc'a или повышения каких-либо характеристик. В качестве награды герой также сможет унести и тот артефакт, что ему удалось отыскать. Если квест является неотъемлемой частью миссии, то почти наверняка артефакты, которые герою удастся захватить в результате выполнения задания, останутся с ним и в следующих миссиях, так что выгода от использования квестов очевидна. Часть вторая. СО: Насколько мы поняли из длительных бесед с вами на E3, в игре будет совершенно иная система развития персонажей. Появится возможность создавать обмундирование, давать героям в руки оружие, как-то по-особенному распределять характеристики. Расскажите, пожалуйста, об этой системе. ГФ: На самом деле новые элементы в схеме развития являются несколько преобразованными и расширенными моментами из Heroes II. Как и раньше, в основе находятся артефакты, которые и занимаются, по большей части, определением возможностей героя. СО: Сами артефакты тоже пришлось изменить? ГФ: Не без этого. Нам пришлось не просто добавить несколько новых артефактов, но и кое- что приличненько изменить. "Проклятые" артефакты, приносящие только зло пришлось полностью убрать (поскольку каждый герой имеет полное право снимать и одевать только те предметы, которые ему нравятся), но зато появились новые классы. Их мы назвали Relic'aми, и основное отличие таких предметов от обычных артефактов в том, что они дают не только преимущества, но и требуют некоторых жертв, уменьшая параметры героя. Таких артефактов будет достаточно много, и практически все, что вы найдете в игре, будет иметь как свои положительные, так и отрицательные стороны. К примеру, одна из таких "реликвий" называется Titan's Gladius, и она прибавляет герою 12 Attack и снимает 3 балла с его характеристики Defence. Другой класс артефактов - специальные предметы для городов. Как только вам удастся найти подобные артефакты (частенько придется для этого захватывать вражеские города), то использовать их можно лишь герою, который находится внутри города, занимаясь его обороной. Еще один примечательный момент - Ultimate Artifact. Его мы тоже убрали и вместо этого суперприза теперь в игре будет присутствовать некий Holy Grail, который вам придется искать по примерно тем же принципам, что и Ultimate Artifact, однако его назначение будет несколько иным. Holy Grail будет храниться в городе, и для него в нем специально будет выстроено Holy Grail Building, о назначении которого я пока что говорить не могу. В каждом типе города будет свой собственный Holy Grail Building со своими особенностями и возможностями. СО: Как насчет еще парочки примеров? ГФ: Хоть на десять страниц. Среди обычных артефактов будет несколько довольно интересных, однако у большинства эффект действия достаточно стандартен. Garniture of Interference, к примеру, добавляет 5% к умению защиты от магии, а Spirit of Oppression снижает мораль сошедшихся на поле боя армий до нуля, причем, как своих, так и чужих. Tome of Fire Magic дает вам доступ ко всем заклинаниям класса Fire, а Legion's Head позволяет вам еженедельно выращивать в городах на два монстра шестого уровня больше, чем по стандарту. СО: Во время нашей встречи на E3 вы сказали, что типов героев станет намного больше, и что каждому из семи типов замков будут соответствовать по два типа героев. Теперь настало время подтвердить или опровергнуть эту информацию. ГФ: Все совершенно верно. Героев в игре будет аж 128 человек, причем каждый из них будет обладать совершенно уникальными способностями. У каждого будет наличествовать индивидуальность, каждый будет начинать с различными умениями и возможностями, совершенно уникальным составом армии, и начального уровня заклинаниями. Помимо этого, у каждого из героев будет специальность, которая во-многом будет определять возможность или невозможность его использования для различных задач. СО: Не планируете ли вы ввести полноценную RPG-систему начала игры. То есть, выбор характеристик, балансировка, сход/развал? ГФ: Пока что мы до такого еще не дошли. Тем не менее, в начале каждого сценария вы сможете выбрать героя, с которым захотите начать игру. СО: Как будет реализована система, в которой герой будет торчать в замке, обороняя позиции? Будет ли эта возможность, оставлять героев в замках, каким-то образом связана с максимальным числом героев, находящихся у вас под командованием? ГФ: Совсем просто - вы сможете вместо туповатого командира гарнизона высаживать в замок полноценного героя, который в процессе игры сможет, даже отсиживаясь в нем, совершенно спокойно развиваться и наращивать параметры. Но вот если у вас на карте уже находятся все восемь доступных героев, то выйти из замка он не сможет, так и останется на казарменном положении. В том же случае, если на карте в данный момент находится менее восьми ваших героев, то его можно будет свободно "доставать" из замка и отправлять по своим делам. СО: Что вы собираетесь делать с AI. В прошлых сериях это была, пожалуй, самая слабо выполненная часть игры. Вражеские герои кружили по картам, автоматически "проверяя", им ли принадлежат те или иные строения и шахты, зацикливались на каком-нибудь простом пятиклеточном маршруте и бегали по нему до полного изнеможения и так далее... Надеюсь, что вы знаете о существовании подобных проблем... ГФ: Мы собираемся прилично подремонтировать AI, и заставить его несколько расширить свои интеллектуальные познания. Множество пожеланий пользователей в данном случае также будут активно использоваться. Думаю, что на этот раз проблем с AI будет значительно меньше, хотя гарантировать не буду. С чего потом перед вами, господа журналисты, отчитываться? СО: Лестный отзыв о нашей профессии. Ну да ладно, продолжим... Что с системой магии? Насколько мы знаем, она претерпела кучу изменений, а самих заклинаний стало столько, что нам придется построить башню величиной с Empire State Building, чтобы выучить хотя бы малую часть их них. ГФ: Не надо гротеска, друзья. Все будет экстремально цивилизованно, и размеры Mage Guild не увеличатся. Просто в разных городах у вас появится возможность выучить что-то по- настоящему новенькое, ведь разброс заклинаний теперь весьма велик. Также, теперь вся магия разбита между четырьмя классическими школами - Fire, Air, Water, Earth, и героям придется учиться умениям в каждой из этих школ, чтобы успешнее применять те, или иные заклинания. Конечно, работать они будут и безо всяких умений, но эффект будет не тот. Что касается высоты Mage Guild, то она будет вполне стандартной - пять этажей. Правда, некоторые города последний этаж строить не смогут. СО: Еще один посланный вами же слух о HMM3 заключается в том, что герои смогут обмениваться известными им заклинаниями при встрече. Неужели и это правда? ГФ: Совершеннейшая. У героев будет возможность выучиваться особому умению - Magic Scholar. В зависимости от собственной продвинутости в нем, они смогут заучивать заклинания на лету у проходящих мимо дружественных героев, чем больше опыта, тем более высокого уровня заклинания могут быть выучены. СО: Последний животрепещущий вопрос. Чем вы займетесь после окончания работы на HMM3? Конечно понятно, что это секрет, но все таки, намекните. ГФ: Вообще-то существует несколько вариантов. Первым является real-time стратегия на базе Вселенной Might & Magic. То есть, не Heroes 4, а что-то совершенно другое. Далее, мы подумываем над созданием о какой-нибудь тактической ролевой игре, по концепции сидящей где-то между Heroes и классическим М&М. Ну и разумеется, четвертые Heroes. Одно время я был сильно увлечен идеей сетевого Might & Magic, но после того, как работа застопорилась, мы решили делать не стопроцентно сетевую игру, а лучше обыкновенную, но с богатыми многопользовательскими возможностями. Вот вам и третий вариант. То же, чем мы займемся после Heroes, пока совершенно неизвестно. Возможно, это будет проект из числа тех, что я назвал, а может быть, и нет... Беседу вел Сергей Овчинников. Вопросы и комментарии по его поводу вы можете совершенно свободно присылать по e-mail. FAQ, посвященный ситуации с отменой Forge, опубликованный Gregory Fulton на 3DO message board 23.05.99. It's 11:37pm Sunday evening. I should be getting off to bed, but I have surveyed the 3DO message board and feel now would be a good time to step in comment on all the insanity to have transpired over the past two weeks. WAS THE FORGE A BAD IDEA? We will never know. WILL THE FORGE RETURN? Perhaps, but not in its current form. IS THE TITLE 'ARMAGEDDON'S BLADE' CHANGING? No, but the story line is. HOW FAR ALONG WAS THE FORGE TOWN? A first draft of the town screen was finished and awaiting revision. We also had a first draft of each creature and its upgrade and were proceeding with revisions. All but one map for the campaign was finished. WHAT WAS THE STORY LINE? (!!! M&M7 SPOILER !!!) Armageddon's Blade followed a story line set up in the forthcoming Might and Magic 7. In the M&M7 story, Archibald's necromantic Advisors build a machine capable of creating high weaponry. In the Armageddon's Blade campaign, these Advisors build Forge towns and set out to destroy Erathia. Catherine's only hope to stop these hi-tech horrors is to obtain the fabled 'Armageddon's Blade'. In the end, Catherine finds Armageddon's Blade and destroys all remnants of the Forge towns, concluding the Might and Magic 7 story line. WHY DID YOU PULL THE FORGE? Reason One: As much as I thought the actions of many fans showed a lack of vision and an inherent distrust for a company who have given them hundreds of hours of quality gameplay, I still didn't want to fight our fans. Reason Two: There wasn't enough pro-Forge activity. DO YOU THINK 50% OF THE HEROES FANS WERE AGAINST THE FORGE? No. Total, the number of emails we received asking to remove the Forge were less than 100. I doubt 3DO received much more. As a series, Heroes has sold over 750,000 copies world wide. I would be surprised if more than 5% of the audience would have 'boycotted' the product. However, I still felt 5% was too high. DID THE NETHER GOD'S POLL AFFECT YOUR DECISION? No. The Nether God's poll was bogus. I voted for all three options three separate times with a dynamic IP. WE DON'T LIKE THE ELEMENTAL TOWN. "You'll get the elemental town, and you'll like it." DOES SCIENCE FICTION BELONG IN HEROES? Yes. Science fiction is the foundation of the Might and Magic universe. It is the reason the Might and Magic universe exists. At its core, the Might and Magic is about advanced civilizations who have descend into barbarism. If you disagree, your reasoning is emotional, not logical. Many people forget the Inferno is not populated by demons. It's populated by aliens who look like demons. If I told you the origin of the Arch Angels I'm sure many of you would have a heart attack. DO SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MIX? In the Might and Magic universe they do. WHY DID YOU GIVE GAMESPOT THE TOPLESS NAGA TANK PICTURE? We have no idea how Gamespot got a hold of the concept sketch. No one on the Heroes team gave it to them. We're still tracking it down. ARE ALL OF THE GAMESPOT GUYS YELLOW JOURNALISTS. No. As a person who has access to all the information pertaining to this subject, I tell you the posted article was very objective. ARE THE ASTRAL WIZARD PEOPLE ZEALOTS? No. Their intentions were honest though their methods were naive and misguided. ARE PEOPLE ON THE STATESMEN'S QUILL 'ELITIST SNOBS'? No. Though it has been a staple of the Astral Wizard web site for a long time, I personally would like to see the Statesmen's Quill migrate to the Heroes message board. Most of the Sq'ers are already on the message board. I think they would bring some much-needed decorum. I think mixing with newer fans would get rid of their 'elitist' label. I also happen to have over 2,000 SQ messages stored on my hard drive and I'm running out of disc space. DID PARENTS REFER TO THE LITTLETON TRAGEDY IN THEIR EMAILS ABOUT THE FORGE TOWN? I personally do not remember such a reference. However, one person did argue shooting someone with a gun was more violent than hacking them up with a sword. DID I RECEIVE POLITE MAIL ASKING YOU TO REMOVE THE FORGE? Yes. I received some very polite email asking me to remove the Forge. DID I RECEIVE HATE MAIL? Yes. I received numerous truly hateful emails. DID I RECEIVE DEATH THREATS? Yes. DO YOU READ THE 3DO MESSAGE BOARD? More than I should. DO YOU NEED IDEAS OF NEW TOWN TYPES? No. Believe me when I tell you we have thought of most every good and bad idea for a town type. This doesn't mean I won't listen to any email suggestions. However, the Muppet town is a definite 'no'. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH H4? Find the sweet spot. JEDDITE WANTS TO HAVE MY CHILDREN? Pass. HOW WAS YOUR WEEK? Grrr.. WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON ALL THIS? Everyone who participated in this fiasco should get out more often. Myself included. REGARDING THE ASTRAL WIZARD WEB SITE. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT flame the Astral Wizard web site. We at NWC have endured enough pain and suffering for everyone these past two week. I know Phil McCrum and consider his web site to be a valuable resource. Leave him and his web site alone. It's time to move on. REGARDING THE 3DO MESSAGE BOARD. Watching the 3DO message board is like seeing a train wreck. It's a tragic thing but you can't avoid watching it. The 3DO Heroes message board has less tact than the Usenet. If I were a novice looking for information on Heroes, and I read the message board, I would deduce the following, "Heroes of Might and Magic is a buggy product with ugly art, a bad story, terrible scenarios, stupid AI, and unplayable multi-player features." With comments such as these, I honestly wonder if the people posting on the message board are Heroes fans or employees from other companies trying to tear down our product. I would implore the fans to make the message board a community. Stop insulting one another. Play nice. Agree to disagree. There are many constructive opportunities available to you. Talk about map making philosophies. Assemble bug reports. Review player made maps and tabulate the results for the newcomers. Assemble suggestions. How about helping Gulfwolf start/finish the Tactics section? With a little cooperation among each other, you could make this part of the 3DO web site yours and turn it into a portal to the Heroes community. If it doesn't improve, I will have the board shut down. AND LAST. Remember this. you purchase Heroes from a store. You pay $50 just like the next guy. You take it home. You play it. If you don't like it, you take it back. If you like it, you keep it. In the end, your $50 isn't worth more than the other guy's $50. and it's just a game. BUT NOT LEAST. Take care folks. -GREG Интервью, данное Gregory Fulton сайту Adrenaline Vault 3.09.99. Ссылка на источник: http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle....homm&page=1, http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle....homm&page=2 Behind the HOMM Series: An Interview With Greg Fulton Written by: Pete Hines Published: September 3, 1999 The Heroes of Might and Magic games are among the best turn-based strategy offerings to date -- and among the best games of all time for that matter. Each sequel has improved on previous titles in a number of ways while providing the same engrossing, thrilling gameplay that has earned the series legions of fans and critical acclaim. On the eve of the upcoming expansion for Heroes III, called Armageddon's Blade, we interviewed lead designer Greg Fulton to get his thoughts about the expansion, the series and turn-based gaming in general. AVault: What are some of the highlights of Armageddon's Blade? Is it still slated for release in September? Fulton: The new campaigns are a lot of fun and offer some new twists and turns. The Sharpshooters from the Armageddon's Blade campaign and the Enchanters from Dragon Slayer are awesome. The new dragons are all extremely nasty. I expect that the Random Map Generator is going to be a big hit for our hardcore fans. There is more gameplay in the expansion than there was in the original. Plus, you can replay all of the Restoration of Erathia single scenarios with the Conflux town and heroes. Yes, we're still driving toward a September release. AVault: Originally, Armageddon's Blade was going to include a very different set of creatures as part of The Forge. Can you talk about the original intent of The Forge and why you decided not to include it? Fulton: We did announce the inclusion of the Forge at E3 in May. When we started the full-time design phase of the project, we began discussing all of the aspects, including the stories we wanted to tell and the specific plot points. Might and Magic VII ends with the creation of the Forge. Jon Van Caneghem and I chose to continue that story. The Forge introduced sci-fi elements into the Heroes universe for the first time, but sci-fi has been a part of the Might and Magic series since the original in 1986. Some of our fans were unaware of the history of sci-fi in the Might and Magic series and were very vocal in their opposition to this new inclusion. There's a 13-year history of listening to the fans at New World Computing, so we decided to move in another direction. I still feel the concept of sci-fi would work in the game. We just need to make sure we don't shock our fans with it. AVault: Have you considered using the Heroes universe in a different setting, such as a futuristic game that used units like the ones you had in the Forge? Fulton: We've considered all kinds of concepts for the Heroes series and for entirely new games. But it wouldn't be worthwhile to simply add futuristic graphics and release a game called "Heroes in Space" or something like that. Unless we have the basis for an entirely new game, it would be unlikely for us to do something like that. AVault: Given the current combat system, is there any way to implement a play-by-email mode that would work? Is this something you are considering for the future? Is it something you get a lot of requests for? Fulton: That's an interesting idea. Quite a bit of discussion revolves around ways to speed up multi-player games rather than slowing them down to e-mail. There have not been many requests for this. AVault: What are the comments you hear most often from Heroes fans in the way of requests or suggestions? Fulton: We receive huge numbers of requests and suggestions from our fans. These illustrate how many different ways there are to play the game and how much depth and diversity the game has. Many players want to increase the role-playing aspects of the game. Some have balancing suggestions that emphasize the strategy of the game. Many want longer campaigns so that they can play with the same hero or group of heroes for longer durations. There are tons of suggestions for town types, heroes, creatures, spells artifacts and so on. And, of course, we spend time looking at the suggestions and viewpoints on all of our fan sites, newsgroups and list servers. AVault: How do you come up with new ideas for the series? Fulton: We do a lot of brainstorming during the design and development of the game. The whole team will sit down and throw out ideas and see which ones are fun and possible. From that huge list, Jon Van Caneghem and I will narrow it down to the ideas we really like and feel are achievable. We're now divided into several project teams at New World, but a lot of people on other projects try to make time to play the current Heroes game in development. People are always stopping by to make suggestions. AVault: The look of Heroes III was substantially different than that of the first two titles in the series. Do you think the next Heroes title will take another leap forward or will it build off of Heroes III? Are 3D graphics in the series' future? Fulton: We'd like to take another big leap forward for a few reasons. The look of a game certainly helps establish a first impression and build players' interest when they first start playing a game. Also, we have an internal art team and that helps keep them inspired. Heroes III had quite a bit of pre-rendered 3D and this will probably continue in the next game we do, but perhaps with a number of improvements and significant changes. AVault: So plans are already underway for Heroes IV? Fulton: Yes, plans are already underway for the next game. AVault: The Warlords and Heroes series are generally considered to be two of the best turn-based series of their kind, and subsequently are viewed as rivals of a sort. Do you see it this way, or have you developed Heroes without considering what other games are doing? Fulton: While Warlords is a great series, we don't look at it, or any other games, for that matter, as rivals. We really focus on making games we want to play. We don't pressure ourselves to add features simply to be competitive. Of course, everyone in the office plays a lot of games. AVault: A real-time Warlords title is currently under development. Any plans to develop a real-time game based on Heroes? Fulton: We've thought about it. AVault: What do you think it is about the Heroes series that has made it so successful? Are there certain core attributes that the development team tries very hard to preserve as a result? Fulton: Highly addictive gameplay. Just about every feature in the game has some fans who believe it is a core feature. What we try to do is boil down the features into what is "sacred" and what can be improved. We've done a pretty good job so far of keeping everybody happy and making significant changes to each game in the series. Some fans were disappointed that their favorite creature from Heroes II was left out of Heroes III, so most of them have been brought back for the expansion. AVault: Do you think TBS games have an identity problem as a group as compared to RTS games or other genres? What do you think TBS games need to do as a whole to become more attractive to mainstream gamers? Fulton: There's certainly the perception turn-based games are not as glamorous. So far there haven't been any turn-based games on the cover of Rolling Stone. I think the problem is that it's more difficult to convey all of the depth of a turn-based game in today's "sound-bite" world. The Heroes games have all been sleepers. They find their audience over time. Once someone picks up the game, it's hard to put it down. AVault: Real-time games seem to be borrowing ideas from other strategy offerings as well as first-person action titles, RPGs and so on. Do you think we'll see more TBS games that combine elements of Heroes with other games, like SMAC or Jagged Alliance or X-COM? Fulton: There are already a number of games coming out that look a lot like Heroes. It's very flattering. I think there will be more games that incorporate elements of Heroes or other turn-based games. But, that's a pretty tricky thing to do. Once you start down the path of creating a hybrid game, you run the risk of creating something that is less than the sum of its parts. AVault: The Might and Magic and Heroes series have worked together to develop a continuing storyline that moves back and forth. Do you plan to continue this pattern into the future? Fulton: Absolutely. The team's priority is to make sure the Heroes storylines are engaging and entertaining. If we can do that and use plot elements from the Might and Magic series, then it makes a lot of sense. Also, it challenges and inspires the design teams for both products. AVault: What games have influenced you the most to this point? Outside of Heroes, what games do you enjoy playing? Fulton: I've been playing action and RTS games lately, including Half Life, Team Fortress, Kingpin and some Starcraft: Brood Wars. After playing a TBS game all day, a little action is definitely in order. AVault: What do you look for in a game? What makes a game really good in your eyes? Fulton: I look for games in which I can become immersed in the story and game play. I like games that challenge me and make me forget about the real world around me. |
XEL, hippocamus, Mefista, KypaToP_HM, Lokos, SLAVICBOY | ||
| 13 Mar 2014, 17:52 |
Музей мира M&M |
Официальный трейлер Heroes of Might and Magic III. |
XEL, Vade Parvis, Day7, Эроласт, Арысь-Поле, Black Dragon, Orzie | ||
| 03 Sep 2013, 14:36 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью с Jennifer Bullard. Ссылка на источник: http://www.acidcave.net. Jennifer Bullard Interview Introduction Jennifer Bullard is a talented, experienced game developer and a member of the original New World Computing team which created the Might & Magic franchise. She is most known for her work as a designer and storyline writer for Heroes III and IV as well as the Heroes Chronicles series. This interview was conducted in 2013 by Alchemik for Acid Cave. Q: I would to like to ask you about the Might and Magic universe. I know you were a member of the Might and Magic team. Could you answer a few questions about this topic? I would be thankful for your time and assistance. A: I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the Might & Magic universe. It has been many years since I worked on those games, so my memory may not be perfect but I will do my best. Q: How do you recall your job in NWC? A: Very fondly. I enjoyed working at NWC and learned a lot about game development there. Making maps, developing characters and designing games was loads of fun. I eventually moved into product management because I wanted a better work-life balance. Still have some great long-term friends from my time at NWC. Q: What was the inspiration for you and the rest of Might and Magic team? A: All of us loved strategy and role playing games, and we wanted to create our own. Many game developers have a strong passion for a specific genre and that is why they get into the industry. Q: Did you have freedom in creating storylines or did you have to follow directions of the developed story? A: We could create any storyline we wanted as long as it didn't violate certain rules. We had to stay away from adult themes, religion and had to keep it "E" rating. Q: How did you like working with Jon Van Caneghem? A: It was great. Jon was a good mentor and always knew how to ask the right questions. He has a strong eye for strategy and business, which is a valuable combination. We still keep in touch today and I've worked with him once since at NcSoft. Heroes of Might and Magic III (and The Forge) Q: Was Armageddon's Blade (the artifact) suppose to destroy the world by clashing with the Sword of Frost before "The forge" story was changed? A: The story was relatively unchanged after we removed the Forge. It just had a different origin from the original story. Q: What was the influence of removing "The Forge" from the final product, and what was the further story? A: The influence was pretty large. We had already invested a lot of work in The Forge, so we had to remove a bulk of our work and start from scratch. This really hurt the development cycle. It didn't affect the story as much, we kept the same basic line and changed who did what. However, it of course had a great impact on individual stories for maps. Q: I understand that Ancients and science fiction elements were still part of this universe after removing "The Forge"? A: Yes Q: Do you have any elements from the original concept of the Forge, like campaign texts? A: No, it all stayed with the company. Q: What did you personally think about The Forge and science-fiction elements in this universe? What did people who worked in New World computing think about The Forge town? A: We had mixed feelings about The Forge. Some people liked it and some people didn't. I thought the Forge was a new take on a pre-existing theme of Science behind the Magic. It comes from the original Might & Magic series. Q: What creatures were supposed to be in the Forge town? Most of all, on level 7? A: The creatures were modified regular creatures, so a punk style goblin, or Orc. I don't remember the line up anymore, especially which monsters were supposed to be on which maps. Q: After removing of The Forge, the good ending from Might and Magic VII was canonical. Were Ressurecta and her companions supposed to return in next games created by New World Computing? A: We did not plan on returning any Ressurecta or her companions. Q: Dragon Father: Who was he exactly? A: The Dragon Father was not really a person, but a concept - the Father of all Dragons. Q: How far was the design of this "concept"? Was it something specific? A: This was just flavor text, it didn't really have a full design. Q: Ethric the Mad from Might and Magic VI - The Mandate of Heaven. Was he the same master of Sandro from Heroes of Might and Magic III - Shadow of Death storyline? A: Yes, we always tried to tie the different products together so people who played everything could see a theme. Heroes Chronicles Q: Gods and Ancients - How are Ancestors and Ancients related? A: Ancestors were the biological start of the current crop of heroes. Ancients were often other powers who dabbled in the lives of mortals. Q: We all remember the Ancestors from Heroes Chronicles as these super-natural beings. This was rather new to the Might & Magic games, where generally we met no other god-like creatures. Many times religions and "gods" in M&M were later revealed to be connected with the Ancients - the futuristic advanced race which "seeded" the worlds many centuries ago. So were the Ancestors just these god-like entities or were they somehow connected to the Ancients and their Guardians from the main M&M storyline? Did they exist in the Might and Magic universe before Heroes Chronicles were written or are they a new element (and if so - who was their author)? Were gods more powerful than the Ancients or less? How much was Jon Van Caneghem involved in creating the storyline? A: Think of the Ancestors as super powerful humans who have become legends to their descendants. Many people can view their ancestors as god-like, having done something truly heroic. Those are what the Ancestors were - people who went above and beyond with extraordinary skill and talent to do great things. They had never been written into the Might & Magic Universe before the Heroes Chronicles. The "Gods" were more powerful than the Ancients. Jon Van Caneghem was not involved in the Heroes Chronicles series - In fact I did a majority of the work myself. Q: Until this day some fans are not sure on the subject of how the Heroes Chronicles fit in the general Might & Magic storyline. Some of them are even finding references which may not exist. So did you write Heroes Chronicles more like a stand-alone story of the immortal hero Tarnum or was it meant mostly to expand the history of the lands and worlds of other Might & Magic games and if so - which ones? Did you reference elements from the M&M RPGs or just included some characters from Heroes III? A: The Heroes Chronicles were meant to be more stand-alone than anything. Honestly, it was marketing who had the greatest hand in driving the products. We were slipping on Heroes IV and they wanted our fan base to have more maps to play. So I was asked to create 8 campaigns that could stand alone and be played in any order, without any reference to each other or the other products in development. So we created a series of titles that could do just that. Each original story & maps was written by one level designer and then I cleaned and polished them until ship. Each one was supposed to take place in 'the distant past' and we didn't create a specific order to their events. Heroes of Might and Magic IV Q: Is it true that at the beginning Heroes IV was supposed to have 7 campaigns about Emilia Nighthaven? A: No, we were not going to do that. Q: What happened with Pherlon and Genevieve Seymour? They are available in map editor as campaign heroes. Were they planned for the story? A: We did have them planned as campaigns, but started to run out of time and had to cut them. If I remember correctly they were supposed to be a love story. Q: What happened with campaigns "Every dog has his day" and "Unity"? They are listed on high score list. A: At the end of the development cycle when we start running out of time we have to cut maps. The decision is usually based on how well the map plays and then how much time it would take to fix. Those two maps didn't play well and we needed to cut them to polish the main story maps. Q: Was there another concept for the Heroes IV campaigns that had to be changed for some reason? Were the campaigns suppose to tell a single story, like in Heroes III: The Shadow of Death? Was Emilia Nighthaven originally the most important character of Heroes IV? A: No, the stories we came up with the original and were not modeled after anything else. Emilia Nighthaven was never the most important character in Heroes IV. Q: What caused the opening of the portals during the Reckoning? Were they opened by a Guardian? A: The Guardian opened the portals. We wanted to wash a lot of the history away from the old world and needed a mechanism to do so. Q: Was the Guardian (who opened the portals) Corak (from Might and Magic VII ending), Melian (from Might and Magic VI) or someone (something?) else? A: It was Corak - it is always Corak. Q: Where was Kalibarr when Gauldoth came looking for him? Is it the planet after the Reckoning or a different planet conquered by Kreegans? If it's the planet conquered by Kreegans, how Kalibarr got there? A: Kalibarr was held on the planet after the Reckoning, he was kidnapped and brought there by Demons. Q: Malustar - Was he supposed to begin a new demon invasion on Axeoth? I understood this from his biography. A:Malustar believed he would begin the new demon invasion because of a prophecy - however not all prophecies come true. After all it takes hard work and determination to make things happen. His biography was to poke fun at the 'chosen one' concept so often found in literature. Q: How far the design of Axeoth had been developed? A: We actually had a fairly fleshed out world. Knowing we would do 2-3 expansions our initial work gave space to expand, but also hinted at existing places. However, the layoffs happened so soon after the launch I am not sure how much was utilized in the subsequent expansions. Might and Magic Universe Q: What was the name of the planet from Heroes 1-3 and Might and Magic 6-8? A: In Heroes we never named the planet. Q: In a very important interview, just after the Forge was dropped, Greg Fulton reminded everyone that the Kreegans are "aliens who look like demons" and added: "If I told you the origin of the Arch Angels I'm sure many of you would have a heart attack." So was there a "schocking truth" about the angels in M&M? A: If there was you would have to talk to Greg Fulton about that. I didn't write their backstory. Q: Differences between Kreegans and demons - are creatures from inferno towns Kreegans or are they enslaved by them? A: Kreegans were from the void and were actually an alien race who just happened to look like Demons. In many ways the Kreegans are the original demons faced in the M&M worlds. Q: Do I understand correctly, that demons from Might and Magic I-V RPGs are Kreegans? A: That was how it was written by Greg Fulton. But that was probably not the original intent of the writers for Might & Magic I-V. you have to keep in mind that these stories were written by different people, with different ideas at different times. Some of the early writers stopped working there and others came to take their place. The main reason behind wiping the history was because it had become convoluted and hard to manage. Q: Kreegans and Creators - are they the same race or are Kreegans some soldiers of the Creators? A: Kreegans and Creators are different races and often had different goals. The Creators was also an inside reference to the development team. Q: So why were Creators described as the greatest enemy of the Ancients, if they never appeared in person, but the Kreegans were attacking and invading planets for over 1000 years? Were there plans for Creators to appear in further stories? A: There was, but with the dissolution of the team those were never realized. Q: Vori - the land of the Snow Elves. How far was the design of this land developed? From "The Sword of Frost" chapter we know that this Sword kept this land in a frosty climate. Was it the original concept of Vori? A: That was the original concept of Vori, and I don't think we had designed the land very much. It was planned for future products, but never done. Q: There is the Paradise to which souls go after death, but what is it the Plane of Death visited by Gauldoth spying Kalibarr? Is it the opposition of paradise like hell and heaven in our world? A: For the most part. In a video game you want to use concepts the player is familiar with, but directly referencing religion can have problems. We want to appeal to a broad audience, so using Heaven and Hell can discourage some players. Which is why we use things like Paradise or the Plane of Death. Q: Crusaders and Warriors of Might and Magic: were they treated by NWC as a canonical games? A: No they weren't. Those games were developed elsewhere and we didn't follow their storylines. We gratefully thank Jennifer Bullard for her time and her answers concerning the Might & Magic universe. |
Mantiss, XEL, Лентяй, Vade Parvis, tolich, Dead_89, J2K, Арысь-Поле, DrSlash, Cthulhu_55 | ||
| 04 Jun 2011, 00:31 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью с Джоном Ван Канегемом, опубликованное в майском номере журнала "Страна Игр". Вы открыли свою компанию New World Computing в 1984 roдy (или это был 8З-й?). Ваша первая игра вышла аж в 1986. Насколько мне известно, процесс разработки в те времена был не столь сложен и трудоемок, как сеrодня. Что отняло у вас столько времени? Я основал New World в 198З-м. Три года ушло у меня на создание первой М&М на компьютере Apple II. Мне пришлось обучаться программированию на ассемблере для 6502-го процессора, у нас не было ни инструментов для разработки игр, ни соответствующих школ, ни документации. Приходилось взламывать код и экспериментировать. В конечном итоге мне пришлось написать операционную систему, драйвер управления дисководом, менеджер памяти , графический движок, звуковую систему; а начинал я с того, что спрограммировал операции по умножению и делению, потому что их там вообще не было! В 1984-м уже была пара популярных компьютерных RPG, включая Ultima и Wizardry, которая к тому же была ролевой иrрой от первоro лица, в точности как и Might & Magic. Почему вы решили делать игру, на первый взгляд очень похожую на Wizardry (хотя, разумеется, весьма ориrинальную)? Вообще-то перед разработкой я написал для себя большой документ, в котором изложил все плюсы и минусы как для игры с видом сверху (Ultima), так и для ЗD (Wizardry). Сравнив все это, я пришел к выводу, что лучше всего подойдет ЗD - к тому же я был уверен, что в будущем компьютеры станут еще более продвинутыми, и визуальная составляющая улучшится в разы. Ходил слух, что это ваша жена попросила вас сделать «иrру как King's Bounty, но про Might & Magic». Так ли это? Расскажите всю историю, раз уж на то пошло. Мне всегда нравились ролевые игры, но еще одной моей страстью были игры стратегические (я играл в огромное количество «настолок»). Так что в 1989-м я предпринял первую попытку сделать стратегию, что в итоге вылилось в King's Bounty для Apple II. Она получила хорошую прессу, и народу вроде понравилось, но продажи были средненькими. Моя вторая жена, Дебби, была фанаткой КВ и постоянно просила меня сделать продолжение. Так что несколько лет спустя, вооружившись опытом King's Bounty, я начал делать игру Heroes. А чтобы продажи шли лучше, я добавил в название of Might and Magic, полагая, что из-за этого игру купит больше людей. Вот так и появилась серия Heroes of Might and Magic. В стенах New World Computing вам довелось создать большое количество иrp. У вас были адаптации настольных и карточных игр (Nuclear War и Tunnels & Trolls), футуристичный рейсинг, покер со знаменитостями и даже мультижанровые иrры (первой на ум приходит Planet's Edge). Но с 1995-ro вы не разрабатывали ничего, что не имело бы в названии Might & Magic. Почему так получилось? Вы устали от коммерчески неуспешных проектов (продолжая издавать игры других студий, кстати говоря)? В действительности мне всегда хотелось экспериментировать и создавать игры в новых жанрах. Но в 1996-м я продал NWC вместе с ее издательским бизнесом The ЗDО Соmраnу, оставаясь лишь руководителем студии, но не владельцем - а значит, у меня больше не было свободы выбора в разработке. Согласны ли вы с тем, что Might & Magic IX вместе с Heroes of Might and Magic IV фактически похоронили вселенную? Это произошло из-за суровых дедлайнов, поставленных ЗDО или из-за неопытности Тима Ланга (ведущий геймдизайнер М&М IX) и «чересчур креативных» продюсеров НоММ IV? В одном интервью вы упомянули, что жена критикует вас за «уничтожение иrры». Даже ваша жена была против четвертых «Героев»! На качество последних двух игр повлияло множество разных факторов. У ЗDО были финансовые трудности, я был меньше вовлечен в разработку игр, к тому же у меня были серьезные разногласия с руководством издательства. Очень сложная ситуация сложилась для всех. Для меня лично это был печальный конец эры, длившейся двадцать лет. Когда ЗDО закрылась окончательно, мне пришлось вернуться в офис New World, отослать всех домой, запереть двери и выслать ключи атторнею по банкротствам. Один из самых грустных дней в моей жизни. Вы сегодня следитe за ситуацией с правами на Might & Magic? Компания Ubisoft активно развивает бренд (хотя она и отказалась от предыдущих сюжетных линий и персонажей). Скоро уже выйдут Heroes VI, вы ждете от нее чего-нибудь хорошего? Вы бы сделали еще один Might & Magic, если бы вам представился случай? Сейчас, глядя назад, я понимаю, что я просто обязан был выкупить права на Might and Magic, но я оказался настолько опустошен в результате сложившейся ситуации, что тогда решил просто уйти из бизнеса. Очень жалею, конечно. Да, я слежу за всеми новыми играми от Ubi и других разработчиков и радуюсь тому, что серия продолжает жить! Хотя многие вещи сделал бы по- другому, я желаю играм серии всего самого лучшего и надеюсь, что их популярность не упадет. В одном интервью в 1996-м вы заявили, что мнoro играли в Diablo и поняли, что будущее принадлежит онлайновому геймингy. Вы ничего такого не сделали в рамках NWC (кроме Legends of Might & Magic), однако ваш следующий анонс послe закрытия студии касался основанной вами фирмы Trion World Network, которая собиралась провести революцию в жанре MMORPG. Я уже вовсю играю в Rift и нахожу игpy аддиктивной и к тому же хорошо сделанной. Да, разработка заняла oгрoмнoe количество времени, но оно того стоило. Почему вы покинули компанию несколько лет спустя? Вы были разочарованы самой идеей революционирования MMORPG? Вообще-то в 1996-м я выбрал в качестве покупателя своей студии именно ЗDО, потому что у них уже была MMORPG под названием Meridian 59, которая еще больше убедила меня в том, что будущее игр - а особенно RPG - лежит в онлайновой плоскости. Так что после продажи компании моим первым проектом стала Might and Magic Online. Уже тогда у меня были идеи и схемы, воплощенные в современных MMORPG, хотя по плану этот проект должен был выйти еще до EverQuest, World of Warcraft и т. п. К сожалению, через восемь месяцев работы руководство ЗDО решило отменить игру, поскольку планируемые расходы оказались для них слишком велики. Я основал Trion в 2005-м, чтобы удовлетворить свою страсть к созданию ММО и онлайновых игр вообще, и покинул фирму в 2009-м. Комментировать свой уход не буду, извините. Однако я и сейчас хочу делать новые MMORPG, у меня полно идей, которые могут стать революционными, если выбрать правильную точку приложения сил. Поскольку вы нынче возглавляете студию Victory Games, которая собирается сделать некогда популярную RТS вновь популярной, в какие три последние иrры на РС или консолях вы играли? Вы уже знаете, на что ориентироваться, разрабатывая новую игру в серии Command & Conquer? Я играю практически во все стратегические игры, равно как и в большинство самых популярных игр вообще. Я провел много времени в Battlefield Bad Соmpany 2, мне безумно понравились Red Dead Redemption и Civilization V, и я очень, очень много играл в StarCraft 2. Ну и по понятной причине я вновь прошел все уже вышедшие игры серии Command & Conquer. В России очень любят King's Bounty и вселенную Might & Magic. Первая (пиратская) локализация КВ вышла вceгo через шесть месяцев послe релиза (а ведь в 1991-м не в каждом московском офисе были компьютеры!), затем был неофициaльный сиквел под названием King's Bounty 2 (eго разработчик впоследствии сделал серию «Герои Мальrpимии»), пять лет назад вышла Heroes of Might & Magic V, разработанная московской компанией Nival Interactive, и, наконец, целиком и полностью новая Кing's Bounty от калининградской Katauri Interactive, причем эта серия насчитывает уже три выпуска. Кстати, один мой знакомый из Катаури просил поинтересоваться: вы игрaли в «King's Bounty: Легенда о рыцаре» или «King's Bounty: Принцесса в доспехах»? Как они вам? И как вам пятые «Герои», раз уж на то пошло? Передайте вашему знакомому, что я играл во все новые игры King's Bounty, и они все мне очень понравились! Heroes V была забавной, интересно теперь будет посмотреть на Heroes VI. Если вам есть что сказать ретрогеймерам - тем, кто до сих пор любит и играет в King's Bounty, Might & Magic, Heroes of Might & Magic, пожалуйста, не стесняйтесь. В первую очередь спасибо вам за возможность ответить на вопросы про Might and Magic (и про меня)! Спасибо всем вам, хочу честно сказать - само ваше существование греет мне душу. Я обожал делать Might & Magic, и еще больше обожал играть в них, так что однажды, хочется верить, я смогу создавать новые игры в этих жанрах. У меня полно идей и планов, которые мне хочется воплотить. Ну а пока что я сконцентрируюсь на великой игре Command & Conquer. Надеюсь, что вы, поклонники серии, не откажете себе в удовольствии в нее поиграть! |
Grand Elf, Aleee, XEL, Mugaisa, Agar, Vade Parvis, tolich, FCst1, Adept, feanor, dik X.B., Kastore, Astaroth, DRONыч, nosferatu, baratorch, Etoprostoya, Doomђammer, J2K, Maximus, Corkes, Cthulhu_55 | ||
| 13 Apr 2011, 03:23 |
Музей мира M&M |
Статья о Джоне Ване Каненгеме и NWC, опубликованная в Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) 11 марта 1996 года. Ссылка на источник: http://www.thefreelibrary.com. AN EDUCATION IN GAME MARKET\33-year-old's magical touch has transformed passion for role playing\adventures into a lucrative reality. Byline: Yardena Arar Daily News Staff Writer Among the trolls, dragons and wizards of computer fantasy role-playing games, Jon Van Canegham has proved a durable monarch. At 33, he's headed his own company, New World Computing, for well over a decade, taking it from his parents' West Hollywood apartment to an Agoura Hills office suite with 28 full-time employees and several external developers. In that time New World has published about 30 titles, including the popular "Might and Magic" series, for Macintosh, PC, Amiga, Sega and Nintendo. Two years ago, New World merged with publicly held NTN Communications of Carlsbad in a stock swap valued at $10 million - a handsome return on a venture that had its roots in Van Canegham's twin passions for fantasy role-playing games (or RPGs, as they are known by players) and computers. The RPGs came first. "I was always a gamer," recalled Van Canegham, looking like an affluent grad student in jeans and an expensive-looking sweater. Like many young people in the 1970s, Van Canegham was particularly keen on Dungeons & Dragons, a game requiring several players who take on fantasy personas with various attributes that determine their success in assorted quests. But gaming for years was simply a hobby, and Van Canegham went to UCLA expecting to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a physician. His first encounter with an Apple II computer changed all that. "I played a couple of games and was immediately hooked," he said. Van Canegham also quickly recognized the potential of computers to provide a satisfying RPG experience. "You don't have to wait for five or six players to get together," he said. He immediately switched majors from pre-med to computer science and immersed himself in the fairly primitive games of the era. "Games were sold in Ziploc bags," he said. "You'd get a disk with cardboard backing and a piece of paper with instructions." Computer science itself was mostly about large mainframes and punch cards. So Van Canegham taught himself how to program, and - inspired by such pioneering games as Sirtech's Wizardry and Ultima by Origin (the company now best known for its "Wing Commander" series) - set out to create a game of his own. Doing everything himself, from the graphics and game design to actual coding, Van Canegham started in his senior year and founded New World in 1984 with $70,000 from an inheritance, his parents and a bank loan that they co-signed. The project that turned into "Might and Magic" ended up taking 2-1/2 years, by the end of which Van Canegham had moved out and was no longer speaking to his parents. Do-it-yourself succeeds Van Canegham originally intended New World to be his development company, but changed his mind in late 1985 and early 1986 when he started showing his finished game to publishers who told him that as a newcomer, he could expect royalties of only $1 on a $50 to $60 retail price. Disgusted, Van Canegham began reading up on running a small business and used his remaining capital to pay for a run of 5,000 games - the whole thing fit on two 5-1/4-inch floppies - packaging, an 800 number and a professionally prepared ad that ran in magazines for Apple users. "I still remember the ad," Van Canegham said. "It said, 'Finally, a game that takes you seriously.' " The campaign for the $55 game worked beyond his wildest expectations. "The moment the ad hit, the phone rang off the hook," Van Canegham recalled. "Within two months we'd sold all 5,000 units." The publishers, who less than a year earlier had offered Van Canegham $1 a game, were now flying him and Ron Spitzer, a gaming buddy with some business expertise, around the country. But Van Canegham was no longer interested in keeping New World a developer only. "I thought it was more exciting to build a company," he said. Instead, he and his friend - now a partner - struck a deal to become the first affiliate label of Activision, letting the larger Los Angeles-based company serve as his distributor. Initially, Van Canegham recruited friends to help fill orders as they came in from Activision to New World, now headquartered in Van Nuys. "Our office immediately turned into Gamer Central after hours," he said. But when the orders started numbering in the thousands, he found his friends were no longer willing to assemble packages for pizza, beer and a place to play games. So over the next few years, New World became a more serious company, developing new titles and adapting popular old ones to other platforms. The company left Activision for Electronic Arts in 1989, and since then has handled its own distribution through contractors. Long hair to big bucks Van Canegham is still astonished by the transformation he has seen, not only in his own company but the entire computer gaming business. "I knew 'em back when they all had long hair and Ziploc bags," he said. "Now everyone's going public. Now all these companies are worth big bucks, which always amazes me because the assets go home at night." Van Canegham admits the consolidation around him heavily influenced his own decision to sell to NTN, which operates a nationwide interactive television network best known for sports, trivia and other games in restaurants and bars. "The main reason for doing it was that we couldn't continue to grow, and we were going to have a difficult time competing," he said. Indeed, New World has found the going a lot tougher in recent years. A look at NTN's financial reports shows that software sales - which is basically the New World component - are down. Van Canegham attributes this in part to recent changes in the fiscal year for New World, but also to a couple of games that simply didn't catch on, most notably the action game "Zephyr." Terry Coleman, reviews editor of San Francisco-based ComIputer Gaming World, said New World stumbles when it strays from its niche-market roots and tries to score with the larger audience with games like "Zephyr." " 'Zephyr' had some nice ideas, but when you look at the quality of the other action games that came out at the time - 'Tie Fighter,' 'WingCommander,' 'Magic Carpet' - 'Zephyr' was kind of a tame product," Coleman said. But Coleman said New World still excels at strategy and RPGs, such as its currently popular "Heroes of Might and Magic," which got the maximum five stars from Computer Gaming World - and "Anvil of Dawn." " 'Heroes of Might and Magic' is a wonderful fantasy strategy game, where you fight with orcs and trolls and gargoyles and dragons," Coleman said. "It's been done a million times before, but it's done very well." Van Canegham acknowledged that "Zephyr" had made him wary of devoting internal resources to action development; his entries in that field now come from external developers. However, he noted that fewer and fewer elaborate RPGs are being released, in part because of the rapid upward spiral of computer technology. "We made games for Apple II's for eight years," he recalled. "Now, every six months the criteria for the machine changes." Because of the relatively lengthy development process for graphics-intensive RPGs, many are technologically obsolete by the time they reach stores. Another problem is the increasingly hit-driven nature of the business. "The early games would sell for three, four years," he said. "Now, if it's not selling in a month, it goes to the budget shelves." Van Canegham also bemoans what he views as the increased importance of sales and marketing. "When I started, if you had a good game, it was going to sell even if it was in a brown paper bag under the rock. Today, the pendulum has swung. . . . Having a good game just doesn't cut it any more." There's a future on-line Van Canegham, who when not at his Agoura Hills home or Santa YneIz ranch may be found racing Formula Fords, has had other woes associated with his buyout. San Diego shareholder lawsuit specialist Bill Lerach has named him in a suit alleging insider trading over a stock sale in early 1995, a lawsuit NTN corporate counsel Laura Kass said the company was "vigorously defending." But despite these recent headaches, Van Canegham is optimistic about New World's future as on-line gaming comes of age. He sees the on-line universe as having great potential to reinvigorate RPGs. "With a packaged game, you ship it and it's done. With an on-line game, the game can actually evolve over time," he said. |
XEL, Kastore, Haart of the Abyss, Corkes | ||
| 29 Mar 2011, 01:35 |
Музей мира M&M |
Цитата(tolich @ 28 Mar 2011, 13:26) А у WoX не было дополнительного сертификата? Не знаю. Я выложил все, которые были у меня на компьютере. Цитата(XEL @ 28 Mar 2011, 17:39) Кстати, в интре масса отсылок к "Монти Пайтон и Святой Грааль" Потом в RoE коды (формата nwc[фраза]) снова были отсылками к нему Есть даже отдельная статья на эту тему: homm3.ga-strategy.com/cheatreasoning.htm REASONING OF CHEATS By: The Incredible Wuk The purpose of my writing, was to inform you of why the cheat codes are what they are. I have found the answer! At first when I saw the cheats, I thought oh yeah, these cheats sound pretty cool, but when I watched "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", I thought "Woah! Those cheats are awesome!" (Monty Python, obviously, being the British Comedy team from a few decades ago including John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and such) and the Holy Grail being the best feature film they made, something I own on video and only just recently watched the other night. You really must watch it, it is tremendously funny.) So here's what each cheat is from in the film (without nwc): coconuts (movement): The knights and King Arthur don't ride around on horses, they do a little skip while peasants who travel with them tap coconuts together to simulate the horses' hooves. muchrejoicing (morale): "And they were forced to eat Sir Robin's minstrels. And there was much rejoicing." castleanthrax (luck): A castle where 8 score of young blondes and brunettes all between the age of 16 and 19 1/2 who almost tempt one of the knights to stay in their castle and spank them all, and then after that, "Oral Sex!" shrubbery (resources): The Knights Who Say "Ni" demand of King Arthur a shrubbery, before they let him past their part of the woods. avertingoureyes (archangels): God: "What are you doing?" Arthur: "Averting our eyes, O Lord" God: "Stop that! I hate it when people do that." fleshwound (black knights): The Black Knight gets both his arms chopped off and continues to fight, stating "It's only a flesh wound! Come on and fight!" igotbetter (level up): "She turned me into a newt!" Pause, while every-one looks at him. "...I got better..." general direction (map): "I fart in your general direction, you stupid English pig dogs!" tim (spells): "And by what are you called, great enchanter?" Enchanter: "There are some who call me ................ Tim!" antioch (war machines): The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch! trojanrabbit (win): They unsuccessfully use a Trojan rabbit to try and surprise the French. sirrobin (loss): Sir Robin ran away and his minstrels made a song about it, which pestered him greatly. alreadygotone (puzzle): Arthur tells the French he's looking for the Holy Grail and they say they already got one. onlyamodel (town): "Camelot!" "Camelot!" "Camelot!" "Camelot!" Peasant: "It's only a model." "Shut up! |
XEL, IQUARE, tolich, FCst1 | ||
| 28 Mar 2011, 10:08 |
Музей мира M&M |
Сертификаты: Might and Magic I  Might and Magic II  Might and Magic IV  Might and Magic V  |
Darkmoon, XEL, Vade Parvis, tolich | ||
| 29 May 2010, 21:39 |
собираем вопросы для интервью с Gus Smedstad |
Интересно то, что Gus Smedstad был главным програмистом искусственного интелекта Героев Меча и Магии III и главным дизайнером Героев Меча и Магии IV. Вопрос: Что бы вы хотели сказать геройскому сообществу, как представитель компании NWC? |
Kastore, Haart of the Abyss | ||
| 30 Jan 2010, 22:50 |
Музей мира M&M |
На самом деле это тот же самый дневник, на который давал ссылку SAG19330184 в сообщении № 1108. Вот он полностью: Heroes of Might and Magic III Two weeks ago, I spoke on the phone with Tom Ono, the manual writer for Heroes of Might and Magic III. As usual, Tom asked how things were going. I said things were good... then proceeded to whine and complain for the next five minutes (much to Tom's amusement). When the conversation concluded, Tom said, "Don't complain too much. Some people would give their eyeteeth to be in the game industry." I responded, "Who are these people and why haven't they been beaten for their own good?" My name is Gregory Fulton, game designer for Heroes of Might and Magic III (developed by New World Computing, published by 3DO). You may call me Greg. Like most game designers, I'm sure you'll find me a bitter and cynical man, aged beyond my years, full of sarcasm, and inexplicably drawn to the horrors of game production like a lobotomized moth to the "pretty" flame. As I guide you through your weekly tour of my memories, I promise the recollected images will be truthful and sincere but written with a smirk and a wink. Undoubtedly, we will interact with the following animals: artists, level builders, managers, producers, programmers, testers, and monkeys. To help ensure your safety, I request you fasten your seat belts, keep your hands to your sides at all times, and be sure to not make any quick and sudden movements. Remember... we will be passing through the game production process. 12/05/98 It's Saturday. I'm at work with three other members of the Heroes3 team. I'll be in again tomorrow. Smells like "crunch time." Everyone in the game industry knows the term "crunch time." Those not in the industry may ask, "What is crunch time?" Long hours: 10-18 each day. We're starting our fourth crunch month. We have at least one more after this. Bad take-out food: Mexican and Chinese food are New World's favorites. Today we had Taco Bell and Domino's pizza as part of NWC's "work for food" program. Social Life: To work in the game industry you must already have some form of social retardation. When crunch mode begins, you may only speak in code to coworkers. Immediate family and friends may be seen on brief occasions so they don't file a missing-persons report. I'm one of the lucky ones; I don't remember having any friends or family. Hygiene: Haircuts and showers become optional in favor of more sleep time. For me, showers are a must, but my hair is sprouting wings and a tail. Pretty soon I'll look like the lead singer from Flock of Seagulls. Stress: Anger and frustration are frequent companions. If bridges are burned, this is usually the time. Earlier this week morale was low. In a fit of anger concerning team interactions, I was heard shouting, "I feel like a kindergarten teacher. Can't everyone just keep their hands to themselves and play nice!" Murphy's law: Any potential hazard will be encountered. I'm writing this diary from the NWC conference room. My computer refuses to function for more than five minutes without seizing up. 12/06/98 This weekend I'm taking care of my PR duties (hence this diary). Not the most exciting stuff, so I'll relate a short story from earlier this week. David Mullich (producer), Mark Caldwell (NWC vice president and programmer), Jon Van Caneghem (NWC president, creator of all things Might and Magic, and company design visionary), and I found ourselves crowded into the sweltering office of Scott White. Scott did all the town screens in Heroes III except the Rampart, Necropolis, and Fortress. Since he finished his 3D duties, he's turned his skills to the game's interface. Believe it or not, we were in Scott's office arguing about color: interface colors and player colors. After much arguing about the interface colors, we decided to leave it virtually untouched. Player colors were a different subject. Originally, we used light blue, dark blue, red, green, purple, brown, black, and white. These colors needed to change. Light blue looked like the blue used in the main menu. Brown clashed with the brown used in the general game interface. Game text disappeared against white. Black and green disappeared with the terrain colors shown on the game mini-map. OK. We agreed some of the colors needed to change. After this, the agreements stopped. I don't know what is more ridiculous... arguing over what colors to use or the twisted logic behind the arguments. Red, blue, and dark green were safe choices. We still needed five other colors. The conversation went something like this.... "I don't want yellow. Yellow is the urine color." "What about brown?" "I don't like brown." "Brown is the s**t color." "What about pink?" "Pink is a sissy color." "We won't call it pink. We'll call it 'rose'." "Rose?" "The rose player?" "I don't know. If I saw a pink hero, I'd turn and run away. You know any hero secure enough to use pink as his color is bad ass." "What about magenta?" "What about cobalt? What about cadmium?" "Have we accounted for all the fecal colors?" "What about orange?" "Phelan (our art lead) doesn't like orange. It looks bad." "So. I don't think it looks bad." "Fine. You tell her you want orange." "She'll kick your ass." "Oh. Fine. We won't use orange." So it went. Fifteen minutes later everyone agreed to disagree, and Jon was made the final judge. Here are the final colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, aqua, and rose (pink). 12/07/98 Today we stopped all map production. From here until we ship, I join the mapmakers and testers in playing maps and writing bugs... or so I thought. Today, I had dropped into my lap the assignment of converting the 144-plus pages of the game manual into a help file. Anyone who has written a help file knows how huge this task can be. I could probably finish it in a day, but it requires no one bothering me for an extended period of time. Ha! At this late stage of the production cycle, my entire day is spent meeting with people, making sure people are doing their work, and confirming that what is being done is correct. I don't have time for work. I've made the ugly evolution from game designer to middle manager. It wasn't like this at the beginning of the project. At the beginning of the project the game designer is the screaming prophet, lost and alone in the desert (or the design process if you prefer). In the middle of the production process the prophet is being screamed at by all his fellow coworkers who are wondering what to do because the design doc is behind schedule. At the end of the project, everyone's a screaming prophet, and everyone is screaming at everyone else. Sometime in the middle of all this screaming I've got to write this help file. Maybe I could give the assignment to Christian Vanover (H3 assistant director). Isn't it the job of a middle manager to delegate? 12/08/98 Yesterday I was wondering where I would find the time to write the game help file. Today I have the answer.... I think I have the flu. This doesn't feel like any 24-hour "see-ya-bye" flu either. This feels like "kneel before Zod!" flu. All right. I've got a story for you. Earlier today we "officially" stopped making maps. From here on out, we play, test, and polish the game. This could mean a little, or a lot. If the maps play well the first time out, revisions will be minor. If we end up chucking whole maps, we may find ourselves back to making maps. Thus, we started playing them today. JVC (Jon Van Caneghem, New World's president) ended up playing a notorious map named "Barbarian Breakout." Ten minutes after he starts, JVC pages me over my phone intercom: "Hey Yoda." (He's been calling me Yoda lately. I don't know why. I'm not sure if I should be honored or offended. On one hand, Yoda is wise and he trains Jedi Knights. On the other hand, he is a short ugly green dude with big ears.) "Enemy hero with six behemoths (one of the highest-level creatures) knocked on my front door on week two, day one." "Oops. I'll be right there." As soon as I walked into JVC's office, the razzing began. "What's with the six behemoths? Is this one of the balanced scenarios?" "OK, OK. Something's wrong. Turn off the fog." Jon restarts the scenario, turns off the fog of war, ends turn four times in a row, then right-clicks the enemy hero to see the extent of his forces. Aside from his other three stacks of creatures... he has one stack of six behemoths. Oops. "All right. Open the map in the editor." Jon opens the map in the editor. What do we discover? First, the enemy hero starts at level three, and the mapmaker (Dave Botan) has given him four stacks of creatures. In addition, the enemy hero's starting town has three of seven creature generators already prebuilt. No wonder the enemy was able to recruit behemoths on day four. Remember the story about the father who comes home from a bad day at work and yells at his wife? She in turn yells at her kid. The kid in turn kicks the dog. At this point, I'm looking for a dog to kick. So, I hunt down Dave Botan. Immediately, Dave states his defense. "Everyone says the map's too hard. It isn't. The AI's cheating." (Recently, we discovered the artificial intelligence was exploiting an undiscovered bug allowing it to recruit more creatures than were actually available.) "The AI doesn't need to cheat. It's already got a huge advantage." "There's a bug." "Doesn't matter. Set all players to normal starting conditions." At this point everyone begins to playfully dog-pile on Dave telling all the reasons why his maps suck. In the end he relented and fixed the map. 12/09/98 I'm not writing from work today. I'm writing from home. I have seven-way-straight-from-the-bottom-of-the-Amazon-flu. With this kind of flu the logical course of action would be to rest, drink lots of fluids, watch lots of movies, maybe see a doctor. However, I am a game designer and unfamiliar with the ways of logic. A day at home with the flu means I have the opportunity to finish the H3 help file. Wow. How pathetic can you get? On my day off to rest and get better, I use the uninterrupted time to convert a 144+ page manual into a help file. I should get sick more often. I get more work done. 12/10/98 I'm back at work today. Good news... I finished the help file. Bad news... I still have the flu, and because I was so efficient in writing the game help file... I've been given the task of writing the map editor help file. Oh yeah, finish it by Monday. Monday? There's so much pressure in my head, when I sniff, my eyes want to flee their sockets. My voice has the auditory consistency of sandpaper. Monday? Sure, I'll have it done by Monday. 12/11/98 Well, it's Friday night, and I have yet to see Star Trek: Insurrection. Doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon. One of the unmentioned symptoms of crunch time is cultural unawareness. In my time at a previous company I almost missed the entire O.J. trial. I haven't seen a movie since Starship Troopers. I'm not kidding. 12/14/98 I shouldn't have come in to work Thursday and Friday. It really pushed me over the edge. For the past two days I've been laid up with fever and chills. Remarkably, it was the one thing to take my mind off work. Aside from a froggy throat, it seems to have passed. Enough about my illness. From here on, assume I'm always ill with the flu. 12/15/98 Today NWC (New World Computing) took a brief pause from game development to listen to Trip Hawkins (president of 3DO, NWC's parent company). Twice a year, Trip makes a formal visit to talk about the company and where we're going as a company. It's a nice break from things. However, Trip wasn't half as exciting as David Richie (our tools programmer) who sat next to me. Turns out David is coming down with the flu. Over the course of the meeting, the air conditioning didn't turn on. With over 50 people crammed into a room, it got hot very fast. As the minutes passed, I could see David slowly whither. I thought he was going to vomit. So basically, for most of the meeting, I sat envisioning how I was going to get out of the way when the volcano erupted. Luckily, the volcano did not erupt. David left in the middle of the lecture and I haven't seen him since. 12/17/98 Welcome to the end of another working day at NWC. There is still no sign of David Richey. Another one of our programmers, John Krause, called in sick today. David Mullich (the Heroes III director) was ready to take bets on who would call in sick next. Of course, everyone blames me for getting them ill. As far as your average NWC workday goes, this one was hectic and full of revelation. Revelation? Yes. Revelation. Only today did I look at my calendar and realize Christmas was next Friday. Hectic? Yes. Hectic. Every now and then I need to wipe my desk clean. This means catching up on all the hand-scrolled notes and stray post-its littered about my desk. When my desk is clean, I'm caught up. This very act of cleaning makes for a semi-chaotic day. There is much gear shifting and subject changing to close dangling issues. Add to this my usual parade of visitors, and my first chance to test multiplayer, and it takes great effort to avoid turning into a screaming monkey. Yes, I said screaming monkey. Frequently, I find myself held hostage in my own office as a line of visitors (testers, programmers, artists, producers, etc.) quickly assemble outside my office in a short period of time, all wanting a piece of my brain. Today it happened to occur while I was in the middle of a multiplayer game with Jeff Leggett (H3 multiplayer programmer). Simultaneously, I had three people show up and cram themselves into my small office. Each began jockeying for position to ask a question. Meanwhile, Jeff waited on the phone intercom, with Heroes III continually chiming in the background, letting me know it was my turn to play. At this point you may apply the screaming monkey metaphor. Despite the great potential for chaos, I asked Jeff to wait, gave my three suitors a number, told them to wait in line, then answered each of their questions. On the surface, everything looked under control. Little did these poor souls know there was a screaming monkey, trapped in my mind's steel cage, wildly thrashing about in a desperate attempt to escape and turn me into a volcano of anger and lunacy. When it was over, I took a deep breath, noted the walls weren't sprayed with the blood of innocent coworkers, and returned to my multiplayer game with Jeff. Heroes II multiplayer wasn't friendly in the least. When it wasn't your turn, all you could do was sit at the computer and stare at the screen like a moron. Well, thanks to our wonderful network programmer, Jeff Leggett, a moron you will no longer be. Jeff has finished implementing multiplayer support. Now we're on a bug hunt. So, today, Jeff and I played a multiplayer game in the background while we went about our work. I must admit, I had a blast. Moments like this make me forget my job is serious work. 12/18/98 Friday Today I actually managed to catch up on all my notes. Next up, International Translation Kit. It can wait until Sunday. I don't get to enjoy these moments of accomplishment very often. Being a game designer is nothing more than a life of delayed gratification. You spend the first month of the project "being creative," then spend the next 17 as a bricklayer implementing low-level details and boot-strapping the game design when unforeseen consequences arise. Tomorrow we have our annual company Christmas party. I won't be going. I see my coworkers every day at work. I don't want to see them in a social environment. It'd be too weird. They'd have, like, spouses and dates and stuff, and wear dress clothes. We've been told we can dress formal or casual. To me this means torn jeans and a food-stained white T-shirt. To everyone else, this means dress formal, because no one wants to underdress. I don't want to see any of my coworkers dressed up. The thought frightens me. We're a bunch of geeks. We don't look good in casual wear. Formal wear will only amplify our geekiness. Only one thing could entice me to go to the Christmas party - seeing the wives go off on the management for working their husbands so hard. I'd pay to see that... provided I wasn't on the receiving end. By the way... hello to Chris Cross and Brian Reed, two friends I made when I briefly worked at Dreamworks Interactive (I didn't work on Trespasser). They called me today. They'd read the first entry in the Designer Diary and called to tell me what they thought. They then tied me up on the phone for the next 30 minutes while simultaneously sending me e-mail with bizarre and obscene attachments. 01/02/99 Saturday Well, I'm back at work. The Christmas break was needed. I spent the first three days drinking eggnog, sleeping in 12- and 16-hour shifts, and watching Clinton get impeached. After I was well rested, the eggnog was all gone, and Clintion was impeached, I did what any game design loser would do... worked on the game while on vacation. Ugh. I'm so pathetic. My initial goal was to play existing maps. After playing five maps, it was obvious the AI hadn't been fully tested. It tended to sit back and never struck out until it had enough forces to guarantee a win. This made for very extreme game experiences. Either you never saw the AI, or it came storming out of nowhere, knocked on your door, and politely introduced itself as your doom. When our AI programmer (Gus Smedstad) gets back from vacation, I'll need to share my findings with him. Well, seeing as I couldn't really play the game, I turned my attention to our 144-page game manual... much to my horror. It turns out our second draft of the manual was full of errors. So, with red pen in hand, I promoted myself from game designer to fact checker. Over the next three days, I proceeded to bloody the pages of our beautiful manual. To say it was tedious would be an understatement. When it was all over, I couldn't read anything if it wasn't written in fine print. 01/04/99 Monday Today was another screaming monkey day. Why? One word: programmers. I won't say who, but one of our programmers came into my office and proceeded to yell at me over a feature request he'd been given to program. Why was he yelling at me? On the surface, it was because I hadn't given him enough details, or I hadn't thought through its impact enough. Or it could have been because it was simply a stupid feature, I didn't know what I was doing, and I was ruining the game. The real reason? He wasn't sure how to program the task he'd been given, and the specified time frame was short. Instead of calming down, thinking it through, and telling me whether it could or could not be done in the given time frame, he panicked, and chose to vent at me. Programmers are a unique breed. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Some of my best friends are programmers. I must admit I am fascinated. I've watched each of our team programmers code. It's very amusing. How they code gives me a unique insight to their personality. For instance... John Bolton (lead programmer): When John programs, it looks like he's playing chess. David Richey (tools programmer): David doesn't code. Beforehand, he thinks about his task in depth, like contemplating philosophy, then simply writes it up. Quite often you can look through David's office window and see him bent over in his chair, chin on fist, like The Thinker. Mark Caldwell (NWC VP): You need to know Mark to really understand, but when Mark codes, it's like he's in a boxing ring, ducking shots, trading blows, and trash talking with the program. Now take such individuals and do the unthinkable... Make them into a team. Worse yet, force them to have meetings in which they must interact on a social level and agree to work together. Worse yet, force them to interact with right-brained artists and game designers. It's a wonder any games ever get made. Join designer Greg Fulton as gives us his very last Designer Diary entry, which tracks the last days of Heroes of Might and Magic III. In these last few days, the team waited anxiously to approve the gold candidate. But there is no rest for Greg, as he mentions a little something about the expansion disc. Join us as we count down the final development of Heroes III. 01/07/99 Ever heard the phrase "thousand tile stare"? It's a phrase used by our mapmakers. You get the thousand tile stare from making H3 maps all day long. Today I got the thousand tile stare after making a map for our eventual game demo. It's a very simple, small map, letting players experience a portion of the game. Hopefully they'll experience enough and feel compelled to buy the game. I've been calling the map "Dead and Buried." When I finished, I gave it to Chris Vanover (H3 assistant director) to play. Chris is an expert Heroes player. He's a good gauge of the map's difficulty. Watching Chris play was a lot of fun. It allowed me to take a break from work and finally see the game in action. However, I am the worst person to have over your shoulder when you play. Why? I'm a backseat driver. It's a bad habit from playing console games with friends. Thus, I watched Chris play and second-guessed him all the way. We were like two old men spitting and complaining about the best strategy as Chris clicked his way through the game. It was rather humorous. 01/08/99 Today I gave the Dead and Buried map to a few select people to see if anyone could beat it in the allotted time frame of four game weeks. One of my candidates was Jen Bullard. Jen is the only female tester in the QA area. Upon entering the test area, I found Jennifer burning a candle at her desk. She wasn't afraid to comment aloud how everyone else in the test area doesn't wash their clothes often enough. She thinks they stink. No sooner did I sit down to watch Jen play than the verbal bantering between the testers began. Ryan Den, another one of our testers, was sure he found a bug and asked aloud if anyone had encountered the same bug. No one had. Immediately everyone began shouting "user error." Ryan thought they were all high... until he realized it was user error. Everyone then proceeded to playfully tear into Ryan yet again. I must admit, our testers are pretty cool. Their interactions are quite amusing. They banter with the voracity of a knife fight, but it's rarely cruel. 01/14/99 Last night was my last chance to revise the game manual. Thus, I decided to pull an all-nighter to finish it. This was my first time being at NWC so late. I also experienced something completely new. I had been drinking many free Cokes when my bladder reminded me who was really in charge. Without hesitation, I raced to the bathroom. I opened the door. It was dark. This is not unusual. The lights are hooked up to a motion sensor. To save energy, they turn on and off based on the presence of a moving body. Confident the lights would turn on, I strode into the bathroom. The lights did not illuminate. Fumbling around in the dark, I was able to find the light switch and flip it on. Nothing. Fumbling around some more, I found the door handle and exited the bathroom. Moving quickly to Mark Caldwell's office (Mark and George were also working late), I told him, "The bathroom lights won't turn on." He said, "Yeah. The bathroom lights don't turn on after midnight." I asked, "How do you go to the bathroom with the lights off?" He answered, "Usually I just feel my way to the urinal." "I need to take a crap." "Hey, I wouldn't know anything about that. Get the flashlight from George." "I need a flashlight?" "Yeah." So, I walked to George's office. "I need the bathroom flashlight." Giggling to himself under his breath, George reached into his desk and gave me a pocket flashlight. With flashlight in hand I returned to the bathroom where everything went according to plan. I know game production has its odd moments, but... this one was really odd. 01/18/99 In the last days of a game's production, the game designer makes a desperate attempt to prevent features from being cut to make the deadline. However, if I got all the features I wanted, the game would never ship. Thus, there is always a tug of war between the game designer, management, programmers, and artists, to decide what gets into the game and what gets pushed back to the expansion or sequel. Today I was doing my best to get a new hero into the game without too much additional programming or art. I realized I could get the results I needed by simply adding a new graphic and customizing an existing game hero. Even better, I could get the graphic from existing art in the intro movie. All the artist had to do was crop a freeze-frame from the movie and give it to our asset manager to be put into the game. I could customize the hero in the editor. All the programmers had to do was recognize the character's unique identification. Well, we did. I wonder how much longer I can push my luck. 01/19/99 I have become the Walmart floor manager. No. I haven't quit my job. Let me explain. At this stage in the making of the game, I find myself spending most of my time walking the halls with my Notepad of Oppression waiting for people to call out my name. The notepad is a list of issues needing resolution. Most people find the notepad humorous unless their name is on it. Ironically, I end up putting my name on the notepad more than anyone else's (I'm oppressing myself). Regardless, when I am walking the halls and someone calls out my name, I duck into their office to answer their questions. Sometimes this means getting on their phone and calling someone else to clear up an issue. If I don't have the answer, I'm the intermediary. Thus, I feel like the Walmart floor manager, roaming the isles, taking care of arising issues. All I really need is the blue vest. 01/20/99 For a moment, consider most game manuals. Usually, a manual details the game interface and introduces you to the various game elements. Rarely do these manuals give you true game statistics. For Heroes III , we wanted to buck this trend. Using the Heroes II strategy guide as a model, we decided to make a big manual loaded with information. This is exactly what we did - 144 pages. Today we signed off on the manual. Well, no sooner did the ink dry than we discovered some errors. It was terrifying. I literally sat at my desk, looking at the errors I had discovered, and heard the manual mocking me with the chittering of a wild hyena. There was nothing I could do. It was carved in stone. Now understand, most manuals ship with some errors. This is what the Readme is for. However, several people had gone over this manual time and again, and still there were errors. I'll never make a big manual again. It's too much upkeep considering the fluidity of game design. I'm sure I'll lose some sleep over this. 1/25/99 Today the Coke machine caught fire. Let me repeat this. Today the Coke machine caught fire. Since we started crunching, around 7:00pm each night, Mark Caldwell (NWC VP) has been unlocking the Coke machine for free drinks to go with our evening meal. We don't continue pressing the selection buttons for the various drinks. Instead, we literally open up the front half of this big, red, half-ton refrigerator, made to withstand the assaults of the most juvenile of delinquents. Now, I'm not exactly clear on the details, but one of the testers pulled open the front door to grab a soda from inside. Apparently, some of the electrical wires were sheared, followed by fire and smoke. Upon seeing the fire and smelling the smoke, the tester grabbed Ben Bent (NWC office manager and part-time game director). He then pointed out the fire in the Coke machine. With perfect calm, Ben simply unplugged the Coke machine. Poof. The fire went away. I must admit, I can't help but see the fire in the Coke machine as a metaphor for Heroes III in production. A fire starts, someone panics, and someone else calmly solves the problem. Truthfully, it's the story of the game production process. 2/07/99 Sunday Today could be the day. We've decided to make a "final candidate" CD-ROM for 3DO approval. A final candidate is what we consider "ready to ship." We then send the final candidate to 3DO for them to do shrink-wrap testing. Tonight, no one leaves the building until the game is finished. 2/08/99 Monday It's 5:00am Monday morning. We just started burning the final candidate. About half the team is still here. We've been crunching too long. Everyone's burnt. About 15 minutes ago, Mark starting broadcasting Money For Nothing over everyone's speakerphone. Ironic. 02/13/99 I am literally weak-kneed. Except for writing this entry, all I intend to do is just sit in my office chair and do everything I possibly can to do nothing. As of 8:30 Saturday, February 13, we're calling it good Barring last-second crash bugs, the game is done. It's 9:30, and with the realization the game is done, already I'm beginning to crash. After crunching for so long, the crash is the aftereffect. This is the time when you finally realize you can relax and return to a somewhat normal life. This is also the flag signaling the release of all the pent-up stress and illness you've been holding off by sheer will for the past six months. Thus... crash. Wow. We're done. 02/14/99 Four days after announcing Heroes has gone gold, we're already talking about the expansion pack. Already, I've assembled my map makers. They're good people. With H3 under their belts they should make even better maps for the expansion. The downside? Chris Vanover is moving onto a different project. Technically Chris was H3's assistant director, but I adopted him as my assistant designer. He was a big help in many of the grunt areas. I was hoping to hand the expansion off to Chris so I could concentrate on the next Heroes. No such luck. Ultimately, this means vacation must wait. (whimper) Where is a monkey boy when you need one? 02/19/99 David Mullich's (Heroes III director) wife was pregnant and expecting about the same time as E3 last year (Atlanta '98). So, he couldn't go and demonstrate the game. I was the next logical choice. I know the game better than anyone else, and when needed, I can turn on the charm. Now don't get me wrong, when I have demoed the game, it has been a delight. Yet, as a game, Heroes III doesn't demo well. It's a turn-based game. It's not a first-person shooter or real-time strategy game. There's no real immediate reward for your attention span to latch onto. However, Heroes does have a very large, very dedicated following. Thus, most people who want to see Heroes are already fans. This was the case at E3. At E3 I did the vast majority of the presentations. I did so many I ended up losing my voice. Almost all the people who saw the game were fans of Heroes and liked what they saw. We were so successful, people were taking chairs from the other game stations to sit in front of ours. Well, the downside to my work at E3 was... I became the demo guy. The downside of being the demo guy is traveling. I hate traveling. Once I arrive at my destination, there's no problem. I'm just impatient by nature. I'm also 6'1" and hate sitting in supercramped airline seats. So, today I got to fly up to 3DO with Peter Ryu (MM7 producer), Keith Francart (MM7 director), and Jeff Blatner (new Heroes producer) to give presentations on MM7 and Heroes III to our Ubi Soft partners and a smattering of European journalists. As much as I hated getting up at 5:30am and traveling to San Francisco (less than one week after going gold), the trip was amusing for a number of reasons. Since I have been at New World, Peter Ryu has always worn shorts and sandals. For the presentation, Pete was ordered to wear pants and shoes. Throughout the day, he was wincing as the shoes rubbed his feet raw. The other amusing part was hanging out with the French chicks from Ubi Soft and the European press. Last time I was at 3DO I did an H3 presentation to a number of European journalists. Not a French woman among them. It was different this time, and dare I say, worth the trip. 02/22/99 David Mullich (H3 director), George Ruof (H3 programmer), and I are the only members of the team in the building today. Everyone else is on vacation. Over the weekend I began my self-rehabilitation for returning to the real world. When you do nothing but work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week, and then it all comes to an abrupt halt, you suddenly find you have all this spare time on your hands. Ultimately, you become bored. You don't know what to do with yourself because your "normal" situation meant working on the game... but the game is finished. Normal has become different and no longer normal. A logical assumption for curing this boredom would be a vacation. Not yet. I've got to write the design for the expansion disc. I've got two weeks before it is due. After hammering out the specs, everyone will be briefed, then I can go on vacation. I've got it all planned out. I haven't seen my parents since Christmas of 1997. So, I'm going to go back home and sit in the rocking chair in front of my dad's big-screen TV and watch nothing but cable television for at least two weeks. You heard me. Nothing but CNN Headline News for two weeks. If by then I'm not properly vegetated, I'll watch it for another week. Then I'll track down my old high school girlfriend and see if she's still single. I've set up an e-mail address for your feedback about the game when it hits the shelves. This e-mail is merely for player feedback and suggestions. I will be the one reading the e-mails, and most likely, I won't be answering any of them. So, don't flame me if I don't respond. heroes@3do.com. I've enjoyed writing these diaries. I wish I had been able to dedicate more time to them. My apologies to Elliott Chin (who made these diaries possible). Elliott wanted me to talk about the design philosophy behind H3. After practicing design philosophy 12-14 hours a day, I couldn't bring myself to write a diary about it. So, I thought I'd do "a day in the life." I hope you enjoyed my tongue-in-cheek account. I leave you with the following words I once heard the great Jon Van Caneghem speak, "When it's all over you'll forget how hard it was and do it all over again." He's right. We will. |
XEL, SAG19330184, packa, Corkes, void_17 | ||
| 14 Oct 2009, 17:27 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту GameZone, в июле 2004 года. Ссылка на источник: www.gamezone.com. NCsoft’s Jon Van Caneghem talks about the MMP genre By Michael Lafferty “My design philosophy has always been technology first then game play then story” NCsoft has firmly established itself as one of the top publishers worldwide of massively multiplayer titles. So when the company announced in early June that Jon Van Caneghem was joining the staff, it was really not much of a surprise that one of the industry’s best creative talents hop onboard with one of the industry-leading publishers. At NCsoft, Van Caneghem will join forces with another industry giant, Richard Garriott. Van Caneghem was the founder of New World Computing and was the creator of such role-playing franchises as the Might and Magic titles, as well as the Heroes strategy titles. New World Computing was eventually acquired by 3DO, but the two major series that Van Caneghem created sold more than 20 million units combined and hold hall of fame status. In a press release issued in early June, Van Caneghem and Garriott offered these comments … “NCsoft has quickly established itself as a creative and technical leader in the online games industry,” said Van Caneghem. “They clearly understand where the online games business is going and see the huge potential that is has to offer. I’m excited to be joining a company with such expertise and I look forward to working with Richard Garriott and NCsoft’s talented team of designers to create the next generation of massively multiplayer online games.” NCsoft executive, Richard Garriott, said, “I’ve always admired Jon’s innovative approach to game design. His impressive background in the entertainment industry complements and further broadens the capabilities of our strong studio development team. I look forward to working with him to create the most innovative titles the industry has to offer.” So what will his role be at NCsoft? Well, no one is really saying other than he will begin work on a new online project. In the meantime, Jon took a quick break to talk with GameZone.com about the massively multiplayer genre. Question: When you look at the landscape of MMPs, do you think the genre is where it needs to be, or do you see holes in the world – as in too many similar titles and not enough innovation? If so, what do you think is missing? JVC: I am very excited about the future of MMPs. The genre is in its infancy, it is analogous to the state of single-player games 20 years ago. It will take a break-through product to change the landscape of the current trend in MMPs…and that’s my goal with my new project! Q: NCsoft has shown that it is working to break new ground in the MMP market, treading into areas that haven’t really been addressed before with titles like City of Heroes and Auto Assault. Considering the rich background of solid games you have created, do you feel that this provides an atmosphere for you to spread your creative wings a little more? JVC: That’s exactly why I’m here! NCsoft understands the MMP market and has created an atmosphere for internal and external development of innovative products. Building on their success, knowledge and technology will allow me to focus my efforts on creating a great game. Q: When you sit down to design a game, what steps do you go through? Do you create a viable environment, work on backstory, or start with a format of elements you would like to see in a world and create the whole program around that? JVC: My design philosophy has always been technology first then game play then story. This system has worked well for me and I believe creates products that are fun to play and “feel” right. Q: So many MMPs have excelled to a level graphically that is breath taking, and yet there seems to be depth of content. What is your philosophy when it comes to a game’s content (in a nutshell)? JVC: Content is King! With my experience in providing content for single-player games, I am very confident we can create an incredible multiplayer experience for MMPs as well. Q: Do you think that the PvP model has truly been designed yet, that allows for a level-playing surface while flanking aspects such as griefing? How hard is it to achieve a balance in this area? JVC: The real problem is “fun” and PvP. Currently, for every player that has a good time in PvP, ten or more must suffer the “victim” role. I have some new ideas for PvP that I’ll be working on in my next project. Q: And while on the subject … in terms of game structure, with economies and player classes and professions all jumbled into the mix of leveling and skills, what do you think is the biggest hurdle facing game designers? JVC: To be honest, as a player, I think it seems that many designers today have not played their competitors’ games! Q: At E3 we heard talk about the next-generation of MMPs, of which Vanguard claims to be part. What do you think is in store for gamers in the next-gen of the genre? JVC: In general, an experience that is better than any stand-alone game in a multiplayer environment. Q: I know a few folks in a clan that state that the journey is not so important as the people one travels with along the way. If the game is great, that is a bonus. How important do you think community is in MMPs? JVC: Extremely important. All of the clan, friends, and grouping abilities need to be robust and easy to use. Yet many players still play solo with only limited interaction with other players. I am determined to create a bridge between these two play styles. Q: When you play a game, what elements are the most important to you? JVC: Graphics and sound get me into a new game, great game play and reward systems keep me playing… but a good back story/lore creates the fondest memories. Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту Gamasutra, 2 июня 2008 года. Ссылка на источник: www.gamasutra.com. Q&A: Trion On Platform, Von Caneghem MMO, Sci-Fi Channel Deal Online world firm Trion World Network has revealed its first projects - including a Jon Von Caneghem-helmed fantasy themed MMO, and a Sci-Fi Channel co-developed online game to intertwine with a TV series, as the company becomes a licensed PS3 developer and publisher. The firm, headed by EA veteran CEO Lars Buttler and Might & Magic creator and chief creative officer John Van Caneghem, will deliver games developed by both its internal studios and external partners via its Trion Platform, which is compatible with broadband-enabled PCs and PlayStation 3 systems. Delivering what Trion calls "server-based games", the user will have a client which handles I/O and rendering, while content - which can be changed dynamically - is stored on servers and fed to the clients as needed. Games will initially be delivered via download, retail, and other distribution methods -- with Buttler alluding to the possibility of free AOL-disc-like distribution methods for the client. Different "channels", which are essentially different game titles, will be maintained on Trion's server, and deliver that dynamic content to users depending on which "channel" they engage with. The first newly announced game for the Trion Network platform is a currently-unnamed fantasy MMORPG developed under Van Caneghem in Trion's Redwood Shores, California studio. No specific details about the game were revealed, but Trion's promises "battles of enormous scale will create epic moments that an unprecedented number of players can participate in." It will be published by Trion in both North America and Europe, and promises dynamic content -- a feature at the core of the Trion Platform experience. During its presentation to Gamasutra, Buttler and Van Caneghem showed a short video presentation to give a better idea of this dynamic content. Though it was not meant to represent a specific product or partnership, it depicted a fantasy-MMO like world which smoothly changed into a cartoony action-platformer. The second project in development at Trion encompasses a "dynamic, connected" cross-media franchise which encompasses both a Sci-Fi Channel television show and a Trion-published game, in development at Trion's San Diego studio, with ex-Sony Online Entertainment staffer Bill Trost as lead designer. To further explore the workings of the Trion Platform, Gamasutra conducted an interview with Buttler and Van Caneghem after the presentation. This is going to be a dynamic, server-side technology, in which everything is going to be stored on the servers. Is there going to be a big client download at all on the user end? John van Caneghem: It depends on the game, but yes there is. You need all the graphics. We're not sending, obviously, video feed or anything like that. The clients themselves are basically rendering devices, and I/O devices. But all the rest of the game is being simulated on the server. For a big RPG, you're going to need all the art assets on your machine. That's why we talked about DVD distributions or downloads. Lars Buttler: Or retail. All the ways of getting it. JVC: So for a big 3D action game, you're going to have a big download. LB: Normal size. Big, but dumb. It's not doing much. The 'smarts' are in the cloud. So essentially, what the user downloads, or what will be distributed on the disc, are the art assets; the primary thing that's going to bulk up that download. JVC: Art and sound, yes. Sound's huge, too. You talked about doing things like physics, calculations of player positioning, all kinds of statistics and everything on the server side. What kind of broadband connection is required to participate in this? JVC: That's a great question, but regular broadband. LB: Lowest DSL connection. JVC: Yeah, a low DSL connection. Not a dial-up though. LB: It takes more bandwidth for any voice chat in any existing game, than you need for that. It's built really smartly, the way the servers communicate with the client. We really think you have to have a world of broadband, but you can do it with today's devices, and with today's broadband speeds, and today's latencies. Everything beyond: new devices coming online, faster pipes, lower latencies, is upside for us. But everything we want to do, we can do today. You've also talked about multiple distribution models, alluding to the fact that it could be potentially be on a DVD that someone might get like an AOL demo disc, or as a retail product. Presumably you'll also be distributing online or with an OEM partner, like on an HP computer. What do you see as your primary distribution model? Will it change depending on the product? With John's product -- people might expect to go buy a fantasy MMO at GameStop, whereas they might expect to get a social network, like the Club Penguin of Trion online. JVC: Well, even for large scale games, I think we want to use all forms of distribution. It's about getting it into as many people's hands to try it. We don't want to sell the client. We want the client to be given away. With our retail box we can give added incentives like an X month subscription, or extra special items. We have a money system for buying extra items. LB: Yeah, it's a fully dynamic platform, so you can have different products for different channels that still make sense for those different channels. JVC: The real idea is, let's stop the fifty or sixty dollar barrier of entry to try products that are online, and let people try them. Whether they download them or they pick up a low price-point retail item that just saves them the download time -- or one that they really want that has extra stuff in it, like collectors' editions -- just get them to try the game. Once they're trying the game, there's lots of ways for monetizing past that, but it's not about just selling the box anymore. That's been really ratified with what's happening in Asia, of course. LB: Yeah, some games have different lead business models and different lead platforms, but you're totally right that a more lightweight, casual experience is very different. You discussed the Trion platform with channels. Is there a core application on the user's end that is the Trion platform, or is this going to be something that's an integral part of different games and they can pick and choose the games and it serves as the backbone? JVC: The latter is correct. The platform is the server architecture, not anything that's really on the client. Those are game-specific pieces of the architecture. LB: The platform is the whole backbone. Integration with social networking is key for a lot of reasons: appealing to new audiences and your media partners. You gave an example of a Facebook app to show what's happening in the game world - is that something that you're developing? JVC: Absolutely. If you think about it, because the games are all running on servers in our database architecture, it's much, much easier to allow access to everything -- social networking, players' web pages -- all sorts of interconnectivity on all sorts of different devices. That's half the reason why our architecture is like this, versus so much in clients. Right now it's very difficult for current online games to allow people to have any interconnectivity to them. It's a big re-write. And it's a big re-write for each application, whereas we've taken the next giant step of, "Oh, okay, we want a phone application, we want a web application, we want something that talks to your MySpace page." It's very easy for us to do. You've shown that you can dynamically change things in the world, because the server controls the experience. It's potentially a hefty download to change something on the scale of, a zone in MMO, though. It might be instantly changeable from a gameplay perspective, but what kind of experience is it going to be for the user, as a download? JVC: That's a great question. And then there are different tiers of change obviously. So, we have a whole category of what the designers can change instantly, what they can change that has swappable assets, and then more of a bigger picture of what people have to have already received down on their machine. LB: Which they get as a background download. JVC: We have some real clever ways of doing that, so that there's redundancies, and there's a way that most everyone can enjoy anything that's going on without having a, "Hey, you don't have this," situation. We've taken great lengths to prevent that. So, on the high-end, if you think about it, anything you already have, obviously we can change. That's already immensely powerful -- gameplay, quests, events, and combat, a whole series of things. Then we have on-the-fly capabilities, if you're just thinking of speed of broadband and what they can get in terms of textures and sound. There's also big updates, like any other traditional game that does a patch. We do it as just content, though, so it can come in the background. It doesn't prevent them from playing otherwise. We can do those as periodically or as often we want. I'd say eighty percent of what we're doing dynamically, there isn't any time delay or download at all. And that's tested out across the broadband platform that we currently work with? JVC: Yeah. During the presentation, it was noted that under fifty percent of the content, compared to old games, will be available at launch. That's something similar I've heard from people who work on Asian MMOs. JVC: That's correct. That's exactly right. So it's an ongoing development cycle. JVC: That's a very different mentality for developers as well. We've had to retool a lot of our thinking in terms of how we built games for so long, and then everybody pushes to release, and then they move on to other titles. Here, the idea is that the dev team stays steady-state after release to continually add stuff every day, and that way you don't have to build all that stuff up front, like we just talked about earlier -- fifty-plus percent we didn't even know was right. We build enough to make a great game and have people playing, and then if there's stuff coming every day you have the ability to really go with the direction people are liking, as opposed to striking that bigger guess up front. So it's a two-fold win. LB: And you have great gameplay. You still build all the all the core game mechanics. JVC: Yeah, it's definitely pulling lessons learned from the different markets, on what works well and what people enjoy. And obviously high-quality, both gameplay and production quality, are very important. But it's the tremendous stuff from the Asian markets, and the social gaming markets, that, applied to this space, is what keeps people playing for a long time. Are you going to be building a web platform, a Trion website that is a community hub for these games? Especially in the case of an MMO, that's an absolutely key element. LB: The answer is yes. We really want to combine the best of online games and traditional media, right? From the traditional media we have this evolving, long-lasting evolving format, almost like a TV show. From the online space, you really have a ton of social networking applications, other things. Not just on our side, but also tying into the social networking world with widgets and other things. We don't see this as only as a destination, where this is the only way you get to experience it. We really want to reach people everywhere. It's a larger, broader network. We empower them to come through their Facebook profile, or come through their own website, or through our website, or directly through the game client, or any other way they want. JVC: All of the developers we know want to build these type of games, and the traditional publishers don't have an outlet for them. We really want to be the destination for anyone who wants to build online server-based games. Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту Massively, 4 июня 2008 года. Ссылка на источник: www.massively.com. Massively interviews Jon Van Caneghem about the SCI FI Channel MMO by Mike Schramm Jun 4th 2008 at 9:00AM Trion World Network is quite a company -- without releasing a single game, they've put together millions of dollars in venture capital and compiled a staff list that's got team members from across the history of MMO games, from EverQuest and Ultima Online to World of Warcraft and City of Heroes. This week, they sent waves through the MMO community by announcing that not only were they working on a fantasy MMO to be helmed by Jon Van Caneghem (original creator of the Might and Magic series of RPG strategy games and co-founder of the company along with Lars Buttler), but that they were forming a groundbreaking partnership with the SCI FI Channel to develop and publish and MMO to live alongside a television show. Finally, we had a small glimpse of just what Trion, with all of their money and experience, were up to. To find out more, Massively sat down with Van Caneghem (a busy man since the news dropped on Monday) to chat about both the fantasy MMO and the SCI FI project, and what Trion's been working on since they formed. Van Caneghem told us why Trion wants to make a different kind of MMO, and how they'll balance an online game with a television series from the network that's running Battlestar Galactica. The interview starts right after you click the link below. Trion has raised a lot of money (some people have said $30 million), but you haven't actually officially announced a single game by name, or released anything. As someone who could use some more money, how did you do that? And by that I mean how did Trion start? Where did this all come from? Jon Van Caneghem, President and co-founder of Trion World Network: Well, it was two-fold. Obviously, my background was in making RPGs and strategy games. Since the mid to late '90s, I knew online gaming was the future and that's all I wanted to work on. And Lars [Buttler, Trion's co-founder] went through Electronic Arts, we were going to do a big division together, and once we started talking and saw where the market was at, we thought it was obvious that we should start a company and do this ourselves. And it was really exciting -- Lars comes from the venture world and a lot of media companies, and I, of course, have been in the PC and videogame world for... too long. [Laughs] What kind of games did Lars work on at EA? I know he was in the "global online" department. Yeah so under Lars' team they managed UO, and what was left of The Sims Online, and all the SDKs and whatnot, as well as the online purchasing and the direction that was starting to go. And in your background, you worked on Heroes of Might and Magic and the Might and Magic universe -- what's your background in online gaming? I started a company called New World, and designed all the Might and Magic RPGs and the Heroes strategy games, but we also published numerous multiplayer games, and I sold my company to 3DO when they had Meredian 59, which was the precursor to UO, and we started to work on Might and Magic Online, which was going to be a big competitor for them back then. I think it was a little early -- we were still on modems, lots of technical issues. But I did spend a little bit of time at NCSoft, working with my old friend Richard Garriot. On Tabula Rasa? No, we didn't work on that project, we were going to build a new title together, but Tabula Rasa kept going on and on, so hence my decision to start this company with Lars. So that's briefly how it got started but in general, we knew there was a big gap in terms of quality online games, and basically all games are going to some degree online, whether it's just some connectivity or completely to what we like to call "server-based gaming," which seems like the future for all games. And there wasn't really a lot of avenues, or a lot of companies at this point, especially in the West, who were doing that. We're both developing and publishing, and really creating a place where developers can go to publish great online games. And one of my big reasons for starting the company was the frustration I had with the current tech and the way online games are built, which was, to my surprise, mostly the same way we build standalone games. You know, a standalone game, you put it in the box, and hope they like it, right? Eventually you can do a patch, but that's about it. And online games, you're connected to a server, but the way we update them is very much like building expansion packs, it's a huge process, the server goes down, you do your patch, and whatnot. It's not really like people would expect an online game to be. And some of the casual games have been doing this for years, and a lot of the Asian games have been moving in the direction of much more of a live service as opposed to just an "it is what it is and it doesn't change" type of a game. And I said from a game developer point of view, why can't we do that? Why can't we make games that we can add to them every week, every day, every hour, why can't we make a live game, as opposed to what we're currently doing. And to start the company, we basically set out to build the tech, and what would we have to accomplish from a server point of view to fulfill that dream of being able to build live games and add to them quicker and change stuff and really make it more exciting. And now you've got this endeavor with the SCI FI Channel. How did that come about? Did they call you or did you call them? A couple of our first investors were some of the big media companies that you see on our investment page. But really on our way to making online games, we basically stepped on a nerve of the entire entertainment industry -- they really want to be more involved with online and online games. They're losing viewers -- all the studies are showing they're not watching TV, they're playing online games, right? So they obviously wanted to be involved. And one of our investors, one of their sub companies was SCI FI Channel, and they had been looking for years now on how to get into online gaming, and they basically said to us, "Is this something we could work together on?" And we said absolutely. And once we showed them what we had built from a tech point of view in terms of how quickly we could turnaround new content, and how quickly in a live game we could add and change stuff, it was exactly what they were looking for, and in terms of being able to build something that followed and moved along with a TV show and added a lot of content and stuff to do for viewers and players while the show wasn't airing, between shows and between seasons and it just made so much sense to work together. You said that Lars had worked on Ultima Online and you worked on Might and Magic, and those are very different games from the games that we consider MMOs now. The behind the shoulder, third-person MMO type of thing. Can we draw conclusions from the games that you guys have worked on to look at how this game will be? Will it be a standard third-person MMO? The MMO that we're making here at the Redwood City office, the fantasy one, was announced as well. That will definitely play as a third-person, familiar. A lot of what we're trying to do is not make it so unfamiliar that people are going to go "what the heck is this." There's a lot of familiarity that people like in these type of games, so you obviously want to keep those. But what we want to introduce is the whole concept of the world evolving and changing constantly. Very familiar in terms of how it would feel from an MMO player point of view, but a lot of stuff they wouldn't expect in terms of how the game would evolve and change and react to players' activities and outcomes. In general for us, it's about saying, if the game lives on a server, as opposed to just buying a standard videogame, what can you do, and what are all the great things you can do that now you couldn't have done before, and really taking advantage of that. And MMOs are just kind of the first step in that direction, you might say. And we're trying to take further steps past that evolution in terms of features and scheduled events and world changing, and constant content adding, and it's really where most people believe the industry's going and have been talking about it for a long time, and forming a company was really just how do we pull it all together and actually pull it all off. You threw a whole wrench into this thing, too -- not only are you guys trying to make a futuristic MMO, but now you're also trying to partner it up with a TV show. So how is that partnership going to work? Are you going to put players in the show as characters? Are they writing the setting, or are you giving them a setting to work with? Basically we're collaboratively doing the storyline, and the background to the universe and story to the show with the knowledge that it has to be written in a certain way that makes for a great MMO, with all the depth and breadth you need to have for a big game world. And also making sure we cater to the stuff that they need to make a compelling television show, so we're not trying to cram a game into a show or a show into a game. They're trying to be complementary, in the same way that if there's a famous universe you love watching movies or shows about, you would also like to go play in that universe. And the addition to that that people have already done to some degree is that as things appear in the show, they'll also change and appear in the game, and vice versa. I also heard that the TV show is supposed to "match the look" of the game. Does that mean that the show is going to be like machinima? How are you going to draw lines in terms of the visual connection between the show and the game? The show the same production quality that you'd expect from a TV show. There can be a lot of sharing of CG assets, whether we have to render them in 10,000 polygons, and they can do full movie quality renderings. But that's where I think the similarities come from. No, you're not going to see game machinima in the TV show. The other question I had about this partnership -- it seems really unique to me, I can't think of another situation where people are trying to drive content in these two different directions. So what is the percentage partnership here -- is it trying to be 50/50 or 60/40 to one side? The example I thought of was if a show is ready to air, but the game content isn't quite set to go, what's the decision you're going to make? We're equal partners in development of the game, and it's in everyone's best interest that they align, so we're going to do our best, obviously. But it's really about making a great game and it's about them making a great show, and what we can cross over and share to our best, we will. Neither one of them should hamper the other one from being the best they can be. I wanted to talk about the other game that you're working on -- the fantasy game. I think that was mentioned possibly going to consoles? First PC, and then other platforms to follow. And I heard also that you were trying to go multiplatform with the sci-fi game as well. Yes. That seems crazy to me. This is a new IP, right? [Laughs] Yes. So not only are you trying to break in a new IP, and not only are you going to partner with a TV show, but you also want to do a console thing. That's like saying "I'm going to jump through this hoop, but it's also going to be on fire, and it's going to be over a pit of sharks." [Laughs] Well I'm glad you think it sounds like that. It's not quite as crazy as that might sound actually. If you have game developers that know how to make games on PC/Xbox/Playstation, they've already done that in the past, and you really have a pretty clear vision of what would be a good game, really the only difficulty is the connection with the media partner, the SCI FI Channel and how we don't slow each other down, and how we can help each other as opposed to hinder in terms of schedules and probably one of the most interesting things we're learning is game development and TV development are completely backward in terms of what you do first. They like to do their art and costume design and stuff last, and of course that's one of the first things we do. And of course I'm not a game designer, and maybe I'm just thinking that creating a console MMO is a bigger task than it is. But can you name a console MMO that is doing what you want to do? Final Fantasy XI maybe, but that's a known IP. It just seems really tough to me. No. There really isn't any. And at the same time, there'll be a PC version. So, honestly, if you would build an MMO the way they were built in the past, a console one is much more difficult, but the way we architected what we build, 80% of what we do is on the server, and the actual device that is PC or Xbox or whatever is not as big of a deal as it was before, so it's less of a problem. The UI is your biggest hurdle, not so much the rest of the game. Cool. I did want to ask you about plans for a pay scheme. What are you considering -- a free client, pay to play, RMT? What kind of things are still open? So we built our publishing tools and background stuff to support all types of payments, from subscription to microtransaction to pay-to-play to ad-based. So for me, any product we publish or even develop, it's about matching the product to the pay type, not trying to stick it on afterwards. So some games will be better in subscriptions, others will be better in microtransactions, and hopefully some point in the future, we'll have completely ad-supported games. Which would be, I think, great, at some time. But one of the things for us is that, on all of our products, we don't want to require people to buy full-blown clients. We want you to try the game and see if you like it before you make any financial commitment. That's real important. Well, to a certain extent, the game is already an advertisement for the show on SCI FI Channel. [Laughs] Yeah, exactly. That's true. Are you leaning then towards free or cheaper clients then? What are you leaning towards at this point? I think definitely leaning towards transactions. But it has to play well from the mechanics of the product and how big it is, but I think that is potentially the future, just in terms of not a large $60 commitment up front and monthly fees, but in terms of pay-as-you-go, or access different parts of the game for different prices. It's not set yet, and it's, like I said, going to come out of how the game actually plays out and what the details are. We're very much in the beginning of design in terms of scope at this point. I know you all have said release in 2010, which is a long way away, but what's the plan for this? When's the next we'll hear about it, or what are we looking at here in terms of timeline? I guess we don't really have any dates I'm supposed to give out or even I have officially yet, but I don't think it'll be too long until you'll start to see some stuff -- obviously by next year for the SCI FI channel product, you'll be seeing stuff on what it's going to start to look like. Great. Anything else you wanted to mention to MMO players about this stuff? [Laughs] Yeah, I wasn't supposed to talk too much about the games. We're trying to talk more about the deal with SCI FI, and the fact that we are building a fantasy MMO, so... Well, Massively is all about MMOs, obviously, and we're players, so that's what we're gravitating towards, I guess. We've got a ton of Battlestar Galactica fans, so I think the match is a perfect fit, but I know we're more interested in how the game is going to play and what type of game is going to be in there. Do you think the main audience for this thing will be SCI FI viewers, or people who like to play online games? The way we obviously want to build games here is catered towards gamers. It's to your audience. And if we can bring in a wider audience of people who like sci-fi, all the better. But our number one goal is make great games. Almost everybody here is a fanatical MMO player from one degree to another, so we have a lot of vested interest in game mechanics and how it plays out. There's not a lot of people who don't understand all the inner workings of MMOs, so I think that's a real positive. Sounds good to me. Thanks very much for chatting. No problem, you're very welcome. |
sergroj, Kastore, packa, Corkes | ||
| 13 Oct 2009, 20:28 |
Музей мира M&M |
Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту RPG Vault, в октябре 1998 года, после выхода Might & Magic VI. Ссылка на источник: rpgvaultarchive.ign.com. Jon Van Caneghem Interview October 27, 1998 In late April, New World Computing and 3DO released Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, the only high-profile CRPG to reach store shelves during the first part of this year. Well-crafted and nearly bug-free, it provided legions of hungry RPG fans with hundreds of hours of solid gameplay. It's a few months later now, and with Might & Magic VII: For Blood and Honor well into development, I thought it might be a good time to follow up on the recent past and on the future with NWC's Jon Van Caneghem, the driving force behind the entire Might & Magic series. Jonric: Let's start at the beginning of Might & Magic VI. What factors led you to decide to revive the series at a time when the RPG genre was not exactly thriving? Jon Van Caneghem: The lack of competition was certainly a factor, as well as the simple fact that we had not made a Might and Magic for quite some time. With our fans clamoring for another Might and Magic, it was the perfect time to make an RPG. Jonric: Overall, the reviews of Might & Magic VI rated it as very good, but not at the level to become a "classic" of the genre. Do you think this was a fair assessment? Are there any areas that you think the reviews under- or over-emphasized? Jon Van Caneghem: Sure. Only so many games can become classics! On the whole, we felt that both our fans and reviewers treated us fairly. When you are so close to a project for so long, it's hard to tell what's going to work in the game and what's not. After a lot of reflection on the comments and criticisms of the public, we found that we agreed with most of the popular opinions. Jonric: Perhaps the most frequent criticism of the game was that it was too combat-intensive, and that combat was too repetitive - you fought one group of monsters, then went only a short distance before having to fight another group of the same monsters. Care to comment? Jon Van Caneghem: I think so too - for the most part. There were too many monsters in general, and it could get tiresome fighting the same group of monsters over and over, especially if they did something that "conditioned" your characters, like poison or break armor. In Might & Magic VII we intend to reduce the number of monsters you have to fight, and it will be quite common to talk or bargain your way out of fights if you want. Jonric: That sounds like a change which will add nicely to the new game. If you could have added, changed or improved one more thing before releasing the last one, what would it have been, and why? Jon Van Caneghem: It seems small, but I would have liked a re-mappable keyboard. A lot of players said that they couldn't get used to the default keyboard setup. We had originally intended to include this feature, but we just didn't have time before the game shipped. Jonric: On the positive side, Might & Magic VI drew quite a lot of praise for having few bugs. Did you do anything special in terms of QA? Jon Van Caneghem: In the last few weeks before any major product ships, just about everyone in the office is playing the game and reporting bugs. You could say our QA department quadruples in size at this time. It really helps work everything out. Jonric: OK, that's what the media and the public said. As the game's developer, what do you feel the game's major strengths were? Jon Van Caneghem: Although controversial, I feel the most important thing was turn based/real time system of combat. We really gave this a lot of thought, and I think this was the key to bringing Might and Magic's party based system into the post-Doom 3D world. The only adjustment I would like to make to that system is permitting movement in turn-based combat. I was also very happy with the skill system and the combat balance. Jonric: Are you happy with sales of Might & Magic VI? Did you release it in any other languages, and are any more planned? Jon Van Caneghem: Sales have met expectations, and we are quite satisfied with the game's retail performance. And yes, it has been translated into Dutch, French, Japanese, and German. I think that all other translations (Spanish and Italian) are in the works, and we won't be making any more. Jonric: Blizzard recently announced that their RTS, Starcraft, which was also released earlier this year, has sold over a million copies to date. Diablo, which many class as "RPG Lite" has sold even more, and is still going strong. Do you think it's possible for a "hard-core" RPG to sell that kind of quantity? Why or why not? Jon Van Caneghem: Certainly. I believe that the Final Fantasy series has achieved that level of success, and it is a complex role-playing game with a higher than average learning curve. With the ever-increasing spread of the PC, we have a better chance of meeting those figures with each passing year. Jonric: Do you have any research or feedback to tell you whether people are playing Might & Magic VI through more than once? Jon Van Caneghem: There's no formal research, but from what I can tell by reading message boards and news groups (as well as talking to friends), I would say about 20% of those who finish the game play it through again. Most people who replay are looking to play a different class of character or go through the game stressing different kinds of skills to see how it plays. Jonric: The idea for the NWC dungeon was a lot of fun. Where did it come from? Jon Van Caneghem: One of the level designers had made the dungeon as an internal joke during development, and we all thought it was pretty funny, so we threw it in as an Easter egg at the last minute. Jonric: Glad you did. What major changes will you be making for Might & Magic VII? To what extent were any of these influenced by player and/or media feedback? Jon Van Caneghem: We are VERY interested in the feedback we received on MM6. Here's a quick list of a few of the most important things we're going to change or add for MM7: Monster vs. Monster combat: Players will see monsters fight with each other in MM7. They will often have a chance to intervene in a combat to help choose the winner. Players will also be able to summon monsters or charm them into fighting on their side. Plotline: There will be several instances during the game where the players will be asked to make a decision that will radically alter the story for the rest of the game. Also, the characters will be persons of importance very quickly. This spells the end of "go fetch my staff from the woods for a reward" quests. Classes and Races: Players can choose from three new classes (monk, thief, and ranger) and three new races (dwarf, elf, and goblin). Castle Ownership: The players will get a chance to own and operate their own castle. They'll be able to make improvements, store treasure, and hire retainers at this castle. There will also be 3D accelerator support, a re-mappable keyboard and movement during turn-based combat Jonric: Sounds great. Are there any significant changes to the design team this time around? Jon Van Caneghem: No. Jonric: When can we expect Might & Magic VII to be released? Aside from its own merits, Might & Magic VI stood out simply because it was the only major RPG this spring, but the new game won't have that advantage. What will make it stand out? Jon Van Caneghem: Might and Magic VI will be released in March of '99. It isn't a one-horse show - it doesn't rely on any single feature to make or break it. Might & Magic VII will stand out as a product that shines in all departments: excellent graphics, combat, story, music, and interface. Jonric: Lofty goals indeed. What can you tell us about the storyline for Might & Magic VII? I understand it will tie into both Might & Magic VI and Heroes of Might & Magic III. Is that correct? Jon Van Caneghem: Yes. The story takes place on the edge of the kingdom of Erathia just after the wars chronicled in HOMM3 reach their conclusion. There were a lot of loose ends (Archibald!) in Might and Magic VI that need tying up, and there will be a few loose ends in Heroes III that need tying as well. The story revolves around a conflict that arises between the Human and Elven kingdoms over a small valley kingdom that the PLAYER is in charge of. Although the war seems straightforward at first, there are plans within plans hidden behind the simple façade of a border dispute. In this story, even the puppet masters have masters. Jonric: How far ahead are you looking? Assuming it would use a new engine, you would have to be thinking about Might & Magic VIII already if you want to release it before the end of 2000. Anything you can tell us at this point in time? Jon Van Caneghem: One word: Ancients. Jonric: Heheh. Interesting yet mysterious. I seem to recall that you were thinking of a Might & Magic Online game. Any plans along those lines? Any plans for a Might & Magic game with multi-player capability for a small group? Jon Van Caneghem: Plans for an MM Online have not died, just been delayed. We are not convinced that the business model is a successful one. If we start to see other companies make profits, well start the idea up again. As for multi-player capability in the stand-alone Might and Magic game, we're thinking about it, but not for MM VII. Jonric: Before we end, let me ask which upcoming RPGs, if any, you are most interested in seeing and playing. Jon Van Caneghem: I, for one, am looking forward to Diablo II and Ultima: Ascension. Diablo isn't exactly a role-playing game, but I thought the first one was a lot of fun. Jonric: Alright, last question. Any thoughts or predictions as to the future of the RPG genre? Jon Van Caneghem: One day, we'll be bigger than movies! Jonric: Cool. And when I'm the Siskel and Ebert of RPG reviews, I'll be sure to invite you on my TV show as a guest. 8-) For the moment however, thank you very much for sharing some of your thoughts with me and with our readers. Статья, опубликованная на сайте tothegame, в которой описывается экскурсия одного из сотрудников сайта в офис NWC, написанная незадолго до выхода Heroes of Might & Magic IV и Might & Magic IX. Ссылка на источник: www.tothegame.com. Heroes of New World Computing We were invited to New World Computing for a fresh new look at their 2 upcoming games (who am I to say no to a trip to California and look at some really cool games at the same time). In this little piece I’ll bore you with a little travel tale and who knows, maybe some interesting info will be reviled as well. So if you’re willing to take a chance, read on. Posted 13-Mar-2002 It’s Tuesday February 26th, about 4.30 in the morning and I’m getting up trying to decide what to bring and how to make it fit in my suitcase. At the same time, wondering why I agreed to go on this long trip anyway. About an hour or so later I find myself at the airport starting to look forward to this Heroes 4 and Might and Magic 9 revelation. Hmm, I’ve followed both series for as long as they’ve been around. This could be great. In Amsterdam I met up with the other Norwegian journalist and after some ticket gymnastics we got aboard a plane bound for the States and the City of Angels (LA that is). I could write a detailed description of all the exiting things that happen during such a flight, but I wont. I’ll divulge one thing to all of you out there that doesn’t know, an 11 ½ hour flight is booooooring. Arriving in Los Angeles we met up with the lovely Lisette Sprengers (the international press manager of 3DO) and a bunch of other European journalists (also an australian thrown in for good measure). Driving to Santa Monica and our Hotel were shown the wonders of GPS navigating systems for cars. System hanging for a few seconds get interesting results. Eventually we arrived at our hotel, which was very nice. After registering we went out for dinner and a few beers. Next morning, surprisingly awake and sober, we left for New World Computing studios. We were met by executive producer Jeff Blattner and given a detailed plan for the day. First a presentation and interview with the designers of M&M, then lunch, a presentation of Heroes 4, a tour of the offices and finally we got to try the games. We were all getting a bit excited as this was the main reason for our trip. Presenting MM9 was Director Keith Francart, whom has been involved with the series since MM6, and Designer Tim Lang whom started at NWC as a tester in 1996, and progressed to working on level design in MM6. The latest addition to the series, Might and Magic 9 on the other hand, has been in production for about 15 months. They started just after a M&M game for PS2 got canned. Both men are of course very enthusiastic about the new game, and especially regarding the jump from sprites (used in MM6 – 8) to 3D technology. They are trying to make the new one more accessible then standard RPG’s by making it easier to get started on and by changing the game play slightly towards that of FPS games. The game has no videos, but quite a few scenes that will come to pass whenever the player gets to a certain point in the game. The player can stay and watch, just leave or in some cases change the event. Although many of these scenes give clues to quests, almost all information can be found several places and you’ll not be able to walk away from the only place specific info is available. The designers seemed especially fond of a theatrical play you can watch, while playing, that in addition to giving important info also is very amusing. They were also very pleased about the AI implemented in the game. All monsters in MM9 has both a ranged attack and a melee attack option. Some are good at one, some the other. The AI varies depending on the current situations and the amount of Monsters. Attack values and the look of your characters decide weather to attack with ranged weapon, melee or run away. The monsters may cooperate, some using ranged weapons and others closing in. They might even run to get help. The game sounds exciting, taking in consideration the mix of FPS gameplay with the depth of a normal RPG when it comes to story and character development. Definitely sounds interesting. Then again if it doesn’t appeal to the players it might loose in both markets. What happens remains to be seen, so stay tuned for more details in the upcoming preview. In the break before H4 was to be presented, we had a word with Jon Van Caneghem, the Founder of New World Computing. He was happy to answer our questions and told us he got involved with computer game programming whilst studying Pre-Med. He saw the games being released and thought he could do one better, and switched to computer science studies which eventually lead to New World Computing in the mid 80’s. In those days he did everything himself, from design to the final product. He started on the M&M series and even though the game industry have changed a lot since then with many people now working on each game, he still gets involved in the design (there are some maps of his in HoMM IV). Because of the increased production costs he felt the need for a more secure based economy, and NWC became a part of 3DO. On a question regarding what the best and worst games they’d ever made, he replied that Heroes 2 was in his opinion the best game they’d made and the worst he said while smiling ”I seem to remember we did a celebrity poker game once” (other designers present either looked away or burst out laughing). Having played most of their games myself (even that poker game for about 5 minutes), I certainly do agree. When asked about whether they had put any thought into doing HoMM IV in real-time, the answer was - not really. As they are the leading fantasy strategy turn based game, it’s a lot easier (and safer) to continue doing what they do best, rather then entering a segment they know little about and where there’s lots of competitors with well known products. Not to say that they’ll never do an RTS, or even that it will bear the name of Heroes of Might and Magic, but it will in that case probably be done as a spin off from the series. When asked about what games that were HoMM IV hardest competitors, he thinks for a bit and says that Warcraft III will be important because many of the players play both RTS and turn based. When it comes to games in the same segment he mentions Age of Wonders 2. His opinion is that Solo RPG’s for computers are in real danger of loosing to the MMORG’s. As peoples internet access only gets better and better this problem will only increase. Leaping from topic to topic we were told that he’d played a lot of MMORG’s himself in addition to Civ III and Grand Turismo for PS2 (As the only console game he ever played for any length of time). He also said he were saddened to see Sir-Tech going out of business as he’d been impressed by their work for many years. Next up in the line of questions were whether he thought PC games were in danger from the Consoles and his feelings towards software piracy. The consoles weren’t a point of worry, they would come and go and the PC would remain the standard they always would try to beat. Piracy on the other hand was of course a general problem. Lots of money were lost because of it every year, and he considered the war against it lost in the sense that the problem would never go away, apart from trying to keep it at bay by protecting the software as best as possible. On the other hand, there are several examples, he said, that games doing poorly initially gained on the fact of being distributed as pirated software over the net. The game sales would pick up and at the end the title didn’t do to bad at all. Better demo versions freely distributed before the games release could probably help this activity, he said, but the problem being that when you make a demo you want to show the best parts of your game, which normally isn’t finished before the game itself. The last question of the day was: Can someone with an idea today do what you did in the mid 80’s, is it still possible? After a pause he replied; Yes it is possible but it’s a lot more difficult now than it used to, you’d probably need several people in stead of just one to achieve it. On the other hand at the moment the PC game business is difficult. The existing companies are taking no chances, pursuing only projects they feel confident about, making no great changes to these type of products (this will change he says it’s just a matter of time). “So if anyone right now came with a good, innovative idea it would stand out all the more against the other’s because they’d be the only one’s doing something new”. This got nods of agreement from the other designers listening in on our conversation. Later on the presentation of Heroes 4 started with David Mullich (Director) and Gus Smedstad (Lead Designer/Programmer), supported from the sideline by Joe McGuffin (Art Director) and Terry Ray (writer). They started at the beginning with how they began their work on Heroes 4 (H4), which was by pinpointing what the Heroes series was all about. From there on they started to build H4 by adding many well known features and a few new ones, and finally ended up with a game they hoped the public would appreciate (I know I will). They decided to keep the colorful fantasy art in the style of H2, cause it was important that players found the game familiar when graphics had changed as much as it had. One feature that Gus Smedstad wanted to include in Heroes 3, but did not realize, was heroes fighting with a players armies. Now he’s in a position to decide and in H4 one can have more than one hero in each army, and they all fight. This is also one of the most “wished for” change by the fans explained David. They explained how they organized the relations between the fractions (towns) in a circle with the might town in the middle, so that each of the magical towns can cooperate with (use spells and creatures from those towns, without harsh penalties) 2 other (the towns on each side). The might town doesn’t work very well, neither bad with any of the others. David and Gus further explained that this time they wanted to avoid that some creatures were to weak and nearly useless in the game. They started with different types of creature with their special abilities and some combat values and then started to test fight the creatures against one another. By using the rock-scissors-paper system they managed to develop all creatures in a way that they would be able to take out approximately ½ of the other creatures from the same level. By fine-tuning these, they kept the special abilities and modified the combat values until the results were satisfactory. Another important aspect in any game is the music. They explain that they constructed a system to diversify the music as much as possible. It’s linked to heroes, towns and terrain so that visiting different towns and terrain will result in different music. Rob King is the master of music at NWC and has made what sounds like a great score for the game. More specific game info will come later at ToTheGame. Finally, we were given a tour around the offices with Jeff Blattner, explaining at the same time how important it is to them that everybody that works on a project, works as close to one another as possible. It felt bit strange walking around those offices smiling and saying ”Hi” to lots of people I’d never meet again, knowing that they make games people will be spending more time, then their healthy share of hours, playing. All of them seemed friendly and the atmosphere seemed great, It looked like a great place to work. Personally I found it exciting that these people enjoy playing the same games I tend to, finding a designated room as the ”Game room” for playing RPG’s (Yes pen and paper ones), board games and of course the occasional computer game. I am convinced that these guys (and girls, cause there was quite a few) must be having loads of fun. Of course having a fun job mean you’ll put all that extra effort in when necessary. David and Gus tells us that the last few weeks they’ve been doing 80 hour workweeks and before that, 70 hours. David let out with a sigh at dinner ”Only 8… no 9 days to go, but then we start working on multiplayer” (remember this was said in the end of February). Although nothing Is decided yet, Gus told us he would like to do a good e-mail supported multiplayer version as well as the others. The current game will only have hot seat. Whether the multiplayer will be available as a downloadable patch or in an expansion is yet to be decided. After having my spirits lifted just by walking through an office, looking at pictures on walls, watching the testers playing the games (as any other working day I suppose), and observing all the programmers and designers working their magic, I headed for home knowing I’d met some of the heroes from my youth. Granted, not many of the people I met worked on the first Might and Magic games which I played over and over. Nevertheless, the 60-90 (I’m guessing here) people that worked at NWC are the real heroes, and besides that a source of great fun. I’ll spare you the details of the trip back, Suffice it to say that I’m looking forward to playing two new games and reporting back to you all shortly (if I can stop playing that is). Dag Petersen, ToTheGame - More info on New World Computing Titles - More titles from Publisher 3DO - www.3do.com First two screenshots are from HoMM IV, and the last to from M&M IX. Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту Celestial Heavens в 2003 году на выставке E3. Ссылка на источник: www.celestialheavens.com. Part One CH: How was the Heroes series born? JVC: (Without my wife) Heroes would have never come about. I made King's Bounty, I don't know if you've ever known of that game... CH: ...Yeah... JVC: ... and that was the first game she got into, and I started King's Bounty, and she totally fell in love with it. And I went back to working on Might & Magic. And every month, every week, every morning, (she'd say) "When are you going to make a sequel to King's Bounty? That's the best game, that's better than Might & Magic! That's the one to make a sequel for." (So I said) "Alright, I'll make it." So finally I gave in and that's how Heroes I was born. CH: Well, thank her for it. JVC: (laughs) I will. CH: She had a good eye. JVC: And she's actually... was involved quite a bit with Heroes II and III. She did alot of the maps and alot of the testing... CH: ... Oh yeah... JVC: ... Quite a bit. She still plays it to this day. She still yells at me every day for the way Heroes IV turned out like, "You ruined my game!" CH: What are the improvements for Heroes V from Heroes IV? JVC: Alright, so Heroes V, what I really want to get back to, and what I'm spending all my time on, is redesigning the entire game engine, to be much more along the lines of Heroes II and III, except much more modern and a lot more balanced, and much more challenging. The game evolved much more towards a role-playing type of game over the last couple of years, and I want to bring back completely, 180 degrees back to a true strategy game. It will have role-playing elements, but really the esence of what I wanted Heroes always to be since the very beginning is a pure strategy game. And role-playing is nice for campaigns and some particular scenarios, but the basic game is strategy. It's you against a few players, or you against other human players. (continued) CH: (And so it will) focus more on scenario combat and scenario design features? Well, not just the scenarios, but the game itself, where there will be less emphasis on quests, and more emphasis on tactical combat? JVC: Right. Absolutely, the game takes it much more towards the strategy orientation, and we'll make the story lines shorter, and the quest-based maps more, uh, simpler in terms of the entire overall quests so... But what that allows us to do and allows me to do is make much more of a strategic quest or story out of (those elements), instead of one of just plodding through it, and opening up a story like an RPG. It becomes an involved strategy quest that's active... figure out what to do, make decisions that are important when you mkae them and how you make them, so then you can work out the scenario. Versus just what it's truned into now is (meaning Heroes IV), it's just a matter of plodding through it. There's really no big strategic decision to be made in the current scenario (meaning Heroes IV). So, that's what I want to get back to, and I think that's more fun. CH: What is your level of involvement for the new game? JVC: (Full-time) Yeah, that's my plan. I mean, I'm looking forward to getting back into it full-time and really making it... It sounds like... I feel like I owe it to the fans, to bring back Heroes the way it was, as opposed to what it kind of evolved into. CH: How is the programming of the AI system going? JVC: For Heroes V I'm starting from scratch. Everything from AI is now going to be my design from scratch. CH: It will not be parts of Heroes III? JVC: No. CH: ...Scrapping Heroes IV...? JVC: Yeah. Heroes IV was completely new from Heroes III. There wasn't much at all used from Heroes III. CH: Oh really? JVC: There was some talk if "there was", "there wasn't", who can really tell...? CH: ...Right. Lot of speculation... JVC: ...Lot of speculation, but no. Heroes IV was redone completely, and it just wasn't done right. And a long back-story about how that was done, but I won't get into it. CH: Well, it's fine, we're looking forward to the new AI. JVC: Yes, And that will be quite a challenge since I'm pretty much doing the plan again. But, you know, I always... in all my designs I make it that it's always very easy to adjust the difficulty. In that, if you're having trouble or it's getting ahead of you then you can just turn it down. CH: What types of creatures will there be? JVC: Well, we have our creature list for the six town types already done, but all the old favorites, many of them are back, of course... Titans and Giants, and Dragons of course, of all types. CH: Any new ones that you've decided to go with that are different from the others in the series? JVC: Yeah, I think there's a few new ones we haven't seen in any of the Heroes, but for the most part we kind of pick and choose the ones people like the most out of the last of the Heroes games. And then put them together in appropriate towns. CH: Make sure there are Genies. JVC: Gotta have Genies, hehe. CH: What types of alignment and faction system is being designed? Do you know how the magic system will work? JVC: There are six town types, and I don't know them off the top of my head, which is terrible but I should. CH: With everything in your head, I can imagine. JVC: Yeah, uh, but they're very much, you know, orgainzed in a, I dunno, kind of the (inaudible)-together type of grouping... (inaudible). So there's still all the stand-bys and favorites. But, I'm doing a lot, probably the most exciting thing I'm doing is the actual Hero development and skill system, which is completely from scratch. And people that alot. CH: And the magic system, is that tied to the faction system like in Heroes IV? JVC: Yes. In fact, we have a magic system that is completely tied to each town type. We have a set of spells that are generic to all towns, then we have a complete set of spells that's dedicated solely to each town type. CH: Has the decision been made about removing the Underground yet? JVC: Yeah, the Underground just didn't seem to add much except for cunfusion. It was... the way I originally designed it was, I made the Underground, and I think it was Heroes III it first appeared... a lot of our maps ran out of room for little treasure caches. So I said well, I could make this little Underground, you could go down and there would be a little bit bigger of an area where I could actually have a little treasure cache based where you were. The big maps it made sense, but the mapmakers went wild and turned it into an entire... thing, and now we had two maps instead of one, and it kind of went in a diredction it wasn't intended to. CH: So are you planning on doing an alternative system to the Undergound, or just keeping it a single-layer map? JVC: Keeping it the single-layer. I mean, we can always add it back... and there were orignal plans were for a cloud layer, an Undergound, an alternate plane, and... (but those won't happen) CH: Yeah, in the Winds of War expansion you actually have in the editor the ability to add or remove an Underground. JVC: That's right. CH: Who is doing the music and has the music been finished? JVC: (The music hasn't been done yet), but we'll probably use the same team... CH: ...same composer? JVC: Yeah, Rob King. CH: Excellent music. JVC: Yeah, I really loved his... I discovered him, you know, (from) nowhere, brought him on full-time, and now he's doing music for all sorts of games, so.. Oh definitely, I want him and the same guys do the music. I really like how the music fits Heroes. CH: Will the game be using a similar kind of scripting system in its editor, and will it be improved over the one in Heroes IV? Heroes IV has an awesome editor. JVC: I'd love to improve on it, I don't know if we'll be able to do much of a revamping with that editor or not. But it'll have all the layout to it in the way it works... but making it easier to use is a big... completely big "if". But the other side of it is it's not that important since if I I get the AI to where I want it to be, no one's going to have to go in to do all these scripted events to make the game play its best... CH: ... Right, exactly... JVC: ... So, that's kind of my caveat to, well, if we do this right, then that won't matter as much because people won't have to fight with that editor to get some measure of interesting gameplay out of it. CH: But you are doing it with a scripting system? JVC: Yeah, it's the same one. We're basically using the same tools, just changing it to enhance it. CH: That's good news for me. CH: Will there be a Random Map or Terrain Generator? JVC: I'm working on it. Yeah, I'm going to try to get that done if I can for the first release. CH: Because that's a very poplular thing with the tournament players, they're always looking for ways to create maps... JVC: Yes. CH: And the Object Painter which came along in the Winds of War expansion is one tool that... anything that saves a mapmaker time. Because that just means more maps... JVC: Yeah. CH: And people will spend more time on them... JVC: Making them, yep. CH: ...not doing the things that (waste time, and thus) planning more creative maps. Part Two of this interview with New World Computing's Jon Van Caneghem is presented here. CH: Do you have any plans for an Official Tournament or other sponsored events? JVC: That'd be great. I'd love to do it. CH: Seems like you're going to have to add to your staaff a vit to handle that. JVC: Yeah, but at the same time, ya know, between web sites and people organizing themselves. If we just support it, I think that could probably work out. CH: Can we expect you on the 3DO Community or the Round Table posting some time? JVC: Sure. CH: You're a busy guy, but ya know, you're the Man. JVC: Alright, well I mean, I hate to personally get into the whole "posting wars"... CH: It's hard. It's very difficult, I know... JVC: I know, I know. Chris (Vanover) had been with us (for so long) CH: Most of the time someone will ask you a question and you find that you just can't answer it, because it will start something else... JVC: So, ya know, I'd rather start something up where you guys filter up what you want me to answer, once a month or... and (I'll see if I can get to it). CH: Do you visit Celestial Heavens? JVC: Yeah, of course, and I'll end up getting along with most of the stuff, but no, I think it's great that you guys have been supporting us. I know there's been some friction over the last few months. CH: Yeah. We do post what we find, in terms of news... JVC: Yeah. CH: ... But we're all fans of the games. JVC: That's all that matters. Hey, the truth is what it is, I don't care. (laughs) CH: Most of what we're doing is just bringing news to the community so they can talk about it... JVC: ...can talk about it, right.. CH: ... not so we can bring our own opinions in. JVC: No, I love that you guys are there. I mean , ya know, I used to have to read UseNet to find out, ya know, I'd go to Strategy: UseNet, and I'd see... to pick through the Heroes topics to find out what people were saying about the latest game or expansion. But most of your guys grew so large. CH: Are there plans for a Heroes IV Complete, and what would it include? JVC: Probably, I think 3DO actually has it on their schedule to do that. CH: Is that a 3DO question? JVC: Yeah, that's a 3DO question. I wouldn't have much involvement except we would want to be making the CDs and testing it. CH: I was just wondering if they might ask you to add some more content. JVC: I don't know. Unlikely. CH: If it didn't happen with Heroes III Complete then it probably isn't likely for Heroes IV. JVC: Right. CH: How about the turn-times? Will Heroes V be faster in terms of the amount of time it takes to access things? JVC: (The computer has to) ... figure out stuff, but 99% of it didn't move, never changes... it's the map. That can be done when the map's created at our office. It shouldn't be a burden for every player out there at the end of their turn. So there's lots of stuff like that that I want it to be (when clicking the button) "Go, go, go". CH: Is there going to be a beta test release for Heroes V? JVC: One of the problems we've had with our games and beta testing is, we've never had a large enough schedule to do formal beta testing. So by the time the CD goes out to, say we've got a hundred people we want at the office to be around for the first round of beta, by the time we get them, get them their CDs, and have them start playing it, we're eighteen revisions at the office past what they have. Alot of what they'll be reporting we'll already have on the list, we'll either have fixed them, or decided that we're not going to... (do that in the game). CH: ... You know you're giving the beta testers this thing that isn't working yet, so you're working on those problems... JVC: ... we're working on those problems, and if we had a longer cycle the you could do that, but the last few years with 3DO has been, ya know, by the time we're beta, everyone's non-stop (working on the game's problems) CH: What financial factors come into the development of the game that affects its publication? JVC: On and on and on, it all just never ends; the financial situation, so... CH: Not being a game industry person myself, and most of the readers aren't... JVC: Yeah. It's hard for them to understand. CH: ... it's phenomenal to understand what goes into developing a game. JVC: Yep. The bottom line is two things. There's the integrity, and how great a game is, and then there'e the actual dollars and cents of the checkbook, and everyone keeping the lights on and paying salaries. And a lot of times those two can't meet. They just can't get together to the point where you going to satisfy both of them. So or course the one that's going to fail is the game side, because everyone's got to keep the lights on and pay the bills. Bottom line, that's what it comes down to. Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту Computer Gaming World в 2004 году. Though not as well known as some of his contemporaries, Jon Van Caneghem is one of PC gaming’s great success stories—the founder of New World Computing and the sole creator of one of gaming’s best franchises, Might and Magic. (Two of the games—Might and Magic I and Heroes of Might and Magic II—reside in CGW’s Hall of Fame.) 3DO’s subsequent purchase of New World, as well as its near destruction of the franchise with mediocre products, is now part of industry legend—and also drove Van Caneghem into premature retirement. Now, for the first time, the creator of Might and Magic has agreed to speak publicly about his franchise: the good, the bad, and the superugly. CGW: Tell us about your first game, as well as the beginning of New World Computing. JVC: I started NWC in 1983 from my small apartment in Hollywood, CA. The first game I designed was Might and Magic I for the Apple II. Since I did most everything (programming, art, story, etc.) myself back then, it was the most satisfying creative experience I’ve ever had. It took me three years to finish, after which time I placed ads in the two hot computer gaming magazines at the time (CGW and A+). The 800 number for orders and customer support rang in my living room! CGW: How big was New World Computing at its peak? When did you sell it to 3DO—and why? JVC: At its peak, NWC had over 100 people. New World was sold to 3DO in 1996 for several reasons. Budgets for new games were skyrocketing. The industry was consolidating, and it was getting harder to get shelf space; lots of new companies were entering the market with huge budgets and a new financial model. I decided to sell and stay [so] that I could focus on making games and not have to worry about everything else that went into running a software publisher. CGW: What were the worst decisions 3DO made concerning New World or your franchises? JVC: Well, there were a few. I believed that MM RPGs and Heroes games could have gone on for a very long time if we had created something new and innovative every 2 to 3 years. But the need for “sales growth,” mandated by 3DO, required us to make a new MM RPG and a new Heroes product every year—some in 10 months or less! Second, one of the main reasons I was excited to go with 3DO was the ability to create Might and Magic Online. 3DO had the entire infrastructure from their game Meridian 59. With all the ideas I had (most of which have still not appeared in current games), we could have created something really awesome. The future for me in 1996 was definitely online games. Alas, the decision was that for the same budget as MMO, 3DO could make three PS2 games. Third, at some point, the decision process at 3DO regarding which products to produce and develop was completely controlled by the head of sales!?! Here is how it went: The development teams and execs at 3DO made lists of products they would like to make or could make, the sales department would estimate how many of each of these hypothetical games they could sell, and this would determine the budget of the title—or if it was even worth developing. Madness! CGW: How involved were you with Heroes of Might and Magic IV or Might and Magic IX? How did you feel about the release of these games? JVC: I worked on the initial design for Heroes IV, then when things started to go awry (too many cooks in the kitchen), I had to help finish the game and get it into a shippable state. To the credit of the team involved, I think we were able to create a fun game, even though it had many flaws that I was very unhappy with. I had little to no involvement with MMIX; if it had been my decision, it would have never shipped. CGW: You must have made some valiant appeals on behalf of New World with some of 3DO’s decisions—did they fall on deaf ears? Or were the execs just clueless? JVC: Yes, you would think that the advice from probably the only game designer with two Hall of Fame series, in two different genres spanning two decades, might know something about development! Bah! Deaf ears, clueless—call it what you want. I gave up. CGW: Ubisoft owns the rights to your old franchises now. Will you be involved with Heroes V at all? JVC: Ubisoft has contacted me regarding Heroes V. They are building the game with one of their Russian development groups, and we are currently discussing if it would make sense for me to participate on the project. CGW: Do you regret having sold New World to them? What lessons did you learn from the experience? JVC: I will never regret selling NWC, since I know many other companies similar to NWC went out of business. I do feel bad about watching the franchises I created wither away. But I did learn quite a few lessons along the way. Mainly that if you’re not happy with what you’re doing, you need to move on, regardless of the difficulty. Failure is temporary, regret can last forever! Overall, I am very proud of all the games I made over the years and very happy knowing all the fun I have created for so many people! Интервью, данное Джоном Ваном Каненгемом сайту Gamespot, в июне 2004 года. Ссылка на источник: www.gamespot.com. Q&A: NCsoft executive producer Jon Van Caneghem Might and Magic creator returns to the design fold with plans to create an MMOG that breaks the rules and unites both casual and gonzo gamers alike. Can he get away with it? By Curt Feldman, GameSpot Posted Jun 18, 2004 5:46 pm PT With just two weeks under his belt at NCsoft's US location in Austin, Texas, the designer who single-handedly came up with the Might and Magic universe of role-playing games was still adjusting to life away from his home turf of Los Angeles. "What the heck. I’ve been in California my entire life, so this is an interesting change," he told us, sounding just a couple of clicks shy of 100 percent convinced he had made the right choice. A longtime fan of the Wizardry and Ultima games, Van Caneghem created his own role-playing universe out of his LA apartment--which also served as warehouse, mailroom, and customer support center--in the early '80s. He built the Might and Magic universe into a huge success, eventually selling his company, New World Computing, to Trip Hawkins and 3DO. Earlier this month, Van Caneghem surfaced in Austin, Texas. Brought on to the NCsoft Austin team by cofounder and fellow role-playing-game designer Richard Garriott, Van Caneghem started the third chapter of his game design career as executive producer and lead on a new, currently unannounced game. We spoke with Caneghem by phone just a few days after he started. Claiming he felt like "a total newbie," he soon shifted the conversation toward his game. GameSpot: You’ve been off a lot of people’s radar for a while. What the heck are you doing standing shoulder to shoulder with what was arguably your biggest competitor. What are you doing at NCsoft? Jon Van Caneghem: The whole reason I came there was really to start from scratch. I didn’t want to have to do anything based on something that already existed--as with some of the baggage I had with all the Heroes games, where I had to always make a sequel. GS: When did the games start to qualify as "baggage"? JVC: I think toward the end with 3DO it started to feel that way. Like most publishers, they were very scared of doing something new. They always wanted to stick with building a sequel that they knew had a built-in sales number they could achieve... The execs look at the numbers and they go, “Hey, but we got such a fan base. Can you make another one?" Nine Might and Magics and four Heroes later, it gets to the point where I go, “Come on guys, let’s do something new!” GS: How did you find yourself at NCsoft? JVC: I’ve been wanting to make a next-gen online product since I sold [New World Computing] to 3DO in ’96. They had Meridian 59, and Ultima Online was just about to come out. I [thought], "This is the future for gaming, especially for RPGs." That was one of the main reasons for going [with 3DO]. GS: How did that relationship start off? JVC: A few months into it, six or seven months into it, Trip [Hawkins, 3DO's founder] decided that building three PS2 titles would be better use of his money. So, my vision there got canceled. Ever since, I’ve been wanting to do massively multiplayer products. I’ve been building ideas, and I play every [MMO game] out there. I just really think it’s the future of gaming. Then I read about Richard and Robert Garriott starting their group, and then merging with NCsoft. I got real intrigued. GS: Were you previously acquainted with the Garriotts? JVC: And I’ve been friends with Richard and Robert for over 20 years now. GS: As competitors no doubt... JVC: You know, as friendly competitors...thinking [about] the same products. We’ve always had a good time together. I thought, “Hey, why don’t I call Richard and see what’s going on?” GS: How will you fit into the NCsoft organization? JVC: I’m building a complete team from scratch--currently bringing in very talented people from inside NCsoft [and] bringing in some people from outside, as well as looking for additional staff. It's going to be NCsoft’s second internal team--the other internal team at the moment is building Tabula Rasa, Richard's product. GS: I noticed you have the same title as Richard... JVC: I believe so. GS: So does that put you on equal footing with Richard? JVC: Absolutely. GS: Well, congratulations. JVC: Thanks. [Laughs] GS: How far along are you in terms of creating your team and getting to work on the game? JVC: I have a half a dozen people so far. We’re probably going to keep the team under 15 people for the first four to five, maybe six, months [while we] get the technology and infrastructure down--before we get into the full production mode of building tons of content. GS: Will there be any sharing of technology between your team and the Tabula Rasa team? JVC: That’s part of what I’m evaluating over the next couple of weeks. There’s a lot that NCsoft has to offer. Obviously, the backbone is in place...they have numerous online games they’re running now with City of Heroes and Lineage II, and everything else they’ve got going. I’m glad to take the backbone and run from there, which makes it exciting for me because it all works--customer support and billing. It’s a huge investment to build that. GS: Your focus is on what? JVC: I can just focus on the product and not have to rebuild that whole infrastructure. GS: What can you tell me about the product? JVC: My goal has been to build what I call the next-generation online title. GS: Which means... JVC: What I mean by that is that all the products currently are what I view as either first generation, or basically spin-offs of the EverQuest model. What I’ve been looking at is to take that next step, and the next level product is not that. GS: What is it about the EverQuest model that’s right, and what is it that’s wrong? JVC: What’s right is it’s fun, obviously. It has a lot of people who enjoy playing it. I guess what’s wrong is it’s still a very narrow audience. It has a lot of elements you might call sophisticated. And that blocks out a lot of people who enjoy playing PC games. GS: Where do you intend to take it? JVC: I’d like to bring the experience that people loved from the stand-alone products that I built for 20 years into the online model. My joke is that if any of the current MMOs were released as a stand-alone, they’d probably have failed miserably, so part of what I want to do with this next product is to solve that [problem], so anyone who would have bought a stand-alone product is going to enjoy my new game. Right now there's a mind-set that enjoys either online products or stand-alone. So my biggest goal is to widen the user base to not just the few hundred thousand, but potentially millions who can play. GS: Where do you start? JVC: I think a lot of the gameplay mechanics are going to [have to] change to allow someone who only wants to play two to three hours a week to have just as fun an experience as the guy who’s going to be the 24/7 lunatic. Addressing those game mechanics is a big part of my plan. GS: How do you approach that? JVC: Once you take a genre, or, I should say, a set way of playing, like EverQuest, it pretty much sets the standard and then everyone builds on top of that. Once you choose that path you have no choice. You’re just enhancing a situation. I want to create a game that more people will enjoy playing--one where if you log off, you don’t feel bad... You can go to work, you can go to school, you can go on a date, and you don’t feel like you’ve fallen behind all your friends or that you’re missing out. Now, the basic designs are tailored towards having to spend a bazillion hours, and you have to do it all in a row, to keep up with the community. That’s the [primary] thing that's limiting the audience of these style of games at this point. GS: Interestingly, most solutions that pursue that goal segregate the audiences, providing a game experience for either the 24/7, bazillion-hours crowd or the single-session casual gamer. Few go after both audiences with a single game. JVC: And that’s the game system I’m going to create. Don’t forget, I’ve been playing these games and building designs since the mid-'90s, so I have a million ideas and systems and game mechanics that I’ve been developing over this time. It still amazes me, the stuff my team talked about back then that still hasn’t been implemented. That’s the part that’s really exciting to me. GS: Do you feel any games in the stand-alone space have been especially successful at engaging both audiences? JVC: To some degree, yes, but I think the trick is going to be taking the stuff that works in stand-alone and applying it to the multiplayer environment. That's where the next step leads. GS: Don’t you get the feeling that ultimately you can’t extract enough of a rewarding experience from other people--that you need your AI to egg and to encourage the gamer along? JVC: You need tools and avenues where human players can have much more of an active role in the game...and then create the game. Not giving away too many things, you know, that’s really my goal, and that’s a lot of the ideas I have. That will create that situation where a new player or a seasoned player, or the guy who’s on all the time, will have a way to interact with each other and to create situations that are going to be compelling and interesting for all the players. My biggest goal is you log on and there’s something new, exciting, and interesting to do every single day. One of the things we’re talking about here with a lot of guys, explaining my vision, is that almost all current [persistent world] games were built the same way we built stand-alone retail products. You build the game, you ship the box, and it’s version 1.0. The server’s locked down, and everyone who’s online playing is playing 1.0, and it’s treated like the updates and patches are the same as a retail product. [For example], in two weeks we’re going to have a patch. It’s identical to a retail product. To me the biggest thing everyone has missed is that you don’t have to do it that way. This is a live server that’s in one spot that all hundreds of thousands of people are playing off of. There’s no reason why it can’t be a live game, and not treated like: “We’ve got to wait two weeks for this new gameplay system to come out.” Without giving away too many of the functions I’m talking about, [mine] is a different way of looking at it, in terms of how you build the product and what people can expect. GS: What have you found to be most disappointing about the current generation of MMOGs? JVC: The only other thing that’s really disappointed me about all the current games is that sometimes [I play on the beta], and then I finally run to the store the day [the full version] comes out. I get the game and run home and install it, and then all of a sudden I have this feeling that I could go to a Web site and find every item, every character, every map, every solution to everything about this entire game before I even play it. And I bought it the first day it came out. That’s not what this thing should be about. It ruins exploring, it ruins the experimenting when it’s all been figured out. That’s an experience I want to change. If you think [in terms] of a live game, which an online game should be, then that whole mind-set doesn’t even make sense. Sure there will be Web sites that will give generalized ideas on how the game is played and how it works, but when you log on to play, you’re still going to have that excitement of: “I wonder what’s happening today, and I wonder what’s over that next hill.” That’s the feeling I want to give people. And with that in mind, you can play once a week or you can play every day, and you’re going to have a good time. GS: Why do you think The Sims Online didn’t hit the mark its creators thought it might? JVC: You’ve got two major problems with [The Sims Online]. One is, there was an online, level-grinding community that were the first to early adopt, and they didn’t find those features for them to [work with]. And the second part of it is, it’s such new ground for people who are used to online games that I really didn’t think it had the features that they were looking for. But I admire the attempt. It’s still quite an ambitious thing to have done, and it’s a shame it didn’t catch on. GS: Do you look to Asia for ideas, solutions? JVC: Absolutely. NCsoft's Lineage II is a tremendous success. But again, it’s having to analyze the culture and seeing the response to Lineage II here in the US, compared to the success in Korea. It's a tremendous example to be analyzed that I’ve been doing quite a lot of it. It’s a fine line, but that’s part of the plan. GS: After 3DO folded, what did you do? JVC: When 3DO folded I basically retired. I decided I was done. GS: How did you spend your time? JVC: I played a lot of computer games, even more than when I was working. And I played a lot of MMO games. The first three or four months were great, and then it actually started to get boring. I would go, "Why’d they do this? Why’d they do that?" Which is what got me into the industry in the first place 20 years ago. While I was playing Ultima and Wizardry, and loving them, it got to the point where I said, “Why can’t they do this? Why can’t they do that?” That’s pretty much what got me off my butt to write Might and Magic 1. I had all these ideas based on what I had seen was being done, and I thought, well, why can’t we do this? GS: Ultima and Wizardry were inspirations for you. JVC: They definitely yanked me into this industry. GS: When did you first meet Richard Garriott? JVC: We met in 1986. I had just released Might and Magic 1, and he was starting Origin Systems with his brother. They had just done Ultima 3. They flew me out, and we talked about them publishing Might and Magic 1, but I had already made the package and was selling it. It wasn’t the right time to do business, but we became distant friends and have kept in contact ever since. GS: You mentioned the relationship as friendly competition? JVC: We used to call each other and say, “The only competition we have is bad products.” We believed that if someone would try an RPG and have a good experience, then they would buy all the other RPGs. That was our motto together. We kept in touch. We always got together at every GDC and E3, or any type of show where we were in the same cities. GS: How tough is it to sell Richard Garriott on a game idea? JVC: Richard is a very brave guy, and so far we get along so well that we practically think down the same lines in terms of how to build this product. Together, we make an incredible team since he is much more of a story visionary, and I am much more of the technical systems guy. We approach a product in a little bit different ways, but our skills are extremely complementary. GS: Will Richard be involved? JVC: Obviously Richard’s going to be involved to some degree. I think my ultimate goal, not to use a pun, is to take Richard's and my best accomplishments and create the next thing. GS: What’s the landscape like today for a designer with a big idea and the desire to remain independent? Is there a chance to succeed? JVC: There’s always a chance. I’m an optimist in that case. But it’s obviously gotten harder today with the budgets. But I’m a believer that it’s one strong-willed individual that makes something happen in this industry. GS: How big of a challenge do you think you’re facing right now? JVC: It’s a great big one, but given that, I wouldn’t have taken it on without NCsoft. To build the size of product I’m building, [leveraging] the infrastructure they have already built is the only way that I would consider taking on that task. GS: Your goals? JVC: My goal is to be the number one online title when it comes out. Whatever that’s going to take is basically my goal. |
sergroj, SAG19330184, Vade Parvis, Corkes | ||
| 10 Jul 2009, 01:39 |
Музей мира M&M |
Насколько я знаю, музыка Замка Чернокнижника - единственная у которой достоверно известен источник, но Роб Кинг говорил, что большинство тем городов взяты из оригинальных произведений Ференца Листа, Баха и Рахманинова, также он говорил, что музыкальная тема города Варвара в Героях Меча и Магии I также взята из произведения Баха. Поэтому можно попытаться определить источники музыкальных тем, возможно в этом сможет помочь Docent Picolan, ведь он учится в консерватории и, вероятно, в консерватории есть человек, который сможет помочь в этом вопросе, кроме того есть много людей, которые могут по слуху записать музыкальное произведение нотами. Слова опер замков Чернокнижника, Варвара и Некроманта из оригинальной версии Героев Меча и Магии II взяты из произведения Фридриха Ницше "Так говорил Заратустра", замка Рыцаря из 115 Псалма Библии Лютера, замка Волшебницы из 14 Псалма из того же источника. Слова опер замков Чернокнижника и Варвара из дополнения Героев Меча и Магии II взяты из Немецкого реквиема Иоганнеса Брамса, слова которого также в свою очередь были взяты из Библии Лютера. Цитата Амерликс На самом деле я при создании имени подразумевал имя Амельрих, но несколько вольно записал его английскими буквами, поэтому Amelrix не совсем ему соответствует, но всё же своим именем пользователя я считаю именно имя Амельрих. |
Лентяй, Vade Parvis, Kastore | ||
| 08 Jul 2009, 03:42 |
Музей мира M&M |
Слова из опер Героев Меча и Магии II : Город Варвара - оригинальная версия: Oder gehst du jetzt selber auf den Wegen auf den Wegen Oder gehst du jetzt auf den Wegen der Diebe, du Freund der Bцsen? Цитата(translate.google.ru) Или же у вас есть время по пути по пути Или вы собираетесь сейчас на пути воров, вы другу зла? Город Некроманта - оригинальная версия: Deine wilden wilden Hunde wollen in die Freiheit; sie bellen vor Lust in ihrem Keller, wenn dein Geist alle Gefдngnisse zu lцsen trachtet. sie bellen vor Lust Deine wilden wilden Hunde wollen in die Freiheit; sie bellen vor Lust vor Lust Цитата(translate.google.ru) Ваш дикого дикие собаки хотят свободы, их лай, как прежде в их подвал, если ваше внимание всех тюрьмах стремиться решить. они кора, как раньше Ваш дикого дикие собаки хотят свободы, их лай, как раньше до Луст Город Чернокнижника - оригинальная версия: Willst du heute dein Feuer in die Tдler tragen? Fьrchtest du nicht Fьrchtest du nicht Fьrchtest du nicht des Brandstifters Strafen? Цитата(translate.google.ru) Неужели ты теперь твой огонь в долины? Вы не бойтесь Вы не бойтесь Вы не боятся наказания поджигатель? Город Рыцаря - оригинальная версия: Sie haben Mдuler, und reden nicht; sie haben Augen, und sehen nicht; sie haben Ohren, und hцren nicht; sie haben Nasen, und riechen nicht; Sie haben Hдnde, und greifen nicht; FьЯe haben sie, und gehen nicht; sie reden nicht durch ihren Hals. Цитата(translate.google.ru) Они рот, и не говорим, они имеют глаза и не видят; они имеют уши и не слышат, они носами и запаха нет; Они руками, и не они футов, и не ходят, они не говорят по своей шее. Город Волшебницы - оригинальная версия: Die Toren sprechen in ihrem Herzen: Es ist kein Gott. Es ist kein Gott. Die Toren sprechen in ihrem Herzen: Es ist kein Gott, kein Gott. Es ist kein Gott, kein Gott. Es ist kein Gott. Город Варвара - дополнение: Wo ist dein Sieg? Wo ist dein Stachel? Wo ist dein Sieg? Wo ist dein Sieg? Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg. Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hцlle, wo ist dein Sieg? Цитата(translate.google.ru) Где твоя победа? Где твое жало? Где твоя победа? Где твоя победа? Смерть поглощена победой. О смерть, где твое жало? Ад, где твоя победа? Город Чернокнижника - дополнение: Denn es wird die Posaune schallen Und die Toten werden auferstehen Unverweslich Und wir werden verwandelt werden Цитата(translate.google.ru) Потому что труба кольцо И мертвые воскреснут Unverweslich И нам будет преобразована Город Волшебницы - дополнение: Peace to they who come, Stay in peace today, Peace to they who come, Stay in peace, today. Цитата(translate.google.ru) Мир в них, которые приезжают, Оставайтесь в мире сегодня, Мир в них, которые приезжают, Будьте в мире, и сегодня. J.S.Bach:English Suite No.6. in D minor/Gavotte I.,II. -музыка замка Чернокнижника в Героях Меча и Магии I [sergroj] Добавил гениальный перевод Гугла к песням |
Darkloke, XEL, Agar, Vade Parvis, tolich, OVERLORD, Kastore | ||
| Текстовая версия | Сейчас: 2 December 2025 - 13:45 |
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 Programming by Degtyarev Dmitry |
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