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17.03.2005 - Hier haben wir einen englisch-sprachigen Chatlog mit Brian Fargo (The Bard's Tale) für euch. Wenn ihr ein Fan guter Rollenspiele seid, solltet ihr euch das nicht entgehen lassen!
(Thunak): Brian, can you tell us a bit about the story?
(BFargo): our first goal was to be a bit unconventional about the character and the plot. We first focused on the personality of the bard who was going to question everything he was asked to do. He is a bit of a cynic and interacts in the world as if he has played too many RPG's. Early on he is motivated by money and women only but eventually gets pulled into the "save the princess plot" but things are not as they seem.
(Trolly): What are the main lines of the synopsis?
(BFargo): Hmmm... well first we really focused on the individual moments like the way Quentin Tarantino would do in his movies. But not the violence of course. The bard is being pushed to help save the idol of these people. And there is some question as to what exactly the right thing to do is. But along the journey the bard encounters village that was overtaken by Vikings and the bard can elect to free them or not. He must free his pet dog from the netherworld and we tend to have plot points that make fun of the generic plot points that you see in EVERY RPG.
(BBard): What were your inspirations for The Bard’s Tale? To what extent did your former experiences on Fallout and Baldur’s Gate help on this game?
(BFargo): The first Bard's Tale I did in 1985 obviously had an influence first but the next influence was the clichés that every RPG has been doing for over a decade. The general philosophy that applied from everything from Wasteland, Dragon Wars, Stonekeep, Fallout and Baldur's Gate was to have non linearity, depth of world hints at a greater depth and the ability to play the game be it through physical attacks or coercion.
(Phil_-): Did you choose Cary Elwes because of his role in The Princess Bride, and were you aiming for the same kind of humour?
(BFargo): We wrote the game first without thinking about Cary Elwes. As the Bard developed as a character... the game in a way started to write itself. Every situation we knew exactly how the Bard would react in it. Once the writing was done we needed to cast the part. And it was at that time that we thought of Cary. And everyone agreed he was perfect. It is a similar sort of humour but in a way.. Cary as the Bard is the straightman in the world.
(Carri_S): "is the Bard's dog a powerful ally?"
(BFargo): I would not say Powerful... but he comes in VERY handy as he deflects attacks and cannot be killed. (only knocked out) the game can be played with or without him and we have sequences that revolve around either possibility.
(BBard): How much time did you take to make this game? How many people worked on it?
(BFargo): Development time was done with one person for 42 years... oh no.. I mean 21 people over 2 years.
(paul23): The Bard will not be on his own but can summon people. How does this work and can you tell us about 2 of the cast and what powers and spells they may have?
(BFargo): Instead of having a straight forward D&D party system we instead had the bard... summon his party... so you have monsters that behave like a cleric or like a thief etc. but what is cool is that you can mix and match constantly. Unlike a normal party game you are stuck with your group. But instead you will find yourself trying different combinations depending on what is attacking. You might focus on more defensive guys in one area or more aggressive in another.
(Phil_-): How do you think people's perception of RPG games has changed in the 20 years since the first Bards Tale?
(BFargo): The graphic expectations is the biggest thing. People demand a better visual experience. Also people do not want to read as much... they prefer to hear the characters speak. Also the ability to save the game anywhere or frequently has changed the tension that the early games had. But in general we still love to have our D&D party explore dungeons... find gold... buy cool stuff and kill bigger and badder monsters.
(Trolly): Question concerning the summoning system, how does it work?
(BFargo): Through the music the bard learns to play he will be able to summon different creatures. In the beginning... the bard knows but one song: how to summon a rat! He only uses the rat to scare people. Also his instruments dictate how many things he can summon at one time. So again at the start he can only summon one thing. But eventually he can summon 4 at a time from a list of 16+
(BBard): Apart from the wicked humour what would you say are some of the selling points and innovations – top features - in the game?
(BFargo): One thing I really appreciate is that got rid of the gameplay mechanic of having to find lots of things in dungeons and then go back to the store and sell them for cash over and over and over. We think buying is fun... but selling is not. We like the players to be able to move forward. The strategic elements of which creatures to summon is quite different. There have not been that many efforts to deal with summoning. Also the conversation system is unique you pick an attitude and then see what the bard has to say this way even the player does not know what the bard is going to say. Plus... we are the only game with singing! :)
(paul23): How important is technology to the team and the game? A brief on the engine!
(BFargo): We used the Snowblind engine that was used for Champions of Norrath. It's an angled camera down on the world. We really improved the graphics and it looks spectacular, but in general we like to spend most of our efforts on the gameplay and special touches rather than on creating technology. As we move forward you will see more and more people do the same. Already most people are using the Unreal Tech etc. for next generation development. Which means game will become richer in terms of characters, writing, etc.
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| Autor: Frederik |
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