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Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Q&A Feature
Jon Wilcox
18/04/2005
TVG chats to Funcom about their latest release...
There is much excitement across Europe about the game Dreamfall, which is a third-person fantasy action-adventure, set in The Longest Journey universe - a continuation of the saga begun in the bestselling and award-winning game.
Graphically inviting, challenging action elements, an evolving story, exotic locations and believable characters - three lives intertwined, destined to collide, caught up in momentous events that will change them forever and real ambience make up the many elements that go into making Dreamfall such an inviting experience and there is more as was explained by Jørgen Tharaldsen, Product Director at Funcom, who discussed the game with Derek dela Fuente.
TVG: Please can you tell the readers about the development team, what they have created before and your expertise!?
The dev team consists of an experienced group of dedicated people, many of whom have worked for years at Funcom on titles like The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online, as well as on numerous other games for other companies.
I have been working with games for 12 years now, in all kinds of various capacities. I am not a direct part of the development team; I am merely working on the 'wrapping' around the game.
TVG: What is your vision for Dreamfall and with adventure games decreasing in popularity how do you believe this game will grab the attention of gamers?
Our vision for Dreamfall is to create an exciting, emotional and action-packed thriller which builds a bridge between the classic adventure and the action adventure. We aim to (hopefully) create a game which the players will remember for life, while bringing something new, and fun, to the market.
I feel we already have the attention of many gamers. I am sure we will get even more attention as we unveil more info, art and videos.
TVG: Firstly how would you describe Dreamfall and can you tell us the backdrop story to the game and that of the character you play?
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is an action adventure set in a gaming universe which spans three distinctly different worlds. We are trying to make something unique, something different when it comes to what an action adventure can be, while wrapping it in a mature, exciting, and innovative storyline. We are making the game experience as varied as we can, with different consequences based upon your choices throughout the game.
As we think that it's better for the final gaming experience to - not - reveal too much of the story, we have merely outlined it. You embark on the journey through the eyes of the three main characters, which each have a part to play. You start out as Zoe Castillo, a 20 year old woman from Casablanca, who gets pulled into a world-spanning conspiracy when her best friend disappears. We are trying to make the story epic, emotional, exciting, varied and visually stunning, and it's delivered by a team which has won numerous awards.
TVG: An interesting tag line of Three Worlds, Three Stories, Three Destinies... please expand.
The game takes place in three distinct worlds (a futuristic version of our world, a fantasy world and a third, secret world), and as you venture through the many fantastic locations you do this through the eyes of the three main characters Zoe, April and Kian. This represents three different ways of playing since each character gives you new options and choices on how to play.
As you play it will become clear that the destinies of the characters are intertwined, and it all leads up to a stunning finale!
TVG: There are a number of exotic locations in the game. Firstly what has inspired these and how will these settings change the style and direction of the game?
There are so many games which are about 'rinse\repeat' through dark sewers or which have only a set amount of locations. For Dreamfall we wanted to create a game filled with as much variation as we could possibly make. This particular word (variation) is a keyword when it comes to the experience you can expect to have in Dreamfall. I can safely say that each and every location will bring something new, not just in terms of graphics and vista, but also in gameplay and fun challenges.
TVG: Please tell us about one innovation that Dreamfall offers?
Dreamfall is filled with small innovations, like our focus field and our approach to story telling. Still, I think the boldest 'innovation' we have done is to take a known universe in a new direction. As we moved away from the classic point and click approach to an action adventure universe, we felt that our options and possibilities grew tenfold, allowing us to truly innovate in everything from story, to reality approach, conveying emotions and creating real people. I think that the players will cherish our choice once they can dig into the game.
There has been much talk about the technology behind the game, how detailed do you believe your 3D engine is and what other aspects do you feel push the envelope?
One thing about technology is that it's only as good as your people. True, we do have a great graphics engine, which allows us to create a graphically stunning game, but this doesn't matter at all if you don't have the right artists and programmers. Luckily we do have a great team of artists, so I think we are definitively pushing the envelope in terms of graphical beauty and variation.
Billed as an action adventure, firstly can you tell us how focused you stick with the traditional elements of an adventure game and what actions we can expect to see? (Does combat play a part?)
Combat does play a part in Dreamfall, but the philosophy is more 'you should be able to defend yourself' than 'shoot first, ask later'. You will never ever see Zoe going on a wild rampage, Kian chopping off limbs right and left with his swords or April crushing tons of opponents with her staff. If you do decide to go the violent way, you will find that there are always consequences to violence, just like in real life. The action elements in Dreamfall are not about timing your jumps or seeking that adrenaline surge you get from FPS deathmatches. The surge in Dreamfall comes from other aspects, like the amazing journey, the intuitive challenges, the great set-pieces, the nail-biting twists in the story to the gripping music and great dialogue. Making an action adventure doesn't mean that we must make a game about shooting and jumping. A great action adventure can also be about a brave journey, with a great story, where you are constantly faced with challenges and options which don't require a gun.
Many people talk about conveying emotions within a game. Do you feel this is possible - to make a gamer feel happy and sad and is this something you are striving for in Dreamfall?
Definitively, and I think we proved this in a great way in the first The Longest Journey, where we received a lot of feedback from people who 'felt' the game speaking to them, heart to heart. Through a gripping story, believable (and real) characters, strong music and great graphics I think games like Dreamfall can really play on the emotional aspects. From all I have seen and heard, I know everyone who buys Dreamfall is in for a fantastic ride.
Does the player control Zoe throughout and what kind of progression does the game offer in both character building and learning and puzzle solving?
The player can control three different characters in Dreamfall (April Ryan, Kian and Zoe Castillo), but Zoe is the lead character.
The learning curve in the game is easy, and the interface and controls should be instantly understandable for basically everyone. It's not a goal for us to have a large RPG, with skill trees and all it entails. There is a progression of your character throughout the journey though, but then rather through aspects like a deeper understanding of the world, access to more areas, more items, etc.
When it comes to the challenges through the game we have really strived to make them fun, interesting and intuitive. When they are logical and fun it can be a great element in game in my opinion, but only if they are well designed since they can be a nuisance if they are not logical or hinder progression. All the challenges in Dreamfall are implemented to be a fun element on your journey through the game.
How important is sound and that of the voices in the game? Have you brought in professional actors?
This is extremely important in Dreamfall (and in any game in my opinion). Watching a movie without sound is, eh, pretty dull, and the same goes for games. We are therefore trying our best to find the most suitable actors for each of the roles in the game, as well as finding the appropriate musical score and audio ambience. In addition to our eminent Audio Director we have hired a fantastic composer for this project, who is making some truly stunning music.
We have definitively proven our worth with our music and audio in titles like The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online, and we are now taking that knowledge into Dreamfall.
Please tell the readers briefly about the control method to the game.
You will be able to control the game through a revolutionary next-generation 'point and click' mouse-only set-up which gives a great analogue feel, as well as through a dual-analogue joypad. You will also have the classic keyboard/mouse option.
Many thanks and good luck!
