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Exclusive Mercury Steam Interview Feature
Stephen Leyton
21/11/2002
Derek checks out Merciry Steam a new game in development by Spanish development team Mercury Steam Entertainment.
When it comes to development teams in Spain you can count them on one hand but the upside is they produce quality games that are unusual and innovative as is the case with MercurySteam (MSE). TVG's Derek dela Fuente (there's a Spanish name to excite) is first on the case with this new team, which is in the early stages of creating - they hope - a blockbuster title.
With a company name and logo that will have many scratching their heads, it appears that ID Software was their first choice but as we all know that was taken. They picked their name from Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter. I will not explain any more but believe me they were very creative in coming up with this, complete with a top hat for their company logo. (Best explanation was to be a developer - you must be as mad as a hatter!)
Started in April 2002, there are 16 people working at MSE and a large number are ex Rebel Act Studio, which produced Blade II and Blade of Darkness, including Enric Alvarez, LEAD GAME DESIGNER & PRODUCT MANAGER- Co-founder of MSE, who we were speaking with. (Enric was programmer on Blade of Darkness and co-designer/programmer on Blade II.)
The first question put was - what was the team's vision? "We are gamers that have been able to carry out our dream: make our living creating games. Our natural inclination is to develop games that we, ourselves, would buy and enjoy. This idea is part of our vision. Naturally it is not enough. It is necessary to be technically very prepared, creatively predisposed to innovate and also to know what the market demands. We believe we can match all these conditions. In the current panorama there is room for companies with clear ideas and enough talent. We are one of those companies."
As a start up company the technologies they have in place (i.e. engines, conversion tools) along with resources and backing is essential. Is MercurySteam prepared for a long haul? "An important part of our current project consists on the creation and development of our own technological resources. That means that we work with an in-house 3D engine and tools that fit perfectly our necessities. Our first project has peculiarities that make it impossible to find licensable technologies adjusted to the objectives that we pursue. For us, at present, it is more profitable and secure to develop our own technology.â
Reference to the unnamed game (named soon), a 3D sci fic action game with plenty of innovative and unusual features, was focused on throughout. Indeed if the early artwork and enthusiasm (not forgetting track record) is anything to go on then they are on the path to success. The one question that many developers try to steer clear of in this ever changing scene within the gaming industry is their thoughts on all the consoles up against the PC but this was not the case with MercurySteam.
"The console market offers 3 serious advantages in respect of the PC:
1. - The sales of successful games are much higher.
2. - Technologically the development is easier -and therefore cheaper.
3. - The piracy is less harmful.
From an economic point of view, things are very simple: To develop a game is a very expensive business, it requires a great investment and considerable risk. The viability of the developers is measured by the benefits that they obtain; so to simplify the development, selling many copies and minimizing the piracy are good ideas. Those 3 reasons are enough to consider seriously to develop games for consoles.
However, as a gamer, I think the PC is the best platform for a game. The most spectacular graphics, the widest variety of genres and the best multiplayer experience are found fundamentally in PC games. As developers, we keep in mind that fact, beside a romantic bias regarding the PC."
It was pleasing and reassuring to hear such bold words pertaining to the PC but could this be because there is no development community of substance in Spain. It is obvious that there is an enormous difference in the size of the industry between USA, UK and Spain. That means basically that in Spain is more difficult to get the means to develop, publicize and publish successful games. Apart from that there is no difference in talent, capacity and ideas.
"I have always felt an enormous respect and admiration for the philosophy of ID Software, those guys constantly impress me; Cavedog left me -and leaves me - astonished with its âTotal Annihilationâ; I am also a great admirer of LucasArts and their old adventures; and finally I take my hat off to DMA Design and their awesome GTA3."
Although their unknown title is not due until 2004, (a long time to many) a little was given away about it.
The game takes place in an imaginary and distant future. Any sci-fi lover will identify the scenes where action happens: gigantic cities of giddy height, space stations in orbit, alien starships, bleak asteroids⦠The team didn't want to bore people cloning these topics once again, so the final look for these environments will have much to do with the particular aesthetic sense of the game characters and it's going to be very particular.
"The game play is not going to consist of finding out how to do things but doing them. We are developing a 3D action game placed on a sci-fi world, where âordinaryâ things co-exist with fantasy in a humorous tone. The player can move around in rich and detailed indoor and outdoor environments, meeting bizarre characters, fighting and racing with extreme ships that the player him/herself can build the way he/she wants, even in multi-player mode. All of that in a free form from the very beginning of the game. As for the multiplayer, we think that competing or cooperating with real people is the most satisfactory experience that a player can have. For that reason our game will have a top quality multiplayer experience.â
âOur objective regarding the multiplayer is to offer a novel, deep and competitive game. We believe that in the world of the consoles there is the need for multiplayer games specially though for the console gamers and not mere adaptations of already seen PC concepts; Our multiplayer game is being developed with those ideas in mind and we hope it will be equally attractive to the habitual multiplayer PC gamers and to the console users, hungry of REAL multiplayer games for their console.â
At present the team is developing the game for the PC platform. However, MSE is specially interested to have this game on console because its aesthetics, control system and playability will be well received by console gamers all over the world.
They are now 5 months into development. The 3D engine and the necessary tools continue being developed. At present the net code already allows play under real conditions of Internet from a 56K modem with enough quality. Around April of next year they hope to have a demo 100% representative of the final product. "Graphically the engine let us enjoy last generation graphics in the game area: realistic illumination of huge maps using global lighting techniques, auto-projected shadows in real time over scenes and characters, reflection and roughness effects working with environment-bump mapping techniques, facial animation with voice synchronization - all this perfectly integrated and focused to give the gamers the best gaming experience."
With money in place to complete the game and a wealth of experience and ideas, we will keep tabs on this!
More soon!
