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The Bard’s Tale Q&A Feature
Jon Wilcox
24/02/2005
We regale the team at inXile and talk about their forthcoming title...
Itās not long before the much anticipated game is released and with a couple of aborted runs, we shall see The Bardās Tale released by UbiSoft. Talented Brian Fargo, industry veteran, who many will remember from his Interplay days, spoke with Derek dela Fuente about the amusing delights on offer in the teamās latest creation.
As the project comes to a close are you pleased with the end result and over the creative time of the project what one aspect has evolved or possibly changed the most?
Iām very pleased with the creative aspect of the game in terms of its charm, humour and in trying new things. When you play the game it feels like a project that was injected with lots of passion as opposed to so many games today that feel like cut and paste sterile endeavours. Our upfront design document was very robust so not as much changed from start to end. But one of the luxuries we had was in RPG cliché busting. So as we played our own game and found some classics in our original design, we were able to turn those clichés into jokes. For example, an early design document had a large guard protecting a lever to a locked gate. The lever, of course, was in front of the door that it was meant to protect. So when the Bard discovers this obvious security flaw, he points out the absurdity of the situation.
InXile has been very quiet and as your first project is now imminent can we expect to see the team becoming more active?
You will definitely start hearing more and more from us. We are proud of what we made and we plan on shouting it to the rooftops. Plus we will be moving onto other projects which we are very excited about.
The PC market is a pretty stagnant one at present, do you believe games have become too serious and what comments do you hope people will be saying about Bardās Tale?
The PC market is stagnant but I donāt believe it is because games are too serious. The console market has taken a huge bite out of it and the PC gamers are so hardcore they often demand a tremendous amount of features. Those features are costly and can alienate newer players thus making the creation of a PC game riskier than ever. I hope that people āgetā what we were trying to do with Bardās Taleā¦ which was to make people laugh, give them 20+ hours of gameplay and experiment with ridding RPGās of certain things like running back and forth and selling items at stores. I think people will say that it is an accessible RPG which entertained them from beginning to end.
Can you give a brief overview of The Bardās Tale to readers who may not be au fait with the game?
The Bardās Tale is a very unique game in which we wanted to create a memorable character that has a distinct personality. The Bard, who stars in the game, plays the game like he himself has played too many RPGās. When told to kill rats in the cellar or to rescue a princess from a tower he always has a cynical but funny response to these overused requests. We wanted The Bardās Tale to be the Monty Python or Shrek of videogames. Itās a really fresh perspective on the genre.
The question youāve been asked many times before, but we will go with the flow, is why has the very creative team at InXile gone for a revamp of a game and can you tell us some of the gameplay differences between this and the original?
The original Bardās Tale was the granddaddy of RPGs and the fans have wanted to see the Bard come back for many years. However, the things that made the first Bardās Tale successful are not relevant today. The first Bardās Tale was a simple party based game with little dialogue or plot and mostly consisted of dungeon exploration with the player having to hand map the levels. This game is not party based but instead focuses on the Bard himself but with his ability to summon NPCs to fill out the party. Music is still a big part of the game as the Bard uses his instrument to summon monsters that in turn do most of the magic spells.
You control one character ā“ the Bard ā“ what is the characterās development progression in the game?
The player can control the classic statistics of an RPG character: strength, vitality, luck, dexterity, charisma and the unique Bard trait of rhythm. Rhythm provides the Bardās summoned characters with stat modifiers. The Bard will gain experience levels. Each level provides the Bard with more hit points, statistics and talents. Talents will provide the Bard with a variety of abilities from enabling him to use new types of weapons to improving his chances of finding treasure. As the game progresses he will also find new tunes and tune upgrades to allow him to summon helpful creatures. Of course, there is also a variety of weapons and armour the Bard can find and use. There are also magical tokens the Bard can find that will add modifiers to stats as well.
Apart from the wicked humour, what would you say are some of the selling points and innovations ā“ top features - in the game?
First of all, Bardās Tale simplifies a lot of the mundane elements of RPG games, letting the player focus more on the action and story elements of the game. The ability to summon characters to assist the Bard allows the player to make strategic decisions and shape the game to their style. Finally, there are some classic elements, such as random encounters, secret dungeons that somehow got lost in the evolution of todayās RPG.
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?
Over the course of the game, the Bard will discover tunes that will allow the Bard to summon new creatures. These creatures have their own statistics and abilities. With these tunes the Bard can create a party.
When the game begins, he has a rat. Obviously he is not very formidable, but may distract an enemy or two in combat. The Bard quickly discovers a new tune that summons a lightning spider. The lightning spider, as his name suggests, does electrical damage to opponents.
Not all the summoned creatures are strictly for combat. The player can find creatures that disarm traps, provide light in darkened dungeons or heal the party. The summoned creatures can also be upgraded, providing the creature with new abilities. The player will find certain abilities helpful in certain areas as well as helpful with certain combat styles the Bard can learn. As the player shapes the abilities of the Bard, different summoned characters will be more complementary. A player that creates a Bard with exceptional melee combat skills will most likely appreciate a summoned creature that can heal. A Bard with exceptional range ability may want a summoned creature that can slow fast moving opponents while he picks off the enemy from a distance.
How big is the game and is there a linear route to play? Tell us some interesting facts about some of the exciting gameplay ā“ events that will unfold?
Well, as with most RPGs there is certainly a central story and a quest to be achieved. That story, if done most expediently, will take between 15-25 hours of game play. But there is a great many side quests that can be discovered. In fact, very early on, the Bard might discover a town overrun by Vikings. Much to his surprise, the Vikings greet him as a hero! The events that unfold are completely unrelated to the main story and completely optional. Itās safe to say that the Bard overstays his welcome and will ultimately have to fight his way out of the town. We are very dedicated to cause and effect at InXile. So even in an optional side quest, such as this Viking town, there are multiple ways to fulfil the quest.
How important is technology to the team and the game? A brief on the engine!
Gamers have very high standards when it comes to the games they play. We donāt centre our efforts on technology at InXile, and instead choose to partner with other impressive technology providers. For Bardās Tale, we used the successful Champions of Norrath engine. It provided us with an immediate basis of solid graphics, sound and game play mechanics by which to build our game on. We improved and maximized the engine in areas to best suit the game we designed. By using a proven technology we were free to focus our efforts on delivering a game-play experience that was truly unique.
How does combat work in the game?
Combat in the game is a combination of statistics and player dexterity. The Bard will be able to attack with a variety of weapons, each with their own speed of attack. They include, sword and shield combat, dual wielding combat, two handed sword combat and ranged combat. In addition, the Bard and opponents will be able to block incoming blows. The Bard, also will make use of his summoned creatures. Most of the time, the Bard will be forced to fight multiple opponents. The Bard will want to use their skills as well. When the Bard is in real trouble he will be able to use powerful artefacts. Artefacts are high powered spells that can provide the Bard with special abilities, such as invulnerability for a brief time or root all surrounding enemies. Overall, the combat is a fast paced slugfest with a definite advantage to the combat strategist.
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