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The Moment of Silence Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
27/10/2004
TVG chats with the Creative Director in charge of the promising political adventure...
Although The Moment of Silence may be seen as a mere adventure game, the kind of advertising that Digital Jesters is undertaking to elevate and support this title is focused, inventive, and possibly expensive. Supporting Sky's new BattleStar Galactica series, you canāt accuse this publisher of not wanting everyone to see and hear about this game.
The Moment of Silence is billed as a classic point and click adventure set in the near future where technological dependence has left the world in the hands of a few powerful men. The story plays out in beautifully rendered locations around the world, punctuated by some of the most gloriously animated videos ever seen. Derek dela Fuente spoke with Martin Ganteföhr, the Creative Director at House of Tales, a company specialising in Adventure Games, and their last title before MOS was the Mystery of the Druids, a kind of B-movie-like detective story.
TVG: What are your goals and focus for The Moment of Silence?
Personally, I hope that this game will be one mosaic stone in a bigger picture of games moving away from their capsulated entertainment only reception, towards a more cultural one. The Moment of Silence is a game that has a strong subtext of political issues. It asks questions about the future of technology and society, questions not only relevant for gamers as gamers, but also for gamers as citizens. Of course, MOS is still a game but Iād like to see games being part of public debates as much as movies are. There are so many stories to be told in this fascinating interactive field. We need to emancipate ourselves from the public view that computer games are nothing but blueprints for āamok runnersā.
TVG: Please tell me the story of the game.
The nations of the Earth are always united under a single government, and in the metropolises, just as it always has, life goes on as usual.
Mad gurus preach the end of the world, yuppies in glass high-rises design advertising strategies, gangs and prostitutes loiter in the run-down quarters, terrorists throw bombs, and old men spin conspiracy theories.
Satellite cars and mobile messengers make life easier but we are now also more dependant on technology and more susceptible to surveillance and terror.
Communications designer Peter Wright couldnāt care less which politician is currently causing what scandal, and for whom his agency is devising new campaigns. Ever since his wife and son were killed in a plane crash, he lives in isolation; withdrawn, taking one day at a time. He works listlessly, drinks too much, and spends his evenings in chat sessions with strangers.
His life changes abruptly one day when a police SWAT team stops in front of his house, storms his next door neighboursā apartment and arrests the father of the family, an online journalist, without giving a reason.
Peter begins to take an interest in the incident and makes some astonishing, but at the same time, unsettling, discoveries. His neighbour has vanished without a trace.... and so the game unfolds.
TVG: The game is definitely based on a cyberpunk plot. Do you like this subgenre?
I like cyberpunk stories, but I think the game is simply a near-future vision. Iāve tried to design this as consistently as possible, and a lot of research went into it. We didnāt want to move too far away from the world of today. My goal was a vision that is believable and close enough to the gamers to allow direct parallels to their own live. Thatās what the game attempts to do.
TVG: What kinds of books, movies and music inspired you during the development?
Well, of course, Orwell is a main influence, also Huxley, but I got a lot of inspiration and influence from reading sites like NSA.gov and echelonwatch.org, from futurologist sites, civil rights pages and future research papers. Sometimes, truth is stranger (and scarier) than fiction. The main influence for this game is quite simply the world that you see when you step outside.
TVG: How would you describe New York in the era of The Moment of Silence?
Actually, it doesnāt seem like such a bad place. Thereās social contrast like today, thereās more technology, there are new mass transportation and communication devices. Everything seems to be comfortable and well-organized. It isnāt the kind of apocalyptic dump you see in so many sci-fi visions. Moment of Silence is a game that deals with what is going on behind these scenes under the surface of a seemingly free society.
TVG: How deep is the philosophical element that pulls us into the world of the game?
Ahem. Now my abilities as a philosopher are very limited. Still, this game develops a rather serious prognosis for society in an entertainment context. You can play it as a game and just forget about the deeper meaning. But I hope that you can also play it as a game that makes you think, and I hope it is written well enough to achieve that.
TVG: Weāve read on a lot of websites that The Moment of Silence is some kind of a political-thriller. Will the game include hidden messages or implications of the real worldās political situation or not?
As I said, it will - in a way. But the game is not a propaganda tool, you know. Itās more about asking questions than giving answers.
TVG: Tell us something about the NPCs! How many are there and how deeply can we interact with them?
Forty NPCs. You interact with them in conversations, by exchanging items, you can videophone some of them, and one character is also a chat partner on your computer.
TVG: Did you create the NPCs on your own or did you base them upon characters from influential books or movies?
I donāt want to be sued, thatās why I thought it was safer to make them all up by myself.
TVG: What kind of puzzles are on offer to solve in the game (i.e. mechanical, logical etc.)? Approximately how many talking and puzzle-solving elements will be in The Moment of Silence?
The entire variety, from inventory-based puzzles to machine puzzles. Of course, as a story-driven game, MOS relies strongly on conversations. The clue to many puzzles will be in the dialogues, to make sure that the gamers donāt miss out on important parts of the story.
TVG: Some words about the games graphics engine!
Oh, itās a miraculous thing. It is a piece of software that we created in-house. It features real-time rain, snow, mirroring, and it also makes rendered camera moves with a real-time character in it. Itās been a lot of work to develop, but I think itās been worth it.
TVG: How much time will the average and the hardcore gamer spend to finish The Moment of Silence?
Iāve heard some people say they needed 40 hours; others have made it in 20. Definitely enough game for 'yer' hard-earned money.
TVG: Would you mind telling me some cool confidential information about the game?
I scripted the first prototype with Notepad.
Iām expecting threat letters, just like we got threat letters for MOTD.
Thereās an autobiography by an MI5/MI6 guy whose actual name is Peter Wright I found that out AFTER I had written the design doc.
The space elevator concept is real. The surveillance system Echelon is real.
And: There are TWO birds in this game.
TVG: Do you plan to make another game after The Moment of Silence? Can you give me some details about that?
It is my policy to tell everyone in every interview that we are planning to totally cash in on a totally soulless sequel to conform to the gaming industry rules and expectations.
TVG: Finally, is there anything you would like to say to our readers?
Thanks to the gamers out there who have supported us during the years. Itās been a long journey and a long struggle, and both continue. So much effort and heart went into this game. Here we are, here it is.
