Steve Ince's Interview (Juniper Games) - Interviews
Makidoo : Hi Steve Ince, we're really proud to introduce you to "Le Sanctuaire de l'aventure". So The Sapphire Claw is based on your comic-book Juniper Crescent which is (I'm sorry to tell you that ...!), almost totally unknown in France. Could you describe your comic-book and main characters in a few words to our readers ?
Steve Ince : Hello, I'm pleased to be able to do this interview for you. Juniper Crescent is an online comic strip that has been running, on and off, for a few years. It's not as well known as it could be, but it's had a good following.
Makidoo : Scout the One-eyed Cat seems to be a funny character, can you tell us a little bit more about his personality ?
Steve Ince : Scout is fond of telling stories (mostly about himself) that bend the truth more than a little. He's also very fond of lying in the sun all day and avoiding anything might resemble work. He has a fondness for video games.
Makidoo : Is the story of The Sapphire Claw an original story, or is it based on one of your comic-books ? Can you describe the line-story in a few words?
Steve Ince : The story is an original one that I developed some time ago when I first thought of doing a game based on these characters. Unfortunately nothing happened with the game idea at that time and for a while I began telling the tale online with fifty episodes appearing before I decided to rekindle the game idea. In the story, in order to save the life of one of his friends, Scout reluctantly agrees to search for the fabled cat artefact, The Sapphire Claw. Though his friends agree to help him, they don't really believe the object exists. In a plot that takes them to a number of destinations around the world, they are confronted by obstacles and challenges at every twist and turn.
Makidoo : Seeing your designs, it reminds me comics such as "Peanuts" or "Calvin & Hobbes", will the humour of the game be adult or more centred on children (or both !) ?
Steve Ince : As Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes are two of my favourite strips I'm very flattered that you'd say that. One of the things that I like about Calvin and Hobbes is that the humour works for both children and adults, in a similar way to that of the Wallace and Gromit films. It is my aim to do the same with this game by creating fun and interesting characters that will drive the story and the gameplay.
Makidoo : You worked for Revolution Software for more than 10 years, which gave you, I think, a great experience in video-games.
A) What kind of work did you do in Revolution, and on which games did you work ?
B) Which reasons made you create your own company ?
Steve Ince : A) I started out at Revolution painting backgrounds and doing concept work as well as some background animation work. I then became Producer for a number of years before concentrating on writing and design. I've worked on Beneath a Steel Sky, the first three Broken Sword games, In Cold Blood, Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado, and the GBA version of Broken Sword 1.
B) I was having more and more ideas of my own all the time, for games that I wanted to make. I knew that it was unlikely that I'd get other developers to make my designs so I knew the only way was to make them myself.
Makidoo : Revolution Software and THQ announced the development of a new Broken Sword. What do you think about this news ? Have you been contacted on this project ?
Steve Ince : I think that it is excellent news and look forward to playing a Broken Sword game where I haven't had a hand in its making. It will be exciting to see where they will take it after the tying up of a number of loose ends in the third game. Some months ago I was asked if I was available, but I'd already made a commitment to another project. In many ways it will be strange not to work on a Broken Sword game as I've spent so much of my life working on the previous three games in the series.
Makidoo : Do you think that the success of a game like « Runaway » (in Europe, at least) seems to bring a new impulse to traditional adventure-games (I mean « point & click » and 2D, like The Sapphire Claw ) ?
Steve Ince : I'd like to think so, yes. If you play games on a computer, it's only natural to use the mouse as an interface. Plenty of other games use a variation on the point-and-click interface (Neverwinter Nghts, for instance) so it's still a contemporary way of controlling play. Wanted/The Westerner showed that point-and-click can work very well with real-time 3D.
Makidoo : What kind of actual adventure-games do you like more ?
Steve Ince : I always like adventures where the story and gameplay is character driven and where the gameplay/puzzles fit in with the story and make a logical sense in the game world. But I also love games that have a great sense of humour and an element of the zany.
Makidoo : You said (on gry.o2.pl) that The Sapphire Claw will have a parallel gameplay ? Will it just be a game in the game (like the games we can find in "Sam & Max"), or will it bring a brand new original gameplay in The Sapphire Claw ?
Steve Ince : It will be a sub-game, but one in which the player can progress in parallel to the progression of the main game. So, although it's tied into the main gameplay in a way, I call it parallel because the player can choose not to play it if they wish.
Makidoo : We know that Autumn Moon have problems to find a publisher for their game A Vampyre Story , you seem to encounter the same problem...Do you think that this difficulty is due to develop a traditional adventure-game or more to the fact that Juniper Games is a brand new company ?
Steve Ince : There is a lot of risk involved in signing up any game, so a publisher must be sure that they get a game that will deliver enough sales to cover the development costs. I don't blame them for being cautious and I'd be very wary of a publisher that wasn't so. The Sapphire Claw is in a unique position because it is very different (in its look) from anything else currently on the market, particularly as the majority of games are done in 3D. This I feel is one of its strengths because it does have a pretty original look. Initial player testing of the concept demo has proved to be very encouraging and a wide demographic loved playing it and wanted more when the demo was completed.
Makidoo : Most of players of adventure-games don't really like action or infiltration in this type of game. Will there be some in The Sapphire Claw ?
Steve Ince : Though I'm not against action, there will be none in The Sapphire Claw. It's very much a traditional adventure, though with some refinements to the interface and the way that the player uses the other characters. The only infiltration will be puzzle based. In other words, if Scout has to sneak into a building, it will be up to the player to work out how to distract the guard through finding the right information or the right inventory item, say.
Makidoo : What kind of influences do you have to create designs and locations for your game ?
Steve Ince : We all have our influences and mine are a mixture of many years of reading comics and books, from watching wonderful films and from nearly thirty years of gaming (starting with Dungeons and Dragons). On the game development side, I owe an awful lot to Charles Cecil, Tony Warriner and Dave Sykes of Revolution Software and to the many talented people I've had the pleasure to work with over the years.
Makidoo : As you know, we're French (and Belgian), so can we ask if there will be a French version of your game ?
Steve Ince : Most definitely! With such a strong adventure heritage in France, how could we not make a French version? It will be a pleasure to create a version for the French adventure gamers.
Makidoo : Thanks for your answers, a word to our readers ?
Steve Ince : Thank you for taking an interest in our project. I'm naturally excited about bringing this game into development and to such a positive audience. It is our intention to give you the best possible game that we can.
Juniper Games
Juniper Crescent, The Sapphire Claw
Juniper Crescent, Steve Ince's comic strip.
Steve Ince : Hello, I'm pleased to be able to do this interview for you. Juniper Crescent is an online comic strip that has been running, on and off, for a few years. It's not as well known as it could be, but it's had a good following.
Makidoo : Scout the One-eyed Cat seems to be a funny character, can you tell us a little bit more about his personality ?
Steve Ince : Scout is fond of telling stories (mostly about himself) that bend the truth more than a little. He's also very fond of lying in the sun all day and avoiding anything might resemble work. He has a fondness for video games.
Makidoo : Is the story of The Sapphire Claw an original story, or is it based on one of your comic-books ? Can you describe the line-story in a few words? Steve Ince : The story is an original one that I developed some time ago when I first thought of doing a game based on these characters. Unfortunately nothing happened with the game idea at that time and for a while I began telling the tale online with fifty episodes appearing before I decided to rekindle the game idea. In the story, in order to save the life of one of his friends, Scout reluctantly agrees to search for the fabled cat artefact, The Sapphire Claw. Though his friends agree to help him, they don't really believe the object exists. In a plot that takes them to a number of destinations around the world, they are confronted by obstacles and challenges at every twist and turn.
Makidoo : Seeing your designs, it reminds me comics such as "Peanuts" or "Calvin & Hobbes", will the humour of the game be adult or more centred on children (or both !) ?
Steve Ince : As Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes are two of my favourite strips I'm very flattered that you'd say that. One of the things that I like about Calvin and Hobbes is that the humour works for both children and adults, in a similar way to that of the Wallace and Gromit films. It is my aim to do the same with this game by creating fun and interesting characters that will drive the story and the gameplay.Makidoo : You worked for Revolution Software for more than 10 years, which gave you, I think, a great experience in video-games.
A) What kind of work did you do in Revolution, and on which games did you work ?
B) Which reasons made you create your own company ?
Steve Ince : A) I started out at Revolution painting backgrounds and doing concept work as well as some background animation work. I then became Producer for a number of years before concentrating on writing and design. I've worked on Beneath a Steel Sky, the first three Broken Sword games, In Cold Blood, Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado, and the GBA version of Broken Sword 1.
B) I was having more and more ideas of my own all the time, for games that I wanted to make. I knew that it was unlikely that I'd get other developers to make my designs so I knew the only way was to make them myself.
Makidoo : Revolution Software and THQ announced the development of a new Broken Sword. What do you think about this news ? Have you been contacted on this project ?
Steve Ince : I think that it is excellent news and look forward to playing a Broken Sword game where I haven't had a hand in its making. It will be exciting to see where they will take it after the tying up of a number of loose ends in the third game. Some months ago I was asked if I was available, but I'd already made a commitment to another project. In many ways it will be strange not to work on a Broken Sword game as I've spent so much of my life working on the previous three games in the series.
Makidoo : Do you think that the success of a game like « Runaway » (in Europe, at least) seems to bring a new impulse to traditional adventure-games (I mean « point & click » and 2D, like The Sapphire Claw ) ?
Steve Ince : I'd like to think so, yes. If you play games on a computer, it's only natural to use the mouse as an interface. Plenty of other games use a variation on the point-and-click interface (Neverwinter Nghts, for instance) so it's still a contemporary way of controlling play. Wanted/The Westerner showed that point-and-click can work very well with real-time 3D.
Makidoo : What kind of actual adventure-games do you like more ?Steve Ince : I always like adventures where the story and gameplay is character driven and where the gameplay/puzzles fit in with the story and make a logical sense in the game world. But I also love games that have a great sense of humour and an element of the zany.
Makidoo : You said (on gry.o2.pl) that The Sapphire Claw will have a parallel gameplay ? Will it just be a game in the game (like the games we can find in "Sam & Max"), or will it bring a brand new original gameplay in The Sapphire Claw ?
Steve Ince : It will be a sub-game, but one in which the player can progress in parallel to the progression of the main game. So, although it's tied into the main gameplay in a way, I call it parallel because the player can choose not to play it if they wish.
Makidoo : We know that Autumn Moon have problems to find a publisher for their game A Vampyre Story , you seem to encounter the same problem...Do you think that this difficulty is due to develop a traditional adventure-game or more to the fact that Juniper Games is a brand new company ?
Steve Ince : There is a lot of risk involved in signing up any game, so a publisher must be sure that they get a game that will deliver enough sales to cover the development costs. I don't blame them for being cautious and I'd be very wary of a publisher that wasn't so. The Sapphire Claw is in a unique position because it is very different (in its look) from anything else currently on the market, particularly as the majority of games are done in 3D. This I feel is one of its strengths because it does have a pretty original look. Initial player testing of the concept demo has proved to be very encouraging and a wide demographic loved playing it and wanted more when the demo was completed. Makidoo : Most of players of adventure-games don't really like action or infiltration in this type of game. Will there be some in The Sapphire Claw ?
Steve Ince : Though I'm not against action, there will be none in The Sapphire Claw. It's very much a traditional adventure, though with some refinements to the interface and the way that the player uses the other characters. The only infiltration will be puzzle based. In other words, if Scout has to sneak into a building, it will be up to the player to work out how to distract the guard through finding the right information or the right inventory item, say.Makidoo : What kind of influences do you have to create designs and locations for your game ?
Steve Ince : We all have our influences and mine are a mixture of many years of reading comics and books, from watching wonderful films and from nearly thirty years of gaming (starting with Dungeons and Dragons). On the game development side, I owe an awful lot to Charles Cecil, Tony Warriner and Dave Sykes of Revolution Software and to the many talented people I've had the pleasure to work with over the years.
Makidoo : As you know, we're French (and Belgian), so can we ask if there will be a French version of your game ?
Steve Ince : Most definitely! With such a strong adventure heritage in France, how could we not make a French version? It will be a pleasure to create a version for the French adventure gamers.
Makidoo : Thanks for your answers, a word to our readers ?
Steve Ince : Thank you for taking an interest in our project. I'm naturally excited about bringing this game into development and to such a positive audience. It is our intention to give you the best possible game that we can.
Juniper Games
Juniper Crescent, The Sapphire Claw
Juniper Crescent, Steve Ince's comic strip.
