NIGHTCASTER - TAKE BACK THE NIGHT - A GZ INTERVIEW
by The Badger

There’s never really a completely dull moment for the gaming fanatic. If you’re not running out and purchasing the latest game or compulsively playing your favorites (both old and new), there’s always the future to look forward to. This has never been more true than right now with the PS2 hitting the platform market strong and Xbox and GameCube on the way. With all this excitement, it’s hard to believe that it can almost be an overload for the senses – and things may even cease to bedazzle and beguile us in the chaos. Then a certain game or game-maker comes along who reminds us that there’s plenty to be excited about…

Adam Maxwell, Game Designer for Nightcaster, is one of those game-makers that gets me excited about their games, their ideas, and the industry as whole. We had a chance to interview Adam, and his enthusiasm for Nightcaster is almost physically tangible through the wording of his answers; giving you what is obviously the tip of the iceberg of the game that will be the first of it’s kind on the Xbox system. 

With a myriad of different options to tantalize and tease the most varied of gamers and gaming styles, this upcoming fully 3D action-adventure game will take the Xbox launch by storm. As the young wizard Arran, you must learn to harness the forces of the elements in order to defeat the Nightcaster – a dark tyrant whom has doomed the world to perpetual darkness.

Features such as a dynamic soundtrack, unique character evolution, high intensity spell combat, and in-depth exploration options are only the beginning:  I’d tell you more, but I think you’ll agree that Adam tells it best!

GZ: How will Arran acquire more powerful spells and abilities? For example, will their potency and variety be built through practice or perhaps will you need to collect items or complete quests to add to your spell "grimoire"?

AM:  We actually do a little bit of both.  Arran gains new spells for his spell book by finding them or gaining them from NPCs.  In some cases Arran will have to complete quests, vanquish monsters, or solve puzzles, in other cases the spells’ locations are secret and Arran must explore the world to find them as he battles the Nightcaster’s creatures.  Once Arran has a spell, however, it’s power and effectiveness is directly related to Arran’s abilities.  If Arran is still young and untrained his spells won’t be as potent, but as Arran gets older and gains in power, his ability to use the magic improves and his spells increase in power significantly.

GZ: What percentage adventure will Nightcaster be? Will there be instances of puzzle solving or other more adventure intensive activities?

AM:  It really depends on how you want to play the game.  Nightcaster is an action adventure title, and while the action definitely comes first we didn’t ignore the adventure elements.  When designing the game systems and the locations in the world we worked hard to make sure that a player who wants nothing but action will get it.  At the same time we had to ensure that players that wanted to explore the adventure aspects of the title wouldn’t be disappointed.  We set up situations where the player’s choices in the world will decide the outcome of events and the pace of the game at that point.  If you want to go through the game blasting spells at anything that moves, you’re able to.  You may not get all of the spells or learn all of the world’s secrets, but you can get through the game if you’re a good spell caster.  On the other hand, if you to interact with the world’s inhabitants you can and you’ll find that they stand ready to increase your knowledge of the war between darkness light and, in most cases, aid you in your fight. 

We also put a lot of stock in exploration.  There are things in this world, artifacts and information that will help you to gain power, that can only be found by finding the hidden areas of the world.  You won’t be able to find all of these areas unless you’re looking for the clues that will lead you there.  NPCs may make an off-hand comment that eventually leads to the discovery of a powerful artifact, or the player may find a clue in the world itself.  The player that explores the world and helps its people will get the complete game experience and will end the game as the most powerful mage the world has ever seen.

GZ: What are you enjoying most about creating this title with the Xbox system's graphical capabilities? Is there anything in particular you have not been able to do in the past that you are now able to do?

AM: Oh wow.  I could go off for hours.  But if I had to pick one particular feature possessed by the Xbox GPU that excited me it would have to the programmable shaders.  This technology is amazing and it’s not something I’ve ever seen on other projects I’ve worked on.  We have these amazing waterfalls and creatures with metal armor that is polished or dented or scratched.  Our ice looks like ice.  I don’t mean it’s clear and shiny, I mean it literally looks like ice.  Without these shaders our spells wouldn’t look magic, but since we’re using them our spells scintillate with light, burn with fire, drip with water, and seethe with darkness.  We use every feature of the GPU we possible can.  One of our bosses, Quint the Frost Giant, has an axe with designs etched into the blade.  It’s awesome: the designs don’t look painted on, they look etched in and how they’re shaded is affected correctly as light sources move around in the world.  I’ve yet to see anyone pull of the visual effects that are possible on the Xbox and that’s one of the things that makes it so attractive to me as a developer.

GZ: There are definitely some unusual and unique concepts being included in Nightcaster; for example the progress of Arran's age throughout his journey and the gradual progression of the entire land from darkness to light as you destroy the minions of the Nightcaster. If you had to pick one or two other outstanding qualities that you feel set Nightcaster apart from other fantasy action-adventure titles, what would they be?

AM: I think it’s all about the gameplay for me.  We use a pretty unique control scheme in the game; you aim your spells with the Orb, which you control with the right analog stick, while you move Arran with the left stick.  It’s really easy to get the hang of and it opens all kinds of strategy that I haven’t seen in similar games.  On top of this we layer in the elemental magic system, which filters into everything.  Even the creatures are elemental and elements play against each other.  If Arran chooses to be a fire mage, for example, his fire spells become the most powerful.  If he uses them against water creatures the water creatures will take the full brunt of the attack without the help of their elemental affiliation to help them.  Magic of a particular element, say fire to use the previous example, won’t work on creatures that are affiliated with that element.  If you’re using fire spells and you’re suddenly ambushed by a pack of hell hounds you’ll have to switch to a different type of magic, but if you’re still a fire mage, spells that aren’t fire won’t be as powerful.  You see, you have to worry about the spells themselves as well, if you decide to be a fire mage you will find your water spells are very weak while your dark and light spells are only average.  When you’re playing you find yourself changing your elemental affiliation often to gain an edge in combat and to increase the power of the spells you use most.

GZ: Can you tell us a little more about Arran's friends/allies he will meet? Will he have the opportunities to play alongside others in battle?

AM:  As Arran moves through the ages and grows he’ll see his childhood friends step forward and take key roles in the resistance against the Nightcaster and his horde.  The darkness that overtakes the world affects everyone and most of the people that Arran meets will do anything they can to help.  When you play you’ll find yourself fighting side by side with people from all walks of life including an organized army lead by the people of Arran’s own hometown.  This is a long game, spanning 70 years of Arran’s life, as he ages and moves through the world he will see the war against the Nightcaster rage on and see the war’s effect on the world and its people through time.  He will also see heroes rise to lead the people and aid him in quest.  Arran definitely won’t be alone as he struggles to defeat the Nightcaster and bring light back to the world.

GZ: Will there be much item collecting in Nightcaster? If so, how will the inventory/storage system work?

AM:  We wanted to make sure that the action could run uninterrupted and we wanted it to be breathtaking.  As a result we focused most of our efforts into the spells themselves, but there are items to be found in the world, all of which can be equipped from within our inventory management system and used with a simple press of one of the controller’s buttons.  These items have a broad spectrum of uses, from artifacts that can greatly enhance Arran’s power to items that can help heal his wounds.

GZ: Will there be any protective gear or magical artifacts and accessories available for purchase in towns or through merchants? Will you be able to trade or sell any items?

AM:  There are protective artifacts and other magical items that Arran can use in the world of Nightcaster, but we don’t use a merchant system where Arran would buy them.  The whole point of money in a game like this is to basically act as a scoring system; the more money you make the better you did and the more powerful you become as you buy more items.  Rather than stop the game to do this we incorporated it into the game itself.  If you’re a badass spell casting terror you’ll gain power quickly and you won’t have to stop casting spells to do it.  On the other hand if you want to stop and learn more about the world and interact with its people you can; you’ll gain power just as quickly, but you’ll be able to do it without having to fight for it all the time.  This is awesome since we can keep all types of players happy, though I have to admit that the player that does both will gain power much sooner.  If we used a money system with buying, selling, and trading the players that didn’t want to stop the action would be forced to and wouldn’t be as happy with the game play.

GZ: Actual Gaelic names are being used as names for the spells in Nightcaster. Are there any other real-world influences (both fact and/or legendary) in Nightcaster that may have taken a part in the shaping or story of the game? Did you have anything that inspired you in particular as you worked on the title?

AM: We were very fortunate working on this title.  Several of the development team members are all from the UK.   With their help and a lot of research before we started we were able to do things like correctly reference Celtic gods in our spells and have our characters yell out spell incantations in authentic Gaelic.  Throughout the game you’ll find books and letters written by the people of the world, all of these have an authentic feel in the words they use and the way they’re written.  Our voice acting is all also as authentic as possible.  The lilting brogue of the Orb as she talks takes you right there.  She sounds like an ancient Celtic god herself.  When you combine it all together and see it in the game there’s no mistaking the Celtic themes, it worms its way into every aspect of the game, from the combat all the way up to the philosophies and beliefs of the world’s people.

GZ: There are many gamers, including myself, who are huge fans of game music and it's interesting that Nightcaster will feature a "dynamic" score that adapts to Arran's place in his story. Can you tell us a little more about the "dynamic score" concept or about the score itself?

AM:  The concept of the dynamic score is pretty straightforward but it’s pretty cool too.  The music actually changes as you move through the world.  If Arran is ambushed the music will smoothly change to a tense and fast battle theme from a softer, slower exploration theme.  You’ll be walking through the world feeling safe as you explore, for example, a deserted city sunken underground when you’ll come around the corner and see a mob of zombies shambling towards you.  Just as you’re going “oh sh—“ the score transitions into a tense driving combat theme.  It drives your emotion as you play without you even realizing it and enhances the game in a really cool subtle way.  I think you’ll see a lot of games using dynamic music like this in the future.

GZ: Will all spells be elemental based or will some be available for purposes such as healing or general defense? How will Arran’s mana and life be replenished if not by magical means?

AM:  All of the spells are centered around one of the four magical elements in the game (fire, water, light, or dark) but we still included spells within those elements that are defensive and strategic in nature.  For example, we have one spell called Ice Ward that at its most powerful will actually encase you in a dome of ice that protects you from spells and enemies while it’s active.  All of the spells are different in some way and each of them can be used multiple ways.  We have another spell that will put up barriers of flaming metal between you and your enemies.  If an enemy touches it they’ll burn and it’s solid so they can’t get through it.  You can use it as an offensive spell just by placing it in a monster’s path, but you can use it defensively to protect someone or direct the flow of combat into a different area.  The villagers and farmers in Nightcaster depend on the soldiers of the army and Arran to keep them safe so spells like these can come in very handy throughout the game.

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GZ wants to thank Adam Maxwell for taking the time from his busy schedule to share these details with us and thank the whole Nightcaster team for giving us a great game to look forward to when Xbox is released!

Stay tuned with GZ for more details or check out the Official Nightcaster Website: http://www.microsoft.com/games/nightcaster/