From Dust

OHO !! padedant Eric Chahi.. cia tai geras....

na Eric Chahi visada kure atskirus pasaulius zaidimuose.sitas bus jo nauja vizija kaip matosi...

From Dust: Eric Chahi Interview

 

We chat with game industry veteran Eric Chahi about his latest downloadable game From Dust.

 

From Dust boasts production values that wouldn’t look out of place in a full-boxed release. From your experience in designing the game, are we now at a tipping point between downloaded and boxed content?

 

Absolutely. The quality of downloadable games for consoles is getting nearer and nearer to those sold in the shops. I think that in a few years’ time, we won’t be able to see the difference.

Having said that, if you look beyond the production values of downloadable games, there are some that are easily as good as retail games. A giant budget doesn’t necessarily make a good game, so I hope that people’s appreciation isn’t based on production values alone.

 

How close are we to realising the pipedream of an industry that functions purely over the wire, and not through boxed content?

 

I don’t know when boxed games will disappear; you’d have to ask Sony or Microsoft. The choice of making an exclusively online console may make all the difference. In fact, mobile game platforms that exclusively use this type of distribution for a mainstream audience, like the iPad, are a good indication that change is coming.

In this regard, why have you chosen to launch From Dust as a download title? Did you ever feel as if you could charge full price for it and launch it in a box, or do you feel that operating in this space opens up greater creative scope for you as a designer? Alternatively, what limitations do you see within the digital format?

 

What’s specific to digital distribution is the low pricing. You could argue that it makes things less profitable, but in the end the distribution costs are lower too. For a game made on a modest budget, you reach a point of financial equilibrium with fewer sales than with standard distribution, and this allows producers to take more risks and have more creative freedom.

Personally, I hope that prices will remain low. Boxed games are really expensive. They can’t remain at such a high price. The only regret I would have is that there’s no longer the pleasure of holding a game you love in your hands and keeping it somewhere.

 

From what we’ve seen of From Dust so far, there seem to be a lot of questions surrounding identity, co-existing with nature and feeling lost in the world, thanks to the role of the displaced tribe members. Were these themes drawn from personal experience?

 

Yes, quite probably, because I’ve travelled a lot, seen active volcanoes and the Sahara, where you can see traces of human habitation that has long disappeared, people that lived there thousands of years ago in surroundings that were much like a savannah. There in the middle of all that sand and rocks are engravings of elephants, lions, crocodiles… Time has passed. From Dust is a game about the passage of time and the evolution of nature.

 

In From Dust, nature is the player’s biggest adversary. Can you give us some examples of how the player will guide the tribe across the land using nature, and how nature can also strike back and create hazards for the group?

 

Yes, nature is both an opponent and ally in the game. It actually all depends on the context. For example, a volcano is a danger that can destroy a village and start fires, but on the other hand it can also create terrain, so in the game you’ll be able to see it used to form an island out of nothing. You can also use lava to create a really solid stone barrier to protect you against water.

To answer your question more precisely, in the game you often have to remove obstacles. For instance, to allow the tribe to reach an ancient ancestral totem pole, you’ll have to bridge gaps by manipulating the land. This displaces the flow of water, and the player will have to be very careful about where he or she directs it, so as not to flood a low-lying village, for example.

 

Or perhaps you’ll be able to put out a fire started by a lava flow at the same time. There are lots of domino effects like that, meaning that each player will have a different game experience and create their own challenges.

 

It’s rare for download titles to have deep and engrossing plots, yet we’re seeing this happen more and more today. Do you feel developers are upping their game when it comes to the depth given to download titles? Can you give us an insight into how From Dust’s plot will progress?

 

It all depends what you want to convey. The most important thing is the game experience, which not only depends on the story, obviously, but also on other elements. In From Dust, the story is evoked subtly, hinted at through what the shaman says and the shards of memory you collect throughout the game. You’re encouraged to imagine things rather than simply being handed out each chapter of a story. It’s a little fuzzy, like Another World to a certain degree.

 

The god sim genre is still seeing great releases such as Civilization V, but the market doesn’t seem to be as crowded as it once was. What concerns did you have that a game of this nature might not capture the masses, currently fixated on the Call of Dutys of the day?

 

In my opinion, people still like god sims, but it’s perhaps more difficult to market. The game development is also more complicated, because it often requires very detailed simulation and complicated AI. This means that everything adapts to the player more than in a game such as Call of Duty, which is very linear and scripted. What I mean is that god games don’t give you a clear line of direction like some others genres do.

From Dust is a wildly creative concept in a sea of gritty shooters and cookie cutter releases. To what extent do you feel that creativity is now taking a backseat to profitability in today’s industry? What do you feel can be done to reverse this trend?

 

It’s a question of cycles. The profitable genres of today were the pioneers of their time. I think there’s still room for creativity today, and it doesn’t matter if other games steal the thunder. The most important thing is that the games exist, notably thanks to the new independent producers that can get their ideas out there through digital distribution.

 

We’ve also learned that your classic title Another World will be returning on the iPad. How closely are you involved in this project?

 

What other classic games would you like to see revived on the format? DotEmu is doing a brilliant job on it. There the ones that looked after R-Type for iOS. I’m keeping a very close eye on it. I’ve even made some changes to the original script to improve gameplay. As for other classic games, I’d like to play Populous!

 

We’re also seeing a lot of console download titles released on iPad. What features attract you to Apple’s device as a designer, and would you ever be tempted to create a brand new title for it?

 

The size of the screen for a touch interface. I think that multi-touch is a really exciting interface that changes the way we interact. The Apple touch screen is very quick to respond, so yes it is very tempting.

 

What other emergent gaming technologies are you looking at closely as a designer? For example, GaiKai, 3DS, iPad 2.

 

There’s a lot of interesting technology based on movement or touch, but it means designing games differently to make the most of the possibilities, and limiting the game to that particular device. It’s not necessarily an easy choice to go for.

 

From Dust is your first accredited project in many years. Does this mark the return of Eric Chahi the games designer, or will you be looking to return to the industry in a new capacity? Where would you like to go next?

 

I think I’d like to continue with this type of procedural game. Once you’ve had a taste of it it’s difficult to go back to purely linear games.

What, in your mind, is the single greatest challenge facing the games industry today, and if you had the power, how would you fix it?

 

Create games with fewer people.

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visai pamirstas zaidimas..o iseina jau July 27

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Na ką gi,atrodo,kad šis žaidimas labai galingai debiutavo Xbox live sistemoje

 

 

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