by: John Olin

October 01, 2007

XE: You guys worked on Starcraft: Ghost for a bit, before ultimately you stopped working on the project, did that leave a bad taste in your mouth? What did you learn from the experience?

Robert: Its always disappointing to have a product not ship. Starcraft: Ghost was actually the only title that we've worked on in our 9+ year history that did not reach the shelf. On the other hand, we were really happy with the quality of the game at the time we stopped working on it. The game had so many diverse styles of play in it that it was a great way for us to learn about a whole slew of gameplay styles: first-person, stealth, even survival-horror. So really all that experience has served us well and gives us the ability to work in a lot of genres with a nice head start.

XE: So how do you plan on introducing the legend of Conan to a new audience?
Robert: One of the nice things about Conan as a character is that he doesn't really need an introduction. Everyone already knows him or at least some version of him. The trickier part is probably separating the literary Conan from the film Conan that most people think of first. They're not massively different, but the differences are subtle. Conan is also a pretty easy character to understand, and he's a lot of fun to be. A lot of games these days have very morose, dark lead characters, so its refreshing to play Conan, who is much more of a upbeat, life-loving character. Everyone needs a little dose of Conan now and then.

XE: How long has the project been in development?
Robert: About 22 months, I believe.

XE: What has been the most difficult part about developing the game?
Robert: I think the biggest challenge has been simultaneously moving an engine over to two new platforms while simultaneously building a full, complex game. The first game on a new platform is always a bit more complicated because when the artists start making models and worlds, you can't really be 100% what the performance parameters of the hardware are going to be, so there's a lot of back-and-forth between the programmers and the artists as things get finalized.

XE: What about the next-generation of systems excites you the most?
Robert: Wow, a lot really. The fact that they are high-definition is huge, and the extra memory. It’s really the first generation of consoles that have the potential to make strong inroads into the sort of games that have been traditionally dominated by PCs. Games that have more complicated user interfaces and more depth, that sort of thing. You're already seeing a lot more and better first-person action games on 360, and I think that trend will continue along with more strategy titles, online worlds, and so on. But not just PC games on the console, more like reinventing and reinvigorating those genres. So it will be interesting to see how those evolve.

XE: What would you say is the defining gameplay element in the title?
Robert: Definitely the combat, that's the heart of the game. Combat in Conan is different than most third-person titles; it’s a bit more strategic and forces the player to observe and react so the enemies aren't just waves of peons that you cut down with one slash each. Having enemies that block, dodge, counter-attack and so on keeps the combat fresh.

XE: What kind of research did you do before starting work on the Conan?
Robert: We read all the books and graphic novels that we could get our hands on, mostly to get the feel for the character and his world and the sort of enemies and allies he interacts with in the books. There's a lot of material out there, most of which isn’t familiar to most folks, but it results in a very fleshed-out feel to the character and the world. Conan visits so many cool and diverse locations in the original stories, there's probably more material to draw upon with Conan than with something like Star Wars.

XE: How much of an influence was Robert E. Howard’s original works?
Robert: It was definitely the primary influence, along with the influence from some of the artists who have drawn the character over the years. We considered whether to re-tell one of the existing stories in the game, or trying to write our own in the style of Howard's stories. In the end we wrote a new story but drew upon familiar locations and themes, so really it’s a hybrid of the two approaches.

XE: Are you worried people will mistaken this Conan, for the “other” Conan title coming out soon?
Robert: Not really. Speaking for myself, shopping for an MMO and a stand-alone game are really different worlds. I think the main source of confusion is just the title itself, not the content or style of play. Fortunately the two aren't shipping at literally the same time, so that will hopefully help too.

Check out Xbox Evolved later this year for more on Conan including a hands-on preview!

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