An Interview with Brenda Garneau

What's a Wizardry?

AVault: First of all, how long has the project been in the works?

BG: Seventeen years. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but if you were here at ground zero, you'd agree with me. Everything that we're doing, every change we make, is based on the entire history of this series. So, what's evolved today is seventeen years in the making. The real answer you're looking for, however, is a little over a year.

AVault: At what phase of the development process is Wizardry VIII?

BG: As the industry rates it, I guess we're still pre-alpha, although some things have evolved to alpha and others could be considered beta. It all depends on which part of design you're talking about. All the core design is done, combat, world structure, NPCs, magic and the like. The story detailing is around 70% complete. Our engine is done, and we're just fine tuning that and will continue to do so right up until we release. Today, the way games are put together, with different teams working on different aspects, it's hard to give it one overall label and feel like you're not completely making it up. When it was just one guy, he could say, "Yeah, I'm 50% there," but it doesn't really work that way, now.

AVault: How does the game's story begin?

BG: In a pretty dangerous way, actually. It picks up where Wizardry VII ended, namely with the most malevolent man in the universe flying towards a place called the Cosmic Circle bent on its destruction. He's got this object, the Astral Dominae, something which can create a universe as well as destroy one. His intentions, of course, are anything but good, and you and several other groups are following him there. You land on a small planet on the outskirts of this Circle called Dominus. What this malevolent guy, the Dark Savant, doesn't know about, however, is that there are two other god-devices out there. I can't say where those are, but while you were on Lost Guardia in Wizardry VII, you only saw part of the story. Lots of other things were happening in this universe, and they're going to converge here. Just as in Wizardry VII, you won't be alone in this knowledge. There will be others competing against you, lying to you and trying to kill you. All in good role-playing fun, of course.

AVault: Wizardry VIII will run under a true 3D engine. Can you tell us a little about this new system. Will it support the increasingly popular 3D accelerator cards?

BG: Right now, actually, we're requiring 3D acceleration, and I think that's something that we'll be seeing from other developers soon. The engine itself is something that Wizardry has deserved. It is, like you say, true 3D with 360 degrees of freedom. It supports dynamic lighting and all the other chrome and shine that you see in any state-of-the-art engine. We have people devoted exclusively to this engine, and they'll keep fine tuning it, like I said, right up until release. At the same time, we realize that some Wizardry fans may not care about some of the spectacular 3D accelerator-related features we've built in. So, we're also planning a software only version, though some of the bells and whistles designed for use with 3D accelerators wouldn't be available in this version.

AVault: Are the in-game creatures 3D rendered or 2D sprites?

BG: They're rendered. Within the world, objects and monsters will be polygonal. That's been quite a challenge, actually. Since Wizardry creatures tend to attack in monster-sized herds, like two dozen at a time, we're working very hard to find the perfect mix between beauty and speed. This, of course, is the number one nightmare of every software developer. In our nightmares, people don't yell, "Die!" They yell, "Polygon count!"

Travel to exotic lands, meet new and interesting people, and kill them!

AVault: What are the characteristics of the newly expanded character personalities?

BG: Yeah, characters have always been a big part of Wizardry, and we expanded their importance and their role in Wizardry VIII. It's too early for me to go into a lot of detail about it, but suffice it to say that the attention to detail here was the highest of any part of the game. The biggest change to them is that we took what we learned from Jagged Alliance's success and gave it a home in the Wizardry world. Aside from all the things that already made them wonderful and deep beings in the last seven games, we gave them a personality. Actually, you give them a personality when you create them, and there is such a wide variation of personalities to choose from that, really, you'll be able to find the perfect one to fit each character. They talk to you and to each other now, and it adds a really neat dimension to the game. The good thing is that we've managed to balance it so they're not spouting off at every corner, you know, "Oh, look at that wall! Again!" They talk when they need to, not any more or less. It's something that people have been asking for, too.

AVault: Are NPCs going to be handled as they were in the last game, with roving bands of creatures which you can encounter as you travel?

BG: That's kind of hard to answer. Yeah, there will be roving bands of creatures, but they're not really the same as they were in Wizardry VII. They have their own gig to follow, and that might change in ways that we can't completely predict. They may decide to go out on a mission or they might not. It's hard to say what they'll go after and that's because of the AI that we've implemented for them. You will, however, find that you're not remotely alone here, and the feeling of competition will be stronger than ever. A very cool note, too, up to two NPCs can join your party now, but it's their decision to do so.

AVault: Wizardry VIII, like its predecessor, is based on a phased battle system. Are there any new features to the combat interface?

BG: Goodness, lots. This is one of the most wonderful changes for us on the team. For years, literally back to 1981, people have been asking for a few things: first, they wanted to see monsters moving within the world and didn't want them to just pop out of nowhere. Secondly, they wondered why creatures couldn't attack them on more than one side, you know, from all sides. While these are pretty masochistic wishes, they're real. Finally, technology has caught up with those desires, so we're able to implement it well for the first time while remaining true to the accuracy of a phased time system. So, you see the monsters in the world, and you can attack them from a distance or run away, even while you're attacking. Naturally, they may follow you. They can follow you, of course. Also, a great tendency of creatures now is to surround you. You can face in different directions and even march in different formations to give yourself the best strategic chances. You can have your weaker guys in the middle, protected by your fighting machines on the outside. It's just made combat so cool, and I say that as a player, because these are things I've been begging for since 1981, too.

You mentioned phased time combat, and I wanted to add something about another addition we've made. We've known for years that the only way to get any kind of accuracy out of a role-playing game is with a phased time system. Real time combat is based upon how fast you can hit the mouse with one player or creature going at a time. That throws off the results all the way down the line. However, we know that some players prefer a real-time feel for their combat, so we wanted to give them an option that felt real-time while retaining the true Wizardry system underneath. We actually managed to do it, although at times it felt like we would go crazy trying to figure it out. It keeps going round after round and gives you the illusion of real-time with the accuracy of a phased system. I don't know that it's been done before, actually.... We're trying to preserve one of the few true RPG systems out there, and we succeeded.

AVault: The Wizardry series has a long-standing reputation for detail and depth. Roughly how many hours of game play are you shooting for with Wizardry VIII?

BG: 68.4 hours of game play, exactly. No, I'm making that up. That's kind of a crazy thing, and hard to answer with any degree of accuracy unfortunately. It's kind of like asking an author how long it will take someone to read his book before he's finished telling the story, you know? My guess is that we'll weigh in around 70 or 80 hours given the size of the world as of today. You'll get more than that if you do all the beginnings and the endings. Really, though, because of all that's happening in the world and with the other people there, it's nearly impossible to guess how long it will take. I can say, though, that we've given the same amount of attention to the story and its detail, more in fact, than we have in any previous Wizardry. Because of some things we've been able to do, like the NPC AI for instance, we've been able to take it to another immersive level.

Wild Horizons

AVault: As the game designers, what aspects of gameplay will set Wizardry VIII above other up and coming RPG titles?

BG: This is my favorite question, lately, because the first answer into my head is the funniest: what sets Wizardry VIII apart from other RPG titles is that it *is* actually an RPG, the real thing, not a watered down light version. Isn't that strange? This series has been around for 17 years, and "RPG" was just the genre we fit it. Now, it's actually becoming a selling point, because what's trying to pass itself off as an "RPG" is becoming lighter and lighter. Thankfully, you're seeing some of the big houses of RPG cooking up some titles, and I think that will change soon. Nonetheless, that's the first thing that sets it apart: it's a real RPG and a true RPG system. It's a Wizardry, you know? Ask today's RPG designers what games influenced them, and you'll hear, "Wizardry and Ultima." That we've got all that tradition behind us in its pure and evolved form is wonderful. With Wizardry, not only do you have a real RPG system, but you also have a party of six characters that you raise and develop, and that's one of the most rewarding aspects of a real RPG. Since we use a party of characters, you get a sense of team, of cooperation, of camaraderie that you don't get in games with single characters or just the player by themselves. To me, that's an important part of role-playing. Linda, Alex and I go back to the beginning of this series, Linda and I actually working on all of them in one way or another, and Alex has been playing RPGs both on and off computer for 15 years. So, we all have a solid understanding of what makes an RPG an RPG, and a Wizardry a Wizardry. It's all in here, and we haven't compromised on anything.

Apart from that, I think there are two primary things that set Wizardry apart, the first being what we call the "world state." We've managed to design something that has its own life, I guess. As far as the story goes, if you never even made an appearance in this game, say your spaceship crashed before it even left Lost Guardia, the game would go on without you. It really can happen on its own, right up until the end. So, it makes you feel a solid level of immersion and of urgency, more so than Wizardry VII and that's saying quite a bit. There are a lot of things that have gone into making this happen, but the biggest reason is probably the AI Alex is working on. He's the same guy who did the award winning routines for the Jagged Alliance series, and when it comes to AI, the guy really knows what he's doing. The NPCs are so much more intelligent and alive than they ever have been. They're active, they have evolving goals and they can act human, lying to you when you don't expect it. It's evolved to a point, actually, where we're not able to predict with any accuracy how things will turn out at any given time. For us, this is cool. It means we can actually play the game and not know all the answers. It's neat. I think most gamers like feeling a sense of pressure, feeling under the gun, and this certainly provides that.

Having already mentioned the combat and the NPCs, the second important thing that sets it apart is related to the "real RPG" concept. We've put a lot of work into designing the interface and the presentation of everything from skill to stats to items to magic spells. Days and days. We tried to think of everything, and, instead of watering the system down, we presented it better, made it easier. This is only my opinion, but I think that's how many games ended up with a watered down system in the first place. Some developers figured that the reason people weren't running out and buying tons of RPGs was because they were too difficult. That's not true. The player just shouldn't have to work for their fun. They are there to play a game, not to become statisticians or inventory managers. So, we've taken everything into account. For instance, we sort your items for you. Want to see just stuff one particular character can wear? Fine. Just the swords he can use? Fine. That kind of attention is everywhere. We're taking away the work and adding all the stuff that we've wanted as Wizardry players for years. Consider we've got a collective 49 years of wanting here, so it's quite an overhaul. Nonetheless, what we have is still a Wizardry, and you'll know that when you see it. It's not going to look alien to anyone. You'll feel right at home.