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September 22, 2000 
Jonric: An impressive list of features. What do you think the system requirements will be for good game performance?
Cyril Meynier: For the system requirements, currently Arx is targeted at Pentium 450 processors with a TNT2 or equivalent graphic adapter. Our goal is that the game MUST be fully playable with that configuration without removing any degree of visual detail and with a more than decent framerate. But a less powerful computer will be able to run the game by reducing some graphical options, such as removing refinement maps, using 16-bit render, low resolution, less detailed textures, nearer Z-clipping, etc. Of course Arx will also take advantage of more powerful configurations, resulting in increased framerate, resolution, and details.
Jonric: What are the significant features of the interface? For example, how do the inventory and conversation systems work? What is your recommended input device or combination? Marco Mele: We've tried to make the interface really simple and accessible. We've removed every unnecessary element to keep only the essential stuff that is really important for the game. The interface is made of a mana indicator, a life indicator, a bag for inventory and a book. The inventory is limited in space. Regarding the book, it is divided in three sections. The first section will provide an actual animated picture of the character with all his equipment displayed. On the next page, all the characteristics and attributes will appear. Both will dynamically change according to the bonus given by specific objects the player is wearing. The second part of the book is a reminder for all the magic spells. In this section, the player will find all the descriptions of the spells he has already learned with the hand gesture described. The third part of the book will display the automap. Right next to that, the player will find the quest log section. This section will remind him what to do according the goals he's actually chasing.
The conversation system is based on contextual dialogs. We did not want to flood the player with 10 choices every time you meet an NPC. The player won't be forced to enter a dialog mode and will be free to break any conversation just by moving away from the person he was speaking to. Best configuration currently is keyboard plus mouse, but we received requests of people wanting to play with the mouse only, so we'll see if we can come up with an idea.
Jonric: Will sound and music be important factors? What sound format are you using? Will you support 3D sound? Christophe Carrier: Of course they will!!!!! Music and sounds will be contextual. Regarding in-game music, as a gamer, I've always turned it off after about 15 minutes. For Arx, which has an immersive type of gameplay, I'm thinking of working on ambient music that will emphasize the action or the atmosphere of the place you're in; i.e. if you are about to fight a major character or entering a temple or a crypt. Actually, the music will be more like a musical and sound atmosphere - remember the Cathedral in Thief? Talking about Thief, this was a game where sounds were used the smartest way I've ever seen before in this type of game! In fact, they were really part of the gameplay! I'll try to follow this path, with humility of course.
Cyril Meynier: As I said to answer the question about the game engine features, Environnemental Audio is definitely a must-have for Arx. For the format we simply use WAV files but some MP3 might be useful for really important samples. In fact as for the design, all decisions regarding sound will be made in accordance to the needs of our Sound Designer. For now, Arx uses DirectSound for 3D sound rendering and WAV format is used for sounds.
Jonric: What plans do you have in terms of multiplayer? Raphael Colantonio: We are trying to keep as quiet as we can regarding multiplayer, but we're working on a mode which is particularly interesting that we currently call Heroes vs. Evil, where a group of Hero players will be able to team up against one powerful Evil player who has to defend its dungeon. Players will be able to play with their single-player characters, so there is a mix of cooperative and deathmatch play. I'm not really ready to tell more at this time. Jonric: Fair enough. Will there be any kind of support for the mod community? For example, will Arx support custom skins? Cyril Meynier: Well, in the final version, all the data directories will certainly be packed in one big file. But as many other games do, before looking for ".\SOUNDS\PLAYER\hit.wav" inside this big file, the game will look in the game root directory for this same file and if it exists, it will use it instead of the packed one. The same is true for textures, models, etc. So modifications will be easy and encouraged! Jonric: What will make Arx stand out from other RPGs, particularly other fantasy-based ones? What kind of gamer will find it most appealing?
Arx will appeal to anyone who likes exploring beautiful places, being involved in a serious story, living in a very interactive world featuring depth and many objects to discover. I have to be honest though; Arx will require some thinking, so players who don't like thinking might prefer to buy an FPS. One of the key elements is that I can tell you that we've spent ages making sure the quests and NPCs are as well-integrated into the scenario as we could so that every element of the game feels like it has a reason to be where it is.
Raphael Colantonio: Arx started a long time ago, it was basic paperwork with lots of ideas and game mechanics. The story was a bit vague, but the setting was there, and the idea of the mouse gesture recognition for spells was very clear to me. I finally brought the Arkane team together a year ago to make Arx for real. We spent a year making tools, building the engine, as well as having many game design meetings to break the initial story and rebuild it from scratch, refining the game mechanics, adding quests, designing the maps, keeping the good ideas, scrapping the bad ones; we've been listening a lot to what players had to say. We knew that going for publishers without having a strong demo would have been useless these days, because publishers don't take anymore risks with starting companies. So knowing that, we preferred to spend a long time developing the technology and art to bring Arx "as it is" to publishers. We still have work before the game gets done, and we should announce our publisher soon. RPG players should stay tuned and keep writing to us; we read all the suggestions and criticisms we receive.
Raphael Colantonio: Readers are welcome to e-mail us their fears, criticisms, suggestions, we read every e-mail carefully, and we try to answer to most of them. Players' concerns are very important; after all, Arx is also their game. Jonric: Although Arx is still quite far from completion, we know that it has caught our attention and that of other RPG fans as well. Our thanks to Raphael Colantonio and to the other team members for this very informative introduction. We'll certainly look forward to watching and to learning more as the project moves forward. Richard Aihoshi - "Jonric" |
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