Kaspian
03-16-2006, 12:01 AM
The folks at the Armchair Empire (http://www.armchairempire.com/) have posted an interview (http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/steambot-chronicles.htm) with Kazuma Kujo of IREM discussing the company's upcoming musical giant robot adventure game (?!?) Steambot Chronicles. Here's a snip:
AE: The gameplay in Steambot Chronicles is very open-ended, giving players the freedom to do as they please. How did IREM create this open-ended gameplay?
KK: From the early stages of production, we assumed that creating a game with a high level of freedom would allow us to incorporate many types of gameplay, but it is not that we planned everything at the beginning. Even during production, more time was spent on creating the base game system we call IAGS (IREM Adventure Game System), which allows for adding new features easier, and that took roughly one-third of the overall development cycle. This system enabled us to provide the player with a level of freedom and incorporate different styles of gameplay comparatively easier than other games.
IAGS allows for smooth incorporation of map placement, character movement and behavior (including all NPCs), and dialogue content including story branching. The game planner can easily incorporate many of his ideas, even without the help of a programmer, using this system.
AE: The gameplay in Steambot Chronicles is very open-ended, giving players the freedom to do as they please. How did IREM create this open-ended gameplay?
KK: From the early stages of production, we assumed that creating a game with a high level of freedom would allow us to incorporate many types of gameplay, but it is not that we planned everything at the beginning. Even during production, more time was spent on creating the base game system we call IAGS (IREM Adventure Game System), which allows for adding new features easier, and that took roughly one-third of the overall development cycle. This system enabled us to provide the player with a level of freedom and incorporate different styles of gameplay comparatively easier than other games.
IAGS allows for smooth incorporation of map placement, character movement and behavior (including all NPCs), and dialogue content including story branching. The game planner can easily incorporate many of his ideas, even without the help of a programmer, using this system.