[PlanetDeusEx] How long has the mod been in development?

[Midnight] I've had the premise of the game, with a lot of notes and some sketches for a while now. But I've only actually had a team together working on it since January.

[PlanetDeusEx] "The proof of the pudding is the eating." Whenabouts is it expected to be finished? Rough estimates are acceptable...

[M] Well, pre-production should be wrapped up in a few weeks, after that it's a matter of building building building. We should have a good playable portion of the game within the next 2-3 months. A safe bet for the completion date would probably be the end of this year.

[PlanetDeusEx] What sources provide inspiration and Ideas for your work? Have other games of the survival horror type affected the mod? The link to the H.P. Lovecroft archive on your mainpage would indicate that this author had a great influence the design of the mod...

[M] While the horror games that have been out so far are great, if we were inspired by just them I think we would end up creating a hodgepodge of different ideas from those games. That's one of the reasons we're looking to H.P. Lovecraft for our inspiration. While there will probably be a few things from his stories in the game as an homage, the main thing we are drawing from H.P.L. is the atmosphere, or more accurately the creation of that atmosphere. There are some unconventional things that we will be doing that are very different than a lot of the horror games out there. For instance, most of the game will take place during daylight.

[PlanetDeusEx] If you had the ability to create one, and only one, emotion in the player, what would it be? And Why?

[M] Dread. The kind of dread where you're afraid to open every door, or to go around the corner of the building. As for why I want to create dread; it's the feeling that pervades all of Lovecraft's stories. Also, I don't think a horror game has really done it yet..so it'll be an interesting challenge.



[PlanetDeusEx] What has been the most challenging part in the production of your mod?

[M] Well right now, it has to be crafting the story and keeping track of details. The town that you explore has a history of 200+ years, not to mention all of the people involved with it. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on within that time period, so we've had to construct a timeline, even so there are a lot of details that are hard to keep up with. As for the story, it's been difficult to find a way to write it so that it fits with the vision of the game. The basics of the story we've always had established. It's also difficult to work the story in along with the game play (such as some of the puzzles and obstacles.)

[PlanetDeusEx] What is the mod's most pressing need at the moment?

[M] Well there are some things that I would like to implement into the game, but I'm not sure if they're possible. We really need a coder to work on some of this stuff so we can find out if it's feasible at this point. That way, if it's not, we can find another way to approach it.

[PlanetDeusEx] What is your team's primary means of communication?

[M] We have a BB that we use mostly; we also use ICQ and e-mail. We have to use the BB because it's hard to coordinate time; almost half the team is on the other side of the globe.

[PlanetDeusEx] You've only just got the preliminary map of Sanctuary completed, yet you have apparently finished and implemented objects in the tools section. A "Whoops," or part of a Greater Plan?

[M] The map that you see is only a graphical representation of what we've had on paper for a while now. Most of the locations in the game have already been created and outlined in the design document; it's only now that we have chosen to show that graphically. As for some of the tools, the term tool is meant to be all encompassing. What you see in the tools section may or may not just be a "puzzle" item; there are weapons as well.

[PlanetDeusEx] The level design, particularly the recent Concept Images are quite excellent. Can this be attributed to some specific process?

[M] Well, something that we have stressed is that before anything is constructed we find a photograph or make a drawing of it. So far the first mapper to join the team, Timothy Eustace, did the images you have seen. He's an awesome map artist and is the reason the levels look so good. Actually, I've been very lucky to find a great team of map artists; every one of the mappers is particularly skilled.



[PlanetDeusEx] Your tools page is an interesting feature which more mods should implement, IMO; it allows people to see the 'How' of modding, not just the results. In what way would you improve the tools that you use, if given the chance?

[M] Thank you. That was the intention of the page. If we can help someone else make a better game because they learned something from us or from one of our mistakes, that's great, plus we get to play a good game:) We've considered releasing the design document as well, but because of the nature of the game, we felt it would detract from the experience of the game. I think we may end up releasing a shortened version of it anyway.

[PlanetDeusEx] Do you have any pearly words of wisdom and/or tips to share with those who are considering making a mod, or are already doing so?

[M] Just a few things, first, ORGANIZE! Organization is a big key in getting stuff done right and quickly. Also, keep a design doc and update it constantly. And save variations of it, based on the date. That's a personal preference, because I find that sometimes something we had before would work really well with what we're working on then. Keeping backup copies lets me go back and pull something out, and it saves space rather than marking things out within the same document.