Jane Jensen

By Andy Bellatti

In late April of 1998, I conducted an interview with Gabriel Knight designer/writer Jane Jensen. Rather than asking all questions about Gabriel Knight 3, I wanted to get her take on some controversial issues like 3D, sex and violence, and females in the computer gaming business. Check this one out ... it's worth it!

Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned is out later this year. Has "crunch mode" started yet? If not, what part of the game is mainly being focused on at the moment?

We're currently focusing on writing all of the incidental messages and going over all the art. I just posted a new designer diary entry on Gamespot that goes into detail about the project's current status, so I'll just direct the curious over there.

This being your third venture into the Gabriel Knight series, what are the positive aspects of the previous two games that you are retaining in this one? Are there any things which you've done in Gabriel Knight 1 or its sequel that you have learned to stay away from?

I think the fun for me, and hopefully for the player, is in the characters and their interaction and that's definitely more prominent in GK3. Also, of course, the mystery involves fact and fiction like the other two and is pretty "dark." I try to keep interrogation-type dialogue down as much as I can and I try not to make puzzles too difficult--things that were issues for some in the first game.

How much research did you conduct before actually sitting down and writing the game? Do you feel that your knowledge of a certain subject or theme adds depth to the game?

I read everything I could on the subject and spent a lot of time just trying to "solve" the real life mystery for myself--or at least come up with a reasonable scenario. Of course, a story like GK3 would be pretty difficult to do without getting into all the research details, so it really doesn't make much sense to say it "adds depth to the story." It simply enables the GKs to be the kinds of stories that they are. Some people really enjoy the depth--perhaps others simply wanna have fun.

In one of my columns recently, I discussed female characters in games. I noted that Grace Nakimura is one of the few women in a computer game who is popular and loved for her brains, determination, and perseverance rather than for her cup size. What do you think of such characters as Riana Rouge and Lara Croft? Do you find them degrading?

I don't find things "degrading"--I'm not that much of a feminist! Those kind of characters are cartoons, stereotypes, and we do the same thing to guys (i.e., "Superman"). For myself, I'm more interested in writing about "real" people.

What about sex and violence in computer games? Is there such a thing as going overboard in this area? How do you manage to make a game for mature audiences involving sex and violence but doing it in such a way where it is tasteful and actually enhances the plot rather than taking away from it?

I'm not "tasteful" purposefully, I assure you! It's just that my main interest in approaching a game is to tell a story. If there's sex and violence inherent in the story, it is portrayed, but it detracts from the pacing of the story if you start dwelling on things endlessly just to see gratuitous details. However, if you, instead, approach a project with the goal of making something "really gross" or "really sexy" (which seems to be the idea behind many of the Quake style games--to "out-gore" their predecessors), then obviously that's the way it will turn out. As with the "Lara Croft" thing, though, I don't have any moral feelings about these kinds of products. Many of them are perfectly fun and not particularly offensive to me. It's just not the kind of game I want to write myself.

When we talked back in 1996, you confirmed your doubts about 3D. Now that you are making your product in this medium and have seen what it can and can't do, has your opinion changed? Do you think full motion video will ever return in any way or form?

I think the new 3D environment of GK3 is really great and has allowed for some progression in story and puzzle design. It looks more "cartoony"--that is, more like GK1, but I've always liked those kinds of games, too. As for FMV, yes, I think it will return. If we can do FMV over 3D polys in the future, I'd like to see a GK try that.

As a female game designer, do you ever feel prejudiced or with a strong need to prove that you are just as capable of making a computer game as a male? Do you think females in the computer game business are becoming more and more common? Why do you think women had such a hard time making themselves loud in the gaming business?

I just don't think about things this way. I don't think "I'm one of the few women" or "I have to prove myself" or "I have to make a point"--I just try to put as much integrity into my work as I can as a person. I don't think about gender. As for the lack of women in game development, it's not a game industry issue, it's a broader girl/technology issue. I was in the minority as a female in my college computer courses and at Hewlett-Packard, where I was a programmer for several years. It probably has to do with the girls/math thing, and I do think that it will slowly turn around as more young women realize where the viable careers are. But the game business, in general, has clearly not done a great job of reaching the female audience.

Was there ever a time during the production where you just felt like dropping everything and wishing you'd never thought of making a Gabriel Knight 3?

There are always times--not when you wish you'd never started it, but just that you wish to God it were done. The production cycle is simply too long. It's much more frustrating than when we could put out a game in one year.

The characters of both Grace and Gabriel have matured and grown spiritually as the series progressed. Do we see personality changes in these characters in Gabriel Knight 3?

Yes (grin).

Before we finish, is there anything you would like to tell your loyal Just Adventure fans?

Just to expect us in time for Christmas.