Interviews

by Randy Sluganski June 2002

AROUND THE CLOCK WITH THE WATCHMAKER

Now that you finally have a North American publisher, what are your expectations for sales?

We have very high expectations for the title, as the game is a truly good one. It's involving, intriguing and technically very well done. Most importantly, people love the gameplay, and that is what really counts. Alas, adventure games are not the most popular genre in the market these days, thus we are not expecting the game to sell million copies - but we remain confident game players will appreciate The Watchmaker and will buy it. It really is a beautiful game!

If the sales figures meet your expectations, would you consider a sequel or do you feel too much time has lapsed since the development of the original Watchmaker?

We have ideas; we have a large number of great ideas. It is too early to talk about a potential sequel though. Of course, if the numbers are there we will seriously consider developing a sequel.

Can you talk about the problems you had finding a publisher in North America? What were some of the responses you received?

Before Got Game, we received the very same response from a number of publishers: "we love The Watchmaker, but we are not ready to make any investment for an adventure title, as the market is too limited for games belonging in this genre". Sad but true: there are many great games the audience will never play because they are thought to be niche-titles…

What was involved in translating the game into English? Do you think that the voice-overs went smoothly?

The guys at Got Game Entertainment have done a great job with the localization of the title. The voice-overs went very well - we're happy with the acting in the US version of the game. Also, please consider that the game had originally been developed in English, as it makes more sense to do so rather than showing the game to publishers… with Italian text and voice-over! We had English staff working on all the language aspects of the game (storyline, text, speech etc.) since the very first day of development.

Darrel and Victoria seem to have been modeled after Gabriel Knight and Gracie. Was this a conscious decision on your part and do you hope that Watchmaker appeals to fans of the Gabriel Knight series?

Every single thing we did for The Watchmaker was not made with the market in mind, we just wanted to make a beautiful and fascinating game, so the decision to have these kinds of characters was made because they really worked out for the story we had in mind.

The Watchmaker's major plot element has to do with ley lines - invisible lines on the earth's surface linking prehistoric sites that can channel a mystical force allowing the dead to walk again - is there any basis in reality or history to ley lines or are they a plot element of your own imagination?

Ley lines are part of the mysteries of our planet and its ancient civilizations. They really exist. We are big fans of "paranormal and mystery" type of magazines, so we took the inspiration from these real-life articles.

A lot of thought seems to have gone into the games puzzles. In fact, some puzzles can only be solved by specific characters. Do you think that the game was built around the puzzles or were the puzzles created to fit into the game's plot?

The puzzles were created to let you be a part of the story as it unfolds, to be lured in more and more as the game progresses. We wanted the player to become the playing characters. In this way only - if you fully understand what's going on and what Darrel and Victoria would do - you can progress. So the puzzles are just a way to tell our story.

Can you tell us a little about The Watchmaker's 3D engine? Was it created specifically for this game and can it be used for future projects?

Yes, the 3D engine was created to bring the castle and its gardens to life; we were only focused on this. We did researches on rooms-based rendering, procedural skies generation, and so on.

Watchmaker is very unique in that it is totally non-linear, yet your progress can be tracked when the game clock moves ahead by a 15-minute interval. Do you think that adventure gamers will welcome this non-traditional "scoring" system?

Yes, because it's just the simplest way to let them know they are on the right way, and they are pushing the story forward. We considered making the time progress independently but we rejected this idea because it was quite difficult to implement, and I think a bit frustrating to play.

What is your opinion on the current popularity or non-popularity of adventure games both in Europe and in North America?

American gamers are demonstrating a love of traditional adventure games more than European gamers, so we are curious to see how they will react to the game. We really hope for a positive reaction to show that the adventure market is still alive, and people want more.

Watchmaker is a long game with a huge cast of characters. How long did it take you from start to finish to complete game and are there any amusing stories you can share with us about the game's development?

It took 3 years of hard work to complete, and some other time for polishing. It was really our biggest project to date.

What words of encouragement can you offer for adventure gamers around the world and for the many readers of Just Adventure?

In terms of playing The Watchmaker, always use your two characters when trying to solve puzzles, as some situations may suit better either Victoria or Darrel. Try and ask as many questions as possible when talking to the people in the castle. Look around carefully and make sure you search in every possible space, room or location. There are many hidden surprises in The Watchmaker and it will take even the most experienced adventurers a long time to discover them all.

We also want to take this opportunity to thank Just Adventure and the readers for the wonderful support they've given The Watchmaker. Thanks to the loyalty and community spirit of adventure gamers, these types of games will continue to be made and enjoyed. Molte grazie!