Interviews

Developer: Akella Publisher: Bethesda Platforms: Xbox, PC Genre: Action/Adventure/RPG

Designed as a thrilling blend of role-playing, adventure and action Pirates of the Caribbean takes place in a large group of Caribbean islands during the golden age of piracy and high seas adventure. You take command of a pirate ship and its crew, engage in swordfights with other captains, accept and complete daring quests and sail after rumors of dangers and riches. Skill and daring are your allies as you battle and scheme to become the most powerful and feared pirate captain in history.

We gathered the JA staff and informed them that they were each permitted to ask a question of the Pirates of the Caribbean Bethesda team. Those who refused to participate were forced to walk the plank. Little did we know that Bob Freese did not know how to swim. We’ll miss you Bob.

Interview conducted by the JA staff

JA - Will there be any major differences between the Xbox and pc versions of Pirates of the Caribbean?

There are no differences between the two versions and they should both be in stores by July.

JA - How closely does the storyline follow the film?

The game takes place during the same time and place as the film, but the two storylines are completely separate.

JA - Many RPGs incorporate elements from different genres. Could you please estimate the percentage of adventure, arcade and strategy? For instance, will the player get to control elements of a party, or is this game pretty much hack and slash action?

Pirates has a little bit of everything. You get to decide how to develop your character (and your ship) as the game goes along. There’s lots of action in the land and sea battles, where the land-based combat has more of a hack-and-slash feel to it, while the sea battles are a little more strategic because you may have multiple ships on either side to keep track of and fight. At sea, you have some control over the other ships under your command (you can have up to three), as you can tell them which enemy ship to attack, or to follow you, etc.

JA - Is POC mostly in 3rd person perspective 3D or can the player control the "camera"?

In town the game is played in 3rd person and you can pan the camera using the Right Thumbstick. At sea, you can play in 1st or 3rd person. So, you can either pan around your ship and look at it from any side, or you can walk around on deck. The difference between the two views is that while on deck, you’re actually aiming your cannons. In 3rd person, the guns auto-target any enemies within range, picking the closest one to you in the case of more than one ship.

JA - Is there character creation in the beginning, or does the player start as a defined character?

You start with a defined character at the beginning with a set of skills, and from there it’s up to you as to how you develop your character in terms of his skills and abilities.

JA - How were Akella, and Disney Interactive involved in the project?

Akella developed the game with help from Bethesda. The development team is at Akella, it’s their technology, etc. We helped out in the areas of dialog, the main storyline, balancing, testing, and generally helping get the game finished. Disney Interactive and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have been very supportive in helping us get assets from the film that we have requested, and with efforts like getting Keira Knightley to do the narration for the game.

JA - Will the game have digitized voiceovers? Were any of the film actors involved?

We recorded voices for all the greetings in the game. In addition, Keira Knightley – who plays Elizabeth Swann in the film – is the narrator for the game.

JA - How would you compare this game with your previous "seaworthy" releases: Sea Dogs, and Redguard?

Well, I think it features a lot of elements that made Sea Dogs popular with fans and the press, while building on a lot of areas that needed to be addressed. For example, when you visit towns there are now lots of places to go and things to do, or you can quickly jump to/from the docks to the local tavern, store, or shipyard to take care of business and get back out to see without a lot of walking around.

JA - How large is the game world? Could you estimate hours of game play (assuming an experienced RPG player)? Non-linear play?

It’s, uh, big. It will take you somewhere between 20-40 hours to finish the main quest. Outside of the main quest, there’s essentially an unlimited number of hours of gameplay with all the side quests, miscellaneous quests, and freeform things you can do (ie, trade, fight ships).

JA - Some thought the learning curve for Sea Dogs was fairly steep. Will game play and player interface be more streamlined in Pirates of the Caribbean?

We think it’s a very easy game to play. Part of that is because Pirates was designed with the Xbox in mind, so that helps in terms of streamlining controls and making things easy-to-use. We have a bit of a tutorial at the beginning to introduce the player to the gameplay basics as well. I think the learning curve is much shorter and easier to get through.

JA - Was the film’s director, Gore Verbinski, involved in the project at all? Any chance that Bethsoft will produce or publish a game based on his film The Ring?

He wasn’t involved in the development of the game. He was fairly busy with the movie, I imagine. We haven’t considered doing a game based on The Ring.

Thanks very much for the time away from your swashbuckling. Best wishes and may you send your foes to Davy Jones’ Locker before you.