Interviews

First interview with Cheyenne and Evie Wolford, the husband and
wife Virtue Games
team about Isles of Derek, a remake of Derek.

By
Alexander Tait

Guys, thanks for
letting me chuck all these questions at you. You’re
probably pretty busy with Isles of Derek and the follow up, Mayabin… So,
where are things up to?

Cheyenne has finished
revamping Derek and a large distributor here in the US is looking
at carrying it. We’re also going to be running
a full-page ad in the Christian music magazine, HM
magazine which has a circulation of 15000. We are also going to be mailing
you a copy of Isles of Derek in about a week so you can compare
it with the original Derek.

The marketing push for Isles
of Derek will be beginning around July
1.

Mayabin is also coming along well. We’re looking to get it on the
shelves of stores before the Christmas holidays (God help us!). There
is much more to it than what you last saw and still a lot to come.

Cheyenne and I are doing very well. We’re now living near Yosemite,
with running water and electricity (aren’t we getting spoiled!!).

How are you enjoying not having to rely on a generator?

It’s great to not have to run out and refuel a generator in the
middle of the night! It opens up the way to let long animations sit
and render for days!!!

What made you decide to re-release Derek
as Isles of Derek?

When Virtue Games became
a subsidiary of Thousand Mile Productions, we began making plans
to do a real marketing and publicity push for
Derek. Since we needed to re-publish
it anyway, we also decided to update it some by drawing on the
talent of our voice and sound expert,
Mike Hill. Then Cheyenne (realizing that the majority of the
Christian market is not acquainted with adventure games) got
the idea of adding
a hint system. With all these changes we decided to give the
product a new name to distinguish it from the old Derek –
so Isles of Derek was born.

Who will like Isles
of Derek?

People of all ages, even young children, if they are playing alongside
an adult, will have fun in the Isles of Derek. While it is clearly
a Christian game, its challenging puzzles and creative graphics will
make it enjoyable for anyone. And with its new hint system, it will
even be great for those who have had little or no exposure to adventure
games.

Was Derek successful?

When Derek was released we had no marketing or publicity system
set up. Most of the sales went to those who had played Nacah and
wanted the sequel or to the few who stumbled across our website or
an online review of the game. Considering these limitations it has
sold quite well and been very well received by its players, so we
consider it to have been a success.

How is Isles
of Derek different to Derek?

Isles of Derek has updated sound effects, new voiceovers for the
main character, new video compression, new menu, inventory and credits,
and most important-a hint system. The hint system, when engaged,
will allow the player to access hints throughout the game. This revolutionary
new hint system opens the world of adventure games to those who have
never played them before.

Did you add or change anything?

No changes have been made to the actual game play. But there are
a few extra Easter eggs scattered throughout the game…. 😉

How long did Isles
of Derek take to develop?

It took about 2 months to develop and insert all the new features
for Isles of Derek.

Will people who played Derek want to visit Isles
of Derek?

Anyone who loved Derek and wants to keep it on hand to play in the
future should upgrade to Isles of Derek. The hint system is fun to
experience even if you don’t need it, because sometimes it fills
in some of the storyline or inserts a funny comment. The new voiceovers
for the ship captain really enhance the game as well. On the other
hand, if a person has made it successfully through Derek and doesn’t
feel like replaying the game, then there isn’t much reason for them
to go through Isles of Derek. Like I said above, it’s really the
same game with a facelift, if you will.

What is the storyline?

To paraphrase from the
blurb of Derek, the Isles
of Derek are inhabited by a people called
the Matteh, most of whom are in absolute darkness
as they have been under the thumb of the Dalaq, a people who follow
a false religion. The Dalaq destroyed the Matteh’s Holy Bible,
their one source of truth, and replaced them with Bibles in a language
the Matteh could not read.

There is rumor of a secret sect of sincere Matteh that took copies
of the Bible in the Matteh language and fled to a hidden spot in
the mountains many years ago. You are sent on a quest to seek them
out and bring back a Bible in their own language.

Does it follow on from Nacah?

While it does assume that
the player has come “from the Islands
of Nacah”, Isles of Derek does not require any experience with
Nacah. All you need is a willingness to explore and have lots of
fun!

Is it a prequel to the upcoming Mayabin?

Not at all.

Where is the game available?

The game will be available in stores all over the country and also
from our website: www.virtuegames.com. It is due to be released in
July 2005.

How is Mayabin progressing?

Mayabin is progressing slowly but surely. Now that we’ve got Isles
of Derek finished, progress should speed up some. We’re also utilizing
some new software tools that should greatly speed the production
process.

How has Virtue Games grown since Derek?

Virtue Games was started by Cheyenne in 2000 because he wanted to
create high quality adventure computer games in the genre and with
the quality of Myst and Riven but with Christian values. His first
game was Nacah, which took two years to complete. This was followed
by the ambitious project Derek, which took eighteen months to complete.

The major change since
Derek was released in 2003, was the acquisition of Virtue Games
by Thousand Mile Productions in early 2004. Now that
Virtue Games is a subsidiary of TMP, we have more team members (Rick
Tewell, executive producer, Mike Hill, director of music and sound,
and Lisa Tewell, business development and others) and more resources.
Cheyenne is the chief game architect for Virtue Games and oversees
all game development projects. The current game in production, Mayabin,
is an adventure game based upon a “prodigal son” allegory.

What are Virtue Games’ philosophies for game development?

Virtue Creations is dedicated to producing quality Christian computer
games that are nonviolent, Bible-based, and loads of fun. Additionally,
we are focused on excellence. For far too long Christian computer
games have been associated with mediocrity. Virtue Games hopes to
change that.

Does working as husband and wife on a game change development (compared
to a one man developer)?

The long and short of
it…yes. Together we come up with better ideas for the story line
and puzzles when brainstorming. We aren’t
just a husband and wife team any longer, however. We are now part
of a larger organization that is providing direction, support, creative
input. There are quite a few members now on the “creative” team
for Virtue Games. In fact, we now have SEVERAL husband and wife teams
working together on Mayabin and future projects… Having a complete
team allows Cheyenne to focus on the graphics generation instead
of putting together the entire game. Art and graphics is where Cheyenne’s
true gifting lies…

What are your plans for the future?

At this point we are planning to continue making Adventure Games
far into the future. And, yes, we do have some awesome games in mind
for the future.

Any plans to do a game based on Bible events (there is certainly
a lot to choose from!)?

We have thought of doing
one based on the conquest of Canaan, but it isn’t what we’re planning
on doing next…wink. Think “Bible-esque”…

Is there a market for Christian computer games?

There haven’t really been any Christian computer games until the
last few years, so we’re kind of finding out what the market is right
now. We believe its big….seeing as there are lots of Christian
kids wanting to play computer games and lots of Christian parents
worried about what kind of influence the games will be. Our market
analysis indicates that growth of Christian computer games will be
on par with the success of Christian music, books, television and
other media vehicles.

What do you see is the future for adventure games?

We believe that Adventure games will never go out of style. In fact,
we think they have the potential for incredible growth as they are
made more open-ended with more options for the player to determine
the course of the game.

Has your game been used in Sunday Schools?

Hey…good idea. We’ll forward that idea on to marketing!

What are the specifications for Isles
of Derek?

Very basic. IBM PC or compatible, CPU: 300 MHz or higher, Windows
95 or higher, 550 MB of hard drive space, 6X CD-ROM drive, mouse,
sound card.

Why am I writing so many questions?!?

Because you love us?

Thanks for taking
the time out. I’m looking forward to revisiting
Derek.

God bless!