Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal Preview
Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
Preview
Developer: Funatics Development GmbH
Projected Release Date: Q2 2002
Platform: WIN
Genre: Fantasy Role-playing Adventure
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“Amy’s eighteenth birthday is a miserable disaster. She had a argument with her family and has run away to hide in her room. Something is wrong with her world and she is very confused. Why does she alone have the key to another world, one of elves, goblins, dwarves and fairies? A long time ago, these creatures fled for fear of burning at the stake, of inquisition and suppression by mankind. Henceforth, they lived in seclusion in a place called Zanzarah, their own private paradise. The legend speaks of a long forgotten prophecy….. A gleaming hero and of perilous adventures….. Of sinister powers, strange worlds and hosts of fairies….. But they say nothing of a girl with more heart than muscle….. But then, even legends can be wrong.”
Funatics
The development team at Funatics say that “Computer games are our life and that they are among the most famous game companies in Germany”. They have been in business for more than two years and include Ravensburger Interactive, THQ Inc. and Phenomedia among their partners.
I had a recent opportunity to have an email chat with a Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal development team member. She was kind enough to respond to several questions that I had about the game. I hope that you will find her answers interesting.
How long has this game been in development?
Two years exactly.
The concept of the game seems (to me) to be reminiscent of The Longest Journey. Was the Zanzarah concept on the drawing board before The Longest Journey? Or is the similarity a coincidence? Or is there a similarity at all?
No, every similarity is incidental. We have never played The Longest Journey. But the plot of Zanzarah is classical, of 
course, so there is a similarity to other films and games.
Has the Zanzarah storyline been developed from a legend, a myth, a fantasy story or novel?
No. We used famous fairy books from different sources, such as, The Good Fairies, Bad Fairies from Brian Froud (The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth). But only for inspiration.
Where did the title come from?
A long, hard session with much coffee. It’s a pure fantasy title.
Is this game planned as the beginning of a series?
It’s a possibility. The features of the game have much potential for more games like Zanzarah.
Tell us about the game engine that you are using.
We are using the licensed RenderWare Engine. It’s a powerful engine which allows cross-platform development and quickens the development time of our game. In addition, we have improved the engine for effects like real-time shadows, volume fog and so on. The concept of Zanzarah allows us to realize a detailed world, full of graphical objects like flowers, mushrooms and much more. We are able do this without forcing the use of high-end PC’s.
Tell us about the music.
The music for Zanzarah is currently under development. We have an experienced musician in Cambridge who is perfect for our fairy tale theme.
How will the storyline tie into the actual mechanics of the game? Will the game be puzzle driven, inventory driven, point and click? What else?
The storyline is mainly driven by non player characters and puzzles. There are different layers of quests, so the player has the freedom to chose his next action, such as, hunting fairies, searching for objects or following the lines of the plot.
What do you think that the players will enjoy the most about Zanzarah?
The main focus of the game will be to search for fairies. The player will set up his deck of fairies, equip the fairies with new and better spells, test the fairy decks in flight with other trainers or against other players on the Net. Solving puzzles and exploring new areas of Zanzarah are important also.
Is there anything else that you (the developer) would like people to know about Zanzarah?
Take Zanzarah as an alternative to a world of games which are mainly gray and dark, without visual changes and with only one target: to kill enemies. We have such areas too, like our dark shadow realm, but it is only one of many other places in Zanzarah. You will visit deep forests, light filled gardens and colorful caves. Zanzarah is a journey with many new impressions and adventures combined with creative game play.
The Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal Site
The Zanzarah site is very attractive. Click here to pay a visit, read more about the game and to watch a video that is produced on the engine of the game.
