Interviews

Since this is Jack Keane week, we thought it would be interesting to speak with Jan Klose, the Creative Director of Deck 13, about his involvement with this crazy game that looks to be the heir apparent to the Monkey Island series.

JA – First off, congratulations, Jack Keane is definitely the most humorous game I’ve played in years.

Thanks a lot, it’s great to hear that you liked it.

JA – Is Jack Keane based on any specific person (certainly not 4-star general Jack Keane!) or is he more an amalgam of characters?

In the beginning, Jack was planned as a mixture between a young Indiana Jones and Guybrush Threepwood, but he soon developed a life of his own and became somebody different and new. His name is due to the fact that a cool hero simply has to be called “Jack”, that’s a matter of fact, and the last name was meant to sound like “keen” to support his eager and enthusiastic attitude.

JA – What games have you played that influenced the development of Jack Keane? 

It wasn’t just games that we used as a source of inspiration but movies too. Our idea was to bring the spirit of “adventure movies” like Indiana Jones to the adventure genre without breaking the rules of point & click gameplay. This results in action sequences that are however implemented without real time pressure or the chance of the player dying.

JA – There’s a quote on the front of the box that ‘this (Jack Keane) is Monkey Island done right, at last.’  How does that make you feel?

I think this isn’t really true. Monkey Island is an all time classic, and although Jack Keane is set on a mysterious island, the game takes quite a different approach. Still, it makes us proud to be compared to these classics.

JA – Do you know if Ron Gilbert or any of the other Monkey Island creators have had a chance to play Jack Keane yet?

I’m not sure if Ron has played Jack Keane yet, but at least he had the chance to play Ankh, Jack’s predecessor. I hope he’ll like Jack Keane even more.

JA – Jack Keane has already received phenomenal reviews in the European marketplace, what are your expectations for the North American marketplace?

North America is a difficult spot for adventures, and I’m afraid that some people will bash the game just because it’s a traditional piece of “point & click”.

JA – I recall that some former LucasArts employees who have since formed Telltale Games, had a consulting role in the development process of one of your previous adventure games, Ankh.  Did you have a similar arrangement for Jack Keane?

No, we didn’t do that this time, but there were no specific reasons for that. We enjoyed working together with Telltale and would love to do so again in the (near) future.

JA – Jack Keane is a huge game, how long was the development process from original conception to the final retail copy?

It wasn’t as long as you might think – it took us about 15 months to complete the game, with some additional 3 months of bug fixing and localization. So in fact we didn’t have much time and were literally working 24/7 to receive the quality level we needed.

JA – Can you speak a little about your approach to the humor in the game? It seems to me that Jack, who initially comes off as a doofus, is actually grounded in reality while everyone around him seems to live in an alternate reality of their own making.

After completing Ankh, it was a bit more taxing to approach this one, as Jack is not just a silly guy but tries to be some cool hero. So we couldn’t just use dumb or silly humor but had to try some higher level thing, emphasizing on cynical and ironical gags, and keeping the funny bits strong while using a more “serious” background story. I’m happy that it worked out well.

JA – Many of your puzzles require the player to follow a series of tasks that not only solve the puzzle, but also advance the storyline.  Can you discuss your approach to puzzle implementation?

Adventures are story driven games, so naturally, all the puzzles should build up the story. What use is a so-called game that tells some kind of story and then lets you solve some totally unconnected puzzles? You could as well do without the story (or the puzzles!) then.

JA – Your website has done a wonderful job with Jack Keane wallpaper, trailers and even avatars!  Are there any plans for merchandising? The game certainly lends itself to the possibility of a full-blown toy line or even a cartoon series or comic book.

Personally, I’d love a cool Jack action figure (or even better: Amanda!) on my desk. Let’s see what the future might bring…

JA – Were there any technical problems encountered that forced you to change aspects of the game? What type of graphics engine and other technologies were used for the game?

We used the very powerful open source engine OGRE that comes along with state of the art shader technology. And as OGRE is very stable, we had only very few problems regarding crashes or other nasty bugs.

JA – Jack Keane would look good on the Nintendo DS?  What do you think?

It sure would 😉

JA – What problems, if any, did you have finding a North American publisher for Jack Keane? 

As we have a world wide publishing deal with 10tacle Studios, we didn’t need to do anything at all to find a publisher for North America – what a relief!

JA – Can you comment more on the differences between how adventure games are viewed in parts of Europe as compared to North America? 

It seems that in Europe, adventures were never really considered “dead”, at least not by many players, whereas the genre really needed a new kick start in the U.S. Luckily, Telltale Games did a great job with Sam & Max.

JA – Why is European culture more receptive to a cartoony type of game?  Why will Jack Keane succeed in North America where others have failed?

This remains to be seen. As cartoony movies like Shrek and Finding Nemo are big in North America, why shouldn’t games finally pick up that topic again?

JA – Have you found it bothersome when reviewers refer to Jack Keane as ‘a throwback to 90’s adventure gaming’?  While it surely is meant as a compliment, I would think that many of today’s gamers would be ‘turned-off’ by the nostalgic implications and then less likely to try the game.

From my point of view it’s great to be compared to the 90s games. And when looking at role playing games, it becomes obvious that they had a similar problem several years ago, and today nobody would speak of them as “a throwback”…

JA – Thanks for your time and we here at JA sincerely hope that Jack Keane will be a huge success for you!

Thanks a lot!

 

Screenshots, Character Profiles, Trailer, Playable Demo