Will there be any major differences between the console and the PC versions of the game?

Just the interface. We will have to rework the interface and controls to work with the Xbox.

You've referred to similarities with many LucasArts games; what non-LucasArts adventure games are you particularly inspired by?

Syberia and Runaway are two of the most recent inspirations, but that is about it. This team really got its degree in adventure game making from their experience at LucasArts, so it is going to feel a lot like those games.

Why make an adventure game in this era, when the market does not seem especially kind to adventures?

You have heard of starving artists, right? They starve because they have to do what they love, market be damned. Well fortunately we love adventure games and they do sell, so we won't starve. But we create them not to get rich; we create them because we love it. Adventure games are an art form, very much like films and literature. But the great thing about them is that the viewer, or the audience, is the protagonist. The creators of these games still use all the time-tested techniques and conventions pioneered in the filmmaking, illustration and story-telling professions. We feel it is a natural next step in the evolution of story-telling. Adventure games do it better than any other type of game. That is why adventure games appeal to a select group, the group that likes characters, stories and puzzles more than action and role-playing. There are clearly markets for all sorts of games and genres.

I think what you are asking about is the mainstream market. It's pretty simple. If you make a game that a select niche of people are interested in, you must keep the cost low enough to turn a profit. The budget will be smaller than many of the mainstream games. But this doesn't mean lowering the quality for the product.

The interface has been described as similar to Curse of Monkey Island and Full Throttle, which indicates point & click. Why, when it seems many adventure developers are trying to embrace direct-control, are you sticking with point & click?

Direct control will only happen when the player is wearing a virtual suit and virtual reality goggles or his brain is plugged into the computer. Direct control is a myth. The point & click method has the advantage of compressing time in the game, much like what an editor does to a movie. When a character in a movie goes on a long journey, filmmakers realize that a realistic representation of that journey is not entertaining. So the filmmaker edits out most of the journey into a series of cuts that cross-dissolve over one another to represent the long journey without having to subject the audience to its tedium.

How long a game (in playing time) are you aiming for?

The game will be shorter than Curse of Monkey Island and longer than Full Throttle. You have heard of "short but sweet." Well we are aiming for "not too short but sweet."

Vampires are certainly a dark subject; what sort of balance between dark overtones and humor should we expect?

All humor. Very few dark overtones. What we like is the creepy setting of the horror movies of that era, not the actual horror they strived to create. We are certainly not going to scare anyone, any more than the movie Young Frankenstein or Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein did. This is a comedy—make no mistake about that. Mona really doesn't want to be evil, and she is no more evil than most people.

You've watched the initial fan reaction to the recent announcement of A Vampyre Story. What aspect of the reaction were you the most disappointed in?

None! It far exceeded our expectations. We knew we had a good idea from all the positive reactions we got from team members and others who saw our proof of concept, but the press and fan reaction went far beyond our expectations.

Why Vampire with a 'Y' instead of an 'I'?

We wanted to be cool like Motley Crüe and Stryper! Well, no. Actually, vampire with a Y is the Serbian spelling and it is the title of the first western vampire novel, The Vampyre, started by Lord Byron and finished by his doctor, John Polidori. It is a nod to the origins of the whole vampire mythology in western culture, plus we can copyright it!

Anything else you'd like to tell our readers?

We are still in the very early stages of development and need to solidify a deal with a publisher before we can start full production. And we may have jumped the gun in announcing the game before the deal has been inked. We apologize for that. But our hope was that positive fan reaction and press coverage would convince publishers that this kind of game is in high demand and should be published. I think it has accomplished that and we would like to thank all the adventure game fans and press who have shown us their support. Now we just need to partner with a publisher, then we will get a quality game out to you as soon as we can!