Adventure Gamers: So how did the actual game making process work with PlayFirst: was it just like your early days as an AGS freeware developer?

Dave Gilbert: It was very different! At the beginning especially, there was a lot of back-and-forth with the art director at PlayFirst before we nailed down the style. With my internal games, I had to do everything myself. But in working with PlayFirst, I had a lot more resources to help out. There was an entire QA department pouring over the game. They had testing sessions with video cameras, watching the players and gauging their reactions to various aspects of the game. It was a fascinating process.

AG: What advantages has using PlayFirst's engine given you?

DG: Since PlayFirst made the engine, they know how it works. It can be altered easily for distribution on any affiliate, it's very portable (the game already works on the Mac with no problem), and it's very easy to localize. As for me, I was so used to making games with AGS that there was a bit of a learning curve. Andrew (the programmer) and Dan (the engineer) took a LOT of the heavy lifting off my shoulders and enabled me to just concentrate on writing the dialog, which was a nice change from my usual way of working.

AG: As well as a Mac version, can we expect to see the game on any other platforms soon?

DG: PlayFirst has ported some of their games to the DS and other handheld devices, so those are a possibility but it's too early to say.

AG: How long is ECC to play through; is it longer than your previous games?

DG: Significantly. I'd say the first chapter of ECC is longer than the first two Blackwell games combined.

AG: And how many chapters are there?

DG: There are four chapters in the game, as well as a prologue and epilogue. You follow Petra as she tries to find a missing person, which leads to a big conspiracy that takes her all over Oz, the brink of war, and beyond. She’s also struggling with a loss, and she’ll have confronted and dealt with that loss by the end of the game.

AG: Can we expect to see the characters from the movie in the game? Any avoid-the-flying-monkey minigames?

DG: Most of them appear, yes! The main cast members like the Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Dorothy appear, but they share the spotlight alongside other major Oz book characters like Tik Tok, Scraps, Woot the Wanderer, Mombi, Ruggedo the Nome King and others. I also invented a few other characters just for the game. And no, there will be no flying monkey minigames.

AG: How much will ECC sell for when is it available, and where can we get it?

DG: ECC will be sold for $19.95, and will be sold off the PlayFirst site. It goes on sale on February 19th, and will be available for PlayFirst Playpass members on the 17th.

AG: You've also got the third game in your existing Blackwell series coming up. Tell us about Blackwell Convergence .

DG: Blackwell Convergence returns to its roots by returning to the present day. It stars Rosangela again, and it's been about 6 months since the first game. So she's been at the medium thing for awhile and a lot less weirded out by the whole thing. The game starts out with Rosa and Joey investigating an actor's spirit in central park, and as they search for the reasons behind the man's death they uncover much more than they bargained for. A lot of the questions from Unbound are answered, and a few more are raised. I'm very proud of the game so far. It's a lot longer than the other games, it's a lot prettier, and it tells a much more satisfying story.

AG: It’ s been a while since you released the demo for Blackwell Convergence. Has much changed since then?

DG: Oh, yes. The game looks completely different than that original demo. The deal with PlayFirst took me completely by surprise, and I was less able to concentrate on two projects than I thought I would be. Eventually I figured, "Well, if the fans are waiting this long I might as well make it worth it." So I scrapped all the artwork that was done (which wasn't much, at the time) and hired a full-fledged studio (Luminous Arts) to do all the backgrounds, and I hired Shane Stevens to redo all the character sprites. ECC was a huge project, so I wasn't able to work on Convergence very often, but I was earning enough to be able to pay Luminous Arts and Shane to work on the art. Now that I'm free to work on Convergence again, I have all these art assets ready and waiting for me.



AG: How long will it be compared to the first two games?

DG: It's much longer than the previous two. Maybe longer than both of them put together. The problem with the first two games is the story could be summed up by: "Investigate, investigate, investigate, BIG CLIMAX, game over." Convergence has a number of exciting things happening over the course of the game, so you don't have to wait until the end to see something cool happening.

AG: What price are you aiming for and when is it due out?

DG: It will be sold for $20. I know that's higher than my previous games, but I wanted to match the prices that the games were sold for on the game portals (they sell every game for $20). I am aiming for Convergence to be out by the end of April, but as usual I don't want to commit myself yet. Definitely before the summer

AG: Still using Adventure Game Studio?

DG: Yep. For Blackwell Convergence I am still using AGS. Sticking with what I know, and all of that. AGS is a great tool, and I love using it. If I ever did switch to something else, it would be due to the lack of portability. It's been a major issue for me.

AG: Now that you've been selling games for a while, any regrets?

DG: My only regret is that I did not try doing this sooner! I put it off for years because I didn’t think it could possibly go anywhere. Then one day I found myself unemployed and I started making and selling games as a way of putting off getting a real job. Come to think of it, I’m still doing that.

AG: Do you (or your characters) get any fan mail? Or hate mail?

DG: The fans have been great! Occasionally I see a forum post where folks are all “That Dave Gilbert has totally sold out, dude!” but they are a very small minority. The support from the fans and the indie games community at large have made this so worthwhile and gratifying. As for the characters, you wouldn’t believe the number of women out there who have confessed their love for Joey Mallone. It’s kinda creepy, but also kinda cool.