Mountainwheel Games: Dead Man Zand Interview
We got a chance to talk with Artem Revva, Communications and Community Manager at Mountainwheel Games, about their upcoming graphic adventure title, Dead Man Zand.
JH: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about your title, Dead Man Zand. You’ve described it as a “classical graphic adventure” and linked it to those of the 1990s. Can you tell us a little about how the game will play? Is it closer to Telltale’s recent work or does it hearken back to early SCUMM days?
AR: Thank you for having us. In regards to how the game will be played, you will be able to experience both the Telltale’s work and the SCUMM game play. We wanted to keep the classical aspect of a graphic adventure yet also wanted to have some variety for the user. Dead Man Zand will be played much like the classic graphic adventure type game, a static camera point that shows the whole level at once. The levels are designed to be instanced, meaning each level is like its own world. The player will be able to explore and interact with that level and its characters and once the player wants to move on, he/she will enter another level or instance.
JH: Who exactly is Zand, and why is he interested in royalties?
AR: Zand is our main character and before he died – and after – he always was a keen business man. Therefore he’s pressing us to pay him royalties, because, after all, it’s his story. But we’re still negotiating with him. It’s not easy to negotiate with a Fortune 500 man. Ha-ha! Yet on a more serious note, in our first news that we have posted on IndieDB, we took a fun tone, writing jokes and pleasantries to keep the readers happy, involved, engaged and not posting just some information that we have updated this and rendered that. We want this game to be fun for everyone and this also includes our news and updates.
JH: The Underworld is said to be a take on Purgatory and the initial feeling I’m getting is that you’re aiming for a Grim Fandango vibe. Is this apt? Can you tell us a little more bit about the setting?
AR: I think the Grim Fandango vibe comes mostly from the outrageous artwork than from the storyboard itself. We wanted out artists to have the flexibility in their creation and imagination. The Underworld is a lot more akin to something like Mad Max meets Shogun (James Clavell’s novel): a place of great chaos and great intrigue, ruled by thieves and cruel leaders. It has its own dynamics. Nothing is sacred. Everything is to be taken with a grain of salt.
JH: What kind of characters will you be interacting with throughout the game?
AR: Throughout the game players will encounter many great characters from a variety of backgrounds, accents and personalities. The player will mostly interact with The Horseman and Bob the Receptionist in the early stages of the game for hints, tips and to get around the Underworld. Yet as the game progresses, the player will meet different characters ranging from the Lower Necropolis Flesh Robbers (yes even in the world of the dead there is still place for crime) to people in the High Society Necropolis levels. Each of these characters will be almost unique by the way they dress, talk and act.
JH: Despite being true to the formula, Telltale games have not exactly grabbed me in the way they would have ten years ago. What are you doing to the genre, if anything, to keep it feeling classic but also modern? Will there be item combination and photo-hunting that are present in their titles?
AR: Yes indeed! We want Dead Man Zand to be a combination of both classical aspects with a mix of modern game-play. Throughout the game players will come across places where they have to make certain decisions, which will affect the rest of the game path, and will need to perform tasks, that will make the game-play easier or harder. For example, if the player needs access to a certain area he/she will be able to gain that access by either speaking to the Gatekeeper who might tell them how to do so or they will need to solve a puzzle. If the player has spoken to the Gatekeeper using certain dialogues, he will grand you access, on the other hand, if the player has used another dialogue path, the Gatekeeper will refuse the right of way, therefore allowing the player to find an alternate route.
JH: Can you give us some examples of what kind of mini-games will be present?
AR: Except from the obvious dialogue paths that the user will have to play around with, Dead Man Zand will offer “tangram” puzzles where the player will need to rearrange the puzzle in a certain timeframe in order to get the full image, map, text and find the hidden clue. We will also be implementing pixel hunts and Easter eggs that can be found all over the Underworld. Since we want to offer the players as much variety as possible we will create different puzzles, yet I may not discuss those as they are either still subject to change or due to the fact that we want to keep it a surprise.
JH: What do you mean by saying the game will have “no dead ends”?
AR: As most people have noticed, some game have a predetermined game path that the player will take or some alternate route which ends the player at the same conclusion or crosses over to the first choice of route in the first place. We do not want Dead Man Zand do be that game where you search for clues, find them, do the tasks in a certain and repetitive way and stop playing. Dead Man Zand will offer a variety of routes and paths that the player will be able to take. Each of these routes will have different tasks, puzzles and ways of completing them that other paths may not have. Additionally, the “no dead ends” will be prominently seen in the dialogues of the game. These dialogues will branch off depending on the answers that the player will chose and those branches will lead to completely different series of events for the player to complete. Unlike in other games, these dialogues do not end up in the same point after exhausting all the possibilities.
JH: In regards to sound design, will the game be voiced? Who is handling the soundtrack? Will the game be available in multiple dialects?
AR: We want the game to be as fun as possible and I guess that reading just text while playing is not where all the fun is. The game will indeed be voiced with a variety of styles and accents as mentioned previously. For now we are looking to offer the game in English and German, but as Mountainwheel Games grows we will offer other languages to choose from. These are yet to be discussed. The soundtrack is handled by our sound team with Michael C. as the lead member. Michael and his team were been able to create great music that set just the right mood for the game.
JH: How are you planning on releasing Dead Man Zand? (platforms, distribution method, pricing, etc)
AR: Dead Man Zand will be solely released for the PC platform which includes Windows, Linux and Mac and we will employ a digital distribution method to allow access to people all over the world. With our digitized world today, we believe that people prefer having something that can be downloaded fast from the comfort of the own home! Therefore digital platform and our own website will be some of the distribution centers for our game.
JH: What is your targeted release date/window?
AR: As much as I would love to tell you, I do not have that information at this point. All of the Mountainwheel Game studio team is working very hard on Dead Man Zand and wants to bring the best possible experience to the players. We are as excited as everyone else to see this game come to life, yet the best time reference is when it’s ready. If I may permit myself to give you a scoop of information, we will be releasing the demo soon enough which is something to look forward to!
Thanks for your time! We’ll check back in once we get a chance to check out Dead Man Zand for ourselves.
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