 |
|
News Information Media Features Community
|
|
|
|
|
|
. . . your source for news and information on Rebel Act Studios' Severance! |
 |
||
|
Interview with Juan Diaz-Bustamante (December 1999) General Questions BU: How long have you been working for Rebel Act Studios and what did you do before that? If there is anything you want us to know about yourself, here is your chance to do so ;-) Juan: Luis Alarcon and me created Friendware in 1994, one of the main spanish videogames distributers. Friendware and Angel Cuñado, main Rebel's programmer, created Rebel Act Studios in 1996. I am the Marketing / PR manager for both companies. Before that, I worked in a big spanish investment bank (very boring.....) BU: Could you try to describe a normal days work for you as the Marketing / PR-guy for Rebel Act Studios? I've noticed you get to the forums around 09:00, what's next? Juan: I arrive at the office at 9:00, I start my computer and the I check the e-mails and the Rebel forum. Now I check Blade's Universe forum as well! BU: Have any of you guys started to wear armour and carry swords at work and perhaps hunting down by-passers, screaming "Die, you foul beast of Dal Gurak!" or is it only me (Warlock) doing that? Juan: It's happening to us as well! BU: Gremlin was to distribute Blade, but as they now are owned by Infogrames they will stand for the distribution. Has any of this affected the process of marketing and perhaps pushing the release dates even further? Juan: We are very happy with Infogrames taking Blade's distribution. They are a very big and professional company and I am sure that they will do a very good job with Blade. BU: Will the Spanish/South-American version (dist. by Friendware) of Blade be released before the one, dist. by Infogrames? Juan: No. We'll try a simultaneous release. Although the pressure in Spain is big (in some South American big markets like Argentina, Mexico or Chile the game is highly expected as well) it wouldn't be fear to release it before Infogrames does. BU: Can you tell us a bit about the system requirements Blade will have? What's the minimum and recommended requirements, and what do you need for Blade to run truly great in high resolution? Juan: I'll tell it to you more exactly once we finish the optimization of the game. But it will be for sure a PII with 3D card. BU: There has been a lot of uncertainty about the release date of Blade (for the last two years or so hehe) Last we heard is due March/April 2000, should we expect Blade then or should we take it with a grain of salt and settle with "When it's done"? Juan: Infogrames and Friendware are looking forward to a 2nd quarter 2000 release. BU: What do you think Blade will accomplish, that other games have failed at? Are you hoping, with Blade, to push computer games in new directions or are you merely refining what has already been done? Juan: We are looking forward to create an innovative game, both in technology and in design. We didn't want to do any clone. We have been ambitious and I think we are in the right way. BU: What has been you top priorities these past years, in the development of Blade? Juan: Technology and gameplay. BU: How many Blade-logos have there been since the development of Blade started? I'm sure I've seen at least 3 of them ;-) Juan: Yes, 3 logos, I think....... BU: Blade will get a new Web Site with help from Infogrames. Can you tell us a bit on when this will happen and where it will be located? Juan: I have no updates about it. Engine features BU: What sort of animation system will you use? Can you tell us a bit more about it, and how it differs from what we've seen in other games? Juan: Although are movements have been captured from real actors, all characters moves in an incredible near-to-reality way. Every character has a big number of different movements and attacks, including combos! BU: The game engine Blade will use is focused on realism and real physics. I also understand that certain actions can result in modification to the levels. Will the incautious players be able to trip and/or fall through certain surfaces? Will weather effects affect game play as manipulating arrows and the maneuverability of the characters? Can you create holes in walls by setting off a boulder (large rolling rock)? Juan: There are many traps and puzzles in the game related with falling walls, etc..... BU: The Blade engine will be available for licensing. What kind of games do you think the Blade engine would fit for? Juan: Yes. 3D action/adventure/RPG games. BU: A lot of 3d engines are having a hard time with creating believable and large outdoor environments. Many have problems with moving from indoor to outdoor environments as well. One of the engines doing this pretty well must be the Drakan engine. Would you say that the Blade engine can handle these tasks? Juan: Yes, definitively. BU: I've heard that Rebel Act Studios have 3 projects in house for developing, Blade being the first of them. Can you say anything about the other two? Will they be using the Blade engine as well? Are they in the same genre as Blade? Are one of these to be Blade 2? Juan: Yes, they are Blade 2 and some others that we keep in secret...... BU: Word is that you've been fooling around with GeForce T&L support with the DirectX API. Is this something we can expect in the retail version of Blade? How about other hot features as bump mapping (preferably environmental bump mapping, available with the Matrox G400)? Juan: We are working on some new technical features in this way. Let's see if we are on time...... |
||
Webdesign and graphics by Kjerand
Pedersen,
Copyright (c) 1999, 2000 Blade Universe.
All Rights Reserved.
