Gry.o2.pl interview with Prominence Lead Programmer Kevin McGrath

Andrzej "Klecha" Klimczuk: As an intro, tell us a few things about yourself and your role in the development team.
Kevin McGrath:  I'm the programmer and co-designer for Prominence. I am also responsible for the script and story development for the game. I'm also an avid game-player of 27 some-odd years.

AK: Can you describe the type of gameplay you guys are trying to develop for Prominence?
KM:  Prominence is a first-person panoramic adventure game utilizing a simple point-and-click interface. We are working on making the interface as easy as possible to use. A good adventure game should offer challenging puzzles to the player, but the game's own interface should not be one of them.

Our design mantra for the gameplay style in Prominence has been "a game we'd want to play". We're developers, but we're gamers, too. As players, we feel that the best games have certain things in common: they have a compelling story, they're fun to play, and they have an intuitive interface. These are the qualities that we're striving for in Prominence.

We want to make Prominence an experience that anyone can pick up and play, including people who don't normally play adventure games. With this in mind, we've included several aids for new adventure players, including a complete tutorial to help them get started.

AK: Who is the main character and what is the storyline behind his involvement in the game's opening events?
KM:  Since Prominence is a first-person perspective game, we have built the game upon the concept that the main character, while being a character in the story, is also representative of the player in the game. A design decision we made early on is that the player knows only as much as the main character knows, and vice versa. So, you'll never get into the situation where your character is familiar with other characters, and yet you as the player have no idea who these people are. The player will have to learn who the main character is and their place in the story. However, it should be noted that this isn't an "amnesia game". While a goal in the beginning of the game is to discover who you are, this only serves to introduce you to the story as opposed to being the story.

AK: Why did you decide to make a science-fiction adventure game?
KM:  Our decision to make an adventure game based in the science-fiction genre was based on several factors. Mike (Morrison, the other co-designer,) and I are both avid sci-fi fans and we love the genre. In the early days of kicking around ideas, we explored several genres to work in, and we always kept coming back to the story of Prominence. This story works best within the realm of science fiction. There's been a general lack of adventure games featuring science fiction settings, and we felt that there was an opportunity to use the genre's unique features to make a refreshingly new experience for the player.

AK: What kinds of locations and settings will be seen in Prominence?
KM:   Prominence's story occurs during a time when a race of humans is settling a distant world in order to escape an oppressive regime. The game itself takes place within and around a multi-level, high-tech environment which is meant to start the fledgling settlement on this new world. Each floor of the facility incorporates design elements that reflect its purpose. As the player moves between floors and eventually outside, they will experience a variety of different visual spaces and also gain more understanding of the Letarri people.

AK: What sorts of puzzles will be featured in the game?
KM:   We have designed multiple types of puzzles in Prominence. While there are some inventory puzzles, there are also a variety of GUI and environmental puzzles that will challenge the player. We've designed the puzzles in the game so that they integrate into the story and setting as seamlessly as possible. In addition, we've designed several of the challenges facing the player to have more than one solution, so that the player may choose which path they take to overcome a particular obstacle in their way.

AK: Approximately how many hours of play will the game offer? What about replayability?
KM:   We're still working on the game and it's our first title, so it's hard to estimate right now, but we're targeting 15-20 hours of game play based upon the number of puzzles and environments we have in comparison to other games. The branching storyline and multiple puzzle solutions provide the player with a chance to re-explore the game once they have finished it.

AK: What other unique features will Prominence have?
KM:   One of the more interesting features of Prominence is the inclusion of a compelling science-fiction story and how its elements are used within the game. Our story is based around a failing settlement effort by an entire culture, called the Letarri, who are seeking refuge from tyranny. Often in games, it seems like new cultures are introduced in order to create more puzzles in the game, as though the primary goal of the culture is to confound its members with obtuse challenges. We include the cultural aspects of the Letarri to support the story, as opposed to merely increasing the amount and strangeness of the puzzles in the game.

AK: What can you tell us about the graphics engine that will be used for the game?
KM:   Prominence is built using a modified version of the SCream engine, which is the engine that powered the adventure game Scratches, from Nucleosys. We've modified the engine to increase the screen and texture resolutions while still keeping the engine running well on low-end machines. Support for GUI puzzles and changes to the interface are also being added to better reflect our game's environment and setting. We are including more support for animated effects in Prominence.

AK: What about the music soundtrack and effects in Prominence?
KM:   In order to really make a game that's a memorable experience, you need good sound effects and music. If it's done well, you don't notice it but it definitely adds to the experience. If it's done poorly, you definitely notice it and it drags the whole game down. It's something of a challenge to get right, and our answer for this challenge is Tom Griffith. When Tom comes into the studio and produces audio assets, you know that he "gets it". He understands what we're trying to do with the game and the story behind what's going on inside the game, and he takes that and produces assets that fit right in. The first time I heard the first iteration of the main menu music, I knew we had hired the right guy for the job.

AK: Are there plans to release a demo for Prominence before its release and if so, what will it contain?
KM:   There are definite plans to release a demo before the game comes out. It will include some of the early portions of the game so that potential customers can try out Prominence and see if they like it before they buy it.

AK: At the moment, what is the current status of the game's progress and when will it be in stores?
KM:   Right now, we're waist-deep in production for Prominence. As far as when Prominence will be in stores, we'd like to finish it in 2008, but it may release in 2009.