Eragon Interview October 23, 2006 John JCal Callaham

Introduction

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FiringSquad: First, what can you tell us about how the deal for making the Eragon game came about?

Tim Ramage: We had been looking at the book at about the same time 20th Century Fox was securing the rights to the property. Fortunately, the production team here at Vivendi Games had a great relationship with Fox…all three of us involved on the title actually came from Fox Interactive. As a result, we were able to come in and pitch a game idea for the franchise. Fox liked our pitch and we were granted the rights to publish the video game for the movie.

FiringSquad: Why was Stormfront Studios elected to develop the game?

Tim Ramage: Stormfront was actually one of the reasons our pitch was successful. Again, we had a prior relationship with Stormfront which exposed us to their capabilities, as a developer of successful movie franchise games and third-person, action/adventure style games in the fantasy genre. They were a perfect fit for Eragon.

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FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the game's storyline and does it follow the movie version or will there be elements of the novel added as well?

Tim Ramage: We were fortunate that Fox gave us the ability to not only draw from the movie, but also from the entire book universe. This allowed us to put together a unique franchise plan for Eragon. The console and PC versions follow the movie the closest. We hit all of the story points based upon the movie script. However, in order to create a compelling game experience, we have to go beyond what appears on the big screen, so the book was valuable in helping us extend what happens in the game beyond the screen. This was even more valuable when we undertook the Xbox 360 version of the game. We were able to build two new levels and a new enemy unique the Xbox 360 which drew heavily upon the book fiction.

For the handheld versions, Amaze Entertainment really wanted to create three different experiences that were unique to each platform. All three, PSP, DS & GBA follow the movie, but then add elements from the book that extend the game play in accordance with the respective style of game. For example, the DS is an epic Action RPG which takes the player not only through the environments of the movie (you’ll recognize environments from the movie which appear in the game), but also feature locales and characters that are unique to the book. The GBA version is a traditional turn-based RPG which actually allows the player to play with characters from the movie that don’t appear in the console and PC versions of the game…and again, you will encounter characters and locales from the book that aren’t in the movie.

And for those who can’t get enough dragon flight in the console versions, the PSP is a dragon flight-only game with a story mode and a dog fighting arena mode that features 11 different types of multiplayer game play that can be played solo against bots, or with up to three other friends.

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FiringSquad: What sort of help and feedback did the development team receive from the cast and crew of the movie version and is the author of the originan novel involved in any way?

Tim Ramage: Since 20th Century Fox licensed the game rights for the movie, we worked closely with key creative personnel to make sure we were bringing the vision of the movie into the game. This included access to concept art, discussions with the Director and Producers, visits to the set of the movie and reference material from ILM and WETA.

From a cast standpoint, we were able to include the likenesses of all the major characters from the movie in the game, as well as the voices of four principle actors, Ed Speleers (Eragon), Sienna Guillory (Arya), Garrett Hedlund (Murtagh) and Robert Carlyle (Durza).

Eragon Game Interview (con't)

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Tim Ramage: First and foremost, the Eragon license is ideal for a hack & slash, action/adventure. The hero has a sword, a bow and eventually, the ability to use magic. Then you add a dragon and it gets even more interesting.

FiringSquad: What playable characters will be available in the game?

Tim Ramage: In the single player experience, you will get to play as Eragon, and as Saphira. In the cooperative game play mode, the second player will get to play as the mentor Brom for the first half of the game, then as the wily Murtagh in the second half. During dragon flight levels, one player plays as Saphira, while the other player controls Eragon on her back.

FiringSquad: What kind of missions and locations will be featured in the Eragon game?

Tim Ramage: Most of the mission are composed of a nice variety of hack slash game play, with a bit of stealth and puzzle solving thrown in. Then, for a quarter of the game, you will play controlled flight missions with Saphira, where you’re reigning terror down from above on hapless Urgals and Soldiers…and even a couple of sub-bosses. Most of the locations that appear in the movie will be featured in the game.

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FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the combat in the game, especially the dragon combat?

Tim Ramage: We built a melee combat system that is straightforward in execution…simple three button combos that are easy to learn and execute. But as the player progresses, the setups and the enemies will become more sophisticated. As a result, the player will quickly find that button mashing won’t work…and the key to defeating your enemies lies in the ability to link basic combos to more advanced combos, resulting in dynamic and rewarding power moves and grapples.
As the game advances you’ll also have to rely on your bow and combat magic (such as lighting your enemies on fire, or repelling them off of cliffs or into other enemies) in order to be successful. We want the player to utilize the entire arsenal of abilities that Eragon has as a result of his Dragon Rider legacy.

And to that end, the ultimate realization of the Dragon Rider legacy is the involvement of Saphira, the dragon. She will act as an AI ally, swooping in to take out enemies on her own; she will also act as a “smart bomb,” where the player as Eragon can call her in to take out enemies is specific areas of a level; and of course there will be levels where the player actually controls Saphira in the air, wreaking havoc and devastation on her enemies below.

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FiringSquad: What other important gameplay features will Eragon have?

Tim Ramage: Drop-in cooperative multiplayer game play. At any time a second player can plug in and seamlessly take control of the ally character. Stormfront designed the game to support cooperative game play from the very beginning. As a result, the camera is optimized to support both single player and cooperative game play…with no jarring changes of camera or perspective.

Eragon Game Interview (con't)

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Tim Ramage: One word: GORGEOUS! I really think we’re pushing the current gen consoles visually and we’re taking full advantage of the next generation capabilities of the 360.

FiringSquad: Will there be any differences between the current gen and next-gen console versions of the game?

Tim Ramage: The Xbox 360 version of the game will feature two new levels taken from the book, as well as a new, and terrifying, kick-ass enemy—the Kull.

FiringSquad: Are there plans for playable demos of the game to be released?

Tim Ramage: We will have demos for the PS2, Xbox, PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

FiringSquad: What is the current status of the game's progress and when will it be released?

Tim Ramage: Eragon the game is now gold on all platforms: PS2, Xbox, PC, Xbox 360, PSP, DS & GBA. These will be in stores November 15th.