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Human Head's Lead
Animator on Rune, Jeff DeWitt agreed to
answer some questions we had for him.
William
Mull (RuneNews.com): Hi Jeff, please let our readers know
who you are, what you do on Rune, and how
you came to work on the game.
Jeff DeWitt (Lead Animator on Rune at Human Head):
My name is Jeff DeWitt and I'm the animator behind Ragnar. I was hired over a
year ago and worked on the creatures until December, after that I started work
on Ragnar.
William: What in particular are you working
on right now? Can you give us a typical day in the life of Jeff DeWitt?
Jeff: Chris and I are trying to add most of the content
of the combat system right now. We've been working on the functionality of it
for the past few months and I think we've got it pretty well nailed down, now
we just need to fill it out. Swipes, Slashes, Chops, Swings, you name it.
William: What is your favorite aspect about
Rune at this stage in the development?
Jeff: Early in the project all we concentrated on
was creating a new style of gameplay, so we went a few months were we didn't have
a lot to show, it was all testing different theories on how to make melee combat
fun, simple and interesting. But now that we've got a good base and we can start
to add content. In turn the game is really starting to come along, everyday something
new is being added and it's very exciting.
William: How was E3 this year? What can
you tell us about your experiences, and the way in which Rune
was received?
Jeff: We had a great E3 showing this year. I think
we really surprised a lot of people, they didn't think a 3rd person melee game
was really going to work. Our camera is smooth, the combat is tight, and the levels
look fabulous. We really wowed people. Guys like Paul Steed and John Romero both
had a lot of wonderful things to say about Rune. That to me is more
satisfying than getting approval from a 12 year old boy or a 50 year old guy in
a business suit. (I hope I didn't just offend half of the people on the planet).
William: I realize this is an entirely
presumptive question on my part, but are there any preliminary plans for a Rune
2 ? If so, is there anything you can divulge about those plans now?
Jeff: Right now all
we're focusing on is Rune. We haven't talked about the future at this point.
William: What computer games are you playing
these days ? What is your all-time favorite game ? Do you go for online games
? If so, what kinds ? How much time do you spend playing as a gamer?
Jeff: As of late I'm still playing Unreal Tournament
and I've been playing Excitebike 64 at home. Both games are fun as hell (even
thought it's a little too easy to get knocked off of your bike in Excite bike).
My favorite game of all time? That's a tuff one….I'd have to say Tecmo Super Bowl
for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've logged more hours on that game then
anyone I know. I probably play games at least a couple hours a night; it mostly
depends on how many good games are out at the time.
William: What is your favorite non-gaming
thing to do? What do you, Jeff DeWitt do in your casual time? What other interests
/ hobbies do you have?
Jeff: I like to draw first and foremost. I try and
do that every night; some nights are better than others. Other than that I like
to play stuff. I try to golf a couple days a week, play on three softball teams,
and in the fall I play football in a league. The summers are like a rush to do
things, it's fun after being cooped up all winter.
William: What advice do you have for those
animators in the mod community, who want to gear up for Rune?
What can you give them, as far as preliminary info so they can go ahead and get
started working in anticipation of the game?
Jeff: Not too much actually. We're still in the content
phase of the game, as we get a little closer to finish I'll take the time to talk
to Paul and maybe write up a little "animation preview" of Rune.
Until then if anyone has specific questions they can e-mail me. I might not be
able to get back to everyone right away but I will answer him or her as soon as
I can.
William: What would you like to tell people
about Madison, Wisconsin, as far as it being a fun, laid-back place to live (complete
with great people w/ funny accents ;), etc.? What are the advantages and/or disadvantages
of being in a game developers' environment away from the typical Texas or California
'scenes', in your estimation / opinion / experience?
Jeff: Madison is great
because it has the atmosphere of a big city with a hometown feel. There are plenty
of things to do and you can still drive from one end of the city to the other
in less than an hour. I'm not too sure about any advantages or disadvantages just
because I've never lived in Texas or California, but I do have to say that it's
much easier to work in the winter when you live here...what else are you going
to do? :)
William: Those big-arsed weapons Ragnar's
carrying . . . man, those are awesome. Can you please go through the list of weapons
and discuss what they do, how they give the player the sense of Ragnar's bodily
strength (a la Soul Caliber's Astaroth) etc.?
Jeff: I don't really
want to go through a list of weapons because I'd like the player to experience
as much of the game with out knowing it first. As everyone knows we have 18 weapons
currently and a few other objects up our sleeves. Each weapon will have it's own
advantages, the weapon the player chooses will most likely depend on the situation
and preference. We're trying to make each weapon unique so Ragnar's fighting styles
will change as he changes weapons. Hammers won't cut limbs off but they will destroy
shields very quickly were a sword might not break down a shield, but you can cut
off the arm that's holding the shield and then you don't have to worry about it.
Smaller weapons will be faster, they might not cause as much damage but you're
more likely to hit a fast moving creature like able a goblin. As the game progresses
we'll introduce the much larger two handed weapons that everyone is anticipating,
these will be slower but they pack quite a punch. All in all the player will have
many different ways to take out any foe that might challenge him or her.
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