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Michi Lantz Interview by Skinny Minnie
Minnie: Hi, Michi! Congratulations on doing such a fine job on Zelenhgorm, and thank you so much for consenting to an interview! I do have a few questions for you if you can spare the time, both to satiate my own curiosity and to better inform our adventure-gaming readers ... Michi: I'll try to answer all your questions. Here we go, then! Minnie: Since Software Abroad is no longer distributing Zelenhgorm: The Land of the Blue Moon, has a new distributor been found? When will the first episode of the game (The Great Ship) be available for purchase in stores or from the online web shop of Moloto's holding company, Federation X? Is the retail price per episode from Federation X to be $39 US dollars including shipping? Michi: We have discussions and negotiations going on with several major distributors and publishers regarding the distribution of Zelenhgorm on all major markets, e.g., U.S., U.K., Scandinavia, Europe, Australia, and so on. This week the deal with a Scandinavian distributor will be signed. It's very exciting to have that kind of interest! Regarding pricing, the $39.95 is set so far and will not include shipping. The game will be available on our own on-line shop at our holding company's website at www.federationx.com/shop. Keep an eye on the address on a daily basis. Minnie: Are there still plans to release the Zelenhgorm: The Land of the Blue Moon game in three separate parts as explained in Moloto's literature (first The Great Ship, then the upcoming The Voice of Water and finally The Dark Below)? What are the expected release dates for the two still-forthcoming episodes? Michi: I think I have to clarify this. The storyline of the Zelenhgorm computer game is divided into a trilogy, three parts. Each of these parts will be further divided into episodes. So this first trilogy part, Zelenhgorm: The Great Ship, will have three or four episodes. How many episodes the other trilogy parts will have is not decided yet! The expected release on the next episode will be revealed within a few months. I want to see how the market reacts. So far the overall response is good, very good. It looks like Zelenhgorm will have a prosperous future. Minnie: I have acquired more inventory items in this first episode than most superstore hardware chains sell in a year, some of which did not get used at all! Will I have to keep the first episode installed on my hard drive, inventory items intact, until the next episode ships (or back up my saves)? Will each successive episode's installation layer over the previous one and meld it into one whole program (with previous locales and inventory items still accessible)? Michi: Yes, yes and yes. But if unforeseen events and major changes in market development occur, this could change. Minnie: Will much of the symbolism and ancient foreign language alluded to in the first episode be decipherable by the player in episode two? Michi: Yes, if you learn how to read! (smiles) Minnie: I just loved the smooth flow of the 360-degree cursor movement and panning. One of my favorite aspects of the game was how well the sheer mass of the beautiful, weather-beaten ship was depicted, although getting a single, representative screenshot was pretty much impossible! I truly felt like my head was craning backward as I panned upward toward the ship's masts ... I ducked quickly as I panned low on my way to the cabin door ... I want to steer the ship! I want to steer the ship! When do I get to pull that sucker out of port? I'm a left-hander myself, you know! Michi: Ha ha, I know what you mean! You're out of there next episode, if you know how to get the damned sucker started! Minnie: As a thrill-seeking adventure player, I was excited to note that there was a save-anywhere feature in Zelenhgorm. After all, within ten minutes of starting the game I had drowned, been shackled overnight by authorities, and ticked off 95% of the town's inhabitants to the point where the guards and I were on a first-name basis (their names were all "Halberd")! I even got beaten up and eventually executed. I did notice, though, that if I went back to previous saves and played conversations out in a less, er, "Minnie-like" manner and snuck around more stealthily, I could make my way along through inventory-puzzle heaven without death or dismemberment. Were these multiple paths through the game intentional to appease both the thrill-seekers and the meek at heart? Michi: Yes; the ambition was to make an interactive FMV game, like an interactive movie. We wanted to provide the player the freedom to explore the world at her/his own pace. For the player to be able to feel the depth and complexity of Zelenhgorm, we had to have great variety. It's as simple as that; different people want different things. Otherwise, we could have made a movie and told the story in a more traditional, linear way. Minnie: The understandable lack of completion in storyline aside, my main complaint was that The Great Ship was just too short! Will successive episodes be any longer? Michi: I understand your concern. I share that. We had to, due to different production and financial reasons, divide the parts into episodes. It's preferable to have longer episodes and we'll definitely see to that! As the technique has developed a great deal, and now that we're quite experienced in producing an FMV game, I think we'll be very efficient as we go on. But at the time, I had to make a decision, and I did. Minnie: I have been a fan of full-motion video and live actors in computer games since they first appeared, and I do realize that it can be quite a costly way to produce a game. Even so, could a way be made available for perhaps downloading the episodes of the game at a reduced price to keep the final trilogy cost down for the player? Michi: It might; we're looking into every aspect that would make Zelenhgorm a desirable concept and game for the market. My two main concerns are the story and the players. I'd love to see the initial players stay on for the ride. I can promise you that it will be one heck of an absorbing experience! Minnie: The quaint beauty of the fishing village and the decorative motif of the ship were impressive, but the live actors were the crowning touch in immersing me within the game's world. Will any of the cast be making comebacks in the subsequent releases? Heaving that ship off the shore without Grandma just won't be the same! I'll appoint her my map reader! Michi: (Laughs) I like her too. Yes, some of them will. But you're going to love some of the characters to come. There are going to be some really hilarious and exciting Zelenhgorm inhabitants in subsequent episodes. Minnie: I've heard of plans for literary works and possible TV spin-offs of the game. Are there any books or short stories about Zelenhgorm completed and ready for publishing? Will the same actors from the game be used in TV or movie versions of the story? Michi: There are a lot of stories. Jointly with the interactive adventure, we have the possibility to develop the concept and go deeper into the history, mythology, geography and parallel stories of Zelenhgorm in the production or novels, graphic novels, pure computer games, films, TV series and other merchandising products. The internet will be of central importance in the production of the concept, both as a sales channel for the products and merchandise and as an independent medium for the development of the concept. Our website is under the process of being updated since we're close to the release of episode one. Some actors will appear in other formats, but the other stories are primarily told from another time than in the game on the Zelenhgorm timeline. Minnie: Thank you so much for your time, Michi, and again, congratulations on a job well done. I sincerely wish for Moloto's success with the Zelenhgorm series! Michi: Thank you! I hope we keep in touch, and see you in Zelenhgorm! |
