The visible evidence of peace and prosperity might easily lead to the impression that all is well. Unfortunately, such is not the case. The Emperor is no longer the man or the leader he once was. Indeed, control of the realm has fallen to Death's Hand, a seemingly invincible warrior whose face remains hidden behind a sinister mask. His followers, the Lotus Assassins, are everywhere, and those brave or foolish enough to speak out against him have a tendency to vanish very soon after. Rule based on respect has been replaced by a reign of terror. Ending it will require someone versed in the martial arts and arcane powers, someone who can learn enough to overcome formidable human and supernatural enemies. With the game about to ship, we set out to learn more from several members of the core team.
Includes five exclusive screenshots
Jonric: How much importance does Jade Empire attach to weapons and items in general? Are there any particularly interesting article you're willing to discuss?
Lead Technical Designer Georg Zoeller: Weapons are a two-tier system in Jade Empire. There are weapon styles (e.g. longsword style) and specific weapons (i.e. Fortune's Favourite). The player is always supplied with a weapon when learning the related weapon style, but he will be able to obtain better, more powerful weapons through the course of the game, in which case the old weapon is replaced by the new, better one - but the player's style point investment into the weapon style carries over.
A very important item in the game is the Dragon Amulet, a powerful artifact the player is granted early in the game that can be upgraded through the course of the story. The Amulet has several "slots" for Spirit Gems - objects that can be found throughout the Jade Empire and that bestow various beneficial (as well as not so beneficial) effects to the player when slotted. Possible effects for Spirit Gems range from a simple bonus to primary abilities while slotted to damage shields or the ability to detect or evade traps.
once you figure out what style your opponent it using, it is up to you to determine which of your fighting styles would be most effectiveAnother cool type of unique, collectible item in Jade Empire are Techniques. These offer permanent enhancements to the player's abilities. Techniques are unique and usually awarded after completing quests, but some of them can be obtained by other means such as finding a series of books on a certain topic.
Jonric: How would you describe the game's magic system and transformation styles plus how they function?
Lead Combat Designer Aidan Scanlan: Chi is the internal energy that can be used and utilized by masters in the Jade Empire. Chi is an integral part to the game world and is also vital to gameplay. Both the magic and transformation skills draw from the player's chi, and are the two most powerful groups of styles a player can learn.
The magic styles are based on the traditional elements. With the magic styles, your character can send out ground tremors, lift opponents into the air in a whirlwind, encase an enemy in ice, or summon a dragon to breath down unearthly fire.
The transformation styles are obtained by capturing the spirits of creatures you defeat. Harnessing these spirits allows you to focus your chi to take shape of the captured creature for a short time. You will be able to use all their powers and abilities of your new shape.
Jonric: What kinds of opponents can players expect to face, and will the AI that controls them present many different types of challenges?
Aidan Scanlan: Enemies in Jade Empire can be broken into the following categories: humans, demons, spirits and creatures. Humans are the most diverse as they can use any of the fighting styles available to the player. This gives an interesting challenge; once you figure out what style your opponent it using, it is up to you to determine which of your fighting styles would be most effective. The other groups of enemies have custom moves, powers and AI that make fighting each one a unique experience.
Jonric: How do other NPCs factor into the play? How important are they overall, and are there any that are especially interesting or significant?
Lead Writer Luke Kristjanson: The number of friendly NPCs is pretty much up to the player, and how set they are on making enemies. There are many opportunities to interact with the world, and these decisions change how the player is viewed by the people.
The roles that NPCs play are as varied as the setting. Some are merely living their lives, trying to deal with the changes that the player can bring. Others may view the player as a potential rival, or an outright threat. It's hard to say who is more interesting than who. We made the characters that oppose you as interesting and understandable in their motives as possible.
The moral layer that we add to our plots really enriches the experience, in my opinion... In the Jade Empire, as in real life, good and evil are not black and white, easy options.I suppose you had best get to know the follower NPCs, the men and women that join with you in your cause, whatever you decide that cause to be. They are important and are often fascinating to talk to. Wild Flower's story is a strange and troubling one, the Black Whirlwind's tales of destruction are often amusing, and the motivations of Sagacious Zu are intriguing to puzzle out. I could go on, but this sort of thing is much better left for you to discover while playing.
Jonric: How have you designed your quests? What's the balance between critical path and optional ones? Is It generally possible to tackle them in more than one way?
Lead Writer Mike Laidlaw: We tend to think of our quests as falling into two categories. The critical path quests are those you have to complete in order to win the game. You don't necessarily have to complete all of them, and there's usually more than one way to complete them, but they are objectives you have to meet to win. I would say roughly half of the quests in Jade Empire fall into that category.
If you think about that, it means that there's a whole lot of game to see that you might miss on your first play through, especially if you charge straight to the end of the game. For those who like to explore, we've added a lot of sub-quests into Jade Empire, and they're pretty broad in scope.
Feel like taking in a play that covers a pivotal moment in the Jade Empire's history? Why not take part in it? Spending time in the Scholar's Garden of the Imperial City? You never know when a lively debate might erupt. You might even get a chance to play matchmaker, track down wanted criminals or fight your way to the top of the Imperial Arena if you're you so inclined.
The thing is, we consciously tend to design our quests so that they have more than one conclusion, and wherever possible, that you feel like you're given the chance to play out the role and character you want to. Yes, that means you can ruin that play, help out the criminals you were tracking down or even cheat your way to the title of Imperial Champion.
Jonric: Please describe the morality / good and evil system in Jade Empire. How does it differ from what BioWare has done before in this area?
Lead Designer Kevin Martens: The morality system in Jade Empire is both a further refinement of the system that we used in Knights of the Old Republic and a step in a new direction. The mechanics of the system are very similar to what we did in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, with the player's actions earning them points on either side of the scale and the further the player goes, the more that their alignment affects their appearance, their relationships, etc. However, we have a distinct difference this time around that we think makes the system more compelling and more realistic.
The moral layer that we add to our plots really enriches the experience, in my opinion. It's not simply the multiple paths or endings and the replay factor, although this is compelling; it's also the ability to evoke emotion in the player. In the Jade Empire, as in real life, good and evil are not black and white, easy options. There are two competing philosophies in the Jade Empire, the Way of the Closed Fist and the Way of the Open Palm.
Despite its name, the Way of the Closed Fist isn't entirely about doing violence. Characters that choose it may be quicker to resort to violence, but a trained warrior can wound just as easily with the open hand as with the closed fist. The Way of the Closed Fist is a philosophy of doing whatever it takes to advance one's own station and interests, regardless of the consequences such actions may have on rest of the world.
Those who follow the Way of the Open Palm believe that strength lies in maintaining one's station, and in considering the greater whole before the parts. The so-called "high path" is concerned with the welfare and prosperity of the people, almost to the exclusion of the individual's safety. Those who walk this path don't seek power; they know true power lies in the strength of community, with all parts of the world machine working together in a perfect cosmic harmony.
Jonric: You said the new system is more compelling and realistic. How did you actually accomplish this?
Kevin Martens: The way these philosophies are applied in the game makes the experience more realistic. What's evil to one person is practical to another. What's clearly the right thing to do to one group of people is purely evil to another. The player is presented with these competing views on what is right and what is wrong all the time, and must often choose between them. The player often has the chance to explain or give reasons for his choices, and how those actions are justified reveals what side of the philosophical fence the individual falls on.
We want the player to think and worry about the choice that he has to make, and we've found that the experience is more meaningful if we do.
It doesn't sacrifice the rich character interaction and role-playing experience that has made BioWare games popular, but has still added a cool action combat system that offers a good amount of depthJonric: What kind of engine and other technology did you use, and did any demands or challenges arise due to the nature of the game?
Lead Programmer Mark Darrah: Jade Empire features a brand new graphics engine that incorporates the lessons learned from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to allow for a truly immersive world. However, the biggest advancement from BioWare's perspective is the introduction of a true real-time combat system. This required the addition of several systems to handle combat that has no pre-generated choreography.
Jonric: What were the major design goals for the interface? Overall, does it resemble the ones players know from your previous titles? What aspects have you improved?
Mark Darrah: As always, our major goal is usability. Much of a player's experience in a game comes from their interaction with the user interface and, therefore, a poor user interface will shape this experience poorly. A player familiar with BioWare's previous games - Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate - will see a lot of familiar items in the conversation system and mini-map. The mini-map has been extended to provide more detailed map with unique icons denoting things like plot givers, stores, areas of interest, etc. The journal has been extended to improve quest organization and better handle the branching choices of a BioWare RPG. For quick style switching, the player will be able to map up to four styles to the D-pad for easy style switching during combat.
Jonric: How did you handle creating the sound elements, who composed the music, and how much voice acting is there?
Kevin Martens: With every game that we make we try to push our sound to a new level. In Jade Empire, I think that we have the best sound that a BioWare game has ever had. The internal audio department expanded quite a bit leading up to Jade Empire's development; the talented crew has done an excellent job, and the game is more immersive than anything we've done.
The music was composed by Jack Wall, who has been excellent to work with. He has been very passionate about the project, and has done some wonderful work; not just with the multitude of game tracks, but also with timing the music to the cutscenes in the game.
As far as voice acting goes, the game is completely voiced. We have over 14,000 lines of recorded dialogue done by 90 voice actors. Just for fun, the game includes a very amusing cameo by a character called Sir Roderick Ponce Von Fontlebottom, the Magnificent Bastard, voiced by the venerable John Cleese.
Jonric: What kinds of gamers will it find Jade Empire most appealing, and given action emphasis, what does it offer hardcore RPG fans?
Kevin Martens: I believe that Jade Empire is our most action-packed and accessible RPG to date, and I hope that this is a game that will bridge the gap between RPGs and action titles. The game is easily accessible to fans of both genres. It doesn't sacrifice the rich character interaction and role-playing experience that has made BioWare games popular, but has still added a cool action combat system that offers a good amount of depth for action players. It keeps a strong tactical element to the combat for the RPG fans.
BioWare has long held the goal of making each release better than its previous ones. In light of the studio's record over the past several years and considering its most recent offering was the consensus game of the year for 2003, the bar has been set high indeed. As we wait anxiously to see the product of their efforts, we thank Georg Zoeller, Aidan Scanlan, Luke Kristjanson, Mike Laidlaw, Kevin Martens and Mark Darrah for this second segment of our very interesting and informative interview.