First let's introduce our readers to who you are and what your job at Ethereal Darkness Interactive is. And, more specifically, how that job relates to Morning's Wrath.Raymond Jacobs I am the owner and founder of Ethereal Darkness Interactive. I acted as producer, lead writer, lead programmer and lead artist on Morning's Wrath. It was my job to ensure the project remained on track, as well as writing parts of the story and puzzles. I also did most of the in-game art.
How did you get started in the business of creating computer games?
Raymond Jacobs Around the age of 14 or 15, after playing many computer games, I decided that developing computer games is what I wanted to do with my life. So from those humble beginnings I started on my journey to become an independent game developer. It has been a very long road but definitely worth the effort.
Your website says that you set out to create a "commercial quality computer game with absolutely no budget". Obviously you've done so, but the real question is, how did you manage such a feat without finding yourself homeless and starving on a street corner somewhere during the process? The words "don't' quit your day job" come to mind when I read that quote.
Raymond Jacobs The answer to not ending up on the street while developing your dream games is just that "don't quit your day job", most of Morning's Wrath was developed while I was employed with a full time job, which meant very long days and weekends totally dedicated to development. This alone shows the incredible dedication we give to our games.
I've just got to ask. Is there a story behind the title of the game, Morning's Wrath?
Raymond Jacobs There is actually. I had just given up on a previous game project which was going nowhere and I was trying to think of a new game that I would like to build. To make a long story short I came up with a fairly typical "castle comes under attack, princess needs to defend it" story, when it came to giving the princess a name, I first chose 'Morgan' since it is a nice name, but it didn't have enough 'zing' to it, so instead I decided to call her 'Morning'. As the story progressed I decided that Morning would be brought to the edge of what she could handle and all of her closest companions would be killed, and in the end her 'wrath' would give her the strength to overcome her enemies. And so the name "Morning's Wrath" was born.
In my review I described Morning's Wrath as "an adventure RPG with a twist." It isn't just an adventure game, its is part puzzle game >>as well. Why branch away from a typical RPG in this way?
Raymond Jacobs I love adventure games, even more than I love RPGs, so i knew whatever game I did it would be part Classic Adventure Game (puzzle game), the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of a Classic Adventure / RPG hybrid, it would satisfy the swing-genre gamers.
The spell system in the game is a little odd. I have to confess that even after hours of play, I still don't totally understand it. Can you explain better how this spell system works?
Raymond Jacobs Ah well let me give you a little tutorial on it because it is very robust, and not many people use it to their advantage. The basis of any spell consists of Magic and Kinetic runes. The easiest analogy is to think of magic runes as ammunition and kinetic runes as the gun you shoot them out of. To make a spell you always start with a magic rune, and you can then follow it with one or more kinetic runes which determine how the magic is dispersed. For instance, Fire Blast, if you double up runes, you get a double damage but it uses double the mana too. Or you could make a spell using Fire Blast Blast. Once you have at least one kinetic rune following the magic rune, you can then place another magic rune. Lets say... Razor. So you can do Fire Blast Razor Blast. There are 24 runes in the game 12 magic 12 kinetic, so the combinations are pretty endless. Just remember each magic rune needs at least one following Kinetic rune.
Where is Morning's Wrath going from here? There have been a few patches since the game was released, and looking at the forums there's even a forum for future features. So what can we expect in the future of the game?
Raymond Jacobs We are currently exploring other sales outlets for Morning's Wrath, it is likely to be patched with new features a few more times, but on the whole we see it as the game which will start our legacy. We know that people are enjoying Morning's Wrath and that is really what we are all about, making games that people enjoy.
Anything else on the horizon for Ethereal Darkness Interactive that you'd like to give us a sneak peak into?
Raymond Jacobs We are currently working on our next title, more info will be made available this summer.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
