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Christopher Golden - An interview with one of Chaos Bleeds' scriptwriters.
Storyteller
Tell us a little about the game's story.
The story concerns a little agreement Ethan Rayne has made with The First... you might even call it a challenge. Ethan gets to pick his champions, most of whom come from Sunnydale, and The First gets to choose its champions. Of course, Buffy and the Scoobies don't want to play that game.
There are all sorts of challenges, some of them really funny, some gruesome (having to do with corpses and their eyeballs) and some unsettling and even harrowing. A couple of things we've done we hope will make people laugh, and make those who know about designing these sorts of games very happy, and a few that we think are really going to make some people horrified.
There was one point where we drew the line, but I can't talk about it until the game comes out. And that's only the tip of the iceberg, because the geniuses at Eurocom have added tons of challenges that are going to drive you mad.
Second time lucky
Is there anything you learnt from the first Buffy game that you've applied here?
Yes. We got paid more this time.
It's a hell of a lot of work, writing one of these. The second one has six playable characters, so it was far, far more work than we were prepared for, even after having done the first one. Fortunately, it's also a lot of fun.
We had to write hundreds, which felt like thousands, of one-liners for the combat sequences. Talk about melting your brain. I just hope that unlike the first game, the quips are randomized better this time, because in the first one you only hear about 20 percent of the one-liners we wrote... and you heard a handful of them over and over and over.
"You want a piece of me? I'll give you the whole damn pie!" is a fun Buffy line. But the ten thousandth time you hear it, not so much.
Writing roles
Have you found Ethan Rayne and Sid the Puppet enjoyable characters to write for?
Oh yes. Sid just because he's Sid. He's a perverted little ventriloquist's dummy. What's not to love?
As for Ethan, well I always loved the character, but also, Robin Sachs is a funny, charming gentleman, and it was a pleasure to write for him.
Did scripting for the Buffy actors affect the way you wrote?
Not especially. The only change I could detect was that we were a bit more succinct than we would have to be in a novel.
Cut-scene creativity
What do you see as the differences between writing cut-scenes and animation?
An animation script, like any full length story script, has to tell the entire tale. The cut scenes are just that - bits of cinema that move the story forward to get to the next bit of ass-kicking.
Doing game script stuff is more difficult because we were determined to tell an entire, solid story in the game.
If you did an Angel game, what sort of style would you use?
It would certainly have a different feel, a very different atmosphere, and I think different kinds of puzzles. But I think that, in general, the structure would be similar.
Writer vs coder
What's the relationship between the scriptwriters and the development team like?
We met very early on at their offices in the UK.
We spent a couple of days going over the initial story design, during which time they both suggested a lot of wonderful things and tried to convince us to take certain things out of the game because they would be difficult to do in the time allotted. Some of those things stayed in. Others were cut.
Looking over the level by level designs done by Eurocom, it was easier to understand why they wanted certain things cut, and they added so damn much to the game too. Almost all of the game related (as opposed to story related) puzzles and challenges were invented whole cloth by those guys, and they did a beautiful job.
The last thing you want is a game that's too easy, and I can guarantee that's not going to be the case here. Talk about bang for your buck!
Did any of the bits cut from the game get used in the novel or comic?
Loads! Including a zombie Mayor snake, among others. But you'll just have to go read everything to work it out.
Gripping yarns
What's your view on the place of narrative in games in general?
Personally, I can't imagine not being quickly bored by a game that didn't have a decent narrative. I could name a few that make me snore.
If I've dropped fifty bucks, I want to feel a part of the landscape, and if there isn't a decent narrative, that's not going to be the case. Of course, that doesn't apply to sports games and the like.
What games have you played that impressed you with their narrative?
I have to be honest and say that I'm constantly disappointed by the games I've played. The recent Indiana Jones game, for example, was just soooo freakin' boring. I'm sure there are others that successfully incorporate story, but I haven't run across many.