Interview: Knightmare

['Dardos 3]

Interview: Knightmare

"For the far, far future I have something really big in mind."

 

Interview by TibiaBR Team, via email.

 

 

 

TibiaBR - Hello Knightmare! You're a very known person, mostly by the older players, but, do you mind of talking a little bit of yourself, for the the newer players to know you better?

 

Knightmare - I started about a long time ago as a Tibia player. When I started Tibia it was quite different and 10 people online at once was 'crowded'. I was active in the growing community and with the transition to a Tibia similar to that what you know I became one of the first gamemasters. When Cip (not cipsoft by then) was looking for help to edit parts of their world I volunteered. The first version of the worldbuilding tool was incredibly clumsy and difficult. Many volunteers gave up without submitting anything significant. I got accustomed to the tool and finished the first version of the Plains of Havoc. With that been done I took up the abandoned Ab'Dendriel and Kazordoon projects. When Tibia turned from a student project into something commercial I, along with others, was tasked to supervise some of the gamemasters. All the while I continued to contribute content like areas and NPCs. When Tibia became more and more a success Cipsoft decided to hire employees for certain tasks and I was asked to join as the first content creator. I stayed in the company since then and since the gamemaster supervision was phased to an own department I concentrate solely on the content for the game Tibia.

In my spare time I read a lot of books and do some writing. Both mostly in the fantasy genre. I play pen and paper RPGs since more then two decades. I have a vast collection of RPG rulebooks and source books of different games. I also play various video games, mostly RPGs or strategy games. I am less skilled and interested in shooters or jump and run games.

In my work for Tibia I use my experience to create background stories and plot ideas.

 

 

TibiaBR - Is your work so much different than like 4 or 5 years ago?

 

Knightmare - I think with the growth of Tibia and CipSoft it is only natural that things change. There is much more to be coordinated and standards have been established that serve as guidelines that were absent in the past. Our tools have improved as well as the feedback from the community has improved.

The original tools for content creation were somewhat clumsy and never intended to help in the fast and efficient creation of content. The next generation tool was an enormous step forward and it has been improved ever since.

While in the beginning of Tibia feedback from the community was very direct, with the growing of the game and the community the feedback became less focused and the opinion of the majority of the players harder to follow and evaluate.

The community management serves as a counterpoint to that situation and has helped us a lot to get a better picture of the players wants and needs.

With the growth of Tibia and the company, specialisation became more and more necessary. For me that meant to concentrate more on the content and less on other issues as rule enforcement and balancing issues.

Where the old Tibia was based solely on my ideas contentwise (minus the contribution of others in the very distant past), we now decide as a team what will be added next. So there is a greater pool of ideas and opinions to draw upon, which leads to a greater variety of content in general.

The updates itself became bigger and more ambitious so it would not be possible for a single person to cope up with the workload.

 

 

TibiaBR - You're one of the oldest CipSoft employees. Because of this, how's your familiarity with your content team mates? Do your ideas have a different value when you guys are setting the ways of an update?

 

Knightmare - We are a team and we make our decisions as a team. Due to my familiarity with the background I can help to integrate new ideas and concepts in the overall framework but that does not make my opinion more important. When you create something as a team, it is important to have a common vision of the project. If you lack that vision you'd lack the ability to communicate your ideas to each other. We usually talk a lot about the concepts we are planning to use and there is a concept paper that contains all important aspects of the new ideas. This is the common ground on which our work is based. From that point on we work individually on our parts of the project, but of course we get feedback from each other.

 

 

TibiaBR - We know you have designed a lot of quests and areas on Tibia, being a great contribution to the content. In your opinion, what's your masterpiece in the game?

 

Knightmare - Usually I am quite excited how the latest and newest content is received.

For a long time I liked Rookgaard best. I created it from the scratch and it provided a rounded up challenge with an appropriate progression in it's limited content and was nicely balanced. It introduced the first rudimentary quests for Tibia. I liked the constant progression by level and equipment. I also liked the fun of team play there and I even liked the slower pace of all things, even combat. Well, from a 'modern' point of view I'd change several things about it though and it is still somewhat hampered by the restrictions of the past.

What is still very important for me is the ongoing work on Tibia's background story. I think that is one of the most important aspects of my work for me. The background grows steadily, the process is never finished. It started with the creation myth and became more and more complex, almost a thing with a life on its own. Several aspects of this background are 'backstage'. That is, they are more or less hidden and obscured. People tend to think what they read in (real life) history books is the one and only, true and definite history of the world. Well it isn't. What we read in books was pictured out by historians from several source texts that they took as reference. Those texts are often biased and sometimes forged, sometimes based on misconceptions or hearsay. Instead of providing a definite history without doubts of blind spots, I try to give the players source material. In most cases they have to picture out the course of events on their own. It's their choice which text or NPC they believe. It's up to them to cross reference texts to figure out what truly happened. Of course it's not everyone's taste to do that kind of research or read about the research of others. But the material is there and it's growing and I think it provides a framework for their adventures that would probably feel dull if that framework would be absent, even for those less interested in it. I am a storyteller and like to tell stories, sometimes people enjoy listening ;o)

 

 

TibiaBR - The work of designing content on a game is like art. Every artist has his work inspired on idols. Where do your influences come from? From what movies, comics, books, songs or games you get your inspiration to write, create and design?

 

Knightmare - The process of content creation is not solely based on the integration of influences. There is a long phase of planning ahead and an even longer phase of realising these plans. So there is not much space for spontaneous influences. When I read something in a book or see something in a movie I rather integrate it into a pen and paper roleplaying game that I am running with friends than to try to integrate it into the production process of Tibia.

Other hindrances are the restrictions we have technically. When I created the Ankrahmun Tombs I had this Indiana Jones scene in my mind, in which he had to flee from this rolling boulder. I really wanted to add something like this but it was technically not possible. So I finally ended up with the deathslicers which are a far stretch from the rolling boulder. So even if there are inspirations, they are likely remote and often unrecognisable.

Allusions are a completely different issue though. I simply love them. They add some humour and players usually love to discover them. Allusions are more or less self serving though. Adding something as an allusion does not necessarily mean that one of us is a huge fan of the particular thing mentioned. They serve as a more or less comic relief and a sign that Tibia does not take itself exaggeratedly serious.

That being said, of course we are not free of influences. When we talk about certain aspects we have some archetypical ideas in our minds of course. The new area of Zao has a certain Asian look of course and though in Egypt no one actually lived in pyramids they are of course archetypical for a desert environment.

Other influences might be more or less subconscious. Thinking about the Nightmare Knights and Brotherhood of Bones storyline I created, I saw similarities to the Jedi and the Sith in some way. On the other hand, elements of the story are influenced by the real world Knight Templars. As you see, it's often not perfectly clear where inspirations might have come from, not even for the creator, but I certainly refrain from copying something fanboyishly 1:1 into Tibia.

 

 

TibiaBR - This question is like the previous one, just a little more specific. At some places on the game, we can see a lot of references to other games, books, movies, etc., like the note with "Irkm Desmet Daem", found in Rookgaard, reference to the game Bard's Tale. Do you like putting these references on your work? There are more obscure references that nobody found out yet? There's any meaning to Tibia on these references?

 

Knightmare - As I said earlier, I love allusions and small hints for those who are interested in them. Actually I like them that much that even I can't tell anymore where I added them and how many there might be. I sometimes check the allusion pages of fansites to see what has been found by the players. Sometimes players see allusions where there weren't any intended. Some allusions are more complicated and can't be found without some guesswork on the other hand. Kazordoon's name for instance was only secondarily based on Tolkins dwarfen mine but actually the majority of it's name is based on Brigadoon, as a symbol for a city hidden from a great war.

So some of the more obscure allusions might not have been found out indeed but if you on the other hand see where players see allusions where none was intended you'll recognize that it really is a tricky subject.

I can't remember any allusions that would be really important to understand the meaning of anything ingame. Well, ok. Thinking about it, I remember at least one, but it's more important storywise than relevant to gameplay ;o)

 

 

TibiaBR - Tibian languages, such as the Orc Language and the Beholder Language were created in a well worked way, with grammar rules and everything, just like the sindarin and other Tolkien languages?

 

Knightmare - The orc language was an early quest device. Admittedly, probably too complicated and spoiler vulnerable for a closed environment like Rookgaard but it was very basic. Even the stuff the orc monsters are saying had (partly) some meaning but most of it was never formally written down and it would be rather hard even for me to reconstruct it.

The beholder language is a completely different issue though. We hired an actual beholder to write down texts for us. It resides still in the company basement and refuses to leave. The screaming of the dwarfs we have to feed him once a day haunts us even in our dreams. The worst thing is we have no means to tell if the beholder actually wrote down what we dictated him. Chances are his texts are some tasteless jokes and bad beholder poetry. Yet no one in the office had the guts to voice our doubts towards the beholder. Have you ever heard of the CipSoft employee Hans Christian Strakeldum? No? We neither after he went down into the cellar to tell the beholder to stop whistling that loud ...

 

 

TibiaBR - Some books on the game have authors, such as Puldrak and Iregarn. Are these nicknames from real person on CipSoft?

 

Knightmare - No they aren't. Most in-game books are written by me and the fictional authors are a plot device for consistency and the mentioned study of source material. I cannot recall to have used some reference to CipSoft employees in one of the books at all.

 

 

TibiaBR - At another interview, you have revealed that there were some quests that had not been discovered yet. As it was a long time ago, it's impossible for us to not ask: and now, how's the quest situation for the players?

 

Knightmare - Well, the problem starts with the definition of quests (I am not sure at all if I was referring to 'quests' or rather 'secrets' back then). If you think of a quest as something that shows up in your questlog and/or provides some (Tibian) physical reward, then most quests are well recorded and explored. The community of so many game worlds exploring and sharing their knowledge leaves little room for unsolved quests in the long run. It is debatable how much work effort is acceptable for content that no one might see at all. Still there is room for a mystery here and there. But if such quests exist it would be challenging to ensure somehow they are not easily spoiled ...

 

 

TibiaBR - What do you guys from CipSoft feel about creating a wonderful content that many times isn't explored and enjoyed by some players?

 

Knightmare - I think in the long run you can't escape the content ;o) Seriously. Though you don't check every tree and flower in your adventures, you'd still recognize it if they'd be gone. Some content serves as background and scenery. All content gives Tibia it's personality. So this kind of background fleshes out what the world is about and even if a player is not particularly interested in such topics, he will learn about it by interaction with other players or watching the general channel.

The background is there and can be experienced in an intensity that suits every player's playing style. After all it is a game and supposed to be fun so there is no reason to force the player to experience content just because 'it's there'.

Of course there are other kinds of content that are not accessed that often. For content that is 'too difficult for certain levels' it is still content people 'experience'. People know of the content ahead and probably plan around that in anticipation. For a while an inaccessible dungeon might serve as a carrot on a stick but at a certain point the player will get his carrot. With the growing number of high levelled players, we have to ensure that even they find some appropriate challenges.

 

 

TibiaBR - Is there any thoughs inside CipSoft to bring back the possibility to insert some of player-made content in-game?

 

Knightmare - As far as I know there are no such plans. Even when there were contributions of players in the past, it was not without problems. A great deal of tasks were never finished and the enthusiasm dwindled as curiosity was satisfied and the whole thing turned into work. Even with the new tools it still takes time to build an area and to learn how to do it right. It is not as easy as it might seem. Then there would be a lot of internal work to be done to check and integrate that work into the game. Even before, voluntary work had to be checked regularly and had to be adjusted by the creators. There would have to be deadlines and the like which hamper the hobby aspect even further. I think as it is, it would not be fun for the external helper and it would not lessen the workload internally. Though you should never say never, as far as I know and by my personal evaluation I don't see such a program any time soon.

 

 

TibiaBR - There are many of your ideas that could not be used in Tibia because of any reason, like client restriction or lack of appropriate theme? Wich ones?

 

Knightmare - As mentioned above, there are lots of restrictions concerning what can be implemented and what can't. The thing is, the more you work with the tools at hand the more you get accustomed to these barriers and the more you begin to think in these boundaries. After some practice you simply don't come up with ideas that are not possible. When you know what is possible you learn to handle the restrictions. If you love a certain problematic idea very much, you will have to find a way to make it possible in the spirit of the original idea as good as possible with the tools at hand. The same goes for ideas that were seen as inappropriate for Tibia. You might be able to conserve some of them in a way, otherwise you have to dump them.

For instance an idea I had for Carlin was a pyramid city in the water with many bridges. Carlin was supposed to be more similar to Thais though and a pyramid Venice was seen as a bit too exotic. I used the ideas later in more conventional ways for Venore (a swamp Venice) and Ankrahmun (with pyramid housing).

While brainstorming concepts to add new content and challenges, it is only natural that a lot of ideas are never ever implemented for several reasons. Over the years they have become that numerous that it is hard to recall them and most are not worth to remember at all ;o)

For curiosity's sake though, I remember I had an idea of invaders from a parallel world or dimension who would try to steal magic and Yalahar (formerly known as Dalahar). It begun as an idea of a city under siege by demon hordes with only the city core intact.

 

 

TibiaBR - Is there any non-explored theme that you would like to address in a future update? And could you give us some hint of what lies ahead in the summer update?

 

Knightmare - The summer update brings us more of Zao in riddles and rulers. Mysteries will be revealed and fates unfold ...

For the near future I can't give you any solid information since things are still in planning and as pointed out can change a lot in the process. For the far, far future I have something REALLY big in mind and I am still figuring out what will be possible and what not. To give you a feeling about what I mean with BIG, I can tell you, the Ruthless Seven will be only minor participants ... but that will not happen any time soon and might take quite a while to play out in full by introducing certain elements step by step.

 

 

TibiaBR - To finish the interview, do you have any message for our Brazilian Tibia players? Thank you!

 

Knightmare - Well my message would be this: Are you still reading...? Go and play that stuff I worked so hard for! And read that books I wrote or I'll tell that beholder you didn't like his books ;oP

 

Credits: TibiaBR