| Interview: Julian LeFay In Conversation | |
|---|---|
| (link) | |
| Medium/Format | Physical Magazine |
| Date | November 1996 |
| Interviewee(s) | Julian Lefay |
| Hosted By | PC Games |
[UESP Editor's Note: This is a translation of the original magazine interview, which was in German. All rights to the content belongs to PC Games magazine.]
Interview: Julian LeFay in conversation
Bethesda Softworks' lead programmer Julian LeFay, previously responsible for Arena, the first chapter of The Elder Scrolls, showed us the nearly finished game in detail. In an interview, he explained Daggerfall's most important features and also commented on the lack of network support and VGA graphics.
PC Games: The Elder Scrolls: Arena was released in the spring of 1994. What have you been doing for the last two and a half years?
Julian LeFay: Strictly speaking, we've been working exclusively on the development of Daggerfall. However, we had to take a few detours to get there: for example, in order to develop a 3D engine that would also be usable for future projects, we first created Terminator: Future Shock, which demonstrates the capabilities of our software. Most of the work happened behind the scenes; the player doesn't see much of it. We developed software tools for virtually every purpose, which allows Daggerfall and future games to be developed more quickly and cleanly.
PC Games: How would you describe Daggerfall? What sets it apart from other role-playing games?
Julian LeFay: I would try to describe both with the term "freedom." In Daggerfall, the player has as much freedom as we could and wanted to give them. It's almost a simulation, though we naturally left out features like nose-blowing. Additionally, Daggerfall is rendered in true 3D. That means it's not just a 3D viewpoint; houses and dungeons really have multiple floors and sloped levels. Also, Daggerfall is very engaging: the many stories, some of which overlap one another, keep the player constantly on their toes.
PC Games: How was the world map brought to life? Did you use real cities and people as models?
Julian LeFay: We designed the most important cities and characters by hand. That is, everything connected to the main story and the areas surrounding those locations. Of course, we couldn't design all 15,000 locations ourselves, so we gave our computer templates, which it used to generate a wide variety of settlements.
PC Games: Is it possible to visit the entire world of Tamriel?
Julian LeFay: No. Absolutely not. None of us have ever seen all of Tamriel. There are over 15,000 unique locations on the map, plus an unknown number of townhouses—it's utterly impossible to explore everything.
PC Games: Daggerfall is a city in a typical fantasy role-playing world. The medieval-looking cities and characters aren't that different from those of existing role-playing games.
Julian LeFay: I have to admit, I like traditional games and stories. We didn't want to create something bizarre. Of course, we could have chosen to include a Death Cycle or a Stargate, but it's relatively difficult to write a convincing and captivating story around things like that. Depth of gameplay is far more important than visual similarities or differences to games like Ultima. What really matters is the gameplay, the content, and the things the player can do in the game. I think players will agree with me. Not everything has to be wildly super-original, as long as it's well-liked.
PC Games: Is there anything you're particularly proud of?
Julian LeFay: What I really like about the game is the freedom it offers. With the ItemMaker, SpellMaker, and CharacterMaker, we tried to give players as much freedom as possible. With all this freedom, players can create their very own game. With a custom character class, their own magical items and spells, everyone creates a unique world. That’s what truly sets it apart from other games. And even while the player enjoys this freedom, the game still maintains control. Even though the player can do almost anything that comes to mind, they’ll never be able to crash the software, escape the storyline, or get lost in the game. That’s why we implemented an extensive storyline and over 100 mini-stories. The player will never ask, “What am I actually doing here?” The only other game that gave players similar freedom was Ultima Underworld. Even there, the player could make many free choices and still have fun. Origin really did a great job with Ultima Underworld.
PC Games: The characters in Daggerfall are elaborately rendered...
Julian LeFay: Oh, yes. They're really beautiful. What you can see is truly magnificent. If you're more than a few centimeters away from the screen, you'd think the entire graphics were rendered in real time. Especially with the characters, we designed some very attractive art pieces.
PC Games: ...are you trying to appeal to adventure game players with that? Hardcore RPG fans still enjoy text-based MUDs on the internet, after all.
Julian LeFay: Yes, I know. As nice as adventure games are, they give the player no real freedom. We’re trying to offer the best of both worlds for both types of players: beautiful graphics, logical puzzles, a good story, and beyond that, the freedom to play with a highly personal and completely unique character however they want.
PC Games: Why didn't you implement network or internet capabilities?
Julian LeFay: Well, actually, it was planned for Daggerfall. What’s currently available in terms of online role-playing games doesn’t compare to standalone products. An online version of Daggerfall was meant to be played just like the single-player version. That idea was part of the design from the beginning. But we had to scrap those plans because we didn’t have enough time and resources. Maybe we’ll do multiplayer games in the future, but right now we simply don’t have the time. We’re a pretty small company. Our resources are limited.
PC Games: So the third chapter of The Elder Scrolls won't be network-enabled either?
Julian LeFay: Well, I can’t say for sure. It’s very complex to account for all aspects of a network game. We do have excellent software tools that save us a lot of work, but still, players shouldn’t have to wait three more years for a sequel. I can’t promise that the third chapter of The Elder Scrolls will have network support, but the idea hasn’t been scrapped yet.
PC Games: So in plain terms, are you waiting to see if Ultima Online is a success?
Julian LeFay: No. That decision will be made entirely independently. But we’ll face the same problems. A game for thousands of players requires an entirely new programming logic and a central server, and I’m not sure players are willing to pay a lot of money for that. Unfortunately, as a programmer, I also have to worry about profitability. We’re not like the big software houses that can afford a flop. We need to ensure every game is a high-quality product and therefore a success.
PC Games: The interface is very easy to use and reminds one of Terminator: Future Shock and other 3D action games. Was that intentional?
Julian LeFay: We weren’t thinking of action gamers when we designed it. Some might still enjoy it. The game involves more than just running around and shooting monsters, though if that's what I want, I can do it. The game has a very high frame rate, real 3D, light-sourcing, and all kinds of weapons and enemies. Still, the challenge level is relatively low; there’s no high score, no monster kill counter. We didn’t intend to send the player on a monster hunt. With this game, we wanted to offer the player a true adventure in a foreign world.
PC Games: In what way is Daggerfall supposed to attract customers more than other role-playing games?
Julian LeFay: Yes. I think the most important thing is the amount of gameplay the buyer gets. It takes over 100 hours to play through the main story, another 100 hours for the many mini-stories, and even if you just wander around doing whatever comes to mind, you’ll have a lot of fun. The price-to-content ratio will be unmatched even in the RPG genre. That’s important to me. I want to make sure players feel they’ve made a good deal with my game.
Julian Lefay
Julian LeFay has been chief programmer at Bethesda Softworks since 1987. He combines programming skills and a command of numerous computer languages with his artistic flair; as a graphic designer and musician, he is able to envision the planned software precisely, even in the early project planning stages. His most important project to date is The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, although his main focus has long since shifted to the third chapter of the series, which he hopes to complete in about a year. The native Dane lives primarily on nearly raw hamburgers, which he drowns in ketchup before eating.