Legend of Kilflame Q & A Interview With Small Cave Games

VVGtv XBLIG Interview

Legend of Kilflame Q & A With Small Cave Games

By: Mr. Deeke

On this iteration of VVGtv’s XBLIG Interviews we’ll be sitting down with a written Q & A with Carl Van Ostrand, the developer behind the independent XNA game studio Small Cave Games. This XNA studio is also developing a quite impressive title called “Legend of Kilflame”, a 3-D roleplaying adventure game that’s a direct sequel to Small Cave Games’ first release “Opac’s Journey”. Both games are in the Ophidian Wars saga, and the diverse story arcs are revealed in the title in development.

Ophidian Wars

VVGtv’s questions are written in Blue, whereas Carl Van Ostrand’s answers are written in italics.

1. What games influenced and inspired the development of Legend of Kilflame?

Without a doubt, several classics like Zelda: A Link to the Past and Diablo played a pivotal role in shaping teh game – certainly in some of the core design goals. But titles like Aquaria and Beyond Good and Evil served as inspiration in terms of the storytelling and ambiance.

2. Is Legend of Kilflame planned to enter the Dream. Build. Play. 2011 competition?

Well, we had hoped! I am a big fan of the DBP competition and love watching the bar for XBLIG titles get raised higher and higher every year. We won’t have enough progress to where I’d feel comfortable trying to release something, so we’re just returning focus to getting the development hours in.

We’ll be the drunken fools cheering from the sidelines.

3. While developing Legend of Kilflame, what was the single most difficult aspect?

Just one, eh? Right now I’d say the toughest part is delivering what gamers expect from the genre. 3-D action RPG’s are typically left up to the full-size studios (not a three-man independent team) because they are asset-heavy and very intricate.

You need full rigging/animations, a simple-but-deep interface, smooth and satisfying combat and controls, camera angles and enemy AI, a dialogue script and a story arc…the list goes on and on.

So while we’re delivering something unique to the Xbox Live Indie Games platform, we’re also volunteering comparisons to more recent games with much bigger budgets. To maintain the attention and love of the average gamer, we’ll need to polish all rough edges and meet the standards that have been established.

4a. Can we expect to see a cameo of Opac–the main character in the first Ophidian Wars title–in Legend of Kilflame?

We enjoy the love for Opac, he’s quite a handsome fellow. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but Opac will definitely be making his full 3-D appearance in Legend of Kilflame.

4b. Might Opac be a usable character or perhaps an NPC, or will we just see the heroine–Maya–throughout the game?

What role Opac plays, and why he is trying to locate Maya, is my little secret.

5. Can you give us any highlights or tidbits to chew on while waiting on the game’s release to the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace?

One chewy tidbit that we’re introducing is a mechanic that allows players to see Maya’s thought in a separate window (we’re calling it “Internal Monologue”, or IM).

Players will be able to see what’s on Maya’s mind and react to her thoughts. The benefit and practical application of this mechanic is that it helps players choose dialogue paths, solve quests in certain ways, and uncover clues. It also allows gamers to have a direct connection to Maya’s thoughts and personality, bringing a new level of interaction to the game.

VVGtv would like to thank Carl and the rest of the team at Small Cave Games for this fantastic opportunity for a Q & A Interview focusing on the upcoming Ophidian Wars: Legend of Kilflame XBLIG release.

The developer at Small Cave Games also revealed two exclusive screenshots to VVGtv, which can be found below. These screens display the game’s impressive 3-D graphics and in-game styles, and show off our main character–Maya–in her debut as the central heroine in this Ophidian Wars title.

For more information on Small Cave Games check their official studio website. For info and updates on their upcoming XBLIG release, Ophidian Wars: Legend of Kilflame, be sure to check the official game website.