This Game’s Got Soul: “Spirits” Is Born on the N-Gage

by Louis Bedigian

“The story is an important part of the experience, establishing the context and the motivations for the player.”

Hidden inside the depths of the Electronic Entertainment Expo was an online game for the mobile phone platform.  Not just any mobile phone platform, THE mobile phone platform: the N-Gage.  It’s fairly early into development, but everything I heard and saw left me impressed.

The game is called Spirits.  It’ll take you on a turn-based journey that could last a lifetime…literally.  Since it’s an online game there’s less of an urge to quit when the credits roll.  Consequently, there won’t be credits at all, or an ending to tie things up.  Depending on how massive the multiplayer aspects are, that could be the best thing about it.

Spirits will combine RPG and strategy game elements, though the developer isn’t classifying it as either.  Not much is known outside of what was shown at E3.  We were, however, able to squeeze a few more details out of the game’s producer, Mats Westerlund.  It wasn’t easy, but after hours of torture (we forced him to watch the first Tomb Raider movie), he gave in to our demands.

Spirits has a story that's very clever. Please share this intriguing tale with us.

Mats Westerlund: Thank you, we are really fond of our story. The missions in the game include story pieces. In the game we will reveal the complex storyline as part of the gameplay, so we don’t want to spoil it entirely for you.

But in short the story is as follows:

Once upon a time control over Spirits were limited to a few, but these days anybody can do it. All because of a secret military weapons research program called Force Majeure, a depressed doctor, a management which brought in an innocent girl and a dead twin brother. And even though the roles seem clear, it's hard to say who's to blame for the rise of the CUT – a doomsday sect with enough resources to fulfill their own prophecy.

Who ends up being the enemy?

MW: The enemy is actually a doomsday sect called the CUT. They use their control over the Spirits to end the over population in the world.

You and you friends use your connection to prevent the CUT from succeeding.

Spirits is a card game, but it's also considered an RPG. Describe the battles -- explain the ins and outs of the combat system.

MW: We don’t see this as an RPG. And although the game resembles a card game there are no physical cards involved. You collect Spirits in your N-Gage.

The combat system works as followed:

You set up a team with six Spirits from your collection. Then you enter the Duel Field. The fighting sequence is Tick based. This means that you perform your actions at the same time as your opponent. After a certain time the game plays out the selected moves on the Field. While the actions are being played out you set up your next set of moves.

You battle by using Direct, and Range Attacks. And there are also defensive moves.

The Duels are balanced by the Value of Greatness (VOG), which every team has.

At E3 I saw images of the card battles, but nothing else. What will the game world be like outside of combat?

MW: The player interacts with the game in many ways. When hunting for new Spirits, the player uses a somewhat abstract energy tool to reach into the Spirit dimension. As the Spirit collection grows, it needs to be managed. The game allows the player to easily view the Spirits, trade them, and set up duel teams using a relatively straightforward and icon-based interface.

Another key aspect of the game is the community. Players interact in the game using familiar tools like forums and a messaging system. The story, finally, is an important part of the experience, establishing the context and the motivations for the player. This is conveyed primarily through the missions, which are brief sequences of images and sounds that sometimes present pieces of the story along with the challenge at hand.

Tell us about the different ways that players can acquire new cards.

MW: First of all there is the Hunt. This is where you view the Spirit world, and search for new Spirits. You get a number of Hunts with the game, and you can always buy new Hunts if you wish to. The better you get at hunting the more chance you have to catch rare Spirits.

You can also trade Spirits with your friends.

Are there any attributes besides earth, wind, fire and water?

MW: One Spirit belongs to an Element, a Type, and a Variation. There are those 4 elements mentioned in the question, 12 types per Element, and then there are 8 variations. This sums up to 384 Spirits.

You will also be able to give your Spirits special powers called "Lights" by performing rituals where you sacrifice existing Spirits.

Is Spirits like Pokemon in that it's nearly impossible for one gamer to have each and every card?

MW: There are 384 Spirits, so a dedicated player can achieve that. The number of Lights, on the other hand, is virtually infinite.

The gameplay requires that you use your Spirits collection in a clever way, rather than trying to get each and every Spirit.

Does the game end when you run out of cards? Or is that determined in another way?

MW: We have an ending to the Mission mode, but since the gameplay is actually just as much about collecting and competing against other players, the game will never end :)

And you can always buy Hunt credits to get more Spirits if you wish.

Since this is an MMOG, I take it the N-Gage Arena battles will be between real players and not between a ghost player. Is that correct?

MW: Yes, you will be able to play against real players; this is the core of the game. But the exact Arena features will be revealed at the end of this summer.

How do the battles play out? How much of a visual display will be put on?

MW: The battles play out as tick based. So you make your moves at the same time as your opponent, and when your actions are being played out on the screen you work on your next moves.

The visual will be much like a chess game with your Spirits lined up against your opponents. There will be graphical effects showing your actions taken, for instance a fireball being thrown off from a fire Spirit.

Interesting.  Thanks for your time.