Sailing the “High Seize” With the Development Team

by Louis Bedigian

“The game is more towards the style of games like Advance Wars mixed with the legendary The Pirates.”

There isn’t a gamer out there who dislikes the idea of controlling a pirate.  They get to pilfer gold, bury ancient treasures, and sail the seas in powerful war ships.

Something we fail to realize is that while controlling a pirate can be fun, being a real pirate would not be so entertaining.  If you’re going to be a pirate you should forget about video games entirely.  Having a wooden leg is bad enough.  Eye patches would inevitably kill your ability to kill in Grand Theft Auto.  And don’t even get me started on that hook you wear in place of a right hand – like you can press buttons with that thing!  Kiss your analog sticks goodbye!

Nonetheless, we still dream of the day when we can sail the high seas with wood under our legs and wood in our teeth.  High Seize, a new strategy game from the makers of Pathway to Glory, is coming exclusively to an N-Gage near you. 

High Seize doesn’t let you become the vicious, one-eyed thieves, but you will have to team up with them, seize many riches, and save your family from pirates who are less-than-friendly.

Hankering for a happy helping of High Seize history, GameZone Online spoke with three of the game’s key developers. 

High Seize is your take on strategy at sea.  Having previously developed Pathway to Glory, was this a natural transition for the development team?

Toni Virhia, Producer: In winter 2004, I developed the very first High Concept of the game based on the feedback we received from the owners of the first N-Gage. The message indicated that type of the game that High Seize has now become would be something players would like to see most on N-gage catalogue.

I hired an external studio that was only dedicated for design to work my High Concept to become the full concept of the game. With that concept, I went trough couple of developers with the concept but none of them really had the capacity I desired – even that some of them were real veterans. I found myself surprisingly disappointed with the quality and working methods of the developers I investigated.

Some time was lost along the search as some looked promising [at first] but closer investigation revealed incompetence. My way of producing a title has been to build up the team for the purpose from zero, having both veterans and newcomers together, as I did with the PTG.

While searching for the developer, I was very happy with the progress we made at the same time with the development of PTG. Thus, instead of looking further for other developers, I decided to build another team for this game within a Red Lynx. So, we started by finding a new project manager.

The Next step was that the Lead Designer was chosen among the designers of PTG team. The pre-production started with some members of the PTG team working together with the newcomers signed to the project. We had quite lengthy pre-production time while establishing the team and developing the PTG at same time. Finally, at the end of pre-production we had the plans, design and team ready to start with the full force. Also, the members of the team that were developing PTG simultaneously were able to join the team with full day commitment.

Miikka Hakuli, Project Manager: Yes, the transition went surprisingly smoothly. The development team of High Seize is a very nice mix of talented newcomers and veterans of Pathway to Glory. The first steps of High Seize were taken already on spring 2004 with the core team members while the PTG development was still preceding full steam.

In the fall 2004, when High Seize's production started with full power and PTG reached the Gold Master, the High Seize team was reinforced by some PTG developers as well as by some new talented guys. Thus the team was full with fresh ideas yet it had a solid base of valuable experience brought by the PTG veterans. 

High Seize is said to have been inspired by Treasure Island.  Does this refer to the story as well as the game play?  If so, could you elaborate?

TV: The very first High Concept was built to serve only the game play needs that I saw players desired. Then came time to search for the game environment and story. My directions were to find a mixture of various familiar elements. Everyone loves the Caribbean Sea and Pirates as well as adventures.

However, the pirate world is actually surprisingly limited. There are pirates, treasure, and the beautiful lady but what then? That is why I think many Pirate movies have flopped – it is very hard to make a really clever story out of them. Of course there are good ones too – like Pirates of the Caribbean.

So, I saw that we need to go for something else as well. The world of Colonialism era was chosen as it brings in the different colonial powers and nationalities etc. So, by mixing the world of Pirates, adventures like Treasure Island, Beautiful colors of the Caribbean Sea, Colonial Powers with their different goals and the beautiful lady and handsome captain, we reached the mix of content that allows one to create a real story that both exciting, traditional, surprising and interesting. To make sure that we reach this I hired a one of the top film scriptwriters in Finland to create the story together with the game team.

Jouni Utriainen, Game Designer: The Treasure Island is of course a loved literature classic, and is dripping with the feeling of adventurous swashbuckling, the dangers and conquests of the sailor life. We wanted to get that exact feeling and atmosphere for High Seize. You know, who wouldn't want the chance to experience an adventure in the era of pirates? We think that to get in the right mood to create an game filled with vast seas, great wooden ships, treasures and pirates, nothing can beat Treasure Island.

To that end, we'd love to hear all about High Seize's story.

JU: The story is about an ex-naval officer, whose retirement plans as a fisherman are interrupted by disturbing news of his father being kidnapped by a notorious pirate lord called Crimson Bob. Getting the father back doesn't prove to be that easy, as Crimson Bob seems to have a deeper agenda, and then other players enter the stage to complicate things further.

The main character is a complex fellow, who has a military background, but is now just trying to find peace. He has a grudge against pirates, but is driven to nearly impossible situations where the only help available the very people he loathes, and… Hey, are you trying to trick us to reveal everything!?  Nope, you have to get the game.  The story and screenplay for the game has been written by a professional screenwriter, whose accomplishments include movies and TV-series, so you'll be sure to get your money's worth of plot twists and turns. 

What sets this game apart from the Pathway to Glory series?  Our readers want to know that this isn't simply the same game set in a watery environment.

 TV: The starting point for the concept was far away from the PTG and so is the game although some elements remind of the genre. The game is more towards the game style of games like Advance Wars mixed with the legendary The Pirates, whereas PTG was more about the mix of point-and-click-genre and Combat Mission. This game also offers "open-world" experience to the gamers with so called Travel Mode that allows player to search for new opening destinations and adventures before entering to the battle mode.

JU: High Seize is a completely different game from Pathway to Glory. The engine, graphics and design were all created from scratch, but of course with the experience from the Pathway to Glory development and success helping on the way. Don't tell anyone, but I personally think that High

Seize is much more fun than Pathway to Glory is...!

Combat: is it turn-based or in real-time?

JU: It's turn-based, but streamlined to be fast and furious.  But of course you can take the time to seriously think about your moves, if that's your style.

Describe a battle for us.  I've got my team prepared and I'm ready to strike.  What next?

JU: Well, I wouldn't maybe call it a team, but more of an armada of different warships and land units, such as cavalries and scorch cannons flinging fiery cannonballs at approaching enemy ships. You can further buildup your forces if you manage to capture villages to make some gold.

To fight against the enemies, such as pirates and fleets of warring nations, you need to study the environment and use it to your advantage. You can launch ambushes from forests or try retreat behind mountain ranges and attack with indirect mortar or cannon fire. But, of course, if you have invested in skills helping in sea combat, you would probably give more emphasis on the sea units, like Man-o-Wars or Mother ships, which can launch sneaky strikes with agile battle-capable rowboats.

Do players have to have their ships lined up next to enemy ships to attack (as is the case with cannonball fights)?

JU: Yes and no. Different units have different attack ranges, so you have to decide which approach fits the best to your commanding style.

Let's discuss the units.  What types of ships are available?  Are another unit types being included?

JU: There's too many to list here, but we have divided the units to three categories: heavy ships that need deep sea to travel, lighter, more faster ships and land units. The units have been designed to offer a lot of variability and possibilities to use different strategies and that all of them are useful at some point. 

How extensive are the N-Gage Arena multiplayer features?  Can I connect to the Arena and play against other gamers in real-time?

JU: Yeah, you can. As was the case with Pathway to Glory, you can play against anyone on the planet, providing they have their own copy of High Seize. You can create friendly (or not-so-friendly) matches where you can decide the different game settings for yourself. The other alternative is to take part in ranked games, where all successes and failures are counted and your ultimate goal is to advance on the ladder and try to achieve the first place on the global list.

What will the four-player Bluetooth battles be like?   Every man for himself, or can players team up and gang up on opposing friends?

JU: You decide! Everyone against everyone is possible, but so is teaming up. Best of all, you can take the drastic action of breaking the team and then try to grab all the glory for yourself. A team cannot be recreated in the same battle, though, so you have to seriously think if you really need more enemies.

Strategy games are a slower breed by nature.  Has it been difficult to keep the challenge high and the combat exciting without removing the strategic aspects?

TV: One of our specific goals I set has been to offer both fast game play as well as deeper slower experience for hardcore gamers. The game offers levels that are especially designed for fast gaming or something that I named as "bus stop gaming." These levels are small, clever and fast. For then lengthier levels player is able to save the progress and continue later. Overall, the balance is bit more towards the faster game play than slower.

JU: It's always challenging that much is sure, but we think we have done a pretty good job. The user interface and game mechanics have been polished and tweaked to offer good balance on strategic thinking and fast-paced action. High Seize is easy and fun to grab and play, even if you don't consider yourself a strategy game player (as I don't!) but it also offers tough challenges for the more experienced strategists.

Thank you for your time.