GZ Interview
10/10/02
 

Behind the scenes of Age of Mythology at the Age of Mythology Ensemble Tour
by Michael Knutson

Today I had the chance to interview several people at Ensemble Studios, the creators of the Age of Empires series, to talk about their latest game Age of Mythology. The interview is divided into three parts: Part one is with Game Designers, Ian Fischer, and Greg Street, and the Director of Technology, Dave Pottinger. They answered general questions about the game. Next we talked to the sound department and were greeted by Kevin McMullan, Music and Sound Artist, and Stephan Rippy, Music and Sound Director. The last interview was an exceptional one; Ensemble Studios was kind enough to let me conduct a private interview with Bruce Shelley, Senior Game Designer; and Tony Goodman, President and CEO. All of the interviews provided valuable information, and behind the scenes look at the making of Age of Mythology.

Part I

Game Designers, Ian Fischer, and Greg Street, and the Director of Technology, Dave Pottinger answered general questions about the game, and explained some of the behind the scenes look into the game.

Why did you choose to go to mythology instead of another age like the rest?

We wanted to take a different approach, and do something different from previous games. This gave us more freedom for creativity and made the game better.

Why did you go with three civilizations and not more?

We wanted to go with mythologies that everyone is familiar with off the bat, that is why we didn't include an Asian, Indian, or Mesopotamian

How many minor Gods did you come up with in the beginning?

There were 17 models for the minor gods

What was the first use/demo of the engine that you had?

A blue humvee driving around the bumpy terrain.

What have you done to balance the game?

We have taken many of the God powers out, and toned many of the other ones down such as Frost and Curse. The game had to be fun, but not cheap, it is hard to make sure that it is balanced all the time.

How long have you been play testing the game?

For at least two years

What are some myth units that didn’t make it? Any changes to them?

A cow that had a fart attack and another special was a stream of firing dung. Myth units did not have special powers in the beginning of the game.

What were the main goals of the Alpha Test?

To see how ESO (the online match making services) went. It turned out to be that "ESO sucked" So that gave us the opportunity to fine tune it and make it much more assessable. Plus it showed us what needed to be better optimized for the final version.

What was your main thing you wanted to be better in this game?

We wanted it to have a deep single player campaign.

What are some ESO features? Patching?

It has instant matchmaking; players can get into a game ASAP and play instead of spending precious time trying to find someone to play against.

The game has an auto patcher that will make upgrading to the latest version much easier.

Any plans to port it to Xbox?

Not at this time.

How accessible did you make the editor for the mod communities?

The editor is much more powerful, including the abilities to make cinematic.

Any plans for the future of ESO, or future games?

Yes we plan to make ESO even better. No comment on the games

Part II - Sound

Next we talked to the sound department and were greeted by Kevin McMullan, Music and Sound Artist, and Stephan Rippy, Music and Sound Director. Before the questions began, they pieced together a miniature movie which showed a little in the development of the sound effects, to get a more inside look into how vital it is for the sounds and music to be place properly into the game.

What kind of places did you get the sounds from?

We got sounds from the zoo, other people, orchestra, and instruments

What sounds did you get from the zoo?

One of the animal sounds we got was a bunch of squawking penguins. After we got back to the office, we fixed the penguins with human’s voices; this makes a really nice and realistic sound for the damned in Hades.

You said orchestra right?

Yes, this was the first game that we went to an orchestra to get the sound. It was a wonderful effect and fits into the game nicely.

Where did you get the main theme?

The theme for the game came in pieces. I (Steven) started on a tune on the piano and just expounded on it till I got it just right. It was wonderful hearing it performed by the orchestra!

Why did you want to make all your own sounds?

Well most games use the same library of sounds, so we wanted to create a unique one, so players won't hear the same sound that is in other games. We are getting more and more sounds that will expound our library for future games!

 What about the taunts? Any Easter eggs?

 There are 36 taunts in all, and a hidden one. Press 999 while playing the game and you will get a surprise;)

Part III

This part of the interview was an exceptional one. Ensemble Studios was kind enough to let me conduct a private interview with Bruce Shelley, Senior Game Designer; and Tony Goodman, President and CEO. They provided a more inside look into the game, and explained what it was like during the final days of production into this game.

What is it like during the final phases of the game?

Well, most important is not to go crazy, so we had a nice schedule worked out:

Mon.-Fri. 10am-11pm

Wed. and Fri. - until 6:00pm

The lead programmers wanted to stay later to make sure that they got the game just right

The final days the company was divided in half. Half worked on Sat. noon till six and the other did the same thing on Sun. The QA got intense. People searched for bugs, loading games, and quitting millions of time, to make sure that there weren’t any bugs in it. When someone finished their task in the game they became part of the QA, to find, report, fix bugs and then repeat to make sure they are all gone.

What is your favorite race to play as? Play style?

I (Bruce) try to play randomly to get familiar with all the civilizations but I am most comfortable playing as Greeks with Hades as my main god. I choose him because of his ability to help arches. I am more of a defense person; I wait till someone attacks me than I counter with everything I got!

Food gathering has changed, why did you decide to make it have unlimited farms and fishing?

Well ever since the first AOE game, hard core players have been asking for less micromanagement. We decided to make them unlimited because it balanced out with the population limit. In a sense the population has become a new resource since you can’t produce millions of farms and ships.

 What is the most enjoyable aspect in the development process?

 There are three:

1.        When we first meet anything is possible, there are no boundaries holding us back.

2.        When it is first playable it is halfway though the project. The concept is great, artwork looks nice, and the game is finally playable at this point and the aim is changing at a daily basis

3.        The last weeks it might be frantic around here but we know that it is 99.9% done. We know that it is a great game, and are excited knowing the fact that gamers will not know what hits them when it goes to retail

Are you making any future games? Want to go into different genre of games?

We are going to split up into several groups and expand. Right now our main focus is RTS since we know how to do them right and make it fun. Plus it is a profitable business right now. We like to try to make new games, different types. We are currently building a new prototype so anything is possible.

How did ESO come about, are there any plans for it?

ESO started as this: once you hit it, you will be in a new game, easy, simple, and direct. We plan to continue to make ESO better and more fun. Set up better rules to where it is controlled better, and make an overall better experience for the gamers

Why did you choose these mythologies and not others such as Asian?

Most of these are dead religions so they won't prove controversial to people. They are rich in terms of overall in material. They are the most recognizable religions. Best continue with others, and it is not offensive

Do you include the historical information you gathered from the game?

Yes, we include all the historical information on it. So players will know what they are controlling and the importance of them

Any hidden Easter eggs?

There are many spread throughout the entire game

Anything else you would like to add?

Well, I (Bruce) feel that this is an educational/historical product that is fun to play. We put the emphasis on the entertainment while teaching others about the history of different people from the beginning of AOE.

While playing the game, people do learn history such as a woman in New Zealand said "My kid is an average student in history class, now after playing he is an outstanding student." People are both learning and being entertained in this game. I like to make games that are fun and educational at the same time.

Plus people are learning new things that have been forgotten, such as the trebuchet. People now know what it is, how it differs from the catapult. I have even seen specials on them on PBS.

 I am very happy for this game and hope fans will enjoy it as much as we have been in creating it!

 Thanks for your time! 

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