PC Paradox interviews Jane Jensen
Conducted by PC Paradox - June 1999
PC Paradox: Why is this game entitled: Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned?
Jane Jensen: Because the themes have to do with the power of blood and bloodlines and there are bloodlines of both types in the game.
PC Paradox: What would you consider this game's genre be? Adventure and anything else?
Jane Jensen: In the industry it's definitely classified as an Adventure game. There's really not any more action or fighting or arcade sequences than there have been in the past two GK games.
PC Paradox: What are the major changes made from GKII to GKIII?
Jane Jensen: Mainly the switch from live action video to 3D real-time rendered as the technology. Also, the story is less linear in this game and there are many 'optional' things which the player may or may not find. In GK1 and GK2 there were very few optional activities. GK3 has a more exploratory design.
PC Paradox: What is the basic plot of Gabriel Knight III? Does it pick up where GKII left off?
Jane Jensen: It's about a year later, and Gabriel and Grace have been 'organizing' the Schattenjäger business. The story takes place in the small village of Rennes-le-Château in the south of France and involves royal bloodlines, the holy grail, the Templars and Freemasons, and a buried treasure.
PC Paradox: Where did this plot originate from?
Jane Jensen: It's a combination of things. I knew I wanted to do a vampire story, but wasn't sure what it would actually be about. When I did some reading about a heretical theory involving the holy grail and bloodlines, it started to click. But when I really researched Rennes-le-Château and got into the treasure angle of it, I knew it was perfect game material. The elements of the story fell together at that point.
PC Paradox: How are characters integrated into Gabriel Knight III? Are there many non-significant ones or few very important ones? How many people are in your cast?
Jane Jensen: There's Gabriel, Grace and Mosely, another 6 people on a tour group, about 3 other major suspects that are locals, and another 5 or so locals that are not really suspects. Plus another five or so characters that revolve around Gabriel's employer on this case, Prince James of Albany. The cast is roughly the same size.
PC Paradox: How were the animations made? Did you use motion-capture at all?
Jane Jensen: No, all were done as 3D animations from scratch.
PC Paradox: What type of graphics engine are you using? 3D-accelerated?
Jane Jensen: Yes. It's an original engine we created for the game called the G-Engine. It was designed specifically for adventure games in 3D -- designed to support character and drama driven games in real-time rendered 3D.
PC Paradox: With the graphics, what are you mainly trying to convey theme-wise?
Jane Jensen: Uh . . . it has a bit of a dry, desolate, hot mood.
PC Paradox: What are your focuses in the graphics? Detail? Lighting? Etc.
Jane Jensen: Well, we tried to keep the rooms small so that we can use the maximum polygon counts and bit maps within each environment. It looks pre-rendered.
PC Paradox: What are some of the settings in Gabriel Knight III? Is it a pure realistic world environment or one that is imaginative and creative?
Jane Jensen: It's based on a real place, the valley and town of Rennes-le-Château in France. We have taken some creative license in order to make game play and story work, but all the key, real-life landmarks, etc., that are essential to the real-life mystery of Rennes-le-Château are reproduced faithfully.
PC Paradox: The music, who makes it? What type of music will there be? What do you think is its main purpose for this game?
Jane Jensen: The music is being done by Robert Holmes and David Henry.
PC Paradox: The sounds, will there be many sounds included in this game for every action?
Jane Jensen: Yup. Many sounds are in 3D as well, so as you move around the world, they will change in volume based on where you are in relation to the noise-producing object.
PC Paradox: How will one move around in Gabriel Knight III? What is the basis for controls?
Jane Jensen: It's a bit different -- you move the camera freely within an environment and can separately 'walk' Gabriel or Grace around by clicking on the floor. But when you interact with any object (such as LOOK at a painting or pick something up) Gabriel or Grace will walk into your camera view and do the action. It's an interesting hybrid which allows maximum exploratory freedom while retaining the 3rd person perspective, which we feel is very important in a character-driven game like Gabriel Knight.
PC Paradox: Where did the idea come from to make another Gabriel Knight III?
Jane Jensen: Well, I had always intended another game. The story didn't end with GK2 and it doesn't with GK3. The *project* of GK3 didn't get off the ground until Sierra found a technology prototype they were happy with.
PC Paradox: What are your expectations for this game? What is your target group?
Jane Jensen: I hope that it manages to sell to the existing GK audience and gain new players as well, of course. It will have to do pretty well considering the current stigma on adventure games.
Last update: November 21, 2007
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