I don’t want to go into detail and reveal something about someone’s life; but someone who has been a part of Neverending Nights has really lost their way. Many have reached out to them to try and help them; and they have accepted it, but fallen again. They’re at a very, very, very low point in their lives; and I pray that they can turn it around and come back to us. I know I am being ambiguous with this; but I would rather not reveal the person’s name or situation. Only that they were a part of NeN, and I am wishing the best for them – and asking all of you to pray for them and keep them in your thoughts.
REALMS OF ARKANIA has long been a strong influence in my life. The games are some of my favorite CRPG games, ever. (There’s even several references to Realms of Arkania in Neverending Nights – such as the Blade of Destiny, the mention of the Star Trail, etc etc).
Well, one of the makers of Realms of Arkania is kicking off a Kickstarter campaign for a game that sounds amazing! Enter Thorvalla!
Legendary computer game designer Guido Henkel is ready to bring you a re-imagined approach to fantasy computer RPGs
If you are unable to make your pledge through Kickstarter, you can also back us through Paypal by visiting the official Thorvalla website
Thorvalla is a new fantasy computer RPG that pays homage to the classics, but also takes role-playing into new gameplay territory. Getting away from the veneer of bombastic linear storytelling that modern games have to offer, Thorvalla brings back many of the traits that made classic computer RPGs such memorable experiences. At the same time, it expands the experience and reinvents the way certain game mechanics are being handled.
The result is a game that will feel fresh and reinvigorated, as you tackle the mainstay of good role-playing games: adventure and exploration, character development, critical decision making, and… yes… combat!
There is nothing that frightens the sea-faring men of Thorvalla, not even the dragons, fearsome, fire-breathing beasts they harness like the horses they feed them.
Enter a world steeped in Norse mythology, tribal mysticism and sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Meet a people as rugged and fearless as the elements they weather, fueled by an indomitable spirit of adventure. Come face to face with monsters, beasts and denizens of the Underworld in a heroic tale of conquest. Come, enter Thorvalla!
Featuring single-player party-based play, Thorvalla allows you to take advantage of the traits and abilities of a variety of NPCs that you can add to your party as the story unfolds. Along with meaningful character interaction and a wealth of dialogue, these kinds of decisions influence not only how the story evolves but also the strategies you will have to apply in order to succeed and progress through the game. Unlike modern RPGs, in Thorvalla, there won’t be any babysitting the player, funneling you down a virtually linear path of no-defeat. This is going to be an RPG where you will have to save your game… often.
Oh, and did we tell you about the dragons? Yes, they will be there. Some friendly, others not so much. Mostly not so much. Nasty problem, that… but it’s all good. Some dragons are your friend. In fact, some will serve and fight for you. Harness a dragon and he is yours to command.
This is fantasy with a real air force, but don’t expect a first person dragon flight simulator. We are still talking about a hard core role-playing game that throws you into a world of adventure, filled with twisting plots and missions.
Thorvalla is a single-player, top-down role-playing game. We are currently evaluating technologies to determine exactly which approach we will take with the game. While we are set on using a top-down view, there are still many questions that will have to be answered, such as whether to use an isometric view, or a perspectively correct top-down view, or to forgo that kind of presentation for a mix consisting of pre-rendered 2D backgrounds that interact with 3D objects and characters, or a fully 3D environment with a fixed third-person viewpoint. Nothing has been decided yet on this, and the project’s pre-production phase will serve to allow us to evaluate, prototype and test different approaches to see which works best for our needs.
One thing we can tell you, however, is that the game will in part be inspired by trading card games. Don’t misunderstand, however. Thorwalla is not a card game! Instead, it functions much more like a traditional RPG with turn-based combat. The difference will be in that the cards represent, supplement and enhance the characters’ abilities, much in the way traditional character attributes do.
In addition, instead of providing a huge one-piece game world—which typically end up being mostly barren landscapes—the game hearkens back to more traditional computer role-playing games, by implementing a system that focuses on specific areas and connects them through a map.
As in the Realms of Arkania games, the travel map will be one of the most exciting features, actually, as countless events, missions and encounters are hidden in the map that will be unlocked as the story unfolds. Occasionally, you will find a hidden path, based on information you may have obtained elsewhere. At other times you may find yourself ambushed, while on other occasions yet, you may just have managed to avoid a trap as the result of one of your characters’ many skills. Camping, hunting, gathering, discovering, and healing are just a few of the exciting possibilities the map has to offer the daring adventurer.
But first things, first. Like all serious role playing games, Thorvalla begins with Character Creation. The game will allow you to personalize the look of your character along with certain traits and skills. Choose from eight different classes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, then go ahead and balance out your skills. With a wealth of skills, ranging from the use of certain weapons to things such as sneaking and tracking, you will be able to customize your character to your needs.
Thorvalla is a world rich with magic, and so, naturally, magic is also a pivotal part of the game. If your character class is a spellcaster, you will find valuable attributes and skills to fine-tune your caster’s abilities. But even if your own character does not have magic abilities, you can acquire these by adding a spellcaster NPC to your party as you progress through the game.
Cities, dungeons, strongholds and other places of interest will be playable in the game using a detailed top-down view. As you walk through these large areas, you will be able to interact with the structures, the people, the objects and more, using a simple point and click interface that is streamlined for easy play.
You are one of the hardy. One of the people who brave the cold of the North, driven by an indomitable sense of adventure, a calling to explore the world and see what lies beyond the icy spray of the ocean. On this day, like numerous times before, you find yourself leading an expedition into the unknown, when your ship is caught in a rogue storm.
Arriving from the far ends of the world, banks of pregnant, black clouds roll in, swallowing the day in a cloak of cold, dark gray. Whipthorn, your enormous combat dragon, settles restlessly against his restraints that prevent him from sliding over the side and into the roiling sea. He lets out a throaty rumble as he tries to steady himself, but the heave and roll of the ship, makes it hard for the majestic animal to find proper foothold.
The giant wave appears without warning. It simply keeps building in front of you. Higher and higher, it quickly turns into a terrifying wall of water that rolls mercilessly towards the ship. At first, the vessel tries to brave the waters, climbing slowly, but as soon as the wave crests, a deluge of water begins to push and unbalance the ship. It is tossed around on colossal waves, pounded restlessly until the timbers can take it no more. The groan of the dying ship and the splintering of wood fills the air. In a maelstrom of freezing water, accompanied by a deafening roar, the vessel rapidly disappears beneath the surface of the ocean. All hands are lost. All, except you…
With sand in your mouth and the rhythmic rocking of waves lapping at your body, you finally come to. Swept from the seas onto shores unknown, your body is too numb to move. When, at last, thin slivers of sun break through the dark cloud clusters, they help fuel your limbs with life-giving warmth. It takes a few moments for you to clear your head, sit up and pull yourself further up the beach, away from the angry surf that crashes into jagged rocks around you.
I remember! The storm… the wave… the sea devouring us…
You feel your strength returning to your body. Slowly, but as it gathers, your mind begins to wrap itself around your situation, and one thought kicks you into action. Survivors! Maybe there are others.
On unsteady feet you are slogging along the shoreline, heading south in the hope that others might have escaped the icy embrace of the Frozen Strait. There are none. Not for miles.
A strong easterly wind drives the clouds out to sea, allowing the sun to heat up the black rocks around you. Just before you, the ground rises sharply and the beach gives way to high cliffs. Tired and exhausted you limp along the high shoreline. Then, finally, a first sign!
From your vantage viewpoint you recognize pieces of broken wood, driftwood, for sure, from the wreck. But there’s more. Your eyes make out deep ridges on the beach. Something large had been struggling to get ashore, enormous limbs dragging through the sand.
Whipthorn! He’s safe…
The thought instantly kindles a spark of hope inside of you. With the dragon by your side, being stranded in unknown territory would be only half as bad. At least you could take to the air, cross large distances, be away.
But there is more. Your eyes return to the deep marks in the distance. There is blood!
Feverishly, and as quickly as your battered body allows, you descent to the beach, ignoring cuts and bruises as you skit awkwardly down the jagged rocks. You run but stop cold in front of a puddle of blood in the sand. With the sun beating down, you are forced to shield your eyes from the glare as you scan your surroundings for other signs.
The dragon is gone, and you already know, why. The traces are unmistakable. Wheel tracks, horse shoes, human feet… dead human bodies. You are standing at the center of a battle field. Whipthorn may have survived the wreck, but when the wounded animal came ashore here, it had been overpowered and taken by force!
Quickly, you remove yourself from sight, finding refuge in a grove of shrubs. Whoever has the power to overpower a dragon, even a wounded one, was dangerous.
The many years of friendship and companionship with your combat dragon, leave no room for hesitation. I’m coming for you, my friend. I will free you…
Legendary computer RPG designer Guido Henkel is the driving force behind Thorvalla. With almost 30 years of experience in the computer games industry, he has designed and worked on landmark titles, such as Planescape: Torment, Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny, Realms of Arkania: Star Trail, Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva, Fallout 2, Neverwinter Nights and many others. Virtually all of these games have been decorated with awards across the globe as some of the best computer role-playing games, cementing his reputation as one of the industry’s premier computer RPG designers.
Guido Henkel is also the creator and writer of the award-winning supernatural mystery series Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter. Over the past three years he has published eleven individual mysteries in the series, harkening back at the days of traditional pulp fiction dime novels.
Guido has also been on the Board of Advisors for the Game Developers Conference for many years and served as the Chairman of GDC’s Mobile Summit. To bring Thorvalla to life, Guido is teaming up with some of his collaborators from past projects, in addition to including new talent with their own experience and set of skills. The plan is to have the right people for the job available in order to obtain the best possible results.
Among them is Art Director, Thu-Lieu Pham, whose credits include games such as Heroes of Might & Magic 2, and others.
In addition, acclaimed game designer Neal Hallford brings his talents to the team, a man who is known for his love of complex story lines and engaging characters. It is that passion that fueled his work on games such as Betrayal at Krondor, Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra, Planet’s Edge, Champions of Norrath, Lords of Everquest, and Dungeon Siege.
“Thorvalla is a game I’ve wanted to make for some time,” explains Guido Henkel, “because the concept of exploring new gameplay possibilities within the RPG genre have struck a chord with me. At the same time, I have been an independent spirit all my life, never one to go along with current trends and industry fads. The frenetic greed that has turned good game publishers into number-crunching, soulless corporations, looking only as far as their next fiscal quarter, has changed the industry entirely. It is the key reason I have not made a larger game in quite a while. I have been cheated and second-guessed way too many times to put up with it, so the only way for me to really go back into games and make Thorvalla is through channels that keep traditional publishers out of the equation.”
With countless fans asking over the years for a new game by Guido Henkel, fortunately for all of us, Kickstarter offers such a way. It allows you, the fans, to show your support and allow us to make a game incorporating gameplay elements that are a radical departure from traditional RPGs. No publisher would ever go there. Their market analysis would not support such a move. Well, here’s your chance to prove them wrong, and to have a hand in the making of another epic. By supporting Thorvalla, you show us that you are interested in seeing imaginative people go to work and bang out something that has not been done a million times before. This is your chance to help bring to life, perhaps, a completely new generation of RPGs.
Instead of being hidden behind corporate walls of a publisher, you will be able to see exactly what we are doing. With blog posts, screenshots and other info, we will keep all our backers updated regularly to keep you informed abut the progress we make. In such an environment, naturally, we will also seek your feedback, so this kind of communication will go both ways. You will ave the chance to give us feedback, and thus help shape Thorvalla all the way. And, perhaps, best of all, you can get early access to the game and can become part of the beta testing team once we reach that stage. At that point your feedback will be invaluable and help us craft the best product possible.
We put the power in your hands!
Developing full scale games is an expensive proposition and the money we are asking for will allow us to properly staff and fund the project. We understand that $1 million is a lot of money, but there is just no way to make a game of this scope for less. After all, Shadows over Riva cost $1 million to make—and that was 16 years ago!
The idea is to make a good, solid game, and we don’t want to do this half-assed. We are convinced of the potential this game has and will therefore make sure to build a team that brings along only the right talent and skills necessary to the vision.
The planned development time for Thorvalla will be 18 months. We know, we could tell you we will make this happen in 12 months, but Guido’s 30 years of experience have taught us that it is simply not possible to create a top quality game in that amount of time. Building it is one thing, but testing and fine-tuning it is another entirely, taking a lot more time than people typically associate with it.
The project starts with a small team of core members who do the pre-production and prototyping of the game, making sure the concepts are sound and workable. Then, after about 4 months, we will ramp up the team to lay the bricks and put this game together for good.
To show that you are a supporter of Thorvalla, and to help us spread the word far and wide, here are also some buttons for you that you can include on your blog or website. Simply right-click and save the image you like best.
Additional funding will, of course, open up additional possibilities for us, such as the inclusion of new story lines to give the game more breadth, the addition of character classes and more NPCs, and it will allow us to make the overall world bigger.
In addition, additional funding will allow us release the game on other platforms also, such as Apple OSX and Linux.
As with every large game project, there are risks inherent in the technology to be used. With all the experience we have accumulated, however, we feel confident that we can manage our technology needs carefully.
At this time no decisions have been made as to what core engine we will use for the game, but during the initial research phase of the project we will make sure to lock down details such as this so that we can focus all of our energies onto getting the most out of the engine and building a robust framework around it.
In the previous post I talked about Sierra On-Line. This time, I want to focus on a specific person that worked there – his name is Al Lowe. When I first saw KING’S QUEST I, back in 1983 or 1984, I remember being amazed. But there wasn’t much story to the game. Now, not there was much to the game of Leisure Suit Larry in 1987, when it came out – but I was blown away by the graphics, the amount of content, dialogue, and hidden things to be found within the game. I also immediately identified with the off beat humor of Leisure Suit Larry. (And perhaps in way too many ways than I care to admit, I identified with Leisure Suit Larry himself!)
Back then, Sierra used to release a magazine called “InterAction.” And on a while whim, I dressed up in a white shirt, white pants, black tie (I didn’t own an actual ‘leisure suit’ at the time – so this was my effort to capture that feel). I parted my hair on the side, held a wine glass, and drew a picture of what I thought the next Leisure Suit Larry could be called – leaning, oh so coolly against my awesome powerful Tandy 1000SX. I sent the photo in to the magazine, thinking nothing of it.
The next thing I know – I get a letter back (this is way before the days of email, kids!) – asking if they can use my photo for a Leisure Suit Larry contest that they want to do in the InterAction magazine, inspired by my photo. Naturally I agreed! When the Sierra InterAction magazine with my photo showed up – I was floored with what they had done. (If you’re interested, you can see the original photo and what they did over on the Larry Laffer website).
Needless to say, that only sealed my connection that I felt with Larry Laffer.
As I mentioned in the previous post, when Vivendi closed down the Sierra Classic forums, I made the Leisure Suit Larry website to keep Leisure Suit Larry alive. When I did that, I also emailed Al Lowe from his website (which you can find at AlLowe.com and asked her permission to do the site. (I figured Al Lowe wouldn’t have minded at all; but I just wanted to be sure). Al Lowe encouraged me to make the Leisure Suit Larry page I wanted to make (since most of the new Leisure Suit Larry sites that had popped up dealt with the inferior versions of Leisure Suit Larry that Al Lowe was not involved in). The site I developed focused strictly on the games that Al Lowe had done with Leisure Suit Larry.
I batted back emails to Al Lowe over the years, just reminding him (like he needed it), how much his humor helped me in life. It helped – as strange as it sounds – develop my own sense of humor. Made me feel like that – my often crazy humor – wasn’t so absolutely unheard of. It helped me feel comfortable in my own skin. Al Lowe also developed games such as Freddy Pharkas and Torin’s Passage, which I included on the Leisure Suit Larry website. Freddy Pharkas I have many found memories playing with my wife – with the two of us trying to solve the game together. The same with Torin’s Passage – but with Torin’s Passage, I felt something more. I could see Torin’s Passage as a cartoon, and I desperately hoped that it would get sequels.
A few years ago, while chatting with Al Lowe, I asked if he would autograph Leisure Suit Larry 2 (my favorite of the series) and Torin’s Passage, which he graciously did.
Then, when I was writing the 3rd season to Neverending Nights – I knew it would be the final season. I wanted to include Al Lowe within the series – as a way to say thank you for all you have done over the years – and how his games, his laughter, his jokes, brightened my life and often times pushed me through and created memories I still cherish. Al graciously agreed to that as well – and despite his insanely busy life and schedule – managed to dish out the lines. (I gave Al free reign to improv the lines he had been given; which he did in some cases; and I loved it). I still remember when I first heard, “This is Al Lowe, reading for Neverending Nights…” I was absolutely floored!) Al Lowe is a childhood icon to me. He was something I inspired to become (back when my friend Shawn and I developed our own game that we tried to pitch to Sierra way back when!)
It seems somehow fitting that Al Lowe’s episode was also the first one that Jules appeared in (mentioned in the previous post) – since they’re both tied to my love of Sierra Online games.
Sierra On-Line had been my true doorway to the World of Computer Games.
When I first saw KING’S QUEST in 1983 or 1984, on my friend’s father’s computer – my mind was blown that you could control a character and walk around objects. Sierra Online games became an obsession for me – that, to this day – continues. I have collected all the Sierra Games from the classic lines (King’s Quest, Gabriel Knight, Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest), among an assortment of other Sierra (related) titles, like Codename: Iceman, Heart of China, Torin’s Passage, Laura Bow, etc etc.
Who would think that many, many, many years later – I would end up on the Sierra forums (first under the very easy to spell name of ‘Vaprakgruumsh’ – don’t ask unless you’re really bored; then switched to Tymber (see the Lindsay thanks for the details on the name), and eventually just to just Tawmis. On that forum, I met a number of people I clicked with very well. Eventually, Sierra sold to Vivendi (or however that went), and it eventually led to the forums for the classic games being closed and shut down. But a small number of us gathered to host our own sites, to keep the classic games from Sierra alive. Collector made Sierra Help, Alm made (or was a part of) Gabriel Knight Campaign, Andrea made Police Quest, Rudy made the encompassing Sierra Chest, and I made Leisure Suit Larry.
Collector’s Sierra Help page (and mainly the forums) became the “center” hub for all of us who had been on the previous Sierra forum. Now with the forums far more personal, those of us who were on there, really got to know one another. The site had originally been hosted on my Tawmis site, but had grown so rapidly that Collector moved it to its own domain. And there, many of us continued to get closer and closer.
One of the people I got extremely close to was Julie Lieby (or Jules, as I have always known her). One of the places I had always wanted to go – further enhanced by playing Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Father, was New Orleans. Jules, who met (her now fiance) Patrick, had moved to New Orleans to be with him. So we arranged to meet up in New Orleans when I flew out there.
It was one of those things where – yet again, I felt so fortunate – that there was no awkwardness. When we met up, it was like seeing a friend I have always known, and just reuniting with them. Both Jules and Patrick were incredible people. So unbelievably nice, warm, welcoming. They drove out from their home (which was 45 minutes to an hour away) from New Orleans to come hang out and meet me, and be with someone they’d never met in person. I was floored.
So needless to say, it’s become tradition to go back out to New Orleans once a year. The following year, Jules was not able to meet up with us. But the following year after, she was once again able to. I think it was one of my favorite times – because we were really comfortable – and just had such a good time – from being on the wrong Ghost Tour, to the excessive amount of drinking (and unbelievable amount of pictures taken as we walked around!) It was just such an incredible time. Then we went out this year in 2012 – rather than on our traditional January trip – went out there in July (never again… You think you know humidity? You don’t. Not till you have been in New Orleans in July!) But once again, Jules and Patrick joined us again – and we had such a wonderful time. This time, I was even fortunate enough to meet Patrick’s mother and father who had been in town also (as well as Jule’s and Patrick’s dog – Milo, at long last!) One of my favorite things, was Patrick’s father telling them that I looked familiar – and eventually realized it was because of the Christmas card that had been on their fridge, which had a picture of me. Made me feel loved that I was hanging on the fridge.
Meeting Jules, and getting to know her is one of those things that felt like destiny – an obsession from 1983, to modern day, to forums, to my desire to go to New Orleans, to her living there. Whether destiny, fate, or pure chance – I am thankful for the pieces falling as they did – because my life became richer, and more blessed by gaining such an incredible, beautiful, giving, heart warming and loving friend like Jules.
I offered roles to Jules and Patrick; but Patrick declined. Jules appeared in Episode 55: All Time ‘Lowe.’
It’s hard to believe I have known her for 13 years now, and counting.
I first met her at a previous job working for a cable company – we were both going to be working in the call center doing IT Support. I have no idea what it was – but from the instant I saw her, I somehow felt connected to her – and knew I had to get to know her. Her name is Sara Graham (well these days – last few years, actually, she’s sporting the new last name of Cadena). I remember, it was during our orientation in class – I discovered she blushed very easily – and so when they were doing rounds of questions, I purposely said things when it was her turn to make her cheeks flush red. (It’s a good tactic boys, if you want to get a girl’s attention – you constantly embarrass her in public!) I honestly have no idea how she ever tolerated me once we were out of our orientation class, and decided she wanted to be friends with me.
Whatever sadistic behavior in here that made her want to pursue my friendship – I am so very grateful for. There have been periods in our lives, as we both moved on (and away) from the cable company we once worked for – where our lives drifted apart. But no matter what, every so often our lives would intersect once again, and weave back together. The amazing thing is, no matter how much time passes, no matter what’s going on in our lives, when our lives do come back together – there’s never any awkwardness, of looking for conversation. It’s like I just saw her yesterday, but missed her all the days I hadn’t seen her. She’s always been so incredibly supportive of me and everything I do. She encourages me to chase every dream. Every crazy, insane idea I have. She pours her love and support into me.
I love Sara, and always will! Just like I love her husband, Rudy, who is one of the coolest, most down to Earth people you could ever meet. And their kiddo, Reade is just one of the cutest kids ever.
Sara was technically first reference in Episode 33: There Be Pirates. The “Scara Sea” oceans is a reference to Sara’s nickname of “Scara.”
But she made her first real voice appearance in Episode 54: “Back By (Somewhat) Popular Demand” in which Alan the Astounding returns to the series. And as one drinker to another, shares a drink with Sara’s character.
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