Interviews

Limbo of the Lost has been in development since approximately 1995, what have you learned development-wise during that span and how has the game evolved?

The game has been in development but on different platforms from ATARI ST to AMIGA/CD 32 and now the PC, The PC version has only really been in development for just over 2 years. The game has evolved in every aspect whether it be graphical or musical, we had to basically re-create everything from the ground up for the PC version. The only thing that was left in-tact was the base background story. Regarding learning curve, everyone in the team had to learn new technologies for the current version this in itself took time and dedication, the latter has never faulted throughout the creation process from 16bit to 32bit.

Do you believe that you have been able to maintain your original vision for the game, or have you found it necessary to change with the times?                                  

Limbo has changed there is no doubting that but more in a way of technology and tool sets rather than the original concept. That has always been strong and the backbone that has allowed us to dust it off after being shelved for many a year.

Can you tell us a little about each of the development team members?

Sure,  the team consists of: - 

Tim Croucher  (UK) - Researcher and assistant vocalist, game designer/playtester.

I met Tim right at the beginning of the project, we were both adventure game fans and decided to make an adventure game of our own – Limbo of the Lost was born.

Laurence Francis (UK) – Puzzles, Lead vocalist and assistant game designer/Musician.

Laurence joined the team when we were starting the Amiga version and has been a strong member ever since.  Laurence is the voice of the main character – Benjamin Spooner Briggs as well as other characters in LIMBO.

Marko "Gravehill" Hautamäki (Germany) – Level-Atmosphere Musician.

I got to know Marko from a forum I was on and he was looking to work on a game project. I heard some of his work and was suitably impressed. To date he has done more than 13 musical pieces for the game. Marko is the newest team member.

Lisa Highsted (UK) – Contracts and Support

Lisa sorts out contract negotiations / publishers, she joined the team on the PC version of the game. She also play-tests and reviews content on a regular basis. 

Heather Banks (UK) – Playtester &  Support

Heather helps out on playtesting the game, general development feedback and development support. She too joined the team on the PC version

Myself - Steve Bovis  (UK) -  Creative/Project Director

That then leaves me, my job is to put the game together and create all the visuals, coding, sounds, models, marketing and basically make the game flow and work.  As well as manage and try to motivate the team. A job that is hard enough at the best of times!

As you can see we are a small team and with that comes pluses and minuses, the plus is that development costs are low and we have 100% creative decision. The negative is the time it takes to create game content with such a small team.

Can you provide us with some background on the game’s plot and theme?

The main background story revolves around 2 forces that play with Mankind and its past, present and future. These forces – FATE (evil) and DESTINY (good) are twin brethren and have battled each other since time began. At the start of the game 6 contests have been fought, 3 victories a piece. The game is the 7th and final battle between good and evil, if evil wins then the 7th door to the netherworld will be open and Apocalypse will reign. If good is the victor then mankind is saved and will flourish. FATE has chosen a realm of puzzles and the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse who govern the realm as his weapon. DESTINY has chosen the player with their cunning and human intellect as his weapon of choice to help and aide the main character – Benjamin Spooner Briggs Captain of the ill fated Mary Celeste.

To bait Mankind, a bauble of human curiosity has been crafted, and as in past occasions has been placed in the mortal world, waiting for lamb to find it.  This book – The book of Sufferance, promises dreams and desires, power and wealth, but upon breaking the seal and opening the book the poor unfortunate is pulled into LIMBO. This realm the lies between the mortal world and that of the other side is the home to The Keep of Lost Souls, a vast floating monolith that houses the lost dead souls of many a friend & foe.

The player must help Captain Briggs reunite the seal with the book, thus closing the 7th gate and defeating FATE.  

The theme of the game is a macabre/sinister adventure tale, with a twist of humor and a dash of mystery.

Besides Captain Briggs are there any other characters in the game?

Yes there are loads of characters, around 30 NPC characters. Some are nasty some are nice. Some you will meet multiple times on different levels. All are very quirky and probably not what you are expecting.

Is the Ouija board still a major component of the game?

The OUIJA board is the Interface the player uses to contact Briggs in the land of the dead. From this interface the player can ask Briggs to do certain things as well as save/load the game and other game options, like the built-in game manual – THE SPIRIT GUIDE that the player is given at the start of the game, this guide holds details on how to play the game as well as secrets & special features that are unlocked as the player progresses.  Remember though the player only asks Briggs to do actions, he/she does not totally control him. But rest assured he will tell the player!

How many levels or rooms comprise the Keep? And does every room or level need to be visited in order to complete the game?

The Keep has 6 levels which comprise of scenes (rooms) there are approx 200 scenes and then there are the 7 deadly sin ending levels. Each one of these Sin endings is a level in itself and all are unique. By the time you get to the end you will know you have been on an adventure!

What type of graphics engine was used for the game?

The graphics engine is a 2D/3D hybrid, utilizing 3D characters with 2D overlays and backgrounds. Scene shading and layering, particle emitters and auto scaling.

Are the puzzles mostly inventory-based or are there a variety of puzzle types?

The puzzles you will face are inventory and logic based, as well as character and scene based. There are no sliding puzzles or moving crates – Yuck! However there are timed puzzles, in fact they are timed levels, end levels to be exact.

Near the end of the game the player has to choose their Destiny, choose their Fate, they must choose one of the 7 Deadly Sin endings. These endings are all different but all lead to the same goal (reuniting the seal of sufferance with the Book of sufferance and thus closing the 7th gate of despair and cheating FATE.) are timed by an on screen timer. The Bottled Soul Timer. The player needs to complete the Sin level they have chosen within the time limit before Captain Briggs’s soul is tainted with the Sin that the player has previously selected. Some are easier than others but the choice is yours to make.  Oh and by the way the player cannot save the game once he/she has selected a Sin ending! “Once again Cousin Time wields his mighty sword”

Is there any other game on the market that you can compare Limbo of the Lost        too or is it totally unique?

Taking LOTL as a whole there is no one game that I would say it is like. The genre is not unique, the point and click adventure has been around for years, but LIMBO is unique, it melds story telling with a gaming mechanic that will make the player think, laugh and above all they will be entertained from start to finish. The player does not control the game, the game controls the player and asks him/her for their help. In reward the player will experience an engrossing and enjoyable tale. How many games do that today?

Thank you for your time.  I’m sure Just Adventure readers will be looking       forward to the release of Limbo of the Lost

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