Interviews

Rebecca Clements of Cirque De Zale

By: Dimitris Manos

Cirque De Zale Review

This review and interview originally appeared in The Inventory 14 & 15. The Inventory is the Internet's only online, downloadable adventure magazine and is translated into seven different languages. You can download past issues of The Inventory from Just Adventure.

Yourself

- Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a hot, little communist cowgirl currently studying Japanese at a university in Brisbane, Australia. I care for sick kittens in my spare time, as well as drawing semi- (non)profitable Japanese style comics. I discovered AGS while making castles out of my millions of dollars one day, and have made one incredibly successful game since then. I now spend my time travelling the world and teaching others how to make games and find love on the stock market. Sometimes I lie, sometimes I don't. I'm one of the few chosen ones on this earth that know Queen are the greatest band ever. My two great loves are rugby league and karaoke (though sometimes I think karaoke is just playing with my feelings).

- What are your all-time favourite adventure games?

I'm glad you didn't ask me to pick one. Obviously, the first two 'Monkey Island' games are hard to go past, and 'Grim Fandango' is amazing. I love almost all of the old Sierra titles too, particularly 'Quest for Glory' and 'King's Quest'. I have a special little place in my heart for 'Simon the Sorcerer' though.

- Have you played any recent adventures that you enjoyed?

Well, due to almost no decent adventure games being released commercially these days, lately it's been all AGS games. 'Odysseus Kent' is one of the more atmospheric AGS games and it'll always be one of my favourites, though I recently played both '5 Days a Stranger' (by the creator of 'Odysseus Kent') and 'Pleurghburg' and I'd be hard pressed to find many commercial games that could beat those for entertainment value.

Cirque De Zale

- When did you first think of creating an adventure game?

I think everyone who played all the early adventure games had a secret little dream to create their own. I know that while I was growing up, Roberta Williams was one of my first idols and as a result I got it into my head to learn programming (a dream that was thankfully crushed as soon as I started learning and I realised how utterly boring it was). In December of last year I really started thinking seriously about making a game, though I had no idea how I would handle the programming side. Thankfully, I had a couple of friends that knew about AGS and it was probably no more than an hour after I discovered the software that I started scribbling notes for Cirque.

- How long did it take you to create Cirque De Zale in total?

Total? It's hard to say since if another bug pops up, I'll still technically be working on it. Though, aside from little touch-ups, the whole thing from conception to first release probably took a little over 4 months. The bulk of the game was created in 3 months, though I was spending an unholy amount of hours each day working on it as I was on my summer holidays.

- How did you come up with the ... poop boy profession?

I had to give Alexander a humiliating and degrading job (it's always fun to be evil to your main character) as well as putting him in the circus environment so it made sense that he might want to aspire to be the ringleader. I think working with excrement is pretty degrading, though. I mean no offence to all those hard working sanitation worker types out there ... you guys rule!

- Did you have any inspirations when you created Cirque De Zale?

I guess anyone would be able to see that Monkey Island and Guybrush Threepwood were my main inspirations so I won't go on about that. Simon the Sorcerer was also a huge inspiration, I loved his anti-hero sentiment when I first played 'Simon the Sorcerer 2'. I think everything else came from various game and movie stories that I've encountered over the years and have wanted to completely screw around with.

- Alexander Zale is quite obnoxious and meanspirited. Was this a way to escape the stereotype hero framework that most writers work with or did you think it would just be more fun?

Hmm, both! I've always loved stories where they make fun of the usual narrative conventions and stereotypes so I wanted to do a bit of that but of course I wanted to make the game funny as well. I guess that's just my kind of humour. I'm sure anyone who knows me will agree with that. I think Alexander's the kind of guy I'd like to be if I were an 80 year old man (and I really can't wait for that day!).

- During the development of a game it is quite often that the story of the game has to change due to quite a few reasons (i.e. time restrictions, developer realizes some parts of the story don't make sense etc). Did it happen during production of Cirque De Zale as well? Did you have to change the script somehow compared to the original plan or did you stick to the initial idea?

For the most part, I managed to stick to the original idea. There were times during those long, lonely nights in front of the monitor that I was tempted to knock out a couple of rooms and shorten the story, but in the end I'm glad I stuck with it, because I'd be getting even more complaints about the length of the game otherwise! There were quite a few instances of minor script changes here and there but I don't think the game suffered for it. As precious as I am about these things, I managed to let them go.

- Why did you decide to use a Lucasarts-style interface?

I don't know if a Sierra style game was really my style. As much as I love playing those games, what I wanted for Cirque was for it to be a tribute to 'Monkey Island'. I wanted people to get a real sense of nostalgia as they played it, which is exactly the kind of game I'd love to play. It just follows that I give it the same basic GUI as MI and try to make the sprites, dialogue and backgrounds look similar. I really have to thank Proskrito for the template, because there's no way I'd be able to program my own GUI like that.

- What programs did you use to create the characters and backgrounds for Cirque De Zale?

Paint Shop Pro all the way, man! I've never managed to use another paint program. Photoshop in particular I find too... messy. PSP is a great, simple and it's just perfect for the kind of art I typically do.

- Is there any chance we might see a speech add-on for the game?

It's always a possibility that I may lose my mind one day. Really, I don't think so. I've had a few offers from people to do voices for it. I'd like to do other games in the future that use speech and I've got some great people in mind to do the voices when I do, but like I said before, Cirque was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Monkey Island and other Lucasarts games, and so it just wouldn't seem right. Personally, I love being able to imagine the voice you think suits the character yourself. It's been incredibly interesting to hear some of my friends do quotes from the game in voices I never would have imagined. I think that's a nice advantage of text-only games.

- What do you think of the feedback you have received so far for your adventure?

I was -extremely- flattered at the sheer number of compliments I got! I didn't expect that many people to play the game (especially outside of the AGS community) and I thought most of the feedback would be criticism but most people are fine with accepting that it's an amateur game and my first attempt so they forgive a lot of mistakes and shortcomings. The criticism has been great too because now I know exactly the kinds of things I need to work on next time. I don't think, to this date, anyone has said, 'It's crap'... which makes me happy.

- If you could develop Cirque De Zale all over again from the very beginning, what would you do differently?

Go through all that horror again? My god. I guess the only thing I'd do is more beta testing before I released it, and spend a bit more time on Alexander's walk cycle. You people just won't let that go!

- How many times has Cirque De Zale been downloaded so far?

I have absolutely no idea. It's available for download in a few places now, so it's impossible to say. The only link with a counter is on the main AGS page, and that's currently sitting on 1432. I suspect it's a much higher number than that from some of the other links though, especially considering that's it's available at Underdogs (though when I last checked, it was listed as 'Cirque DU Zale').

- Is there ever going to be a Cirque De Zale 2?

Most definitely! I've already written parts of it and I'm going to work towards making it a more professional looking game (and longer, too). I might have done so with the first game if I'd known it was going to get this much attention. Who knows what WACKY things Alexander will get up to next time?

AGS games

- What are in your opinion the top five adventures created with AGS? Which one of them is the best and why?

Oh, gee. OK... in no particular order, 'Odysseus Kent', 'Pleurghburg', '5 Days a Stranger', 'King's Quest II+' and 'Garfield'. Picking the 'best' is impossible because they all fit into different categories. 'Odysseus Kent' has the coolest and most nostalgic feel to it. 'Pleurghburg' is HUGE and has the best replay value. '5 Days' is the best made amateur game I've ever played (and spooky to boot). 'Kings Quest II+' is the best 'spoof' of a commercial game, and 'Garfield' is without a doubt the best 'Garfield' game ever made and great if you're a fan of the original comics. Sorry, I just couldn't pick one, I piked on your well thought out question.

- In what ways do you think AGS adventures could improve in general?

I believe Chris said it in his interview last month, but I have to agree - script editing! One of the most offputting things when you're playing a game is seeing a lot of spelling mistakes, bad punctuation and grammar, or just not being able to read the text easily. I don't mind if a game has a few mistakes here and there (I'm sure Cirque has a few!) but it's such a small thing that makes such a different to the atmosphere of a game. Storywise, I think a lot of AGS users are doing -fine- and when you're playing a fun game, the graphics don't matter that much.

- We have seen one or two attempts to release independently developed games as commercial products. Do you think it is possible that we will see companies in the near future turning into profitable businesses by selling independently developed adventures?

I doubt it, sadly. I just don't see much hope for adventure games in the commercial world these days, be they friend or foe... sorry, I mean amateur or professionally produced. I'd love nothing more than to see a resurgence of adventure games in today's market, but I just don't think it has a chance. Prove me wrong, kids! Prove me wrong.

- In the AGS forums developers show their early work on the adventures they are developing. Do you keep an eye on upcoming AGS adventures? If so, which ones are you looking most forward to in the near future?

I keep one eye open, for sure. I never play demos though, because I'd rather just see the finished product. I am looking forward to FantomeLeChiekh's Monkey Island game (the art is marvellous), Blackthorne's 'Quest for Infamy' (mainly because he stole my idea - the jerk!) and Mar's 'Sam & Max: The Case Gilbert' (because I need my S&M fix badly!).

General

- Will we ever see a website exclusively for your own productions in the future?

I'm sure you will, I keep telling myself I'll make one. Mind you, don't expect is to get updated more than once a year... I have a terrible record with the webpages I currently own.

- Do you see yourself co-operating with other AGS developers to create bigger productions in the future or do you prefer to work alone?

I prefer to be in charge! Not necessarily alone, though. At the very least, I plan on getting together with a couple of rather talented friends of mine to produce a game or two one day.

- Do you plan to create new adventure games in the future?

Er, yes. I've already mentioned the sequel to Cirque and a game with friends. I have at least 3 other ideas for games I plan on making at some point so let's hope I get time to do them. Maybe my fans could start supporting me financially...?

- Former Lucasarts vs former Sierra. What's your opinion?

Noooo! My god, they're in totally separate categories, man! That's like asking me which of my children I like best, except that Lucasarts and Sierra aren't mine and I'm infertile thanks to an accident involving a sharp fence and a horse. I'll say Lucasarts. are typically the funnier games, and Sierra's are the more... adventurous.

- Point and click vs direct control. Which one is in your opinion the most suitable interface for adventure games?

You know, I'll always say point and click except in the case of Grim Fandango. That game is just perfect the way it is.

- After your experience with the development of Cirque De Zale, what would be the best advice you would give to a developer-wannabe?

Plan EVERYTHING on paper before-hand but leave room for improvisation. Also, don't get hung up on making it perfect, just try to make it fun by imagining what kind of game you'd like to play yourself.

- Commercial adventures nowadays seem to disappoint the fans and there is a certain 'magic' missing, a special kind of magic that adventures of the 80s and early 90s used to have. A lot of adventure fans seem to agree that nowadays companies seem to focus too much on 'spectacle. and too little on gameplay and story. What is your opinion on that? What do you think is it that is missing from recent adventure games?

I'm one of those people for sure. I'd rather play 'Kings Quest 1' 100 times than fork out money for some of the games that get released as 'adventure games' today. I think the problem is partly that game developers look at the tools available to them, and from that decide what kind of game they can make that uses all of them. You have to imagine how a game should be, and then work out what you can use to make it like that. Mind you, you have to look at the market for games these days and wonder whether a game like the original adventures would be profitable. I doubt it, but I don't think it would have hurt Lucasarts to give it a go with the new Sam & Max game. If anything would have made it, that game would've.

- Do you think that the adventures created by the AGS community can bring back the classic entertainment that fans used to get some years ago?

I think it already is, in all honesty. I've had a great time in the past 6 months playing some fantastic adventure games, some of which (in my opinion) are close to indistinguishable from an oldstyle commercial adventure game. Keep it up, everyone!

- Is there anything else you would like to add?

43 + 106 = 149 ... no, wait! Look out for 'Cirque de Zale II' and other future games coming from the Mushroom Republic. Keep breathing, people!