Interview: Owlcat Games discusses Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Anyone who’s ever played the pen-and-paper Pathfinder RPG knows that the world inside of the walled garden of Wizards of the Coast is not as appealing as it seems. While D&D is currently in the fifth edition, many of us will never forget the tragic release of fourth edition and what seemed like certain doom for the pen-and-paper RPG.
But, it wasn’t all bad, that same year Paizo released the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, all the way back in 2008. While not the first alternative to the mainstream, Pathfinder quickly picked up steam in its drive to become a community favorite, offering more customization, an open (as in free) rulebook, and fantastic customer service for players who needed a little extra help.
This approach and Paizo’s community-driven focus has today lead them to become the number two RPG played today, according to ICv2. The passion that players have for this game and the world Paizo created has manifested in many ways, and it has also inspired the creation of the Pathfinder: Kingmaker CRPG video game being worked on by budding international studio Owlcat Games in partnership with my.com of Allod’s Online and Skyforge fame.
The team at Owlcat Games is currently running a Kickstarter campaign, which met their funding goal of $500,000 with 20 days to go, to build support for the game before it’s release and give players a chance to contribute toward the creation of new features through their funding of stretch goals.
With so much support from the community and gamers at large, we had to reach out to the developers to learn more about Pathfinder: Kingmaker and their new studio. They got back to us, and this week we had an opportunity to interview Studio Head of Owlcat Games Oleg Shpilchevsky and Creative Director Alexander Mishulin.
Note: Our questions in bold
With all of the experience your team brings to the table, what new challenges has making Pathfinder: Kingmaker presented that you didn’t see before and how have you tackled those?
Alexander: Every game has some challenges that are unique to it. For Pathfinder: Kingmaker we have several of those. First one is a story – we are quite capable of making a story for a strategy or MMORPG, but an RPG takes this to an entirely new level. And for this we are excited to collaborate with Chris Avellone, who worked on games such as Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment and has enormous talent and experience in crafting the story. Another fascinating challenge is Kingdom – how can we make it not only strategic, but also a role-playing experience where every character shines and opens in an entirely new way.
What lead to choosing My.com as your partner and how has this partnership benefited the production of the game?
Oleg: We are developers, and our expertise is making – we hope – good games. We are extremely grateful to our friends from My.com who help us with an enormous amount of work regarding PR, marketing, site production and all that necessary stuff. Their insight and assistances in these matters has been invaluable. We’ve always had a great working relationship with My.com though our previous projects, so when the opportunity came up to work on the Pathfinder series, we couldn’t think of a better partner to help bring our vision to life.
How was Paizo involved in the creation of the digital version of their game world and were there sacrifices that had to be made to achieve a better video game when transitioning the content from pen and paper?
Alexander: We are glad we are working with Paizo, in a sense, they are part of the team. We communicate on a daily basis discussing every aspect of the game. Transitioning the game between mediums is an interesting task. Computer RPG requires some adaptations to make every aspect of the game interesting and still be able to present the same level of freedom as Adventure Path.
However, being players of pen-and-paper Pathfinder RPG ourselves, we are trying to preserve that unique Pathfinder feel in every aspect of the game. Some feats and abilities will work in different ways, but will have the effect rather close to what they were doing in the pen-and-paper version.
Take for example skills, we reduced their amount (and they are close to the consolidated skills in Pathfinder Unchained), but many of their applications are in the game. Same goes for the events from Adventure Path – you will encounter familiar events (like sad giant or gnomes at the river ford), but even those who completed Kingmaker at the table will find something new in the game.
What motivated the decision to make the game a single-player, instead of a multiplayer, experience?
Oleg: We have been doing big MMO games, such as Allods Online and Skyforge, for the last ten years. MMO is a great genre, and there are a lot of interesting art and design decisions you can experiment with while making and supporting the game.
But there is one field where MMO will always be behind a single-player game – story. Honestly speaking we were dreaming about making story-driven games. So when we saw the opportunity to make one in Pathfinder universe – we never had a moment of doubt.
Valeri Concept
Valeri Concept
What challenges and benefits have you seen when creating a new game studio in the Russian Federation, are there any programs to support new digital businesses in your jurisdiction?
Oleg: The main benefit for Moscow – and some other big Russian cities - as a location is that there is a significant pool of talented people who are passionate about game development. You can find amazing programmers and QA engineers, artists and game designers here. Let along the cost of production is lower than in Western Europe and the US which is a significant advantage.
The main challenge – at least for Owlcat Games – is time difference with the US. The majority of our audience, our partners from Paizo, and USA colleagues – Chris Avellone and others – are 10 hours away from Moscow. So some of us have to be real owls and have a midnight lifestyle. Not very surprising for game developers, though.
What advice do you have for up and coming game designers who are inspired by Pathfinder: Kingmaker to go into the field themselves?
Alexander: To make great games you have to love making games, not only playing them. Erudition in games is of vital importance, but you have to get fun from making games and watching others play them.
Try to run a Pathfinder game, make a mod to some game and share with your friends, try to make any game and let others play it. If it feels great, then start learning how to make games. There are great books and tutorials. Start with small games and prototypes and eventually you will be building something big.
Kobold from sketch to model
Kobold from sketch to model
What is something new that you will be bringing to the table in this game that players haven’t seen before and what do you hope players will take away from the game?
Alexander: I will start with the last part, I hope players will remember a great time exploring Stolen Lands and then governing in the kingdom of their own. There is more to the tale we are telling, but I cannot explain that without spoiling the story.
As for innovations and new experiences – we are trying to build isometric RPG that will be as atmospheric and interesting as such legendary games as Baldur’s Gate II, but a bit adapted to the modern playstyle, while not sacrificing any depth from the games we all love.
Also, we want to bring back the camping experience from the pen-and-paper game allowing for such options as making companions stand watch, go hunting, or listening to their stories by the campfire.
Will you be doing a public beta?
Oleg: The way we see it, Pathfinder was always a game that was driven by fans. Let along we can’t imagine how it is possible to make a good game without feedback from future players. Luckily, Kickstarter gives us the opportunity to address to Pathfinders directly and be sure that there are a lot of people who are willing to play our game asap.
We are going to start iterations of game testing as soon as possible. We hope to do the first alpha test in Fall and the beta test for our backers in Q2 2018.
What digital distribution platforms will you be using to distribute the game?
Oleg: Steam, for sure, and we are going to be on GoG as well. Our ultimate plan is to be available on all popular distribution platforms, so our players may choose the most convenient way to download the game.
What’s next for your new studio after Pathfinder: Kingmaker is on digital shelves?
Oleg: We like the idea of thinking about other marvelous Adventure Paths that might be brought to PC … and other platforms as well. But right now, we are 200% focused on the goal to complete Pathfinder: Kingmaker and bring it as soon as possible to Pathfinders.
Another would be editor and dungeon master mode.
Unfortunately next stretch goal reads "...companion" (probably "tasteful sex with your companion"), so we will have to go a long way before editor or dungeon master mode.
There will be no dungeon master mode as that requires MP and they said NO MP.
Pretty sure the dude (or one of them) behind the Uncharted series is Israeli.
When you separate it by Wizards, Clerics and Druids, and 9 levels of spells and rangers and magus and paladins have some of their own and bards might as well, it turns out OK. Some spells are on multiple lists but I am sure just like in other D&D games, lower level spell lists are going to be 15+ per level with top ones being 10 spell per level or less.
300 spells seems a bit excessive.
Interesting People #1: Chris Avellone on Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Greetings, steemit community!
To kick off my series of interviews with interesting people, I'm excited to bring you videogame designer and writer Chris Avellone, most well-known for his narrative work on Western RPGs such as Planescape: Torment, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and Pillars of Eternity.
Here, Chris kindly takes the time to talk about his latest project: OwlCatGames' Pathfinder: Kingmaker, which is entering the final week of its already successful Kickstarter campaign.
Pathfinder... I'd never heard of it before the Kickstarter project popped up on my feed. How does Pathfinder differ from, say, Dungeons and Dragons, and what is the relationship there?
Chris: Pathfinder is a pen-and-paper fantasy role-playing ruleset from Paizo, Inc (Paizo is derived from the Greek, which means “I play” or “to play”). Paizo used to publish Dragon and Dungeon magazines for Wizards of the Coast (who make Dungeons and Dragons). When Paizo stopped publishing Dragon and Dungeon in 2007, they decided to try their hand at their own game world and have had a tremendous amount of success. I’ve played Pathfinder (not nearly as much as the Owlcat team), and I’ve always liked the system. So when Owlcat asked if I’d be interested, I came on board – first to assist with the game narrative, and I’ve also been helping them with the Kickstarter as much as possible as well.
So how is 'Pathfinder' distinct from the 'Kingmaker' part of the game's title? Is Kingmaker a campaign setting, like Forgotten Realms, or is it a game module - perhaps this question is better asked as "What's the difference between Pathfinder, Kingmaker and the Stolen Lands"?
Chris: Pathfinder is the name of the game system. Kingmaker is the specific name of one of Pathfinder’s “Adventure Paths.” For those not familiar with Adventure Paths, they are a series of six interconnected modules that take players from Level 1 to… well… a frighteningly high level. The Kingmaker Adventure Path is like playing six seasons of Game of Thrones, it’s that epic. And intricate. An Adventure Path is incredibly large in scope and it’s something intended to play with your friends over many, many campaign sessions. Kingmaker is one of the most loved of the Pathfinder adventure paths. “The Stolen Lands” is where Kingmaker takes place – it’s a contested territory in the world of Golarion, and many, many hundreds of empires have risen and fallen there. The Stolen Lands are where you carve out your new Kingdom and set about exploring the wilderness, dungeons, and other mysterious locales.
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How can total newcomers get up to speed with the background and setting before playing the game when it launches, or will that not be needed at all?
Chris: Oh, not needed at all. We’ve set up the game introduction to give you a good sense of self, your place in the world, and your goal – in addition, the area you’re heading to in Golarion (the Stolen Lands) will be new to both you as a player and you as a player character. You’ll be exploring it together, so there’s no danger of needing lots of background exposition (although journals and companions can help, if you choose) before embarking on the adventure.
What is the relationship between Owlcat and Paizo in terms of free reign over the iconic characters - are you guys able to go wild with their interactions with the player's party, or are they keeping a close and watchful eye on how they are used?
Chris: Owlcat and Paizo speak often, and they’ve been very accommodating and helpful when it comes to the arcs of their iconics (and the adventure itself). So Paizo’s been keeping an eye on it, but I think because Owlcat is so familiar with the Pathfinder franchise, the game mechanics, and the Adventure Path, they are often able to put their reasoning for various decisions in the right context with Paizo, which makes things easier. Also the Owlcat developers – their Pathfinder knowledge borders on terrifying. Terrifying. And some of the team members have played the pen-and-paper version of Kingmaker many times, they love it that much.
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Companions! So far we've seen Kickstarter updates about Ekundayo, the Ranger, and Valerie, the Fighter, plus two more in this picture below who, as far as I know, have not yet been named. Are you able to hint at the other classes (I'm sure I see a mage and maybe a knight or paladin there?), and how many companions there will be in total?
Chris: We won’t know the final number of companions until the campaign’s end, but we’re trying to represent a wide range of races, classes, and alignments. I will say that the Golarion gods make a number of comfortable classes a lot more interesting in temperaments and approaches.
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You have already stated in an Owlcatgames.com interview how you prefer 'smart' evil characters, and used the example of "talking two enemies into killing each other" - are you able to expand on this with anything we can expect in the game?
Chris: Um, I may have just done the specific example inadvertently in the interview. But yes, there’s at least one sequence I know of where you can do that, and it’s glorious to turn an uneasy alliance against each other with just a few well-chosen words.
So on to the Kickstarter campaign... you guys have surpassed the funding goal and still have 8 days to go. That must feel insane, right?
Chris: It is gratifying to see the support – it’s proof that Pathfinder and Paizo have a strong following, and the players want to see a computer RPG as much as we want to make one. Now that the funding goal is in reach, now we can start unveiling even more goals for the game that can make it even better.
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Kickstarter and its ilk have really reignited what appeared to be a dying genre, with the likes of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera all smashing funding goals. You've been a part of all of these projects, and now are lending your hand to another. What is it about this genre that sees it having so much success with crowdfunding, while all but ignored by the larger publishers?
Chris: I believe it’s largely because crowdsourcing lets you talk directly to your fanbase and your audience – with larger publishers come larger profit expectations, and isometric RPGs don’t provide the same profit as some larger mass market titles. As a result – and this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just the reality – often, it doesn’t make sense for larger publishers to focus their efforts on “smaller” isometric efforts when they can shoot for a wider audience in other genres. I don’t blame them for this, but I am happy that Kickstarter and crowdsourcing came along and changed the game development funding model so in cases like Pathfinder: Kingmaker, we can ask the fans directly if this is a product they would support rather than having to pitch to a publisher.
Awesome - thanks a lot for your time, Chris. Good luck with the game, and I look forward to checking in with you again soon!
Chris: Thanks for reaching out, and absolutely my pleasure!
Next up I'll be running a (much) longer second part in which we discuss many highlights from Chris' twenty-plus years in games development. For now, follow Chris on Twitter.
More publicity is sorely needed. The campaign has slowed to a crawl. It should still reach 700k if they get a push in the last two days.
The art of UI design
Dear Pathfinders,
In today's update, we would like to share with you our approach to User Interface (UI) development.
Interfaces are a huge part of any CRPG game. There are a lot of entities like characters, skills, abilities and spells, all of which are striving to attract the player's attention. An important factor here is that everything needs to be represented with a high level of detail and our task is to make all these sheets, formulas and endless columns of text easier to read and understand. We constantly balance between informativeness, aesthetics, and user-friendliness. Therefore, while designing every single UI element we are focused on two main principles: convenience and immersion. It should be stressed that from the very beginning, we decided to give preference to immersion.
With our focus on immersion in mind, we always start designing a new UI element by searching for real historical items, which fit the setting of Pathfinder: Kingmaker for visual reference. These can be old books, scrolls, chests, cabinets, writing utensils and chairs, maps and travel notebooks. Their visual appearance, materials and decor elements are a good starting point to inspire a UI designer's creativity.
* see links to reference resources at the end of this article.
To maintain convenience of our UI elements we actively use multistage pipeline and UX-research.
So, let's get into the details. Every interface - from full screen dialogues to small tooltips - goes through several stages and iterations.
First of all, we conduct a thorough analysis of the future content and use cases and create the first draft sketch(es) that we share with the team. When all feedback is addressed we develop the first static wireframes. These are the ingame concepts of a developed interface, which helps to understand how it will look, to evaluate both the information content & context and layout of the UI elements. Usually, this stage is followed by a heated discussion. For example, our senior game designer wants to see more numbers EVERYWHERE. The more numbers the better, he always says. At the same time, our technical artist (the guy with the axe on the team's gif) fiercely insists that the interface has to be as atmospheric as possible... and he's usually very convincing, because, you know, axe. In general, we fight to find a satisfying balance maneuvering between opinions, like Odysseus between Scylla and Charybdis. After that emotional stage, we implement the functionality with draft art assets, followed by a series of playtests. Once we are satisfied with the results, it's time for our UI artist to create the final look. And that is actually just the end of the first iteration. When real players make a trial of the interface while playing the game, we receive the next portion of feedback and start polishing. It may take 3-5 iterations to make the interface really comfortable for the gamers.
It is difficult to evaluate the result of our work inside the team. After all, we are all biased with our work to some extent. To mitigate this issue we conduct UX-studies, involving both active members of the Pathfinder Society community and CRPG fans. These studies help us understand players' behavior, goals, requirements and motivation. We get a better understanding of how they navigate the game interface, where they have problems and, most importantly, what they feel interacting with the game.
We conducted the first UX-study in early March of this year. We invited mostly our colleagues and friends to get their expert feedback and to boast a little bit.Although the version was quite raw and incomplete at that time, we were able to get a lot of precious comments.
Heat map of the Rest interface.
All pictures in high resolution are available here: https://owlcatgames.com/images/ks_update_ui_art/
Eye tracking in dialogue window.
Heat map of a battle scene.
The last UX-research we made in May resulted in a report of 66 pages. More than 100 unique tasks were assigned to address issues found.
Some of these issues were quite obvious. But the most interesting ones made it clear that our solutions do not always work the way we expect. For example, when analyzing feedback for the Rest interface, we detected the following problems (see "Heat map of the Rest interface"). Respondents did not understand:
We will conduct the following research within this month where we want to focus on the players' sense and emotions rather than just the interface's functionality.
- that they can hover over the status icon and get a hint
- how to rest up to full health
- what amount of rations is required to completely restore the health of the characters
- how much real time will be spent on recovery
As an example of our approach let us highlight some details about Journal UI development.
One of our first interfaces was the Journal (quest log). We kept experimenting with both form (layout) and content. And if the content was more or less clear - a list of quests, quest descriptions and so on - the layout was not so simple.
Journal sketch.
In search of the ideal layout.
Eventually we ended up with this variant, which we are going to polish in the future.
While experimenting with the Journal we finalized our art style and agreed on the conception of full screen interfaces for such elements like Charsheet, Vendors and other complicated interfaces.
Another important interface we would like to talk about is the text event UI - something we refer to as Book Events internally. However, this is a pretty big subject of its own and we are going to write more about it in an upcoming update very soon.
Speaking of writing:
Finding the base game font was a real challenge for us. We arranged a special contest - with finalists and prizes! The winning criteria were: multi language support, options of typeface, readability (both inline and capitals), font capacity and the appearance of numbers. But most importantly, the question was whether the font is suitable for our game or not - whether it supports the spirit of travel and adventure.
We have our hearts set on Book Antiqua. It seems the best fit to all requirements.
We want every aspect of our game to reflect the depth and spirit of the Pathfinder universe. And the interface helps us in this like no other part of the game.
Before we conclude today's update, have a look at some new campaign features:
We don't just want to reward your support through stretch goals alone. You can now unlock backer achievements by joining us on social media and get access to exclusive rewards.
Each achievement you unlock with your fellow backers will move the reward progress bar. With enough achievements reached, the following prizes will be received by all backers of the appropriate tier:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PathfinderCRPG/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/OwlcatGames
- Official game site: https://owlcatgames.com/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo1yuqm85x6iyko4dKhZPiA
Let's have a look at the above graphic for clarification. Take the reward 'New soundtrack in the city tavern' for an example. This one is unlocked when 8 community achievements are reached. Everyone who pledged for the $40 tier for the premium digital download or higher, will be eligible for this reward when it unlocks. As another example, if 12 community achievements are reached, the 'Small faerie dragon as a non-combat pet' will be unlocked for every backer, regardless of pledge level.
Cooking in the camp
To make things clearer, here is a short description for "Cooking in the camp":
You can cook various dishes in the camp from the components you gathered or got from your hunter. Dining on those meals will provide your party with different small and pleasant bonuses.
One more thing
Some of you asked for an option to add an Extra Premium digital download of Pathfinder: Kingmaker and the Digital walkthrough through the Add-ons section. We are happy to oblige!
If there's no archetypes in the game, I won't even bother pirating it. Archetypes are one of the few things great about Pathfinder.
