Joan Jade and the Gates of Xibalba Interview by Casual Game Guides
Jakub Grudzinski, Creative Director at Artifex Mundi Game Development Studio, is a co-founder of the company. As a graduate and former college lecturer in Computer Science, he started off in programming, but he now specializes in game design, art directing and general creative supervision of Artifex Mundi games. He led the design and art team for "Joan Jade and the Gates of Xibalba" and currently concentrates both on casual games and core multi-platform games.
1. Joan was a fiery red-head who captured our hearts and handled a machete like a rock star... we have to ask... where did the inspiration for this character come from? Any chance there is a resemblance to Mrs. Grudzinski?
Well, actually there's
as of yet no Mrs. Grudzinski other than my mother
, but then, there is a grain of truth in your assumption: when I look back at being a kid, I realize how much a mother can do to shape her children. In this aspect I could say yes, she is a source of inspiration for Joan. However, when designing the character, I tried to look at this from a much more general perspective. Looking both at my mother and many others, I asked myself a question: how would any caring mother behave if put in such a dramatic situation? I bet when you played the game for the first time and in the very beginning saw Joan saying "I'll go look for them myself!", one of your first thoughts was "Yes, that's actually what I'd also do!", wasn't it? Who wouldn't? That's the way every ordinary person is in fact extraordinary; it only takes these kinds of events to turn you into Indiana Jones!
This observation helped me a lot, because what I wanted to achieve was a character both extraordinary and plausible enough for the player to identify with her. Even though the two criteria tend to be mutually exclusive, here the task turned out to be surprisingly easy: love for children is always strong enough, whatever the cost or risk!
2. The mystery of the Mayan ruins was a great place to jump right into Joan's adventure. What made you choose this setting? And how exactly do you pronounce Xibalba?
This is somewhat personal for me: I drew inspiration for the setting from my own experience here as well. I visited Mexico in 2008 and was amazed at both the beauty of Yukatán's nature and uniqueness and sophistication of the Maya civilization. I visited Chichén Itzá and snorkeled in the sunken caves as well as in one of the sinkholes they call cenotes. The beauty of these places is something that can neither be described with words nor depicted any other way well enough to fully realize it (though in the game we obviously did our best to fulfill this task) and the heritage of the Mayans is much richer than probably most people might suppose.
As a game designer, I immediately thought to myself: "If there is a beauty and magnificence I've seen that others don't know about, I must show it to them!" And since my company was already thinking of entering the casual gaming market, I returned from Mexico with a clear vision of our first game in this genre. Players could experience these ancient temples, towns buried under jungle growth, caves and even a cenote – and they would also learn interesting and, last but not least, true facts about Mayan culture and beliefs. However, obviously this is not all I can show or tell you; every designer has to keep an ace or two up his sleeves!
As for Xibalba – I know, quite a hard word, but what would you say for Xiquiripat or Cuchumaquic? – we chose this place for both the specific feeling of tension and mystery it brings to mind and for the fact that it is quite well documented in the historical sources like Popol Vuh. Who wouldn't like to know what Mayans believed to be hidden down there in the underworld? And by the way, as for Xiquiripat and Cuchumaquic, I bet Joan can tell you who they are – just play and give her a chance!
3. We love games that have a strong female character leading the way, and Joan certainly exceeds our expectations... however, we also met her family as well - Bruce her husband and her two children. Any plans to feature them in future games?
Well, if by any chance we shall produce a sequel, why not? Just stay tuned.
4. This game is often labeled as a Hidden Object game, but it really was a very exciting mixture of adventure, hidden object, and puzzle solving strategies... what was the thought behind this game design?
It is true that the game is often labeled as a HOG, while in fact its core design was a bit different; it was originally meant to be a puzzle-adventure game. I initially thought of "Dream Chronicles" as a sort of a reference title, though obviously more in terms of the mechanics than setting. More emphasis was then put on the inventory-based tasks and mini-games, while hidden object tasks became more an addition than a leitmotif.
You might have noticed that most of the hidden objects levels (maybe excluding the first one which is a tutorial) are different than in a typical HOG: you do not search for numerous items of no relation to the story only to fill the list. Instead, you're either searching for parts of a mosaic to be pressed to open a gate or searching for real objects which you truly need in a current situation and then use in some way. The main reason for this was to keep the player as much inside the game world as possible, not "breaking the fourth wall". However, I know there's the other side of the coin and some players may simply prefer classic HOGs – we tried to balance these needs.
5. Not to give anything away for the ending of this excellent game... but please tell us there's going to be another one coming out ASAP! No really... is tomorrow good for you?
Tomorrow? Well, that could be a bit too early. However, we are currently developing another HOG and as for possible Joan Jade's sequel... Didn't I mention the aces up my sleeve?
6. The spotlight is on you... is there anything you want to tell you adoring fans? Like your personal phone number or that you like long walks on the beach?
To be honest, I prefer mountains, though the beach sounds good too.
But, being more serious, I'd like to recognize and thank Alawar's staff (www.alawar.com) for their support, the whole development team (including the guys from Artmediale) for their great work, and especially Rafal who was the one to lead the team and finally make the game come true. Many, many thanks to all of them!
As for the phone number, I'd rather be confined to inviting anyone and everyone to visit www.artifexmundi.com. Joan Jade and the Gates of Xibalba is not the only game we've done and there are several projects we're currently working on, so stay tuned for more news!
