Amy interview

(oryginalnie zamieszczony w Game Informer #09/1999)

GI: Raziel is certainly a cool new character, and the concept of turning the hero into the villain is definitely interesting, but why abandon Kain as the lead?

Amy: At the end of Blood Omen, Kain was presented with a decision: he could sacrifice himself and thereby save the world; or, in choosing to preserve his own life, he could damn the world. For the sequel, we assumed the latter - Kain embraces his vampire nature, and establishes himself as a "dark god", subjugating Nosgoth to his rule. We thought it would be interesting to fast foward a millennia or two, to see what Kain's decision engendered.

Given this ending, it seemed appropriate to introduce a new protagonist, and set Kain up as the nemesis. Kain is by no means a monster or mustache-twirling villain, though - in many ways, he's a more complex and sympathetic character than Raziel himself.

GI: How does Raziel talk without a lower jaw?

Amy: Very supple throat muscles.

GI: Is there any connection between the Necromancer in Blood Omen and the Elder God in Soul Reaver?

Amy: Other than the fact that Tony Jay does both their voices? Maybe...

GI: Was there any material that remained on the cutting room floor and didn't make the game?

Amy: Sure, that always happens. We decided to cut a couple areas out, to eliminate some problematic gameplay, and shave some time off the schedule. There were also a couple of mechanics that we felt were cool, but ended up underutilized in the levels, so we decided to scrap them for now, and invest more design time in them for the sequel.

GI: Was there anything that you would have changed?

Amy: Of course - developers are always their own worst critics. In hindsight, for example, I would have liked the spell system to be more integrally woven into the game, and I think we could have explored some of Raziel's mechanics in more depth. It's always difficult to design gameplay and the game engine simultaneously. But any minor disappointments are far outweighed by what we've managed to accomplish.

GI: Is there a lucky lady in Raziel's future?

Amy: I don't know how lucky she'd be - Raziel's jaw isn't the only thing that got burned off in the vortex.