Part 2 of the Int. with Matthew Doyle, CEO of Plutonium Games

If you recall, last week we began an interview series with Matthew Doyle, CEO of Plutonium Games, whose project Cleric all of us here at Warcry are just itching to play.

This week, we get to hear some more details of the game itself, and how it came to be.

Don't forget to check out Part 1, if you missed it.

Mystery: Due to the subtle uniqueness of the game, did you find it difficult to find funding for the title?

Matthew: We haven't actually found funding yet. We have only really just started looking. I will say that most of the publishers we've spoken with so far have stated that new IP is not an easy sell. Most of them are changing their strategy to involve franchises and established brands. I must admit that I see their reasoning for this, but am a bit saddened by it. I also feel that to have such a strategy is bad for business in the long run. Eventually, people will get sick of the same thing and want to see new innovation. That's where we come in! We just have to convince 1 publisher of that. I'm confident we can. Some of the publishers we spoke with were more franchise based, but a few are well known for taking a risk on new IP quite frequently. We're really hoping to get something going with one of these guys.

Mystery: How close are you guys to finding a publisher?

Matthew: That's a hard question to answer. We've begun pitching our game for the first time. The response has been extremely positive. We've already pitched the title to four major publishers. We're currently waiting to hear back from most of them and they have informed us that it could be some time still before we hear anything (positive or negative). We are in the process of tweaking our pitch and collateral material as well, in case we need to continue pitching to more publishers. And as always, work continues on improving our game. It could be a few months before we sign a deal. It could be a year. I really can't say. I can say that we won't give up until we do.

Mystery: If you can't find a publisher, is the future of the game in jeopardy, or would you consider the option of self-publishing out of box (i.e. downloading and/or burning on demand)?

Matthew: Not completely. Although self-publishing isn't really an option as I see it (very few developers ever succeed at this), there are other avenues to at least getting funded. If we have to go to the publishers with a completed game, that's what we'll do. We're looking into finding alternative funding through venture capital at this time. We prefer to go through a publisher though and we will continue to seek them out aggressively over the next several months.

Mystery: How many hours of game play are you intending to offer for the initial release?

Matthew: While nothing is for certain until we acquire funding for the game, our initial estimates based on the design documents indicate anywhere from 40 to 80 hours of gameplay.

Mystery: How varied are the paths through the game -- i.e. are the endings in the game only subtly different from each other, or are they dramatically different based on the decisions of the player?

Matthew: Quite different. There are four planned endings. You get to them by how you play the game, not some choice in the last "level". Everything you say and do in the game matters. Every conversation you have. Every item you use. All of these things have numbers tied to them behind the scenes. These numbers add up to an overall score that is used to help the game decide what happens next as you play and what ending you'll have.

Mystery: How replayable do you estimate the game will be given the multiple paths through the storyline?

Matthew: The replayability is strong. As I said above, the endings are not chosen by saving your game at some crucial moment and making one of many choices. You'll have to nearly replay the entire game to get a different ending. The endings are basically based on which god's moral code you follow most during the game.

Mystery: Do you have a long term plan to turn the game into a franchise in the same setting, or are you looking at Cleric to be a standalone title?

Matthew: Yes. We've already got a few different plans for a prequel. Both would involve the player taking the role of a distant relative of our protagonist, Father Aronos, in Cleric I. That's about all I'm willing to say about that for now.

Mystery: Do you have plans to allow characters to be transferred between titles, so players get more of a sense of continuity?

Matthew: Sort of. As I said in the last question, the idea is to have the player play someone directly connected to the original character in some way. We've also though about having the player play a descendent of Aronos in Cleric III, which would occur in a cyberpunk setting. This is merely speculation at this time, as Cleric III wouldn't be out for some 6 years!

:) But we are already exploring storylines and gameplay elements for a trilogy.

Mystery: If Cleric is not level based, to what can you compare it in terms of areas to explore and tasks to accomplish? Is it more like an RPG in that aspect?

Matthew: Yes. Cleric is similar to games like Deus Ex, Thief, or System Shock in terms of gameplay. We're not a hardcore RPG, but we do have elements of an RPG like these games. The world, unlike these great games, will be a bit larger and allow non-linear movement to and from the various game areas. There are 11 major settings that the game takes place in. The tasks involved in completing the game will be many, with lots of subquests. Many of the subquests will give the player extra powers (miracles).

Mystery: Have you had any direct interaction with your fan-base? Any interesting stories you can share?

Matthew: We have people email us all the time to wish us well. We try to answer everyone and remain accessible through our online forum. Lots of people on the web in gaming communities have begun to spread the word about us too. We're beginning to develop a small following of loyal fans already and we haven't even signed a publisher deal yet. We broke a few hearts when we switched from the Serious Engine, but we just couldn't help that. We're very pleased and honored by the praise we've been getting. That's part of what keeps us going through all the hardships.

Once again, we'd like to thank Matthew for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Stay tuned: This week will begin a new series with the Lead Developer of Cleric!