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访谈录原文
An Interview with Ingo van Thiel
The undisputed king of scenario design reveals his techniques, gives tips for beginners and explains why there will never be an ultimate scenario
Could you please share some details about yourself?
I''''m 28, from Cologne, Germany, just finished university, and now I''''m doing the layout of a medical magazine. My other great hobby is music. I''''ve played the guitar and harmonica, written and sung my own songs for about 14 or 15 years. I had a band, and we played a rock/ pop/ folk style of music. We split up in January, so now I''''m looking for something new. My other hobbies are martial arts, going to the cinema and hanging out with friends for a drink or a coffee.
How did you get introduced into the AoK scenario design scene?
I saw Age of Empires at a friend''''s house and got hooked on it at once. I spent a lot of times with random maps and the ES campaigns. At some point, I started designing my own scenarios. Frankly, they were lame. Too easy, not very inventive, and the maps were nothing special either. Then a friend of mine who had internet access downloaded some stuff from AoE Heaven. I played Kyle Leach''''s "The Fortress" scenario, and that was a revelation to me. I tried to recreate Kyle''''s muddy river trick and accidentally invented swamps while I was doing that. Then other ideas just came flowing, and I made up a story about a tribe of fishermen who were at war with the Shang ("The Tai Gun"). My friend persuaded me that this campaign was good enough to submit it to AoE Heaven, and so I did... and I''''ve kept submitting stuff for a while now. After Rise of Rome, I passed on to Age of Kings and now to AoK:TC.
What, in scenario design, do you consider your best achievement yet?
The carrier pigeons in my Mongolian RoR campaign, he he... probably the most controversial thing I did.
What is it you like best about designing scenarios?
I used to draw a lot when I was a kid, and I like telling stories. In scenarios, I can combine both. It''''s like painting pictures that are alive.
If you could add or change three things in the map editor, what would they be?
1. Changing the names of units that get created during the game: A trigger that says "change the name of all Aethelfirths in this area to XYZ"
2. A "hide units" trigger effect, and a "return hidden unit" effect. This trigger temporarily takes one of your units out of the game and out of the player''''s sight without actually removing (destroying) it. The hidden unit can be set back onto the map at any time, any place, and still has all old triggers connected to it: e.g. "bring object to object" would still work for a hidden unit, other than with a unit that gets newly created. This trigger has multiple uses, such as simulating how a hero disappears in a tunnel or a house, or how he comes out of a house/ tunnel.
3. A "fewer objects in area" trigger condition.
How do you start designing a scenario?
I create a random map, and if I like it, I start working it over and change it almost beyond recognition. I often start designing in the corner where I want the scenario to start, and then slowly work myself through the rest. The story grows out of what the editor has to offer, and the story inspires some other scenarios. And of course, a couple of things that happen to me in real life also inspire stories. I rarely plan much ahead. Sometimes I let my characters guide me, and the story just kind of happens. This doesn''''t mean I don''''t care about stories - rather the opposite. I often get stuck midway through, and then comes the hardest part. People who design historical campaigns have it slightly easier there. Research is hard work, but once you''''ve done that, you can take over something that really happened. I made one historical campaign back in RoR, so I think I know what I''''m talking about. If something is in the history books, hardly anybody will say "hey, this is illogical. No king would ever do or say this and that." In a non-historical story, it can be very tough to make the events and people''''s behavior convincing. That being said, I like both historical and fantasy settings. Both have their right of existence.
If you could summarize your approach to scenario design in one word, what would that word be and why?
Depth. If people just want to have a good game, and if they get it from my campaigns, that''''s fine. But if one or two of them want to look under the surface, I hope I''''ll have something to offer to them, too. That''''s one reason why I try to make the characters of my stories as individual and "alive" as possible. And although my campaigns are mainly non-historical, many scenes and things in them have been inspired by historical events, especially things that have happened over and over again: In "The Quest," there is the ungratefulness of kings towards their subjects, in "The King''''s Best Men," there is the ever-repeating cycle of one disastrous king following the other... history is full of such things.
What do you reckon is the formula for the ultimate scenario?
There''''ll never be an ultimate scenario. No matter how well you do, there''''ll always be a next scenario, and a better scenario, either by yourself or (more likely) by others. Even if you create something and people say "best ever", they''''ll say the same thing about another scenario tomorrow. Let''''s face it, all this stuff is very short-lived. We talk about "classics" and "masterpieces" and forget that all this will be old hat in a year or two.
Who or what is your favourite scenario designer or piece of work and why?
There are plenty of excellent designers out there, and plenty of excellent works. At the moment, my favorite is Mark Stoker''''s "Tamerlane, Prince of Destruction" campaign. Other great designers are Gordon Farrell, the Rasher, DeKont, Chiang Ning, Gregory Koteles, Yogurt... and plenty of the old AoE/ RoR crew such as Rich Parker, Ty Freeborn, Kyle Leach, Hamlet, imhotep and others.
What things would you never put in a scenario?
The ES flag.
What do you think of the X-pack improvements to the map editor?
They are great. The snow exceeded my expectations, and the renaming trigger is very nice. Besides, most of the AoK bugs have been fixed. The Save button does its job, and working with the triggers has become easier. Being able to create Gaia objects with triggers is a great addition, too, and will open new possibilities; even though these triggers are in dire need of debugging. *cough* Another patch in sight, ES? All in all, I''''d give this expansion pack an 8 out of 10. On another note, I''''m pleased to see that the quality of the official scenarios has greatly increased. The Sea of Worms in the "Vinland Saga" had me stunned for two or three minutes. Overwhelming! One of the greatest eye-candies in the Age series.
Do you have any plans for the future? If so, what?
Music, and to get more people to hear my songs. I''''ve neglected songwriting a bit over scenario-designing, and I regret that. I''''d like to get my 120th song done by the end of this year. Still three to go...
Do you have a final note and/or a tip for beginning designers?
Sure. You''''ll find the gold mines under Units/ Gaia/ Other... no, just kidding. Seriously, if you want to produce quality work, download the top rated scenarios and campaigns and play them. Also look at some work with bad ratings, to see what mistakes you should avoid. Allow the good ones to inspire you. AoK Heaven is an excellent pool of knowledge, where designers learn from each other - experts and amateurs alike.
When you''''re designing, playtest your work again and again, even if the repetition gets on your nerves. And take some effort to make your scenarios special. If you''''re not interested in spending much time on your own scenarios, why should someone else be? Take your time. Better one good scenario than twenty mediocre ones. When you''''re through with testing and don''''t find any bugs anymore, make a post at the AoK designer forum and say "playtesters needed." This is necessary, because other people might find bugs you wouldn''''t ever dream of. There''''ll always be someone at the AoK forum who''''s willing to help.
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東
天使归来的博客 大家捧场噢
千里眼
声呐
发表于 2003-3-8 15:42:06
沙发
发表于 2003-3-8 17:41:57
