Dear Adventurer
Welcome! Following from last month’s newsletter introducing our composer and some of the music in Tidefall, in this issue we’re digging into another creative mind behind the people and places populating the game. That means an interview with our Narrative Lead, Kit Marlowe!
At the heart of Infinity Fiction is responsible use of AI and to us that means putting creators first. Just like music, our writing is 100% handcrafted but interacted with via an AI engine.
Closing the gap between games with deep, but limited worlds and those with AI generated infinite, but shallow, and often meaningless, ones is a huge challenge – and not just technically. As you’ll read, writing the world’s first living world game comes with many unique challenges and innovations.
Plus, we hope you enjoy some new previews!
The Brains Behind Tidefall: Kit Marlowe
(AS:) So Kit, what exactly is Tidefall? What is it like?
(KM:) “Tidefall is a fantasy RPG, and the name of the large island gripped by an impregnable arcane maelstrom. Fifty years of strife and isolation led to the decay of a once wealthy Kingdom, all the while the Storm’s fingers reach into all corners of Tidefall. This has opened the gates for cults of wandering madmen, marauding goblins, mutated monsters, and more. Ultimately the power of the Storm itself must be understood, harnessed, and wielded, but at what cost?
“We really wanted to push the boundaries of what can be done with this amazing tech. We looked at what others in the space were doing and knew we could do better: a truly living world.”
A Living World?!
(AS:) What is a Living World Game? How do you factor in the tech and write one?
(KM:) “Imagine your favourite novel series or fictional world. Well what would you say if I could arrange for you to meet those characters and join their adventure in any way you wanted? That is the type of game experience we are building.
“Technologically it means presenting a written narrative in a non-linear way. There’s a lot of steps to get there, mostly big team brainstorms, but the bridge between our ideas and the game is the data. As a writing team we work closely with the tech guys to continuously refine and improve this process. I am also incredibly excited for the doors this method could open when applied to future genres and projects. We are bursting at the seams with cool ideas.”
Inspirations & Interests
(AS:) What are your favourite games and novels? How have they inspired your work so far?
(KM:) “I am a lifetime nerd. My literary preferences are heroic fantasy or historical fiction. David Gemmell, Brandon Sanderson, Bernard Cornwell and the like. Videogame wise, I’m a big fan of The Elder Scrolls series and grew up on strategy games like Command and Conquer and Rome: Total War. I am also semi-addicted to a long running text-based browser game called Torn City. I also love my detective fiction, the spy genre, sci-fi, and… well, you get the idea.
“But my biggest single influence for Tidefall would have to be Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy Battles (or ‘The Old World’ as it has been re-branded in recent years). I picked up the table-top hobby from my father when I was young. Painting rows of minis and reading the abundance of associated lore or ‘fluff’ – as most people called it back then – was a joy. The balance of high fantasy gameplay and grimdark at times borders perilously close to perfection. If I can create but a fraction of that enjoyment for someone else, I will have done my job well.”
Location, Location, Location….
(AS:) What’s your favourite location in Tidefall, and why?
(KM:) “I enjoy my fantasy dark and grim, with a sense of humanity. For that reason the city-states in Tidefall pique my interest the most. Sarnath in the rocky south with its rain-soaked, forbidding Black Keep and authoritarian regime, juxtaposed against the sprawling alleys and vibrant criminality of the City of Veloria to the North. I’m particularly proud of the Bay of Velor – a natural harbour, sheltering the surviving deep-sea ships of Tidefall’s merchants and military. Confined for decades to the bay with no sign of the Storm relenting, the populace has cannibalised and re-purposed the vessels, evolving the docks over time into a floating shanty town that is on one side assailed by mutated sea creatures whilst the other blends into the overpopulated lower quarters of the city.”
Looking Forward to Looking Back
(AS:) What would make you look at a completed Tidefall and feel proud?
(KM:) “Let’s be clear here, Tidefall is ambitious. A vast living world, with broad scope and all based on entirely new technology and writing methodology. Seeing it complete and open to players to enjoy would be a dream come true alone. However, the creative community is universally frightened by the inexorable progress of AI tools (and rightly so, unfortunately). If we can successfully push the industry I love so much in the right direction, away from replacing human creativity and instead work on amplifying it, I would feel very proud to have been a small part of that.”
If you’ve read this and felt inspired, or know somebody who would be a great fit to help us bring the living world to life – and has the passion to get involved – we are keen to hear from you!
And don’t forget to sign up for the Tidefall Prelaunch on Kickstarter.
Lots of goodies will soon be available – don’t miss out!
