The Woman Behind the Mask
A Q&A with pioneer game designer Robeita Williams Conducted by Eric Twelker
ErkTwelker What were your goals when setting out to create Mask of Eternity? Roberta Wilt iams: My goals are always the same: to make the player feel like they're in the game, so much so that they forget the real world around them. Playing two-dimensional adven- ture games, I always wanted to have the ability to see what's behind the backgrounds, peek under a table or on top of a roof,
and explore every corner. In Mask ofEtemit/i three-dimensional world. youVe no longer limited to the flat picture on the screen.
ET: Mask departs from the traditional 2D adventure game by using a 3D game engine most commonly employed in first-person action games. How is Mask's story conveyed using this technique? RW: \n Mask of Eternity Ahe
entire world is
designed with
the story in
mind. The
world is in
chaos—
order and
humanity
were ban-
ished and
you must restore it
R n
u
I o s
The player learns about the world and furthers the plot by exploring locations, finding and using inventory items, and inter- acting with other characters. And unlike a first-person combat game, even fighting the various creatures you'll meet is part of the story. By doing so. the player will discover who these creatures are and why they've emerged into the world.
ET What is the theme of Mask of Eternity and what does the Mask itself represent? RW: Mask of Eternity is about spirituality— what it means now and through the ages and where people have searched for it. As you go through the game, you sense that Connor is looking for his own meaning, and youMI dis- cover the game's main themes: truth, light, and order.
The Mask itself stands for the all-powerful being, the Creator. The Mask is sun-like; in many religions, the sun represents God. In most religions, like the sun itself, you never can look directly at the Creator unless you become immortal. There are certain places in the game's quest -obstacles, puzzles, interactions with guard-
IN THE THICK OF FT Tl>e destruction of the
Mask plunges the world into chaos. It'll be up
to you to restore order...if you can survive.
ians that you meet— where the player is trying to accomplish that feat. It's all integrated into the story In such a way that people who know what to look for will understand the overall quest.
ET What can you reveal about Mask of Eternity's story? RW: In the opening scene, we see a fantastic world off in the celes- tial realm. A white-robed, priest- like character approaches a gold Mask set atop an altar. He trans- forms into a dark being as light- ning crashes down on the altar, exploding the Mask. The pieces hail down to the world t>elow. In Daventry. King Graham's magic mirror begins swirling and dis- plays the bad omen of the Mask breaking apart.
We then meet Connor. A piece of the Mask sails down from the sky and lands at his feet. Just as he picks up the piece, a storm swirls overhead, the sky turns dark, and everyone turns into stone. ..except for Connor, who is somehow protected by the piece of the Mask. The player will soon discover that it's up to him to restore order to the world. Eventually, Connor must face the dark being himself and attempt to ban- ish him from the celestial world.
ET Tell us about the puzzle elements In the game. RW: The puzzles are based around Connor's experi- ences and actions. Some puzzles involve finding and using inventory items to get around an obsta- cle. For instance,
HACK AND SLASH? You'll have a sword for close-in fighting and a cross-
bow for long-range attacks, but it's the quest for truth that matters.
in one part of the game. Connor must find a way to cross the River of Death. To succeed, he needs to find a way to activate a lever on a drawbridge on the other side of the river. In another part of the game. Connor must figure out how to enter the sanctum of the Lord of the Dead. To do so. Connor must cross tiles, each bearing a symbol, in the right order. But first, he must search for clues that will decipher the correct order of jumping across the tiles for getting across. 1^