Adventures in Rabbis and Ghosts
An interview with Dave Gilbert, Game Designer

Posted February 12th, 2008

by Caffeine

Read our review of Blackwell Unbound

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Dave Gilbert started Wadjet Eye Games in 2006, turning a longtime hobby into a fulltime career. Based in New York City, you'll often find him sitting in various East Village coffee shops, hunched over a laptop computer. Wadjet Eye Games was nominated for a "Best New Studio" Game Developers Choice award in 2007.

Caffeine: What's your all-time favorite adventure game? I personally am a fan of Dreamfall.

Dave: There are two top contenders. Gabriel Knight and Discworld Noir. Both of those games have great stories, but they also mesh the stories with good gameplay. That's very hard to do in adventure games, since the main concentration is always on the story.

Caffeine: You obviously care about stories and characters. What made you decide to be a game developer and not a traditional author?

Dave: Interesting question. The thing about writing a novel is that it's hard for it to even get noticed by a publisher, let alone get it to customers. The book publishing market is very glutted. Adventure games, on the other hand, are not. There are still a large chunk of people who want to play adventure games, and they aren't getting them. For an artist trying to get noticed, it was a great opportunity. That's all I cared about, really; getting my work out there and having people notice it. It was a great feeling, and something I wouldn't have achieved if I wrote novels.

Caffeine: Your blog says that you took time off to travel to South Korea and Asia. How, (if at all) did your travels influence your work?

Dave: Definitely. It was an amazing period in my life and I had a level of freedom that I'll probably never have again. :) I met an incredible array of people (friendly and not-so-friendly) and had such a variety of experiences that it can't help but influence me in some way. Shivah is a good example. As a jew, it was a new experience spending a year in a region where the locals had never met or (in some cases) heard of jews before. When I returned, I felt a newfound connection with my jewishness and The Shivah was a direct result of that.

Caffeine: Which of your projects was your favorite to work on, and why?

Dave: Blackwell Unbound was probably my favorite to work on so far. It was a simple project, with a micro-tiny budget (and it shows, in many respects), but everyone on the project was so enthusiastic and fun to work with. I'd be sitting in a coffeeshop with a wifi connection, chatting with Erin (the artist) and Thomas (the composer) over MSN like we were in the same office. It was a great way to work, and if it were feasible I'd do every project that way!

Caffeine: The Shivah is noted as being your first stand-out game. What elements of that title do you believe brought it such cult success?

Dave: It's hard to say. It was a game that I originally developed in a month, and it's very short, but many folks still consider it the best thing I've done. It was a game that I put a lot of myself in, emotionally, and perhaps that shows. It dealt with some issues that are very unique to the New York Jewish experience, and that's something that is rarely seen in games nowadays. Plus you have rabbis punching each other.

Caffeine: How did you come to work with the other members of your team? I note that some of the members have changed from project to project..

Dave: Most of the team members are people I've worked with before, or they've asked to work with me and I had a position open. My preference is to work with people who are here in New York, but that's not always possible. :)

You're right about the team changes. Since I'm a little studio with a very limited budget, I can't afford to hire fulltime staff. I usually work with part-time freelancers, and their availability is always in flux. As an example, the original sprite artist for Blackwell Legacy found a very demanding fulltime job and couldn't commit to a future project, so I had to find someone else.

Caffeine: How did the Blackwell series come to be?

Dave: Back in 2001, I was watching some movie on TV about a medium. The medium was this scatter-brained lady who would call upon her "Indian spirit guide" whenever she was in trouble or had a question. I remember feeling bad for the spirit guide, since he was at this woman's beck and call and couldn't do anything about it. I got the inspiration to write a story about a reluctant spirit guide, and the character of Joey came soon after. The rest of the story took several years to develop. I just wish I could remember what the movie was called!

Caffeine: The music in Blackwell Unbound was excellent. Do you factor music into your writing, or do you factor your writing into the music, or...?

Dave: Thanks! The music in Unbound was important, because music played a major part in the story. The fact that I managed to snag one of the most talented composers I've ever met was a godsend! :) Thomas Regin is the type of composer that everyone should be queuing up to work with.

Caffeine: I remember playing Two of Kind awhile back. The dual character system usedthere really stood out. Was it an influence on the control scheme used in Blackwell Unbound?

Dave: In a way, yes! A chunk of the programming code for the dual-character system was copy/pasted directly from Two of a Kind. I still call the module "Twin Control", as an homage.

But to answer your question, the major criticism of Blackwell Legacywas that Joey didn't do anything useful. He just followed Rosa around, made comments, and if he did anything it wasn't something the player could control. When I created Unbound, I decided that Joey should take a more active role. He was an equal partner in the relationship, not just a sidekick.

Caffeine: Any exclusive tidbits we can hear about The Blackwell Convergence? Maybe release estimates or new feature hints?

Dave: Sure! Some characters from the other games will be back. We'll see Nishanthi again, and learn more about Joseph Mitchell and the Countess. Lots of questions will be answered, although some others will be raised just to drive the fans crazy. :) There will also be more ghosts in Convergence than there were in Unbound and Legacy combined! I'm also working to develop Rosangela more. In Legacy I wanted her to be a bit awkward and a loner, but I went too far. She was SO awkward that it was difficult for people to relate to her. She'll still be awkward in Convergence, but the focus will be on her other qualities.

Caffeine: What are the company goals, or your personal goals, for Wadjet Eye?

Dave: Honestly? I couldn't ask for much more! I love working on these little games, and the fact that they are successful enough so I can live off them is just a bonus! If I have any goals, it would probably to branch out into publishing. I'd love to be successful enough to fund other indie developers.

Caffeine: What is your philosophy on puzzle design? How do you approach the problem of balancing puzzle difficulty? Dreamfall was criticized for an 'interactive novel' feel due to its simple puzzles.

Dave: This is a tough question. Some of the more challenging puzzles in my games generated the most vocal complaints! What I've started doing now is using dialog as a subtle hint system. If you're stuck in the game, you can usually just talk to Joey or Rosa and a hint will be given within the dialog. For example, one puzzle in the game involves using Rosa's computer to look up something. If Rosa talks to Joey at this point, they'll mention the computer in their conversation. This serves to direct the player's attention to the computer. It's not a blatant hint, but it's subtle enough that the player feels clever for having spotted it. :)

Caffeine: What are your thoughts on the current state of the games industry? If you could change one thing about it, what would it be?

Dave: The industry is exactly where it needs to be right now. Like the film and music industry, there are now fringe indie studios trying new ideas and getting noticed and rewarded for them. The fact that a little studio like mine can make a splash is an amazing thing, and hopefully I've inspired others to take a similar path.

Caffeine: Thanks a ton!

Dave: You're welcome!

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