Westwood Studios and Katerina de Leon Storm GZ with Details on Pirates of Cove Island!
by The Badger

There’s something appealing about the notion of pirates. Be it the traditional fearsome Jolly Roger flying high on a ship full of scurvy sea-dogs, or the reluctant hero who uses his/her buccaneer blood to raid for purposes that are selfish and/or selfless: There are almost limitless examples of books, movies, and legends that we, as a culture, have based on these trademark symbols of the sea.

Enter the dangerous and beautiful Katerina de Leon, the star of Westwood Studios’ upcoming Pirates of Skull Cove for PS2 and Xbox. All those things we love about pirates – epic sea battles, daring swordfights, intriguing stories, and a lady pirate who is as sharp as she looks – are being crafted together to create one grand booty of an adventure for gaming pirates everywhere!

We at GameZone were lucky enough to squeeze in a few questions with Louis Castle, the executive producer of Pirates of Skull Cove, as well as the co-founder and general manager of Westwood studios.

Plunder away, matey! And if this isn’t enough to sate you havoc-wreaking rascals, you’re more than welcome to check out Katerina’s own Pirates of Skull Cove site! Check it out at the end of the interview!

GZ:  There are so many legends, stories, and facts about pirates. Were you inspired by a particular book, movie, or pirate – or was it the concept in general that led you to create Katerina de Leon?

LC: We researched countless fictional and factual novels, games and movies.  The story and world we created is blend of all those sources, but is a totally new pirate story in of itself.  We’ve created a fanciful world in Pirates of Skull cove where being a pirate is cool, fun and action packed.  We are not trying to make a simulation or something that is historically accurate, rather a more action adventure of piracy.

GZ: From what we’ve heard so far, there are a lot of different elements going into Pirates of Skull Cove: There will be strategy type elements in the sea battles, an action emphasis in Katerina’s mastery of swordplay, and an adventure aspect as we learn about Kat’s past. Is the game going to lean toward one genre, or is this a tough game to categorize?

LC: Pirates can be categorized as a character-based action adventure.  The story revolves around Katerina de Leon, the “Black Kat.”  Her many adventures take her to several different worlds, from a tropical paradise, to a haunted island chain.  Katerina will be able to fight on land, using a combination of swordplay, special moves, fantastic weapons and seafaring magic found in myths and legends.  She will also be able to fight on the high seas.  She will be able to purchase bigger ships as the game progresses, from a small schooner to an enormous galleon, each with special weapons and devastating attacks.

GZ: There seems to be an interesting combination of historical facts and the inclusion of magical items and themes. Can you tell us a little of how you are approaching this blend of fact and fiction?

LC: All of our magical items and themes come from the legends and lore of seafaring folk from around the globe.  This is not the fantasy magic of wizards but the realization of stories told from old salts in musty inns.  Our story begins in a Caribbean like tropical island group but we allow Kat to find “chartstone” maps that let her sail into mythical places with intriguing and challenging denizens.  History is really only used as a rough guide for the setting of the game and gives it all context.  It is in no way a history lesson and we make no attempts to be historically accurate on the settings, ships or characters.  

GZ Tell us a little more about the ships (and their arsenals) gamers will have to choose from. Are they mostly based from a particular historical era or are they models of the most famous types of ships with a little imagination thrown in?

LC: Our ships, just like the rest of the fiction of Pirates, are a fantastic blend of history, lore, and fantasy.  We never set out to make a pirate simulation game, rather something that would capture the players’ imaginations.  There are 11 ships available to Katerina in the game.  She will start off with a small ship, armed with only two cannons, but will quickly progress to larger ships with betters arms and armor through winning battles and collecting buried treasure.  Different types of cannons with different projectiles offer a wide variety of tactics.  You can use chain shot to take out an opponents sails and rigging, stick to cannon balls, ram them or even switch to clay pots that spew noxious clouds and confuse the enemy crew.  Then of course, there is the magic! 

GZ: Pirates of Skull Cove will include a combat mode for player-to-player combat. Will this be for sea battles only, or will there also be swordplay multi-player modes?

LC: Pirates will feature only ship-to-ship combat in multiplay mode.  Our game is more adventure than a fighting game so one-on-one sword fighting is not the goal this time.  

GZ It sounds like the players of Pirates of Skull Cove might have to be fairly well rounded gamers to excel at the different aspects of the game. Will there be difficulty settings to help a gamer who might be more proficient at one aspect than another?

LC: Not in a slider or anything like that but the game design allows less adept players to go back to previously explored areas and generate more money which can be used to get better equipment and much bigger ships.  This design gives the careful thoughtful player all the advantages that a very skilled player may gain in a battle.  

GZ: How much will we get to learn about the mysterious Kat? Will the player have the option to get into the depths of her story (such as exploring through journals and personal writings), or will we learn her story in other ways?

LC: Black Kat’s story will be revealed throughout the game, through her interactions with other characters.  I can tell you that she is a true pirate – the daughter of a famous pirate and an island governor.  Her parents were killed by the evil Captain Hawk and you follow Katerina on her quest to avenge their murders.  She has a rich back-story that is revealed in part through her adventures but offers a wonderful canvas for future exploration.  

GZ: How much of the plot is usually developed when you start the work on a game such as Pirates of Skull Cove? Is it similar to having a screenplay at the start of movie filming where improv sometimes overrules a few lines or stories here or there, or do you like to start work on the title and see where the creative process takes you?

LC: In most products the product story is much too large to realize in one game.  In the case of Pirates there were three complete screenplays written about Kat and her family adventures.  We chose Kat’s story because it felt like the best place to start but Mara (her mother) and the other characters are all well thought through characters with their own histories and adventures.  

GZ: It must be exciting, and also stressful, to create games on newer (and even publicly unreleased) systems which you haven’t spent as much time developing on. What do you like best, and least, about creating games in this more unfamiliar territory?

LC: We actually love working on console platforms.  Consoles offer a high degree of certainty of experience to our users.  The PC is much more of a challenge when it comes to creating a consistent experience since new owners want products that use their cool new systems, but consumers with systems only a couple of years old also want to enjoy the product.  The biggest frustration on new consoles is that it is very difficult to get a clear picture of the hardware far enough in advance to do epic titles near the launch of the system.  Iterative products and technologies are far easier to predict on new systems but the brand new stuff is what makes the owners of these new systems say “Wow! I’ve never been able to do THAT before!”   That’s what we are shooting for with Pirates.  

GZ: The powerful capabilities of gaming platforms has made the amount of realism possible in games more incredible than ever before. With these possibilities, do you spend more or less time with real-life models (both people and material) in order to help take advantage of these capabilities?

LC: We spend more and more time with real models, motion capture and other methods of creating the high quality and massive quantity of assets that make up modern console products.  

GZ: Speaking for myself, when I really get into a game I start seeing aspects of the character I am playing or the strategies I am following in every day life. Do you ever get so passionately involved with the characters or plotlines of your games that sometimes it overflows into your off time?

LC: Um, if you saw my office you would know the answer!  Yes, I often get lost in the fiction of the games we are creating but I feel that is a good thing.  I always know we have clearly defined a character or world when everyone starts to argue “Kat wouldn’t do that!” or “that can’t happen in the voodoo world!”  That kind of emersion tends to bleed out into the real world but fortunately, we make games so we don’t have to deal with the real world that much.  

GZ: Do you think there might be future stories in the de Leon chronicles? Or is it too early to tell?

LC: We evaluate all of our games for possible sequels or ports to different platforms.  It’s a little too early to do that with Pirates though.  We just want to finish this game and make it the best it can be.   

GZ: We know you can’t spoil the surprise, but can you give us a little clue on some of the goodies we might see on the web site in the coming months?

LC: The website will have regular updates in the months before we release the game.  Keep checking back!  

GZ: Rumor has it gamers will be able to ask Kat de Leon questions personally and maybe even have them posted on the site. Can you tell us when they might have the chance to do this firsthand?

LC: Now!  Check out the Pirates website (http://westwood.ea.com/games/pirates/home.html) for information on emailing Black Kat.  Responses to select questions will be posted on the site on a regular basis.

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A big yo-ho-ho and a bottle of **insert piratey beverage of choice here** to the crew over at Westwood Studios for their time and for filling us in on Katerina and the Pirates of Skull Cove! We’ve got a big “X” marking the spot for this game’s release!

Need to know more? Katerina and crew are waiting to keep you updated right here!
http://westwood.ea.com/games/pirates/home.html

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