Several months back we published an interview with the team behind Sea Dogs 2, the sequel to the amazingly addictive pirate RPG for PC. At the time, we blubbered about how much we were anticipating a game for which we’d not even seen gameplay videos.
A few weeks before E3, Sea Dogs 2 ceased development and a “new ” game, Pirates of the Caribbean, was announced by Bethesda Softworks. If you read our post-E3 coverage, you know that we had the opportunity to play Pirates of the Caribbean at the annual show, and suffice it to say, the game met all of our Sea Dogs 2-inspired expectations – and then some. Namely, because it?s darn near identical to the aforementioned sequel.
Shortly after the name change but before E3, we had a follow-up interview to our original conversation with Pete Hines. Although we’ve already answered a few of these questions ourselves in our E3 wrap-up, we thought you’d want to hear more about Pirates of the Caribbean from the publishing team itself. Without further ado, then, below is our second conversation with Pete Hines, who was involved in the original Sea Dogs and has spent more time than is probably healthy with Bethesda’s upcoming Xbox and PC game Pirates of the Caribbean.
DailyGame: It’s clear that Pirates of the Caribbean isn?t necessarily tied in to the upcoming movie. How has this clean slate affected the game?s open-endedness?
Pete Hines: It hasn?t at all. If you want to jump into Pirates and play for 100 hours without ever doing anything related to the main quest, go right ahead. I think most folks will see what the main story is about, and they should because there are a lot of fun quests and good gameplay to be found there, but the open-ended part is there whenever you want it.
With that said, are there any elements from the movie that might make an appearance in the game? Say, for example, the ships, soundtrack or likenesses of the movie?s actors?
Obviously having Keira Knightley do the narration for the game gives us a nice tie-in to the film. The main story of the game also includes an encounter with the Black Pearl and its cursed crew, which will be a cool experience whether you?ve seen the film or not. I think you?ll notice some influences in the music for the game. Overall, the look and feel of the game is pretty close to the movie just in terms of the way the towns look, what it?s like to be at sea: the sky, the weather … all of those things that combine to make Pirates of the Caribbean a visually stunning game.
Since the game isn?t necessarily tied into the movie, please describe the swashbuckling story and characters behind Pirates of the Caribbean
You assume the role of a freelance Captain who becomes caught in a struggle for power. At the start of the game, you witness French forces invading an English island. Sailing away to avoid harm, you set course for a nearby English colony to inform the English Governor of the bad news. Upon reaching the island, the English Governor decides to enlist you to infiltrate the captured island as a spy for the English to see what you can discover about the French invasion force and their future plans. Thus begins your adventure.
If you decide to follow the main quest line and sail back to the invaded island on the Governor’s orders, you will soon find yourself embroiled in a power struggle between governments, pirates, merchants, and fortune-seekers. Amidst the turmoil you will find the root of the conflict lies with legend of an unbelievable treasure hidden in a secret island cache.
A priceless and magical ruby artifact on a hidden island somewhere in the Caribbean is believed to have the power to tip the balance of power in favor of whoever possesses it. During the game you will encounter a mysterious treasure map that needs to be translated and when you find an eccentric inventor that can translate it for you, it is revealed that the artifact you seek is on a lost island that no one has seen for many years.
Will there be more than one campaign or more than one playable character, as was originally planned for Sea Dogs 2?
There?s just the one main story and one main character, Nathaniel Hawk.
What lessons did the development team learn on Sea Dogs that it?s translating to make Pirates of the Caribbean a fun, successful game?
More than anything, I think Akella has tried to expand gameplay options on land so that when you return from sea you can spend some time exploring a town or an island, and it?s a more rich and rewarding experience. Pirates also allows you to jump quickly back and forth between key locations, like taverns and shipyards, so that if you?re in a hurry to buy a few things, hire some men, and get back out to sea?it?s quick and easy to do. Like most developers, I think they?ve looked at their past work and tried to build on the positives while addressing any shortcomings or things they weren?t able to include in a previous game.
With the title tie-in to this summer?s movie, are you at all concerned that a lackluster performance at the box office will affect the perception and/or popularity of the game?
To be honest, we don?t have a whole lot of time to worry about the movie. Jerry Bruckheimer has got more blockbuster movies under his belt than you can shake a stick at; I wouldn?t worry too much about the movie being good. We?re much more concerned with making the game as good as it can be so that when it comes out, it?s a fun experience that gamers enjoy. At the end of the day, that?s how we?re going to be judged.
Will Pirates of the Caribbean include any multiplayer components?
Pirates of the Caribbean is a single-player game only.
Approximately how many gameplay hours would you say Pirates of the Caribbean encompasses?
Because of the open-ended nature, it?s virtually limitless. The main quest is probably 20-30 hours. Then you add to that side quests, randomly generated quests, and the open game system (trading, sea battles, etc.) and it?s countless hours more. There?s always one more ship out there just begging to be plundered.
What would you tell people who were looking forward to Sea Dogs 2 to reassure them that Pirates of the Caribbean will more than take its place?
I?d say that the more they see and hear about Pirates of the Caribbean, the more they will be convinced that Pirates of the Caribbean is the experience they?ve been waiting for. If what appeals to them is the idea of living the life of a pirate, exploring towns, attacking forts, engaging in big ship battles, and so forth, then there?s plenty of adventure awaiting them in Pirates of the Caribbean.
From what we played at E3, we’d have to agree. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for our detailed hands-on impressions of Pirates on PC. Thanks to Pete Hines at Bethesda Softworks for taking the time (once again) to talk with us about Pirates of the Caribbean.