A personal challenge

Well things have slowed a little this month at Zatobo, with the programmer having other commitments for several weeks, and the business guy out of the country, the decision was taken to halt development work for two months.

Of course I am sad not to be hurtling forward with our new project(s), but the big upside is that I can get back to working on the book full time for that period. My plan is basically to undertake the National Novel Writing Month (but in September), and challenge myself to write 50,000 words, and hopefully bring Vinland to a conclusion in the process.

Things have been fairly slow so far (but then for me, the beginning always is) as I try to dive back into the fascinating world of the Vikings. Thankfully my reams of notes have served me well in reminding me just what was happening, and what is to be occur in the future. The book is currently in two parts, the early stuff in Greenland and then their sailing to Vinland without anything really connecting the two events. My ambition therefore is to fill this in, introducing another character or two and filling those who already exist in.

Throughout work on Vinland, there has always been one major antagonist, but without spoiling too much, they are at some distance to events directly going on with the people in Vinland. I have therefore created another character (or rather re-written one) to full fill a more direct conflict with Leif and his crew who I hope will spice things up rather more. It’s been a while since I have shown things off, so here is a little slip that I have recently been working on. Please bear in mind that this is still very much a part of the manuscript and as such has not been treated with the spit and polish of a published work;

“Citizens of Hvalsey!” Thorstein began, a warm smile on his face which Iva immediately hated.

“I come here before you today, not to complain about injuries received during my duties as an enforcer of peace in the town, but rather to ensure that this man is never again allowed to perpetrate such violence. I am a fighter, a man well used to taking blows from my foes, but next time we may not be so lucky. Imagine, if then it was your wife, or your son, or even gods be so cruel, your daughter.” As he said this, Iva noticed her father sitting on the other side of the room, watching the proceedings with a frown on his face. He was so intent on the words of the young noble, that she was sure he had no idea that she was present.

“My mother and I were doing our rounds of the town, but hearing a commotion in Gorran’s home decided to investigate. On arrival, we encountered a brawl going on between two strangers to the town. We managed to stop this in short order, and determined that the cause had been women, not just any women but a mere thrall and a wayward girl.”Again Iva looked over to her father, and saw that now his fists were balled up, and a vein was throbbing in his neck. Clearly he had understood whom Thorstein was talking about.

“I am sorry to inform you all that this girl, a daughter of Hvalsey no less, was the spark that caused an argument to descend into violence, with her misguided attack on our guest...” Iva tried to shrink further into the shadows, but it seemed that still no one had noticed her, all were intent on Thorstein’s words. She observed however that Thjodhilde threw her another glance from her place at the table, but she made no indication that she had recognised the young woman. While she was watching Thjodhilde, she felt another pair of eyes on her, and looking up the table saw Gorran was also watching at her, and as their eyes met, his widened in recognition. Meanwhile Thorstein had continued his speech.

“Perhaps we are wrong to lament so about her actions however. How can we hope to protect the young when there are all these foreign interferences coming to Greenland, there seem to be more strangers in town at the moment than citizens, and this my friends worries me greatly.” Thorstein said, beginning to pace in front of the table, using his hands to articulate his points. He had dressed this up in such a way that the audience failed to realise that he was of the same age as the girl he was chastising. At these words, the massive thrall lifted his head to regard his accuser, moving for the first time.

“It is not on this lady’s misdeeds however, that we are here in deliberation about, but rather on the aftermath of her actions. I was busily restraining her, prepared to make her put things right like a good citizen of this fair settlement should, when this barbarian launched himself from the shadows and went at me like a savage animal.” Thorstein observed, watching as the captive began to struggle against his bonds, clearly becoming more agitated. From the audience there were a number of jeers, which only incensed the thrall more, much to Thorstein’s obvious satisfaction.

“With such influences as this, how can we expect better from our children? It is clear that this creature here before us has no morals, no conception of good or evil. He is an animal and deserves to be treated as such. When a dog bites its owner, we put it down, and so it should be here. Put this mad beast down!”Thorstein instructed.

The thrall began making moaning sounds, his jaw working furiously but unable to make any comprehensible sound. The attempt just made the calls from the crowd worse, a sentiment that Thorstein was quick to seize upon.

“Rruf! Down boy!” he called out, making a growling noise and snapping his teeth together like the jaws of a dog. The crowd responded wildly, many barking at the thrall, making him twist and bend with fury.

“And what if you kicked the dog, and it bit you then?” Leif interjected, rising from his place. Thorstein turned to face him, but said nothing. The thrall seemed to calm a little, but continued to make whimpering noises.

“On whom would the fault fall? Surely then, the dog has been provoked, and is only then acting in a manner that is natural. Are we so different? Many fights begin because one party feels threatened, can they then be held accountable for the attack? On whom does the blame lie?” he continued, rounding the table to join his brother. Iva raised her head on hearing this, pleased that the man was putting up such an eloquent defence.

“The blame brother, lies with the one to strikes first. Words are bandied around like ale, men like banter it keeps their minds sharp, but only rarely does it descend into violence as we are describing here.” Thorstein responded, clearly warming to the intellectual cut and thrust. Iva felt sickened, it was clear he was doing this for the sheer pleasure of watching his victim writhe. The difference between the brothers could not be more pronounced.

“You ask many questions brother, but answer few questions. Riddle me this; what separates us from the animals?” Thorstein continued, his smile still fixed, but the warmth in it was gone. When Leif did not immediately reply, he answered for himself.

“The difference, lies in that we can separate words and actions. You accuse me of being a liar...” Thorstein began, then seeing Leif was finally about to rally continued, purposefully cutting him off, holding his palms up to his brother.

“...yet here I stand, my hands are empty of weapons, neither have they formed a fist with which to strike you. You come before us to defend this animal, why? Can he not defend himself? Father said we were both to speak our parts, yet instead he struggles against his bonds. Is that the mark of a civilised person, or a beast? ” Thorstein exclaimed, his argument hammering home, his smile had faded, replaced by a look of expectation, smugness even. Leif remained silent, his face stony.

“Your arguments seem to claim that he was provoked to violence, why then did he not call out a warning first? Viking law states, does it not, that the difference between a sanctioned killing and that of murder is that a killing requires both parties to be willing combatants, on an equal footing when neither man’s back is turned. Otherwise, it is murder. Could we not apply the same logic to assault?” Thorstein continued to press his advantage. Turning, he had addressed Rhuntyr directly, as if to get confirmation. The lawspeaker was quiet for a while, considering the implications, and Iva watched the man closely, trying to read some kind of emotion from his flat face.

The room fell silent, waiting for the decision.

After a pause, he gave a nod. Iva felt her chest seize up at the judgement, knowing in her heart that the priest had just issued the brave thrall’s death warrant. The room erupted in shouts, men calling to their neighbours about the outcome, while others yelled for the slave’s head.

Leif, his face still like rock, walked down to the thrall and the voices in the room fell quiet, waiting to see what the heir would do. He crouched down in front of the German, and the slave raised his head to regard his defender. Iva could only imagine the anguish on the poor man’s face, and was touched to see Leif’s own cool exterior shed some of its ice at what he must have seen in the thrall’s eyes.

“Can you understand me?” he asked softly. The big man was still for a moment, then slowly inclined his head.

“I know you have a secret, it may save your life. Can I share it?” Leif continued, his voice still gentle.

Image courtesy of; http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-4122434587

Mixed Media in Vinland

So back in March I began to discuss the background to MixedMedia writing, and how it is currently being used by others in the industry; but then how does this feed into the Vinland world, and my own plans with it?

Well at the moment, there are two sides to my work here, the games and the books. I have big plans for both, as laid out below. Films will (hopefully!) come later, but nothing concrete is planned for that medium just yet.

Books; if you were among the first readers of this blog, then you will be well aware that it all began with an idea for a book. This in time became Vinland: Revelations, a text that I am still labouring diligently away at. It all began with an idea... what if the Vikings survived in America? What in history would have to change for this to happen? To explain this, I applied the Butterfly Effect, where one seemingly minor change in time can cause a dramatic transformation of history. Therefore we need a situation just like the butterfly flapping its wings, and causing a hurricane.

The event I settled on takes place in the early history of Vinlandic exploration and colonisation, and was at the time attributed to the intervention of the gods. But these gods are fickle creatures, and in this telling they chose not to intervene, and rather to let events play themselves out. The result? Well that is up to you to discover.

Revelations was created to explain how the Vikings made it to the New World, it will then spawn a parallel series that will take place sometime later and covers how the Viking people in this alien world have developed and made it their home.

Games; now that the bones of the story have been set, we find that we need something to fill in the gaps or detail, and games happen to be very good at doing this. They allow the player to actually visit and take part in the setting, and to see with their own eyes the wonders seen by the characters, their decisions there can really matter.  

As you will be aware, our first release was Vinland: Arctic Assault, a simple game which traces the journey undertaken by Leif Erikson in Revelations (now released on Desura, please do support this project by following the link below!), however this is more about survival and discovery. Where the book concentrates more on the characters and their personal challenges, the game is more about the dangers faced at sea, and by actually putting the player in the role of the helmsman, makes this nuance all the clearer.

Arctic Assault is certainly not the end of the road for this, we have already begun work on a second game. Although this one is not directly related to the Vinland series, it will use Vinlandic factions, and allow us to build up a little more detail on the different factions in power, and their relationships with each other. The ultimate goal of this game is to provide the technical backdrop for a full on RPG, set in early Vinland, where the player will be able to visit the towns detailed in the books, and using those as a base, evoking and expanding on topics only touched upon briefly in other mediums, thereby allowing us to broaden the Vinland universe. 

Image courtesy of: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/6021580

Emotional Rollercoaster

So, i’ve been rather quiet on here lately due to living on somewhat of a roller coaster existence recently, both in terms of work with Zatobo and on the book so here follows an account of the trials and tribulations experienced for both.

Zatobo

The jubilation that followed the release of our long awaited Vinland: Arctic Assault was cut short by a series of attacks on our website, which left us with a dramatically reduced online presence. This was only made worse by the realisation that the core files were damaged beyond repair, meaning that we had to take our entire website off air and with it the sole means we had to sell the game.

During this time, we sent numerous requests to various online distributors like Steam and Desura in an attempt to broaden our market base and provide alternative means of acquiring the game however this hope was dashed by a series of refusals.

We then turned back to the drawing board, and looked deeply at the game we had crafted endeavouring to build on our strengths and reduce the weaknesses. This produced our first update, which included a number of performance updates, most principally the graphical user interface and a complete overhaul of the campaign map.

The new campaign map

Armed with this update, we then re-applied to Desura, this time going right to the top and... nothing. Silence. Noting that in the past, they had been very quick to get back to us with a response I decided to investigate, starting off by testing my email account. Turns out that the same attacks which knocked the website out, may also have been the cause of email problems; it could send but not receive messages. I then sent a note with my alternate account to our contact at Desura, and thankfully he had a copy of his reply.

What an important message it was! Acceptance to their distribution service! Break out the champagne people, we’ve finally made a breakthrough!

This is by no means the end of the road for us now, we still need to fix a couple of lingering bugs, sort out some legalities and upload the latest build before it is available to the public. Still, this is some awesome progress!

Vinland: The Book

While work with the game has been an emotional tempest, the book has been something more of a calming experience. Although progress on the book has at times been slow due to pressures of working at Zatobo, I have been able to chip away at it. 

During the past month, I spent over two weeks exploring Scandinavia, with a trip around Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In this time I visited as many Viking sites as I could stomach during my time there, even getting to sample a traditional Viking feast in Stockholm, featuring mead and reindeer!

This has proved to be a very positive effect on my efforts on the book, providing a great deal of inspiration to continue. Although the plan of the books has remained much the same for the past couple of months, the detail that has gone in has increased, as has (I hope!) the believability of the Vinland Vikings. 

At the moment I am going through what I wrote many months ago, connecting up some of the loose ends, and making sure that the characters are developing in the way I want. At the last word count, I was at around 80,000 of a new target of roughly 120,000 so I am well on the way to finishing!

Finally, as a thank you for your patience in waiting so long for Vinland, here is a short extract I recently wrote and particularly like. We join the story just as Thorstein intervenes with his mother, Thjodhilde, as a fight is about to break out between Rorik, Iva and Edvin over the treatment of one of the slaves.

Enjoy!

“We offer our apologies for the behaviour of our citizens” Thorstein offered, gesturing to Iva. Rorik dropped his hand away from the knife handle, and Edvin visibly relaxed “this is no way to welcome visitors to Greenland.”

“Thorvald, I had believed you more than capable of keeping the peace” Thjodhilde taunted “must Thorstein do everything here?”

“Fights begin. Fights end, it’s better than letting long held grievances be decided by a knife in the dark” Thorvald pointed out with a shrug, not rising to the bait.

“That maybe true...” Thorstein began, his smile sending a chill down Gorran’s spine. The young lordling walked through the room towards Iva, Edvin tried to stand his ground, but was moved aside by Thorstein’s gaze, his eyes as menacing as a silent iceberg in the night.

He then gently took her left hand in his, and patted it comfortingly as though to stop it from shaking. Rorik looked on at the scene, his jaw set, all the arrogance gone from his stance.

“...but we must show that violence here will not be tolerated” he concluded calmly. Suddenly he bent down, using his weight to drag Iva with him and thrust her arm into the flames of the fireplace, moving his own hands away from the flame to grasp her arm at the elbow.

Iva let out a hideous shriek as flames found the flesh on her arm, and Gorran had to cover his nose as the stench of burned hair and skin saturated the room.

Vinland: Arctic Assault RELEASED!

Zatobo Games are very pleased to announce that Vinland: Arctic Assault has been released to the public. You can get it by following this link right to the store.

There is also a demo of the game available on the website, just follow the “Demo!” link. You can either download a version, or try it in your browser.

Vinland: Arctic Assault is a game in which you take the role of Leif Erikson on his famous voyage into the unknown, which would culminate in the discovery of America, known to the Vikings as the mystical land of Vinland. You must guide his intrepid crew from the safety of foster-father in Norway, through Iceland and Greenland, across the dangers of the Northern Atlantic and finally to the Americas themselves.

The storyline is written by author, Gareth L. B. Kay and introduces a number of characters which will feature in the forthcoming Vinland: Revelations novel. These heroes can be recruited to assist Leif in his journey, each adding their particular skills to his efforts. You will also be able to pick up a wide range of different weapons, and select from three different classes of ship to customise the experience to your particular preferences and play-style.

Along the way you will have to defeat nefarious bishops, wild witches and of course waves and waves of ice, all the while working to overcome the best efforts of the elements themselves in the form of storms, fog and even blizzards and avalanches.




We are currently exploring further distribution methods including Wooglie.com and Kongregate, plus we are in talks with Desura and will be investigating release on Steam shortly, so stay tuned about getting the game through your favourite channels!

Find out more at Zatobo.com
Track us at http://www.indiedb.com/games/vinland-arctic-assault
Follow us on Facebook and @Zatobo on Twitter.

Vinland: Arctic Assault Release Date Announced!

The story of one of the most incredible adventures in history is about to make its way to the digital platform on Monday the 23rd of April. Join Leif Erikson, the Viking explorer credited with being the first European in America, on his extraordinary voyage of discovery.

Face a multitude of dangers on the high seas, including villainous bishops, wild witches, the restless dead and of course tonnes, and tonnes of ice bergs. To aid you against these challenges, you can enlist a group of Norse heroes, men and women able to instil new abilities and powers on your ships. Choose from a wide range of different weapons and vessels in order to be best equipped to overcome all that stands in your way to Vinland!

Zatobo are so excited at the moment to be so close to finishing the game we have been slaving over for the past couple of months. What started out as a brief email exchange between modders has evolved into something special here, and we are thrilled to finally be able to show it off properly to the world. The pressure is on to get everything in place now for the big day, but we are confident that everything will be ready.

We will be announcing more over the coming days, including where you will be able to get the game. In the meantime, enjoy the release trailer we have just launched and we hope to see you in Vinland soon!

Indie Games Channel Interview

We are very happy to present our very first interview with the media. It goes into quite a lot of depth around the development of both the formation of Zatobo as a company, and on development on Vinland: Arctic Assault. The below is the result of a discussion between interviewer Ozzie Meija and Lead Designer Gareth "Mordred" Kay.

You can find the full article here

Mixed Media Writing : What is it?

Mixed media writing is a term that I keep on talking about, but have never really explained what it is, nor have I discussed what it means for my own work on the world of Vinland. When asked what is it that I enjoy doing most, I would have to answer “creating worlds”. While imaging new geographical locations or thinking up new characters might be interesting, it is how all these elements work together that really holds the fascination. With the emergence of ever improving technologies the interplay between these themes becomes more and more advanced, and is continually unlocking new opportunities in creating worlds. In this article I want to begin discussing just what these elements are, and how they work together.

Essentially mixed media writing is the process of creating a world through multiple platforms, each one filling in new details in the greater picture. Where a single book tells only one part of a whole, a series of books can cover multiple stories and so fill in much more detail about the entire world in which the characters are living, and thus reveal far more about the particularities of this creation compared to the reality in which we all live. Mixed media writing takes this concept a step further, building on the strengths and weaknesses of each platform to fill in even more of the detail. Currently I would argue that there are three big players in the storytelling-entertainment industry, books, film/television and games.

Books, are great at building character. This is because you can get inside that person and hear not only their dialogue and watch their action, but also listen in on their very thoughts, and it is this personal touch which really builds up how these characters behave. Film or television on the other hand allow a more visual experience, showing you how the world looks and behaves while still populating it with the interesting characters (though lacking the thought processes), and act to really dramatise any action sequences to raise a thrill that books can only dream of. Finally we have computer games, these share many of the benefits of the other two mediums (and their pitfalls), but allow the player to really experience the world. Their exploration of the world is not tied solely to the imagination of the author / director but they also have the ability to create their own tales and story from their experiences. Games give the player a world and invite them to experience it for themselves.

Individually each is of course a very powerful tool in creating their worlds. Books have started off many of the most well known; for instance Lord of the Rings or Narnia while film/television have their own franchises, think Star Trek or Star Wars, and games have theirs too such as the Elder Scrolls or Warcraft.

You will immediately thing “hold on a moment, all of these have films / books / games made of them too!”, and this just goes on to highlight just how powerful mixed media storytelling has become, and how important it is to each of these worlds, which would most likely be a mere shadow of what they are now. Each world uses the strengths and weaknesses of their medium to impart a little more of the detail of that world, and each person who consumes this does not suddenly forget what they learnt, they keep it and subsequent offerings only increase the image of this world in their mind.

In the Lord of the Rings books they may learn about how Bilbo fears the ring and its influence on him far more than you get from the films, but the films in turn impart more of a visual clue to the differences between the Orks and Uruk Hai than was possible in the books, while imparting more of a sense of the true scale of what they were up against. The games on the other hand, let you explore different areas of Middle Earth that are not covered in the books, and experience the world outside of the direct influence of the Fellowship.

Taken individually you would only get a small fraction, a tiny piece of what makes the world turn, but when these are compounded the image becomes far more complete and the world takes on a life of its own. 

Find out more at Zatobo.com

Track us at http://www.indiedb.com/games/vinland-arctic-assault

Follow us on Facebook and @Zatobo on Twitter.

Image courtesy of the Matrix