General:Interview: Julian LeFay In Conversation

Interview: Julian LeFay In Conversation
(link)
Medium/Format	Physical Magazine
Date	November 1996
Interviewee(s)	Julian Lefay
Hosted By	PC Games

[UESP Editor's Note: This a machine translation of the original magazine interview, which was in German. All rights to the content belongs to PC Games magazine.]

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Interview: Julian LeFay in conversation

Bethesda Softworks' lead programmer Julian LeFay, previously responsible for Arena, the first chapter of The Elder Scrolls, showed us the nearly finished game in detail. In an interview, he explained Daggerfall's most important features and also commented on the lack of network support and VGA graphics.

PC Games: The Elder Scrolls: Arena was released in the spring of 1994. What have you been doing for the last 2.5 years?

Julian LeFay: Actually, we were only working on developing Daggerfall. To achieve this goal, however, we had to take a few detours: For example, to rebuild a 3D engine that would also be usable for future purposes, we first designed Terminator: Future Shock, which demonstrates the capabilities of our software. Most of the work is behind the scenes; the player doesn't see much of it. We developed software tools for almost every purpose, making Daggerfall and future games faster and cleaner to design.

PC Games: How would you describe Daggerfall? How does it differ from other role-playing games?

Julian LeFay: I would try to describe both with the term "freedom." In Daggerfall, the player has as much freedom as we could and wanted to give them. It's almost a simulation; we've omitted features like nose-blowing, of course. Furthermore, Daggerfall is in true 3D, so you don't just have a 3D view; the houses and dungeons actually consist of multiple floors and sloped levels. Daggerfall is also very entertaining: the many stories, some of which run parallel to one another, keep the player constantly on their toes.

PC Games: How was the map brought to life? Did you use real cities and people as models?

Julian LeFay: We designed the most important cities and people by hand. That is, everything that was somehow related to the main story and everything that was near these places. Of course, we couldn't design all 15,000 locations ourselves, so we gave our computer templates, which it then converted into a variety of settlements.

PC Games: Is it possible to visit the entire world of Tamriel?

Julian LeFay: No. Absolutely not. None of us have ever seen all of Tamriel. There are over 15,000 unique locations on the map, plus an unknown number of townhouses—it's completely impossible to wander off.

PC Games: Daggerfall is a city in a typical role-playing world. The medieval-looking cities and characters aren't too different from those of existing role-playing games.

Julian LeFay: I have to admit, I like traditional games and stories. We didn't want to create something bizarre. Of course, we could have decided to include a Death Cycle or a Stargate, but it's relatively difficult to create a believable and simultaneously gripping story around those things. The depth of the game is far more important than the visual similarities or differences to games like Ultima. What's really important is the gameplay, the game content, and the things the player can do in the game. I think players will agree with me here. Not everything has to be absolutely super-original—as long as it's well-liked.

PC Games: Is there anything you're particularly proud of?

Julian LeFay: What I really like about the game is the freedom it offers. With the ItemMaker, the SpellMaker, and the CharacterMaker, we tried to give the player as much freedom as possible. With all this freedom, you can create a completely unique game. With your own character class, your own magical items, and your own spells, everyone creates a completely unique world. This is what really sets it apart from other games. And while the player enjoys this freedom, the game still maintains control. Although the player can do almost anything they want, they'll never crash the software, escape the story, or get lost in the game. For this reason, we implemented an extensive storyline and over 100 mini-stories. The player will never ask, "What am I even doing here?" The only game that gave the player similar freedom is Ultima Underworld. There, too, the player was able to decide what to do quite freely and still have fun. Origin did a really good job with Ultima Underworld.

PC Games: The characters in Daggerfall were elaborately rendered...

Julian LeFay: Oh, yes. They're really beautiful. What you can see is truly magnificent. If you're more than a few centimeters away from the screen, you'd think the entire graphics were rendered in real time. Especially with the characters, we designed some very attractive art pieces.

PC Games: ...are you trying to attract adventure gamers? After all, hardcore RPG gamers enjoy themselves with text-based MUDs on the internet.

Julian LeFay: Yes, I know. But as wonderful as adventure games generally are, they don't give the player any freedom. We try to give both types of players the best of both worlds: beautiful graphics, logical puzzles, a good story, and, above all, the freedom to determine their own style of play with a very personal and completely unique character.

PC Games: Why didn't you implement network or internet capabilities?

Julian LeFay: Well, actually, it was planned for Daggerfall. What we've seen so far in online role-playing games can't be compared to standalone products. However, an online Daggerfall should be just as playable as the single-player version. The game was programmed with this in mind. We had to scrap those plans because we don't have enough time or resources. We may make multiplayer games in the future, but right now we simply don't have enough time. We're a fairly small company. We have limited resources.

PC Games: So the third chapter of The Elder Scrolls won't be network-enabled either?

Julian LeFay: Well, I can't say. It's very time-consuming to consider all the aspects of a network game. While we have great software tools that take a lot of the work off our hands, players shouldn't have to wait another three years for a sequel. I can't promise that the third chapter of The Elder Scrolls will be network-enabled, but those plans haven't been canceled yet.

PC Games: Does that mean, in plain English, that you're waiting for the success of Ultima Online?

Julian LeFay: No. The decision will be made completely independently. However, we will face the same problems. A game for several thousand players requires completely new programming logic and a central server—I'm not sure players will spend a lot of money on that. Unfortunately, as a programmer, I also have to worry about profitability. We're not like the big game houses who can afford to fail. We have to ensure that every game is a high-quality product and therefore a success.

PC Games: The interface is very easy to use and reminiscent of Terminator: Future Shock and other 3D action games. Was that intentional?

Julian LeFay: We didn't have action gamers in mind when we designed the game. Some might still like it. The game is more than just running around and shooting monsters; if I want to, I can do it. The game has a very high frame rate, true 3D, light sourcing, and all kinds of weapons and enemies. Still, the challenge should be rather low, since there's no high score or monster death counter. We didn't intend to send the player on a monster hunt. With the game, we intended to offer the player a real adventure in an alien world.

PC Games: In what way is Daggerfall supposed to attract customers more than other role-playing games?

Julian LeFay: Yes. I think the most important thing is the amount of gameplay the buyer gets. It takes over 100 hours to complete the main story, another 100 hours for the numerous mini-stories, and even if you just decide to wander around and do whatever comes to mind, you'll have a lot of fun. The value for money will be unmatched, even in the role-playing world. That's important to me. I want to be sure that players get a good deal on my game.

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Julian Lefay

Julian LeFay has been chief programmer at Bethesda Softworks since 1987. He combines programming skills and a command of numerous computer languages ​​with his artistic flair; as a graphic designer and musician, he can clearly visualize the planned software even in the design phase. His most important project to date is The Elder Serail: Daggerfall, but his main focus has long been on the game's third chapter, which he aims to complete in about a year. Born in Denmark, his diet consists primarily of almost raw hamburgers, which he smothers in ketchup before eating.