Road to Allysium - Interview with Michael 'Madigan' DeWit
Parcival, 2003-11-26

Mystical Productions is working on a Dungeon Siege Siegelet names The Road to Allysium. We had a chance to interview Michael 'Madigan' DeWit, project lead and initiator.

RPGDot: For how long have you been working on Allysium and how many people
are working on it?

Madigan: Allysium has been under development for a little over a year and a half and we currently have 8 people working on the development of Allysium. Each person has a task in which they perform. Major Hostility is our main coder and is responsible for a lot of the custom interface features being implemented in Allysium, a very valuable asset to the team as well as a great all around guy. Deux is a graphics engineer by day and an Allysium graphics engineer by night and he is responsible for designing the interface. Deux also created the Allysium Logo you find at our Homepage which should give you a solid idea of his talents. Silence is a little more multitasked as he is handling the lore books and has also contributed a lot of custom weapons, but his main task is Co-author as he collaborates with me on the storyline and quest implementation. NiteRage is a 3d modeler whom creates most of the custom weapons you will find in Allysium, his perfectionist nature coupled with his original designs make him a powerful asset to Allysium. Elys is responsible for the multiplayer portion of Allysium, She will be implementing the veteran and elite levels for Multiplay, which is quite a task, Elys is one of the hardest working members in the Dungeon Siege community and we are very grateful to have her as a part of this team. IceMage, is a very knowledgeable coder and sfx engineer as well as a community leader, Icemage acts as a consultant for spell implementation and has assisted with the more complex spell issues. Ase has contributed much to the vision of Allysium, he is also my son, and being 12 yrs old gives him a unique perspective and an imagination that many of us older guys and gals overlook. Many of his ideas have been implemented into the world of Allysium, Destiny's pet Raven is an example, we call him the "house of ideas". Myself otherwise known as Madigan, I'm a bit multitasked as well, My responsibilities include World and Map Design, Storyline Author, Custom textures and skins as well as custom behaviors for enemies and NPC'S. Game balance, custom spells, custom potions, custom weapons and armor, infobits, and music selection and placement as well as some custom mood music I've composed for Allysium.

Pottersville overlooking Lake Tanauhbi

RPGDot: Could you describe what Allysium is about?

Madigan: Allysium is about Adventure, and an Eons old Feud, You start out as a lonely Drifter with no origins accept the ones you have made and who finds his or her way to Marafet. That is where the game begins and soon a chain of events begin to take place when you're suddenly referred to as someone you are not, or are you? You don't have amnesia or anything like that. You are you, or at least, you thought you were? It is up to you to unravel the Mystery that is Allysium.  The Characters in Allysium comprise of you and 7 other travelers to join you upon your quest. Destiny, A Woodland Elf, whom there is more to than meets the eye, Geldor, an ages old mage who finds himself resurrected under the same force's which have mysteriously resurrected many evil hordes you will face. Why or what has given Geldor the power to resist the evil influence unlike the others is another mystery. Arielle, A Drow Elf, has an agenda of her own that will tie some things together. Madigan is just a pub loving Gnome for hire, Bjorn, a Viking, whose quest has brought him far north from his homeland. Pug, A rebellious Dwarf that has found he no longer has anything in common with his brethren? and of course a packmule. We considered creating an alternate animal other than the packmule, But we agree with With the good folks at Gas Powered Games "The PackMule Rocks!!"

The Temple of Eternal Springs

RPGDot: How did it all get started? When and why did you set out to create
a DS Mod?

Madigan: It all started the day I downloaded the tool kit, But The Concept of Allysium had been formed a year or so after I Released my StarCraft StarSiege Campaigns, There were a lot of rpg style maps created for Starcraft made by the community which I played with enjoyment, and a love for Tolkeinish adventures and medieval fantasy over the years sort of combined, and out of this with the help of my son, Allysium took form. It was right about that time that a new company Known as Gas powered games announced there game and the tool kit, coincidence? Sure if you believe in that sort of thing. As to why I chose to use the Dungeon Siege engine as opposed to the other toolkits available, was because of a few simple elements I found when playing Dungeon Siege Through. The Visuals where astonishing, and the other engines weren't equipped to portray the Visuals and settings which have come alive in Allysium. Each tool kit offered advantages in certain aspects as well as features that were unique to each construction set. The features that weren't available from the DS tool kit we simply found away around because of the high Modability of the engine.

RPGDot: How far in the development are you? What are the major milestones
you passed already?

Madigan: I would have to say we are about 70 % complete, and completing the World was a major milestone as well as implementing the conversation system which allows us true RPG capabilities. It also increased the workload tremendously when you think of all the dialogue that will be available verses the Original Dungeon Siege... The next Milestone will be Wiring in the new Interface created for Allysium which has a much more Traditional RPG look about it.

RPGDot: Do you have any contact with other teams working on a Siegelet?

The StillWater Moors

Madigan: Yes, I collaborate with a few people creating there own projects, From time to time I've Spoken with Assembler of Redux and the Wolf (whom I met at GPG'S master class) from The Elemental, I speak with Wind Walker from Adventures of Blackthorn a few times a week, we have an inspirational type friendship and Critique each others work. Steel from Steels world/Dungeon Siege Group Holland has promised me a tour of Holland should my travels ever bring me there, a good friend. I also collaborate with Gas Powered Games and have developed some good friendships there as well, they are very Supportive and all around fun people to know, Great Company.

RPGDot: What is Allysium gameplay about? Great DS-style tactical battles
in a beautiful landscape, or is there more to it?

Madigan: All of the Above. The Gameplay is about a vision or visions that comprise a whole. Visions that come together and mingle like the strings of a guitar when in tune, heh, that may not make sense, but hey I'm a designer, it's all about heart to me. The tactical gameplay is indeed like that of  Dungeon Siege. However the behaviors of both NPC"S and Enemies have been improved to bring the world alive, But that's only one string on the Guitar, The Visuals, The Mood Selections, The storyline, the basic details, are all part of the whole. We are working hard, tightening and loosening the strings on this guitar to get it in tune. I hope that makes sense. The Gameplay will also be a lot more story driven. In Allysium you may be rewarded experience for using proper judgment when dealing with NPC'S, or you may just get Killed because someone doesn't like the way you look (don't take it personally :}) The feel of the game at times will seem familiar to Dungeon Siege players, but the Atmospheres and general Moods will let you know that You are In An altogether different world than That of Ehb, Aranna or the Utraen Peninsula.

A lava cavern Deep in the bowels of UnderDark

RPGDot: You chose Allysium to be Single Player game. Do you have plans
for a MP version as well?

Madigan: Allysium Was Originally created to be a Single Player only adventure. Plans have changed and we are implementing the game to be played Multiplayer as well.

RPGDot: What kind of changes have you made on the RPG system and why? And could you give some examples of the changes you made regarding combat?

Madigan: This question to me gets down to the heart of what makes an RPG an RPG, to me it's all about choices, and the consequences of those choices, to play a roll, whether it be good or bad, it's your choice and you are responsible for your actions. In order to do that, we had to give the engine a new conversation system, other things we intend to change and are going a bit in the opposite direction than recent Expansions, is the amount of loot and treasures you will find, why? because too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing, instead, you will earn those special magical unique items by completing quests or finding secret hidden treasures, you will still get treasures from killing enemies but the drop chances will be greatly decreased. We are also considering removing the auto drink potions option, so that you will have to attend your injured party members personally, we believe a large part of the tactical realism and strategy was removed when this feature was implemented. Thankfully, you still have the option to pause the game to plan your next move or tend your injured party members... (Starting to sound a little familiar :}) The game was still designed in a somewhat linear fashion due to engine restrictions and general storyline flow. We have recently theorized that these restrictions can be overcome as well, but would require a complete rebuild of the world to accommodate it. So perhaps a sequel is possible, we will see.

Glacier Gulch

RPGDot: What about the magic system?

Madigan: The Magic System is comprised of 5 schools, each school is indigenous to the race it was intended. The 5 schools are Fire School (Dwarves), Ice School (Vikings), Dark School (Undead/skeletons), Spirit School (Drow Elves), and Earth School (Gnomes). Each of these is a new skill set like combat or nature magic. Does this mean you will have to play with 5 mages in your party? no not at all, it just gives you more choices to make that's all, each of these races can be developed in anyway you see fit and all can use nature and combat magic's as well.

RPGDot: Could you give an example of custom content you created?

Madigan: Well So far at this point with more to come there is 74 custom NPC'S, 62 custom enemies, 39 custom weapons and armor, 60 custom spells, 37 new infobits, 13 custom game objects, 24 new enchantment and exploding potions, a dozen new decals, 4 new texture sets and 39 new nodes, Also the Allysium map file weighs in a little bit larger than The Ehb and Aranna maps, how's that :)

some of the custom content created :)

RPGDot: When do you expect (or hope) the project will be completed?

Madigan: We hope to be finished and ready for release in the spring of 2004, the game is in alpha right now, If that time has to be extended in order to deliver a more polished game than we will extend it, that doesn't mean we are taking our time about it though, this is a tremendous amount of work, Luckily we do it because we love doing it. Right now aside from working 50 hrs a week at my regular job, I also spend about 40 hours a week creating this game and working with the team. When somebody asks me how and when I sleep, I tell them "what do you mean, I slept back in 2001" :) heh heh.

RPGDot: Do you have any plans for the future?

Madigan: Well, personally I love to design worlds, that's my passion, I would love more than anything to design screen sets, to put my design capabilities on the silver screen would be a great accomplishment, Design isn't something you can learn in college, you either have the knack or you don't. If this project has taught me anything it's taught me that anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into it and I'll leave it at that.

A view of the Forest just outside Marafet