Morning’s Wrath

Morning’s Wrath Interview/ Review by Geek Woman 2/16/06
Genre: Role Playing Game
Developer & Publisher: Ethereal Darkness Interactive
Released: December 2005
PC Requirements: Windows® 98/2000/XP, 950 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 200 MB virtual memory, 4x CD-ROM, 300 MB free hard disk space 64 MB DirectX® 8.0 compatible video card DirectX® compatible sound card
Website: http://www.morningswrath.com/

I was introduced to Morning’s Wrath and I was happy to find out that it was an independent game. There are very few other game development studios here in new england. I played the game and interviewed Jenna who is the designer of the female lead character Princess Morning. Ethereal Darkness Interactive (EDI Games) started as a group of independent game developers and it was organized by Raymond Jacobs who I also spoke to briefly. They set out to create a commercial quality computer game with absolutely no budget. The team released their first title Morning’s Wrath last fall. Since it is an indie game you might not find it many places except by buying it directly from their website. Like the recording industry which has changed tremendously in recent years, there is certainly room in the gaming industry for more opportunities.

Morning’s Wrath is a new RPG game for the PC. The slogan “Times have changed, so must you.” seemed evocative to me. The game is a first offering from a small team of independent developers and students. The games origins as well as its main charcter are unique and well worth supporting. The main character is Princess Morning, a young woman who is forced into leadership through tragedy.

In the spirit of RPG’s like Diablo and Baldur’s gate Morning’s Wrath is engaging enough to keep a player involved and entertained. The game has a humor about itself. It will run on older machines which is a plus for people who are looking for a new game and aren’t about to get a new computer or video card everytime a new game comes out. When a developer makes a game that will run on existing machines it is a nice touch, and it shows appreciation for their gamer customers.

If you have played other RPG’s much of this game will seem familiar to you. It is nostalgic and reminds me of how many other great franchises have started out with humble beginnings just like this. Princess Morning’s charm comes from her fearlessness. The game has pretty blue heirloom armor for her to wear and on her journey she discovers tons of bling. Bracelets, rings and gold treasure are abundant. One of the best things about a good RPG is the “stuff” that fills up your inventory screen. In this game there is no lack of it.

There are magical weapons and items that enhance spell casting. Morning can fight with both melée combat as well as the spells. The conflict in the game surrounds the mana well that is below Morning’s castle. Morning has to figure out how to purify this well in order to unleash its power for the good of her kingdom.

Gameplay
The gameplay advances as you solve puzzles and discover artifacts. Morning’s powers grow with the grind of dispatching zombie like creatures which are inhabiting the castle’s basement. Of course. Using the artifacts on the magical well yeild magic scrolls that help Morning to attain more danmaging spells.

It is a very nostalgic game. the interface works very simply and easily. The Save game option is available at any time which is another plus that I look for in every game that I test. Morning’s powers advance as you obtain the special artifacts by solving up to 22 puzzles in the game. They are both logic and inventory based. There are Runes in the game which are used to make the spell scrolls. You start with “Fire” and “Blast” Runes which make up the spell “Fire Blast”. then you can combine Runes to make other new spells such as Spark Blast, or Stone Canon. There are about 24 runes throught the game which gives variety to the kinds of spell casting that you can do.

Sword attacks are a little awkward at first, but as Morning gains in strength the combat becomes more enjoyable. Her intitial spells are fire based, and she can blast away at the mobs of undead that amble twords her. You can choose to take them on or to avoid the slow moving enemies. The spell casters a a little bit harder to avoid. There are plenty of edifices to explore and hide behind. Simply put it is a third person point and click adventure RPG. you right click to spell cast and left click to melée. The old school simplicity is welcome when you want a game that will easily run for you with out the additional “fun” of dealing with an MMO or a game that takes a super computer and a super geek just to get it to play. You get skill points to distribute to build Morning’s on abilities to customize her to some degree.

Graphics
The graphics are set in a gothy archetectural style. There is plenty of weird masonry and spooky shadows. There is lots of color in the game even though a good deal of it takes place below ground. The environment has many dungeon-y twists and turns. It is somewhat dated. There are some lighting effects, but when you play this game you aren’t expecting it to be eye candy. It has other aspects that make it likely to have enduring appeal.

Sound and Music
The music in the game was very good. In someplaces it is grand, and in others it is haunting. It was better than some of the music in other better funded games. The screams and death cries of the defeated enemies are comical. There isn’t voice acting. The dialogs are text based, but they aren’t super long like the bookish conversations in Full Metal Alchemist.

Marketing To Women
Obviously since the main character is female, it is exciting to play. Morning’s character has interesting challenges to deal with. Her fiancé betrays her. She finds out that her parents are killed and suddenly she is the Queen. The story line in the game is very strong and inspiring. You get involved in her character and you really do want to see Morning succeed, and you begin to care about what happens to her. She is a strong female lead, the sort of which we look for in a game.

Final Thoughts
I wish there had been a map function. That makes for a deduction from the over all score. The game is a bit short. That means that I wanted more and it’s a good sign. I am looking forward to a sequel. It’s a game that has all the right stuff that I have seen in other games that grew up and out to become blockbusters. I think that these folks have some good ingenuity going there and I would like to see them do well and come out with future offerings. This game gets a hopeful 8.5

The Morning’s Wrath the team is moving on to their next game and intend to design and develop it with the same passion that inspired them before. At this point it is all still top secret!
__________________
Geek Woman: How did you become involved with Morning’s Wrath?

Jenna: My brother is active in a game development community online (gamedev.net) and he
showed me a post that Raymond (the head of Ethereal Darkness Interactive) had
written saying that they needed artists for a game that they were working on.
When I graduate college I would like to work in the video or computer games
industry so I jumped at the opportunity!

Geek Woman: What work did you do on the game?

Jenna: I worked as the character designer so primarily I took descriptions or early
models of characters from Raymond and developed them from there, finding 3D
models to use and creating custom textures for them. I really enjoyed being a
part of this project because it gave me direction in my work - all of my
previous experience with computer graphics has been self-taught and on my own
projects so it was nice to work with other people. It was also fun to actually
see my work in a game!

Geek Woman: Is this the first game you have worked on?

Jenna: Yes, I’ve been teaching myself various computer graphic programs for the last 4
or 5 years but this is the first time that I have had the opportunity to
actually put those skills to use in a game!

Geek Woman: Did you take any special courses that helped you get this job?

Jenna: No, I’ve never had any formal teaching in computer graphics.

Geek Woman: You are studying over in Italy now, what are you taking over there?

Jenna: Primarily I am studying art and art history here in Florence (Italian as well as
my host family doesn’t speak any English!) Italy is an absolutely amazing place
because it is completely saturated in art - I live a 5 minute walk from the
museum with Michelangelo’s David, 20 minutes from the Uffizi, and nearly every
block between has some sort of Renaissance church or museum.

Geek Woman: Were there any games that influenced your design of Morning?

Jenna: The character of Morning had actually already been sketched out by a concept
artist working with the team, so for that character I was just responsible for
turning the drawing into a character that could be used in the game.

Geek Woman: How long did it take to make this game?

Jenna: The game took several years to produce but I just joined the team last winter
when they were in one of the later phases of development.

Geek Woman: Whose idea was it to have a female main character?

Raymond : It was mine, I have attempted to follow in the footsteps of one of my favorite game designers, Roberta Williams, many of her games featured female protagonists and even though the usage is more common now, I still find having a female character more desire able than a male one in many situations, it allows you to dive more into the emotional aspects of the story, I find it hard to write a game with an emotional male character, it just doesn’t seem to be very believable, and emotion in stories is very important.

Geek Woman: Will there be a sequel? Are there any plans to bring it to Mac or
the consoles?

Raymond: Morning’s Wrath may have a sequel in the future, but I believe any good sequel first needs it’s predecessor game to grow, in both the minds of players and in the minds of the developers. With that being said, I am sure we will get the itch to do another game like Morning’s Wrath, and there is already plenty of material (and even a basic plot outline) as to where the game would go after the victory on Summerfound.

We did plan to bring MW to the MAC but at the moment we are having trouble justifying it based on PC sales of the game, so if it does happen it is likely to be a ways off. Instead we are hard at work on our next game, which is sure to please those who enjoyed the story and adventure aspects of Morning’s Wrath.

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