Let us thank before your reading for the famous interview the availability of David Braben, proof that largest are often humblest. Then, will know that you can always contact us if you wish in knowing even more. Lately, do not hesitate to enjoy this article fully and to find as of Toku tomorrow directly over the downloading service of your Wii. Enjoy!

LiveWii: Undoubtedly, LostWinds was and is always one of the most acclaimed WiiWare plays. Did you expect such a reception? And, on another side, are you of agreement with the reproaches made with the play, concerning its difficulty or its lifespan?

The fact that LostWinds was very received is very stimulative and gratifiant for the team, and all the more because the play is an original idea which came “from the bottom of the hierarchy” rather than working us on the licence of someone else, for example. It is really the baby of the development team and, like all good parents, they are very interested by what the others of their kid and proud of think what it achieves!

Concretely, one wrote LostWinds for people like us, who wanted an experiment of play deep on Wii with a “beautiful preparing”. Thus one could deduce from the reaction to the original concept of the play, like during in-house development and with some others with which we showed the play, that we were in the good. In fact, one really hoped that people would like it, but one can of course never be certain of this type of things.

With regard to the length of the play, there were some criticisms (it takes between three and five hour to be finished), but personally, I take that like a compliment in an amusing way; people wanted some more. Ironically, when one reads the forums speaking about LostWinds, there are as many people who say than it is too short than people who did not finish it! More seriously, on the other hand, one takes really criticisms of people to the serious one, and Winter off the Melodias is significantly longer than the first play. This being said, there are plays with full price which I have finish in five hours!

I had not heard that the play was too easy or difficult. One is conscious owing to the fact that certain people sometimes felt lost. Thus for Winter off the Melodias one put a total chart and various mechanisms of indices, so that people always know where they are and towards where they are supposed to move, without to give specific indications, to preserve the side exploration of the play.

LW: Our readers often asked us why you further did not see and published a LostWinds adventure on DVD. Don't you think that the players will believe that this continuation will not be longer because of its format? Did you try to obtain an agreement with Nintendo for the publication of “a heavier” play instead of a play from only 43 Mo?

There always was a very ambitious vision for LostWinds, one did many efforts to establish the spirit and the myth of Mistralis, the universe of the play; many elements of the history were not revealed yet.

For the moment, one likes creative control that the numerical distribution gives us. Obviously, one did what one could to try to maximize the time of play of quality (and not of grinding without goal) in the second play, one did many optimizations to leave more space to the contents. If people are dissuaded to buy the play by their waitings in terms length, then let us be been sorry we by it, but it is their choice; we played many plays full price on disc, sold in stores on all the consoles, of which the duration from beginning to end was only of one or two hours more than LostWinds of origin, and one does not hear complaints particular to their subject.                
    

LW: In connection with Winter off Melodias, the choice offered to be able to sail between the seasons is a manner simple but relevant to introduce new a gameplay. Let us can expect quantity of other changes also innovating? The last trailer card in date reveals a new behaviour for the character of Toku. Is this an index of the presence of a new capacity?

Thank you. Concerning Winter off Melodias, we joined together all our efforts to bring to you at least as many ideas as at the time of our preceding title, instead of using an already exploited mechanics of play, and simply making you visit new places. There is initially the possibility of sailing between the seasons; the player can make use of it unconstrained during most of the play; thus the characteristics of the seasons, of the environment become integral part of the puzzles. The capacities of the player also profit from new properties. For example, when during winter the player draws a vortex in the airs, a snowball is formed; she can as much be useful to type on an adversary that to solve a puzzle. There is thus quantity of new capacities, major of them being associated with the cyclone, which will be used for transporting the character of Toku, striking the enemies, moving water through the landscape or even boring the rock around you.
We wondered whether somebody were going to notify the new behaviour of Toku; you have very good eyes. I will not reveal you how it obtains it but relatively early in the part, Toku catches a cold (this is why you will have to keep it close to fire). Behaviour assistance then to store the heat a little more time, but also with better clutching itself on the slipping surfaces. One of the monsters of snows is held with the second plan of one of the vidéos which we diffused, but I do not know if somebody already noted it.

LW: The graphic beauty was one of the strong points of the preceding title, even if certain decorations, in the play, often returned. Hope you, nevertheless, to continue with us to put full the sight of it; I think in particular in the passing between the seasons? Do you also envisage to integrate new environments?

We are of agreement with you when who you known as that certain decorations of the play resembled each other a little. One of our main objectives, on this shutter, was to enrich the landscapes we had. Then, and fortunately, the scenario lends itself to discovered other regions of Mostralis, like mountainous Chilling Peaks, at the time of the search of the city Mélodia, fantastic cradle of a disappeared civilization which one could see the traces thanks to the statues located in various places of the preceding play. That will make it possible, at all events, to take place formidable to visit. We thus enriched the environment, initially, but the possibility of rocking in winter also gives you new visual and consequently, and the more important still, another gameplay. The informed players will note an aesthetic improvement of the unit, by small keys, as on water or by new effects on the ice.                                                                                                                    
                                                              

Yes, you can, this time, to await you something moreover sophisticated. But in a certain manner, we also try to preserve, with the play, its accessibility. We think that it is preferable, for the player, to reach the end of the adventure while having spent one pleasant moment and that it in redemande, rather than, frustrated because too difficult, it manages from there to release taken. Winter off Melodias has a narrative arc in which the fate of Magdi, the mother of Toku, is related to that of the old Melodia civilization; there is also a parallel interesting traced with the Toku/Enril relation, since a character of the name of Riveren, enough unlucky person, will find Balasar on his way, in the same way as Toku had found Enril, but the things will not occur as well for him.
If we add the fact that we find the capacities of the first shutter, to which are added there with news like navigation among the seasons, the stroke, the cyclone, and some new types of enemies, I would say that the play evolved/moved on many aspects but which we tried to preserve clareté and simplicity in control, very characteristic of the first volume.

Accordingly, of the additional searches and the mini-plays they with the program of LostWinds are: Winter off Melodias?

One of the advantages of a file whose size is limited is that it forces us “to condense” the contents of the play, to make sure that it will be amusing and that the player will have some for his money. We added new types of gameplay, but as I said previously, they were selected for good reasons rather than to increase the duration of the play or to add mini-plays. We increased particularly the interactions with the PNJ and worked the history so that it is more complex.

LW: Is what the team which worked on LostWinds 2 is the same one as on the first episode?

Yes, all key people of the creation of the first of which present.

LW: The idea of the seasons appeared in the first artworks of LostWinds. Is what it comes from your famous meetings “Play of the week”?

Yes, we carry out much work lasting our reflexions on the ideas of gameplay to the whole beginning of the creation of the play thanks to our process “Play of the week”, where the subject of the seasons was lengthily discussed with full with other things. The true origin of Winter off the Melodias comes from the end of the development of the first play, when Chris Symonds, the artistic director, had time to transpose one of the environments of the first play in winter.

The success of its experiment led to make winter the main theme of the second play.

 

LW: The last time, you had evoked to have had interesting ideas on paper, but much less in action. Did you again have this kind of small concern? Won't you the possible contribution of Wii MotionPlus have helped in this direction?

I think that it is really a reference to the great quantity of basic work which we had made on the concept of play well before we ayions begun the development on WiiWare. The volume of ideas would be higher than what could be made in a play and it the platform does not matter. The development of first LostWinds was very effective, with very little waste - and it is true that we had (and let us have always) a great number of other ideas for the world around this play. The second play is exactly the same one in this respect.

Wii MotionPlus is ideal for the plays which can profit from an additional precision, like the sport for example, but really the use of the Wii remote control does not change to point. The gameplay that we offer rests mainly on the pointing with the screen, it thus has there nothing in Winter off Melodias which could profit from MotionPlus.

LW: What do you think of the advantages of WiiWare compared with Xbox Live or PlayStation Network?

We think that all the various means of digital distribution are good in themselves. They allow the developers as us to make innovations who would be differently more difficult to propose on the market. At Frontier, we have the chance to have been able to finance the projects of LostWinds ourselves and thus to preserve the total control of the creativity, which is a fantastic experiment.

This said, I do not think that only one service is better or worse than the others - the thing than we must keep in mind is the public than we are able to touching. If we must make a play for the PSN or XBLA then it would be perhaps completely different from LostWinds for this reason.

LW: The last time, you had evoked LostWinds like a spearhead of the WiiWare service, but which you had also of the titles to propose in traditional format. Per hour of today, nothing was officially announced. What became these projects? Cancelled, pushed back or quite simply not revealed yet?

Yes, we work on three other projects, all planned for an exit on disc. Unfortunately we are not able to speak about it for the moment, but all three are different from/to each other (and of LostWinds), but they have all the joint fact that they are very exciting! I hope that you will start to see information on their subject with the beginning of the year 2010.

LW: The accessibility of digital the gaming was according to you a good thing. Do you always think that the “clouding gaming” will be the alternative in the years to come?

One does not aim to align oneself with a platform in particular as from the moment when it enables us to touch the public which one wants and which one has pleasure.

LW: The question that everyone waits: LostWinds: Will Winter off Melodias be the last episode of Toku on Wii?

It is really hoped that it will not be the case! After first LostWinds, we had other engagements on which we were to work and that took more time to us than one would have liked to find oneself and thus work on this Winter off The Melodias. But I am happy to say to you that after a rest deserved well for all the team, we soon will prepare a title having a relationship with the universe of LostWinds, and thus if there is always a public for LostWinds, there is thus no constraint with our enthusiasm to deliver you in the future full with new ideas.

LW: Thank you infinitely to have taken time to answer us for the French public. But before leaving you, do you wish to make pass a final word?

First of all, thank you to have taken time to read us. Then, much of people all over the world already downloaded and appreciated first LostWinds, and believe me Winter Melodias off assembles the level still of a notch and easily holds the comparison with the best plays Wii, to download or of course disc. We are very proud and one hopes for all which you will have as much pleasure to play than us to carry it out.