{"id":346602,"date":"2024-05-10T16:59:26","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T23:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/?p=346602"},"modified":"2024-05-10T16:59:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T23:59:26","slug":"pax-east-2024-interview-seth-fulkerson-on-arzette-the-jewel-of-faramore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/2024\/05\/10\/pax-east-2024-interview-seth-fulkerson-on-arzette-the-jewel-of-faramore\/","title":{"rendered":"PAX EAST 2024 INTERVIEW: Seth Fulkerson on Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore"},"content":{"rendered":"

At PAX East 2024, I sat down with Seth Fulkerson, who is the director, writer, programmer, and designer for Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore<\/em>. During our time together, we talked about his background with remastering CD-i titles as a personal project, developing his own spiritual successor CD-i game in\u00a0Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore<\/em>, about how Limited Run Games got involved in publishing the game, and more.<\/p>\n

You can check out more about\u00a0Arzette\u00a0at the game’s official website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is available for purchase NOW: Nintendo Switch<\/a>,\u00a0PlayStation 4<\/a>,\u00a0PlayStation 5<\/a>,\u00a0Xbox Series X\/S<\/a>,\u00a0PC<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, you can check out my impressions of a hands-on demo here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Arzette<\/p>\n

\n

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Operation Rainfall<\/em><\/strong>: My name is Quentin H. with oprainfall<\/em>, and you are?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seth Fulkerson: <\/strong>Seth Fulkerson, developer and creator of Arzette <\/em>from Seedy Eye Software.<\/p>\n

OR<\/em><\/strong>: Can you tell us a bit about Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

SF: <\/strong>It is a spiritual successor to a pair of infamous fantasy-adventure games from the early 90s, like CD-ROM era. The game has full motion cutscenes, is full of crazy animation, hand-painted backgrounds, and it is done in a familiar [and] beloved style.<\/p>\n

OR<\/em><\/strong>: What is your personal history with the Phillips CD-i?<\/strong><\/p>\n

SF: <\/strong>So, a few years ago, I made a fan remaster of Link: The Faces of Evil <\/em>and Zelda: Wand of Gamelon<\/em>. I did that to fulfill an in-joke with friends, but also to explore the potential of \u2018Well, what if those games were cleaned up a little bit, they might be a little better?\u2019. The response to that was a lot better than what I thought. I was lucky enough that I had a lot of animators and artists that are my close friends. So, we were always sort of kicking around doing our own take on those games. And the time was right, so yeah, it was where the genesis of Arzette <\/em>started. My producer, Audun S\u00f8rlie, got in contact with me and we started working together to make Arzette <\/em>to what it is.<\/p>\n

\n

“I know a lot of people looked at Arzette and thought \u2018Why is he making this? Is he making this as a joke?\u2019 <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

No, I wouldn\u2019t spend three to four years of my life making a joke- I want to make a good game.”<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

OR<\/em><\/strong>: You mentioned a little bit ago, and in a prior interview in a January 2024 interview with Game Developer<\/a>, you said that you took on the challenge of remastering two CD-i Zelda games: Link: The Faces of Evil<\/em> and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon<\/em> as an in-joke. What kind of in-joke makes you want to develop a game for four years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

SF: <\/strong>So, in 2016, that\u2019s around the time that Twilight Princess HD <\/em>came out, me and some friends were literally joking \u2018What if that, but The Faces of Evil<\/em>?\u2019. And so, I started trying to scope it out, and I\u2019ve been making games for a long time – mostly really small stuff like game jam type stuff. But I had a hard time finishing projects – especially that were not bigger scope, but along the lines of that.<\/p>\n

So, it was a dual purpose: \u2018Hey, I\u2019ll finish the joke but also finish a game.\u2019 And in the course of developing those [remastered CD-i The Legend of Zelda <\/em>games], I learned how to make a game for real and I also learned the development history behind the games and the circumstances that lead to them being the way they were. I found it really inspiring, and it really had a profound effect on me and how I wanted to approach future projects and also what I wanted to do with Arzette<\/em>.<\/p>\n

OR<\/strong><\/em>: CD-i aficionados will tell you that there is a third CD-i title out there – Zelda’s Adventure<\/em>. Why did you not take on remastering [that] game as well? Did you use that particular third game any when creating Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

SF: <\/strong>Basically, the duology of games – The <\/em>Faces of Evil <\/em>and Wand of Gamelon <\/em>– they share the same engine, they are almost the same game. Zelda\u2019s Adventure <\/em>is a lot different; it is a top-down game. But personally, it is going to sound controversial, but I do not care for Zelda\u2019s Adventure<\/em>. I know it has a lot of its fans, but for a game, basically The <\/em>Faces of Evil <\/em>and Wand of Gamelon<\/em>, for all their flaws, had a pretty solid gameplay loop – especially for Western games released in 1993.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very prototypical Metroidvania – multilayer levels – you collect items through people or collect powerups, you go back through levels with new powerups. Zelda\u2019s Adventure <\/em>does not really have that at all. In fact, there are lots of items that are red herrings – it\u2019s a very mean game to the player. I do not like it.<\/p>\n