Time Warner Electronic Publishing (TWEP) dares you to explore the subterranean tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, First Emperor of China, in Qin (Ching): Tomb of the Middle Kingdom. Luyen Chou is the game designer behind this masterpiece, as well as president of Learn Technologies Interactive (LTI). Making this venture a family affair, Luyen's brother, Sumin Chou, is TWEP's art director who oversees the creative aspects of the Web site. The game has earned a Cody nomination for Best Use of Sound and Music in Multimedia.
Kelly Leonard, TWEP's director of marketing, said, "In teaming with LTI, we learned a lot from S.P.Q.R., our first online game, set in ancient Rome. That site went online in July of 1995 and quickly made us realize that the Web was a promotional medium in itself. People want downloads and online play; therefore, the Web is now an integral part of our CD games."
"We started with HTML 2.0," said Sumin. "There were lots of limitations. Updates have become a continual thing as technology develops. [Writer's note: Check out the verrry cool JavaScript navigation system written by TWEP's Ken Wong and Theodore Hovey.] The Qin site launched in May of 1996, well before the game was released in October, presenting a unique set of circumstances; we had to constantly keep the content updated with special pages and offers. The site has gone through several iterations, and is now heavily templated and object oriented for easier maintenance."
GTE Entertainment takes you on a journey in Timelapse, where the graphics and story line stir the imagination. You are trying to help an archaeology professor friend who has disappeared on Easter Island. For years, he has been convinced that the ancient Egyptian, Maya, Anasazi and Easter Island cultures were all connected to the Lost City of Atlantis which, for added intrigue, was settled by aliens! The graphics in the game are incredible and the worlds created in Timelapse will make any adventurer yearn to explore them.
Rik Sandoval, director of public relations for GTE Entertainment, has been in a unique situation, developing content for one of the giants in the communications business. It is proving to be a double-edged sword, however. They have had the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology, produced two of the most immersive titles and Web sites I've encountered, and yet their division will be closing in March of this year.
Having learned of the closure only the day before our interview, I was not able to confirm all of the details, but it appears the corporate management of GTE, the parent company of GTE Entertainment, has decided that they are to remain in the communications business and exit the content business. Rik said, "The real shame of the situation is here was a studio with access to the absolute latest in technology, way before the consumer will see it. We have always striven to explore what can be done with tomorrow's technology."
"GTE was part of the process of creating the Internet because of the government contract work we have always been involved with," said Rik. "Our Web sites are to push to the edge of each game's world. We want you to come to the Web site and get so wrapped up in it that you forget you're looking at a computer. These titles are successful because we let the director and writer get together and create their vision. 'What if I can do this?' we ask. How cool is that? This is what drives success!"
Steve Black joined GTE Entertainment as their Webmaster in October of 1995. EF2000 was GTE Entertainment's current title. "Back then," Steve said, "the Web was like Burma Shave ads: just online sales sheets. As EF2000 is a flight simulator, looking is what is cool. We found the key to success is freshness, both in programming and content. From the business side, sustained effort for each product can become horrendous if you're not prepared."
In planning for their demo, Rik said, "The decision was made to offer a free CD instead of a downloadable demo because of today's bandwidth. Most downloads are in the three-to-five- Mb range. Ours are 100 Mb! We want to show the quality and rich experience offered in both our titles, Timelapse and Titanic, and that just can't be done online today."
Steve added, "Timelapse and Titanic went online before the games were released, and began online forums right away. The forums presented really unique interaction between the user and us. They made us very aware that content is king! A community environment needs ongoing programming. Only compelling content will keep visitors coming back."
"We started experimenting," Steve continued, "with contests and promotions. We found the amount of effort needed to put on a good online promotion was a real eye-opener! The biggest problem was international participants. One particularly eloquent flame from Canada covered 200 years of why Canadians don't like the U.S., all culminating with the final insult: that GTE Entertainment wouldn't ship its demo internationally!"
"We were caught by surprise!" added Rik. "Any complaint posted by your users is right there for all to see. You have to be willing to take a real public shot. You can't delete the message if you want people to be comfortable; you have to ride with it. A solid product will generate six testimonials for every flame. It's actually the best damage control ever. The cautions in our site today are a direct result of our initial foray. If you spell things out on your site, problems and confusion can be cut back."
"We also found people have problems with forms on the Web," Steve added. "Twenty percent of our email is from people trying to fill out a form. Sometimes they will submit a message six times because it is still cached in their browser. This creates unforeseen administration costs."
What does Rik look forward to most? "ADSL technology is currently being beta tested as a joint effort of GTE and Microsoft," he said. Developed first for commercial uses, this technology enables data transmission at 10 times the speed of ISDN and 50 times the speed of 28.8 modems, over plain copper wire! These new modems should be available for the business community for around $2500 by the end of '97 or early 1998. It should take three to five years for businesses to buy enough ADSL modems for volume to drive the price down to the $200- to-$500 consumer level."
"We were well under way with development of Titanic when GTE Entertainment came to us with Timelapse," Rand Cabus, director of marketing at Cyberflix said. "1996 was an incredible year for Cyberflix! Later, when Discovery wanted to use our 3-D model of the Titanic during their attempt to raise the ship, we never dreamed interest in the game could go so far!"
Titanic is a unique game as it has the tales and mystique of history to draw from. "We decided the only way you can demo the game is to have the model. Therefore, you have to deliver a 100 Mb file; the only way is on CD," Rand said. "You have to have the ship to explore it. Through our Web site, and that of GTE Entertainment, we offer free CDs for the asking. We chose this method because the cost of bundling thousands of copies in a magazine compared to direct shipment was considerable."
"On our Web site," Rand continued, "there are all kinds of history, theories and trivia about the ship's maiden voyage. As an added value to the game, you may also download free tour guides who will walk you through the ship's model on your CD. This historical aspect brings us a new market of non-gamers simply interested in the tour."
"When Discovery contacted us, things got very busy here!" Rand said. "They used our Virtual Titanic as a reference tool when they were trying to raise the ship last fall. They called it 'The most historically accurate 3-D model yet created.' While the divers were underwater, if they saw something that was encrusted or covered in mud, they could radio topside to a technician with a laptop. He could pinpoint the diver's location in our model and help identify things like doorknobs, picture frames and all sorts of odds and ends.
"After working on this project for so long, the people at Cyberflix have become well versed in the history of the Titanic. The cruise line never had time to print color brochures, as the Titanic had one day of sea trials, then picked up passengers. She sailed to France for more passengers, then a short stop in Ireland for a few more guests before heading west on her fateful voyage. There are only 900 black-and-white photos, five short films, and a few drawings and paintings.
"During Discovery's promotion and expedition, they were updating their Web site three times every day. They were always in need of artwork for their site and documentary. We became one of their main resources. We were able to render our model from the shipyard plans and with today's technology, can deliver any camera angle desired, in full color and texture."