As you might know, ex-Revolution member Steve Ince has formed a new game company, Juniper Games. Their first game will be Juniper Crescent - The Sapphire Claw. In this interview Rob and Steve talks about the upcoming game.

Broken Sword Zone - Hi there Steve, how's things?
Steve Ince - Hi. So far, things are going pretty good, thanks for asking.

How did this project start?
Like a lot of my ideas, it started with the characters, the origins of which date back twelve years. I toyed with the first ideas for the game some time ago, but did nothing with it at that point. This was followed by a period where I developed the story and started producing the comic strips which ran for quite a while on the internet. When I realised that I wanted to start developing my own games, this was a natural first choice.

What is it about?
It's basically about Scout the One-Eyed Cat and his reluctant search for the fabled cat artefact, The Sapphire Claw.

How long has this idea been in your head?
About four or five years. It's changed quite a bit over that time, but the essence has remained the same.

Can you tell us a little more detail about how Juniper Crescent - The Sapphire Claw will look?
All the backgrounds will be hand-drawn and painted using a rich palette of colours. It will be presented in a high resolution of 1024x768 and many locations will use multiple parallax layers with subtle alpha blending. The characters will all be presented in a clean, hand drawn style that draws on a rich heritage of comic strip style.

When can we expect to see the game in stores?
With a bit of luck, sometime in 2006.

Once the game is finished, will we be seeing sequels or completely new ideas? being brought through?
I think I'd be tempting fate too much if I start thinking about the next game before this one has been signed by a publisher. I want to ensure that all my efforts are concentrated on this game.

What's the supposed length of JC - The Sapphire Claw?
I expect it will be in the region of fifteen to twenty hours of play.

For voice acting, any familiar sounding voices, maybe from the Broken Sword games?
While it was a pleasure to work with all the actors who appeared at the recording sessions I attended, it's too early to be thinking of casting. I do feel, though, that it's vitally important to get the right voices for a title of this nature.

Juniper Crescent - The Sapphire Claw seems to be an adventure game, but you prefer to call it an Escapade. What's the difference between adventure games and escapades, and why is Juniper Crescent an escapade and not an adventure game?
I wanted to find a word that better describes the type of thing that I want to do with my games. Also, by calling it something else, I am able to add in features that may fall outside the boundaries of an adventure. By doing this I feel that I'm freeing up my creativity.

Can you tell any other games that fits into the escapade genre?
We can hardly call it a genre yet, particularly as my own interpretation is going to be very broad. Games that I see as having a lot in common with my ideas for possible escapades vary from Day of the Tentacle to Broken Sword - The Sleeping Dragon to Beyond Good and Evil. The essence, for me, it to have character driven stories and character driven gameplay.

Juniper Games have only released one screenshot yet. When can we expect to see some more?
When we have more to show. Keep your eyes peeled!

What is your opinion on the current game being developed at Revolution?
I'm not aware that there's been an announcement by Revolution, so it would be difficult for me to have an opinion.

Thank you for your time Steve, from Broken Sword Zone, we hope to hear from you in the future and good luck with the game!
Thanks, it's been a pleasure answering your questions.

For more info about Juniper Games, visit the offical website.