Dungeon Lords Interview

There are certain people within the industry who define its shape and direction with each and every breath. Some of these names you know by heart, so much so that the whisper of said name conjures up images and the aroma of nostalgia from experiences long past. Some names, however, you may not know. These are the industry veterans who are every bit as important to the video game industry, yet have managed to keep on the periphery of the limelight. One such individual is D.W. Bradley, a game designer who has been making RPGs for over 20 years, including 3 games in the legendary Wizardry series. He is the lead writer/designer/programmer/visionary on Dungeon Lords, and that's why his name is on the box. We recently had a chance to speak with Mr. Bradley and the team at Heuristic Park regarding this upcoming Action RPG for the PC.

First off, Thank you for taking the time to speak with us regarding Dungeon Lords. I'm curious as to what kinds of demographics are you going for? On the Dungeon Lords site you say you're aiming for "RPG Players", but nowadays that's a very wide swath. Care to be more specific?

Dungeon Lords has been designed to be attractive to a wide variety of RPG fans. We have an extremely deep story with lots of the twists and turns that people have come to expect from D.W. Bradley. We also have an action-based combat system that should appeal to fans of more recent games such as Dungeon Siege and Diablo. So in that sense, we're aiming to appeal to as many RPG players as possible.

How are you balancing player skill vs. computer stats in the game? Will an exceptionally skilled hack & slash player be able to do better than a new player with higher stats?

Although Dungeon Lords has action-based combat, we certainly aren't trying to punish any RPG fans who aren't as good at twitch based gameplay. Our goal is to balance the game so that people can play however they're comfortable and enjoy it. That said, there's a lot of fighting in the game, so an exceptionally skilled action gamer will certainly find their skills useful.

How long would you expect a decently-skilled gamer to take to get through the game?

We're estimating that it will take a decent player around 40-50 hours to get through just the main plot line of the game. There are also side quests available to players that are not essential to the main game narrative that can add another 10-20 hours or so.

How is the plot in Dungeon Lords set up? Will the player have any influence over the course of the story, or is it more linear?

The plot in Dungeon Lords is essentially linear with the player as the hero, so it's safe to say that the player influences everything!

How will the multiplayer portion of the game work? Will players all have to start a new game together, or could they join in partway into it, perhaps with a character they've built up in single-player?

We're still trying to balance the multiplayer section of the game and all of the details of how/when people will be able to join, but we've been testing multiplayer for a while and it's definitely a blast.

Are there any plans to port Dungeon Lords to internet-capable consoles like the Xbox?

Nothing has been ruled out at this point.

How are the four magic systems handled in Dungeon Lords? Will each discipline have different requirements, like reagents or scrolls or whatever, and will they better fit certain character styles?

The four forms of magic in the game are Arcane, Celestial, Nether and Rune. Each of them has its own particular focus and balancing factors. For example, Nether Magics require different kataals (reagents) that must be combined in order to create the spell. Players will need to learn the different combinations to create these spells and find the appropriate ingredients. Ingredient scarcity will become an issue for some of the more powerful spells, so players will have to decide when the best time to unleash them is. Some of the other schools of magic recharge over time; others are found in books and scrolls. We're trying to balance the magic systems now to make it easy for people to play the game in their own style, without having to worry that they made the wrong choice early on and are trapped on a path that isn't fun.

Do certain races have any special maneuvers that would give them an advantage traversing the more physical aspects of the world? (e.g., a longer jump or the ability to move certain obstacles that other races might have to use an item for?)

The different races have different attributes and strengths but all have equal opportunity to learn special moves, such as quick dodges, rolls or martial arts skills.

Finally, what would you say to those who would see the game as an over-the-shoulder Diablo II?

I'd say that Diablo II was a fantastic game and it's nice to be mentioned in the same sentence. There are some distinct differences between the two games though, such as the fact that the player will have control over their melee attacks in Dungeon Lords, and we feel confident that people who enjoyed Diablo II will enjoy Dungeon Lords, without that "been there, done that" feeling.

Thank you so much for speaking with us regarding this game. Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up?

We're working hard to finish up the game and make it as good as we can so that people can start enjoying it. It's been a long road, but we're almost at the end and we hope people will buy copies for all their friends to play co-op!

Feb 2, 2005 - 1:40 pm | 0 comments
Ryan Sharpe