Avencast interview at RPG Vault
Avencast interview at RPG Vault
Interview - posted by Vault Dweller on Sun 3 June 2007, 15:01:32
Tags: AvencastRPG Vault has posted an interview with Avencast (an indie action RPG) developers. Here is an overview:
What core strengths will differentiate Avencast from other games that might seem similar in terms of their play? What kind of individual will find it most appealing?
Minh Tri Do Dinh: What differentiates Avencast most from other games would be the combat and general style of action, which draw heavy inspiration from beat 'em ups, shooters and the like, rather than classical RPGs.When designing an RPG, one must resist temptation to draw inspiration from other RPGs and must, instead, draw inspiration from shooters and arcade games.
That philosophy of keeping things dynamic is also reflected in the fact that Avencast is a fairly straightforward game. We want to make sure people can just jump in and enjoy it as much as possible, without worrying too much about endless rules and choices.When designing an RPG, it's important to keep in mind that people want to play only shooters and, thus, your game must match shooters' gameplay as closely as possible. Endless rules and choices do not an RPG make.
Since you've made a number of references to the type of combat experience you're aiming to offer, what are the significant features and elements you'd like us to know about?
Minh Tri Do Dinh: You could say that combat is the heart and soul of Avencast. While there are plenty of varied quests to keep you challenged and captivated, you will definitely spend a lot of your time fighting. The combat system itself was born out of the observation that a lot of RPGs are, in a way, very reliant on numbers and statistics.
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The point is that for us, other RPG combat systems sometimes felt like math, not magic, and putting the fate of your fabled hero into the hands of a dice-rolling calculator wasn't appealing enough. What we want to do is put the reins of the character right into the hands of the player. This is where our inspiration from all those action games came in.When designing an RPG, one must ensure that gameplay is not "numbers-based", as it can only lead to disappointments when someone's character fails a roll. Make games for players, not their characters!
What core strengths will differentiate Avencast from other games that might seem similar in terms of their play? What kind of individual will find it most appealing?
Minh Tri Do Dinh: What differentiates Avencast most from other games would be the combat and general style of action, which draw heavy inspiration from beat 'em ups, shooters and the like, rather than classical RPGs.
That philosophy of keeping things dynamic is also reflected in the fact that Avencast is a fairly straightforward game. We want to make sure people can just jump in and enjoy it as much as possible, without worrying too much about endless rules and choices.
Since you've made a number of references to the type of combat experience you're aiming to offer, what are the significant features and elements you'd like us to know about?
Minh Tri Do Dinh: You could say that combat is the heart and soul of Avencast. While there are plenty of varied quests to keep you challenged and captivated, you will definitely spend a lot of your time fighting. The combat system itself was born out of the observation that a lot of RPGs are, in a way, very reliant on numbers and statistics.
...
The point is that for us, other RPG combat systems sometimes felt like math, not magic, and putting the fate of your fabled hero into the hands of a dice-rolling calculator wasn't appealing enough. What we want to do is put the reins of the character right into the hands of the player. This is where our inspiration from all those action games came in.
