Interview Avencast interview at RPG Vault

Tags: Avencast

<a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com>RPG Vault</a> has posted an <a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/793/793376p1.html>interview</a> with <a href=http://www.avencast.com/>Avencast</a> (an indie action RPG) developers. Here is an overview:
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<blockquote><b>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?</b>
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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.</blockquote>When designing an RPG, one must resist temptation to draw inspiration from other RPGs and must, instead, draw inspiration from shooters and arcade games.
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<blockquote>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.</blockquote>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.
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<blockquote><b>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? </b>
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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.</blockquote>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!
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Well, fuck me into a homo. Can they get any lower?

 

Well, at least they're honest. You can look at the screenshots or read a few of the words from that interview and know in an instant it's going to suck so massively you'll never even want to hear another word about it.

 

Looks like the game was made with Torque, not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

One more studio and game to write off.

 

You can tell from the screens that it's another Diablo clone.

 

Another monkeyfest nobody wants to play.

Next.

 

At least the combat seems to be better than Diablo.
The rest is just like any other Dialbo clone.

At least he's honest in what kind of game he's making.

 

Bland hack and slash? Exactly what everyone wants.

 

Yeah, we want more great rpgs like Stalker, Bioshock, and Thief, not this action garbage.

 

Fixed.

 

Sure.

 

When did you get dumbfucked? The reddish text above your'e avatar caught my eye just now...

 

Fuck yeah... I don't want any numbers 'n shit. I just want to jump into that sweet action-packed gameplay! Oh yeah, and inventory screens suck ass. Just let me walk over the powerups. Fucking nerd games.

 

Sometime between yesterday and today, I'm not sure exactly, but its nice to finally get the recognition I deserve.

 

pissing on people's work in your newspost is how you turn this site into an 'indie hub'? keen idea, hoss.

 

I quite liked the demo I played of it.

 

Do you expect me to praise every indie game and overlook flaws just because it's an indie game? Should I also start covering those indie "console RPGs", courtesy of RPGMaker?

Anyway, we have several interesting (hopefully) "indie" articles coming.

 

hmm... piss on a game you haven't played simply because it has 'flaws', which are simply design choices you don't agree with? you seethe with angst and rancor.

i'm really looking forward to the articles about games that feature mid-nineties tech and juvenile stories!

 

I thought everyone expected indie games to be treated the same as other games? Would people expect VD to hide flaws and his opinion because it wasn't Bioware who made it?

 

Are the people who actually like these ARPG hiding somewhere? Are they extremely reclusive and only rarely post on forums? Why is everyone making Diablo clones?!

 

Well, I think there is a reason why we don't hear about all those game after their relese.
Why are they being made? What's easier: to write a good story and dialogues or make a clone of popular slashing game?

 

They're being made because action RPGs are more popular than more traditional RPGs. More people buying them = more people making them.

 

Why does that sound familiar (and will they actually invade)?

Will the soft shadows be removed at the eleventh hour?

 

Not the "u haevn't playd this gaem!" argument again.

What choices are you talking about? Trying to remove as many RPG elements as possible from an RPG?

You've got me here. Tech is definitely the most important aspect in an RPG.