Interview Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Interview

VentilatorOfDoom · Oct 17, 2011

Tags: Big Huge Games; Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

There's a <a href="http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/previews/amalur-reckoning-interview.html" target="_blank">two-part</a> <a href="http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/news/reckoning-interview-part-2.html" target="_blank">interview</a> with system designer William Miller available on GamerZines concerning different design decisions they took with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
 
Snippet from <a href="http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/previews/amalur-reckoning-interview.html" target="_blank">part I</a>:
<blockquote>
GZ: Could you explain the law system a bit for us?
 
 WM: Yeah, it's harsh and that's intentional! There's some cool experiences with crime, especially when you go to jail. There are several unique jails in the world and you can sneak out of them, and there's some reward for you there if you decide to go that route or you can go on a rampage and that's fine too. There's no morality system in the game and of course that's intentional. All the crime is localised to the place you commit offences in. That being said, there are of course moral choices in the narrative and they have far reaching ramifications, but in terms of the crime system it's pretty simple. 
</blockquote>
And another snippet from <a href="http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/news/reckoning-interview-part-2.html" target="_blank">part II</a>:
<blockquote>
GamerZines: Unlike other RPGs, Reckoning features a silent protagonist, why did you guys go for that?
 
 Will Miller (Systems Designer for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning): There were a couple of considerations with that and one was localisation. We wanted to localise all of the voices in the game, we didn't want any speech that wasn't localised and having the player character talk ballooned that very quickly. However that was a very minor component to this decision, the big reason why we did this was because the less that's explicit about your character the more, the player gets to infer their own personality. Some of the best games have silent protagonists, Zelda for example, and if he ever speaks I swear - I'll march to Tokyo myself. That was a conscious choice and we think it was the right one. 
 
GZ: That's really interesting, because games as a medium seem to be moving away from that idea. Take the success of BioWare's approach for instance...
 
 WM: I love BioWare RPGs I really do, but I think there are better things that games do than tell a cinematic narrative. We want you to walk away from Reckoning with the story that we've chosen to tell you, but also the story that you've told yourself with our game. I feel like when you walk away from a game where your character talks, you've lived more of the designer's story than your own, but with Reckoning we give you a great set of building blocks to tell your own tale. The anecdotes that your friends always tell you about these games aren't about great scripted sequences, instead it's along the lines of; "I invested in this crazy combination of skills which made me totally invincible and that was awesome because it broke the game!" 
 Hopefully we won't ship with anything like that, but it's all about that kind of stuff. These great little experiences that the players had, that they did, not what the game did for them is what is super important. I worked for Firaxis for two and a half years and one of Sid Meier's big things is that the game should never have more fun than the player and that the systems always serve the game. My own personal design philosophy, as well as Big Huge Games', aligns very closely with that and that was the motivation behind that decision and many more. 
</blockquote>
 
Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/105287-kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview.html">Gamebanshee</a>

Alexandros · Oct 17, 2011

Huh. Maybe this game will turn out to be ok.

Mangoose · Oct 17, 2011

Our art direction is a little more traditional in terms of how the user interface is presented. It's going to look a lot more like an old school RPG rather than the minimalist user interfaces you see in games today, but that's because we have a lot of data to show you.
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Not sure if serious

Admiral jimbob · Oct 17, 2011

I prefer when these people just spout bullshit. I don't like when they have decent design philosophies and completely fail to utilise them in developing open world action game #246357.

Krash · Oct 17, 2011

VentilatorOfDoom said:

However that was a very minor component to this decision, the big reason why we did this was because the less that's explicit about your character the more, the player gets to infer their own personality.
Click to expand...

EDIT: Checked the game out and jesus christ what a disappointment. We should kidnap these devs and make them work on something good.

kris · Oct 17, 2011

Yeah. These quotes are the best things I heard about the game this far. Right up my alley.

Peter · Oct 17, 2011

This is like reverse PR talk or something. The game is the same old shit, but instead of spouting buzzwords to cater to the console crowd, they're trying to appeal to actual RPG gamers.

I don't know how to feel about that.

SuicideBunny · Oct 17, 2011

Peter said:

I don't know how to feel about that.
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wait 'till release, pirate, play, decide how to feel and whether to buy.

Metro · Oct 17, 2011

Sounds too interesting -- must be a trap! Refreshing to see one company understand why Biowarian cutscene/exposition dialogue overloads are boring.

Roguey · Oct 18, 2011

Admiral jimbob said:

I prefer when these people just spout bullshit. I don't like when they have decent design philosophies and completely fail to utilise them in developing open world action game #246357.
Click to expand...

Er... aren't open world action-RPGs pretty much Bethesda's thing? It's about time someone else tried to challenge their turf.

Mangoose · Oct 18, 2011

The problem is that all this interesting design talk and cutesy graphics gives me Fable goosebumps.

Rivmusique · Oct 18, 2011

Oh he says all the right things, but the game in action... . Hack n slash ARPG, seems like a mix between Fable and Oblivion.

Admiral jimbob · Oct 18, 2011

Roguey said:

Admiral jimbob said:

I prefer when these people just spout bullshit. I don't like when they have decent design philosophies and completely fail to utilise them in developing open world action game #246357.
Click to expand...

Er... aren't open world action-RPGs pretty much Bethesda's thing? It's about time someone else tried to challenge their turf.
Click to expand...

With the level of watering down we're looking at? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tell the essential differences between, say, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed.

ortucis · Oct 18, 2011

The name of this game really bugs me for some reason.

IronicNeurotic · Oct 18, 2011

Admiral jimbob said:

Roguey said:

Admiral jimbob said:

I prefer when these people just spout bullshit. I don't like when they have decent design philosophies and completely fail to utilise them in developing open world action game #246357.
Click to expand...

Er... aren't open world action-RPGs pretty much Bethesda's thing? It's about time someone else tried to challenge their turf.
Click to expand...

With the level of watering down we're looking at? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tell the essential differences between, say, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed.
Click to expand...

Well, one difference beeing that AssCreed can actualy be good.

Excidium · Oct 19, 2011

IronicNeurotic said:

Admiral jimbob said:

Roguey said:

Admiral jimbob said:

I prefer when these people just spout bullshit. I don't like when they have decent design philosophies and completely fail to utilise them in developing open world action game #246357.
Click to expand...

Er... aren't open world action-RPGs pretty much Bethesda's thing? It's about time someone else tried to challenge their turf.
Click to expand...

With the level of watering down we're looking at? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tell the essential differences between, say, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed.
Click to expand...

Well, one difference beeing that AssCreed can actualy be good.
Click to expand...

...for an hour or so before medieval parkour gets old.

serch · Oct 19, 2011

http://forums.reckoning.com/showthread.php?1077-Answers-From-the-Reckoning-Dev-Team-10-12-11

Q: I would like to know if it is possible to complete EVERY SINGLE QUEST in one playthrough or not? Would prefer if it wasn't possible so I could go through several times and enjoy the different options. Also if it is not possible to complete every single quest in one playthrough, will there be any quests that are taken from a set and randomly chosen (think Diablo 1 random quests)? I think it would be pretty cool to have something like that on a larger scale. Maybe if not implemented in shipping version then some DLC/x-packs could have that make its way into the game. – By Kaloris

A: So the short answer is that if you are diligent enough, you can play any and all quests throughout Reckoning. However! Many of our quests involve decisions that change the outcome, or even the entire course and nature of the quest. That's true for parts of the main quest, the faction lines, and a good number of side quests.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't risk my neck on this one taking into account that several factions will exist in the game. Losing the posibilities that serious conflicts of interests between groups present is a recipe for popamole.

Cynic · Oct 19, 2011

This game will be shit. It also has one of the worst names in recent memory, who the fuck thought this up seriously?! WHY THE FUCK DOES EVERY GAME NEED A FUCKING ":" SEPARATOR SUB TITLE!? WHY!?

Roguey · Oct 19, 2011

Because Kingdoms of Amalur is the setting and Reckoning is the name of the game. Like Dungeons and Dragons:Everygame ever. Or double whammy: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Planescape: Torment.

DragoFireheart · Oct 19, 2011

Guys, remember who the publisher is. That will give you all the answers to your questions.

roll-a-die · Oct 20, 2011

Cynic said:

This game will be shit. It also has one of the worst names in recent memory, who the fuck thought this up seriously?! WHY THE FUCK DOES EVERY GAME NEED A FUCKING ":" SEPARATOR SUB TITLE!? WHY!?
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ

Put that to play while you read.

Fallout: A post-nuclear RPG
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Planescape: Torment
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Ultima 7: The Black Gate
Ultima 7: The Serpent Isle
Ultima 6: Quest of the Avatar
Might and Magic 3: Isles of Terra
Baldurs Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Pools of Radiance
Dungeons and Dragons: Temple of Elemental Evil
Tales of the Unknown: Volume 1: A Bards Tale
The Bards Tale 2: The Destiny Knight
The Bards Tale 3: Thief of Fate
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds
Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn
Darklands: Heroic Role Playing Adventures in Medieval Germany
Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny
Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor
The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator

At this point it's tradition, idjit.

Jaesun · Oct 20, 2011

Whats Wrong: Cynic

Stinger · Oct 20, 2011

The real problem with the name of this game is the 'Reckoning' subtitle which is about as generic and nondescript as 'Redemption' or 'Returns' or 'Rising' or 'Reloaded' or 'Retribution' etc etc.

Has any game or film that had that kind of title been genuinely good?

kris · Oct 20, 2011

Stinger said:

The real problem with the name of this game is the 'Reckoning' subtitle which is about as generic and nondescript as 'Redemption' or 'Returns' or 'Rising' or 'Reloaded' or 'Retribution' etc etc.

Has any game or film that had that kind of title been genuinely good?
Click to expand...

shawshank redemption.

Stinger · Oct 20, 2011

That's not Shawshank: Redemption though. It's not a tacked on subtitle to an existing franchise or a sequel or anything. In that case redemption is part of the title.

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