Interview Dungeon Lords Q&A at RPG Vault

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Dungeon Lords; DW Bradley; Heuristic Park Inc.

<a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com>RPG Vault</a> posted an <a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/504/504983p1.html>interview</a> with <b>D.W. Bradley</b> about his upcoming game <a href=http://www.heuristicpark.com>Dungeon Lords</a>, that, unlike Bradley's previous games, <i>has been built from the ground up with a focus on multiplayer cooperative play</i>. The future of RPGs is here, and it aint pretty.
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<blockquote><i>What kind of combat system are you aiming for in Dungeon Lords? What kind of feel will it have, and what aspects of designing and implementing it have been the most challenging?</i>
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The main goal is to create fighting that draws from fighting games on the console. The player has multiple attacks when using melee weapons, and these attacks can be chained together if done properly. The player also can equip a shield and use it defensively, and is free to maneuver continuously throughout combat, making each encounter a unique experience of balancing attacks, dodges and blocks according to the player's ability at the controls.
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The player will always feel that his or her skills are a direct consequence to the combat, and while character development is essential to provide a stronger, faster, more high-powered hero, combat is never a case of dueling dice rolls. Implementing this without sacrificing the depth of the RPG and story has been an involved and tricky process, but we feel that Dungeon Lords captures all the traditional elements while adding an accessible and addictive combat element that is always fun and never repetitive.</blockquote>"Depth of the RPG" in a game that focuses on multiplayer? Riiight.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgdot.com">RPG Dot</A>

 

[Voss]

Wow, between multiplayer and the console fighting game base...
at least his honest that you need twitch skills.

The player will always feel that his or her skills are a direct consequence to the combat

Now is this the player's skills or the character's skills?.

Hopefully, people will not by this piece of crap, and companies will wise up and realize this isn't the future of RPGs.
Focus on multiplayer. Feh..

 

[Dhruin]

I worry about a number of issues with Dungeon Lords but why isn't there room for a decent RPG (assuming it is) with action-based combat? There's no doubt that reduces the true RPG nature of the game but if the other elements are strong I can't see why you can't have action combat in the odd game.

 

[Voss]

Yes, there is room...
but this doesn't look like it will manage to do both (or either) well.
But the focus on the players twitch skills suggests that character skills will be rather irrelevant.
And of course, the focus on multiplayer means it will hardly be an RPG at all.
And Bradley's background isn't exactly... inspiring. He hasn't really done anything besides clone the Wizardry formula, over and over again.

 

[Anonymous]

Console Fighting games, damn..

Does this mean the final boss will be 12 Year Old Asian Kid that beats you in your fight by doing the same attack over and over?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

After Wizards & Warriors, I'm not sure how anyone can just accept that D.W. Bradley can make a good game with the equation of CRPG DEPTH + CONSOLE FIGHTING GAME ACTION. I'm more willing to bet the guys who engineered the HUMMER SUV can make a flying car that's fuel efficient than that.