Interview RPG Codex Interview: Corey Cole on Quest for Glory and Hero-U (Now on Kickstarter!)

[Infinitron]

There is no tag yet. But feel free to send me the ten dollars.

 

[Crooked Bee]

But again, is a blobber-influenced game what Quest for Glory fans want?

I... honestly don't see how this game is supposed to be blobber-influenced, like, at all. There's nothing that says 'blobber' in its mechanics to me.

I'd like to believe that what Quest for Glory fans want is another full-fledged PC title from their favorite game designers. No designer can, or wants, do iterations of one and the same thing until eternity. I'd like to think the fans would want their favorite designers to try something at once familiar and new when given creative freedom - something these designers seem really excited about trying out, to boot. Plus it's not like they're giving up on either adventure gameplay - character interaction and puzzles - or RPG gameplay - combat. In fact, they're pretty intent on improving both.

At least that's the kind of attitute I'd like Quest for Glory fans, and other fans, to have. Sure, we'll see how the project ends up.

 

[Infinitron]

I... honestly don't see how this game is supposed to be blobber-influenced, like, at all. There's nothing that says 'blobber' in its mechanics to me.

Me neither. Well, other than catacombs exploration being a huge part of the game.

But they seem to want to go full RPG, yet their RPG experience seems to consist mainly of MMOs and blobby 80's games. Hence it is logical to assume that those design philosophies will inform the game.

 

[J_C]

Well the game looks promising, but those 2 people gave me the creeps. They really look like 2 people who are abducting children and keeping them in the basement.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Well, speaking in generalities, perhaps, I dunno. But taking what he says about the mechanics in the interview at face value, I don't see anything inherently bad, or "red flaggish", about them.

 

[LeStryfe79]

At first, this kickstarter looked like shit to me. Then I watched Shaker again and threw up.

After cleaning the vomit off my face, I've decided to back Hero-U.

True story.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Well the game looks promising, but those 2 people gave me the creeps. They really look like 2 people who are abducting children and keeping them in the basement.

That should be right up the alley for any true Codexer.

 

[Alexian]

Me neither. Well, other than catacombs exploration being a huge part of the game.

But they seem to want to go full RPG, yet their RPG experience seems to consist mainly of MMOs and blobby 80's games. Hence it is logical to assume that those design philosophies will inform the game.

Their experience comes as much from being lifetime DnD gamers. The only reason they haven't made more RPGs was that no one was hiring game developers for RPGs for a long period outside the well known big companies that already had established teams, so they went to other companies and other work.

Anyway, I just want to repeat an early description of how the combat is planned right now. One of the nice things of our design it allows us to make occasional monsters extremely difficult, because you'll have multiple solutions for taking them out utilizing your traps and the dungeon layout.

To be honest, combat is going to be the most in flux part of the game at the moment. We have a planned combat system, but it's one that will need testing to make it's fast, strategic and challenging-ly fun..

Right now it's a solo hero, with multi-panel movement (one of the issues with a Rogue-like is that the one movement per turn makes monsters too predictable.)

For the moment, your most important characters options are choosing which poisons and traps to use. For example, you might use a slow poison on a large Minotaur, and then lure out the surrounding minions to kill one by one. Maybe on the Hard setting you're not strong enough to kill the Minotaur by yourself, so you set up a spring trap to launch it into a pit. For simpler battles, it might just be using a burning poison to kill a set of octopus-like monsters quickly. For basic combat a lot of it will be figuring out the monster's weaknesses, and then choosing positioning to pick them off without taking too much damage.

If the Kickstarter succeeds, one of our first focuses will be getting out a combat tester for our backers. We want to make sure the game's combat is more RPG than puzzle game, and that can be a fine line to balance.

We're going to make sure that for difficulty settings: Normal mode is difficult, and Hard more is extremely difficult. We're not constrained to make hard easier by executives, just to make people feel better about themselves.

 

[mindx2]

Man, I'm not sure I have the inclination to Kickstart another project so soon after PE... I feel KS fatigue starting to set in.... but I want to want this game... just not quite sure yet...

 

[pakoito]

Quick rundown of the QfG series for youngling newfags? Did somebody say in another thread they were grindy and exploitable? Any of them aged decently?

 

[Infinitron]

Their experience comes as much from being lifetime DnD gamers. The only reason they haven't made more RPGs was that no one was hiring game developers for RPGs for a long period outside the well known big companies that already had established teams, so they went to other companies and other work.

OK. Funny thing is, many people on the Codex will tell you that RPGs have become progressively more adventure game-like over the years. As such, it's always seemed to me that they could have found work doing Quest for Glory-ish games if they wanted to. In terms of game mechanics of course, not in terms of the tone and atmosphere, which were quite unique.

 

[toro]

Pledged 20 potatoes. That's all I can do for them...

 

[Alexian]

OK. Funny thing is, many people on the Codex will tell you that RPGs have become progressively more adventure game-like over the years. As such, it's always seemed to me that they could have found work doing Quest for Glory-ish games if they wanted to. In terms of game mechanics of course, not in terms of the tone and atmosphere, which was quite unique.

More to do with the job markets and the games that big companies were hiring for (majority of designer jobs available were for action games that they didn't want to do make). There has be a couple of periods in the industry where a significant amount of game developers were fighting for a small amount jobs as companies went under or cuts were made. Either had to work on a project you didn't care about, or switch to another industry which paid better.

Kickstarter and other crowd funding is making a huge difference on this side: Now there is the opportunity for funding to make indie RPGs combined with online distribution to sell it. They would have preferred to just make RPG games and puzzle-oriented games consistently but the jobs in for those types of games and money wasn't there.

Always, never forget! Most big gaming companies are very very dumb.

 

[Aeschylus]

Quick rundown of the QfG series for youngling newfags? Did somebody say in another thread they were grindy and exploitable? Any of them aged decently?

They are some of the best games ever. Period. They have aged just fine.

 

[Metro]

I think the art looks fine. In fact I'd donate a paltry $10 in jewgold if the Codex did a mini-drive for the $1,000 portrait tier of the official troll.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I'm in for a little bit after watching their pitch video and digging through my couch for change. I might have to eat dog food for awhile after all this Kickstarter nonsense.

Now just let the rest of the year or so be a bunch of Shaker-like pitches.

 

[mugarod]

I am starting to hate Kickstarter, seriously I spent more money this year on different projects that I wont see for few years then I did on games in general in last 5 years. I should just start liking popamole more and just buy new cod every year, atleast I will save money on those 60$ lobotomies.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

Hell yeah, Quest for Glory series were one of my favorites, so even if their game turns out to be shit, I'll still happily pledge some money, they deserve it.

 

[Surf Solar]

Game seems ok, but whats up with that retarded name?

 

[Hobz]

Game seems ok, but whats up with that retarded name?

It's a Wii-U exclusive

 

[Darkforge]

Holy shit. I may have my nostalgia glasses on, but when I was younger QFG3 was one of my favorites.. Never went back to play them, maybe I should.

However I'm not feeling this pitch, disappointment setting in.....

 

[Excidium]

Game seems ok, but whats up with that retarded name?

It's a Wii-U exclusive

 

[godsend1989]

Well the game looks promising, but those 2 people gave me the creeps. They really look like 2 people who are abducting children and keeping them in the basement.

this

 

[Corey Cole]

Yup, we're creepy old people. The good news is, our house doesn't have a basement. On the other hand, we do have almost 50 acres in which to bury the bodies.

Oh wait, that isn't right! We aren't scary at all... much.

 

[Radisshu]

I loved the Quest for Glory games but that couple creeps me the fuck out