You recently announced The Bard's Tale IV, a proper sequel to the series that got many of us into RPGs in the first place. Are you planning to modernize the game, or will it feature grid-based dungeoneering a la Etrian Odyssey, or some combination of the two?
We are going to experiment with a couple of new techniques so I hesitate to reveal too much now but I would say that locking someone onto a grid would take away from the immersion I want to get across. There are ways to have the best of both worlds. I wouldn't want people to read too much into this answer since I have some ideas that I want to see played out first.
Can you tell us a little more about the combat system in The Bard's Tale IV? In an interview with IGN awhile back, you mentioned borrowing concepts from Hearthstone. Could you shed some light on how that works?
It’s still very early in the design phase for The Bard’s Tale IV but we have a good sense of how we want it to feel. Heathstone is a game that does a great job at providing systems that make the player think at each turn. Instead of simply having a battle of attrition where you spend turn after turn slowly reducing your enemies health, we want to keep the combat lively, forcing you to make tough decisions at each round. Our focus right now is in defining the core combat variables that our designers can use to craft the enemy skill and spell books. Many skills will have direct counters that will allow you to turn the tides in your favor based on your character choices and party make-up. We want it to move snappier than a turn based game, not be a click fest nor be too passive. Stay tuned.
When are you planning to announce the Kickstarter for The Bard's Tale IV?
I think we did.
![Wink ;) ;)](/forums/smiles/icon_wink.gif)
Timing of a crowdfunding campaign is a function of us having the proper assets ready for prime time.