Interview The Broken Hourglass Q&A at RPG Vault, part II

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: The Broken Hourglass

<a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com>RPG Vault</a> has posted the <a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/743/743177p1.html>second part</a> of the interview with Jason Compton, the lead designer of <a href=http://www.planewalkergames.com/>The Broken Hourglass</a>:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote><b>What role will quests play in the game? Will there be very many side tasks? What would you like to tell our readers about this element?</b>
<br>
<br>
At the end of the day, you can always boil down quests into two categories, things you must do in order to complete the game, and those that are optional. There are four major story arcs that must be completed to reach the endgame, and dozens of other things you can do in the city, which do not directly lead you to it, but may provide greater enjoyment, understanding or goodies that may come in handy, or a better outcome for the city in the end, etc. Because Mal Nassrin has been through a rough spot, tensions in the city are high; there are some unusual situations the player can get involved with, either to defuse them or exploit the matters. The disturbances in time also mean that the player can meet some interesting (and mundane) figures who have been pulled out of their proper places in time - and also have to sort them out from the impostors who are trying to make names for themselves.</blockquote>Sounds inventive and promising.
<br>
<br>
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPG Watch</A>

 

[FrancoTAU]

All these interviews with VD and this Jason guy are messing me up. I'm not used of all this detailed gameplay info.

Still hoping they can pull off that magic system. Mad ups yo for trying something different, but it could just as easily stink. A BG2 clone with anything resembling an interesting combat system sounds good to me.

 

[aboyd]

I'm still excited about BH just for all the NPC goodness. I hope they make good on that.

 

[Kos_Koa]

Looks promising, with only a few things that seem iffy, but it's definitely worth watching. I especially like their focus on NPC's.

 

[Jed]

Besides the combat, this does sound fairly intriguing. Hope they can pull it off.

Speaking of NPC interaction, I noticed in another thread a mention of an NPC romance in a Gold Box game, which surprised the hell out of me. I really thought that kind of NPC interaction began with BG/BG2. What other cRPGs before those had any serious NPC-to-NPC or NPC-to-PC interaction?

 

[Human Shield]

So mages can fire like archers with unlimited arrows. Mite work out. Guess intelligence can work like Dex in firing arrows faster.

 

[Jed]

The magic system seems pretty interesting, kind of reminds me of how the Shapers' mana works in Geneforge.

As far as balance with the offensive spells goes, I'd like to see Intelligence + caster or skill level dictate how much mana is available; I'd like to see *available* mana dictate power and speed of offensive spells. Basically, if you have a buff or shield going, and you have enough mana left, you can still fire ice bolts or whatever, but at a lower rate and/or less damage per bolt. I think this would add a nice layer of tactics/strategy for magic users is what is otherwise and unfortunate combat model (RTwP).

Besides the combat and goofy naming going on, this is looking like a "next-best" indie game on par with my expectations for AoD and GF4.

 

[Deacdo]

While everything else sounded good, one major put-off is how they attach magic to stats like Strength. Really deminishes my interest.

 

[Jed]

Didn't notice that. Weird. Sure, endurance I can see, but strength? Sort of goes against the whole point of specialized character types.

EDIT- Just went back and read the first half, and having each of the four character stats tied to skill in one of the four magic schools doesn't seem too bad. Since this isn't a class-based system, it's nice to know you can build a kick-ass fighter, and still be at least mildly competent with some magic. Even though I usually prefer class-based systems for party-based games, BHG is still looking to be potentially innovative in the right ways.

 

[Deacdo]

To me it practically nullifies the benefit of a classless system. It is easily the strangest thing about the game.

 

[Claw]

Really? That's odd, it seems to do the opposite to me. Instead of having a dedicated "Spellcaster" attribute you must learn to cast spells - usually Intelligence - you can be a mage with any attribute. It also means any mage probably won't be good at every kind of magic.

 

[Higher Game]

I think it would be like Diablo II's "magic". Every character has alternative attacks to keep the game interesting, but for barbarians it's stuff like bash, jump, and other dumb things. I think the strength based "magic" would be like this, while the magic we're used to would be the intelligence or wisdom based.