Interview with the Developers of Telladar Chronicles: Decline

11/07/04

With all the attention paid to WWII-themed real-time strategy and action games of late, it's refreshing to see some developers sticking to the fantasy genre where it all began. One such developer, MindLink Studio, is working on a new hybrid of the genres in their game Telladar Chronicles: Decline. Interested in hearing more about the game, we posed some questions to MindLink Studio's Snisarenko Sergey. Below is the transcript of our trans-Atlantic conversation. DailyGame: Your story for Telladar Chronicles: Decline seems complex (in a good way). How long did the team work on the story, and what was the inspiration (literature, movies, etc.)? Snisarenko Sergey: We started to create the Telladar Chronicles universe more then 4 years ago, and work on the Decline story was approximately one year. Actually, there are lots of [things] that have affected the game concept: Lots of fiction, table-top and computer games, etc. But I want to specify two of them, maybe the most important ones: Master of Magic and Warhammer: Dark Omen. These games were the primary driving force beyond the concepts of Telladar Chronicles’s universe and TC: Decline. And we’ve made the final touches to our vision of what TC will become [based on] impressions from several recent screenings. The scale and drama, dozens of thousands combatants, mighty heroes leading their forces to battle.... Click on any exclusive image below to see it in high-resolution. The game has different subplots and endings. Is this because people can play as different races, which have their own storylines, is it a sign of the decisions players will make, or is it a mix of both? It will be some kind of a mix. That is, each of the sides naturally has a set of unique missions and subject turns, but all main plot-line decisions are accepted by the player during the game. With regard to the experience gains and leveling-up, will players determine how their XP are allotted, or will the game automatically decide for them? In the beginning, we wanted to make an automatic level-up system for all units except heroes, spell-casters and lieutenants, but after a long debate we have decided to give an opportunity to the player to raise all units by himself. We have thought up a special method which helps to provide a convenient level-up action within a framework of huge armies. Probably for those who don't like to be engaged with such details we shall implement some sort of automatic unit progress. Will the main player control all four heroes at once or switch between them at various points in the game? Will the gameplay styles and/or mission types vary accordingly? Simultaneously you supervise one of four main heroes, [which] vary depending on development of a subject line. Each of the heroes has a certain set of missions and style of their passage. For example, urghs hero prefers to solve the problems with brute force; the human knight is fond of honour, order and discipline; and magicians use [entirely] other ways, most of which are not accessible for a usual mortal. Gameplay style and mission tasks differ from the hero and the race for which you are playing. Tell us a bit more about your plans for online multiplayer support (maps, number of people, co-op vs. versus modes, etc.). We plan to include online multiplayer mode in TC: Decline, but unfortunately I can’t tell you anything detailed about its accessible maps. Naturally, it will include many of single-player maps and probably some multiplayer-only scenarios. We [haven't] come to a final decision on the maximal number of players yet, but I can assure you it will be no less than eight of them, including AI generals. Also, there can be multiple human and AI commanders inside one army (so players could assume the roles not only of army commander, but also of his lieutenants). Besides a standard versus mode, there will be also cooperative and maybe some other, not less interesting types of the multiplayer. Your in-house Battalist Engine sounds impressive. Is there a base engine for Battalist (e.g. a modified Unreal engine)? Do you have any plans to license it to other developers? Battalist Engine, from the beginning and up to the end, is developed by our team. It is an independent product of our zealous teamwork, created from "zero," and it isn't based on another engine. At present, we don’t plan to license our engine for use by other developers. Probably we shall change our point of view in the future. ;-) Your M.A.S.S. (Mind, Agility, Strength and Stamina) attribute system sounds familiar to the corresponding categories in other RPGs. In your mind, how is it different? The basic difference of our RPG system is that it was created specially for the mass-combat genre. For example, as the S.P.E.C.I.A.L (Fallout) system is a bad approach for a fantasy genre but perfectly fits a high-tech and post-nuclear reality. M.A.S.S. is not a classical full-scale RPG in the full understanding of the word, but it is a perfect approach for mass combat action. In general, one of the most important things for a classical RPG is to model as exactly as possible the characters, their abilities, special traits and conditions. Our game is a mass strategy, so the usual system at the given situation is not capable to simulate such scale with a sufficient combination of performance and result. Consequently, the amount of different characteristics and conditions was decreased up to a level, greatly reducing the number of possible checks required for battle emulation. But for all that, the system architecture is versatile and considered enough that it can be added up to any degree of complexity. Telladar Chronicles: Decline sounds at times like a real-time strategy title, but at other times it sounds like players will have direct control over their heroes and warriors. Is it indeed a combination? How does the actual gameplay work? Yes, it is a combination. There is a certain mission structure, and there is also the moment the subject forks. Distinguishing features of the gameplay are dictated by the genre: a real-time wargame in a fantasy setting. You supervise the hero as the plotline character, as the leader of your army and as one of the best combat units in game. All other units share in formations and are controlled by you or one of your AI lieutenants. In our game, there is no extraction of resources, constructions of buildings, etc. You have only one unique accessible resource: points of prestige, the amount of which is a direct reflection of your success in the previous missions. You will spend these points to purchase various arms and equipment, employ new soldiers, etc. In that sense, the hero is as a matter of fact the only "builder" in game. In addition, you use the hero as a main guide of the plot and adjust a way of passage, making decisions on behalf of your character. [When you] transition to other parties, your performance in certain missions will influence the further development of storyline. Special thanks to the development team at MindLink Studio and the publishing party at Game Factory Interactive for chatting with DailyGame.
Send News to N4G | |