QJ Preview – Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom

The first game in the Untold Legends franchise, Brotherhood of the Blade debuted as a PSP launch title and gave gamers their very first taste of action RPG combat on Sony’s handheld wonder. Earlier this year, the game was followed by a sequel titled The Warriors Code, which sought to improve on its predecessor in just about every way possible. With new combos, a stronger, more engaging storyline, sharper graphics and a more unique art style, Warriors Code did just that. Now Sony Online Entertainment are bringing the Untold Legends universe to Sony’s brand new PlayStation 3, we sat down with Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom Senior Designer John  Troy, and designer Amanda Flock to chat about their upcoming PS3 launch title, here’s what they had to say.

Read the entire interview, right after the jump!

The first game in the Untold Legends franchise, Brotherhood of the Blade debuted as a PSP launch title and gave gamers their very first taste of action RPG combat on Sony’s handheld wonder. Earlier this year, the game was followed by a sequel titled The Warriors Code, which sought to improve on its predecessor in just about every way possible. With new combos, a stronger, more engaging storyline, sharper graphics and a more unique art style, Warriors Code did just that. Now Sony Online Entertainment are bringing the Untold Legends universe to Sony’s brand new PlayStation 3, we sat down with Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom Senior Designer John  Troy, and designer Amanda Flock to chat about their upcoming PS3 launch title, here’s what they had to say.

QJ.net: The game was initially unveiled in the middle of March to a somewhat lukewarm reception and in the span of less than two months you made a complete turnaround, overhauled the graphics, changed the art style, everything, it’s downright amazing! So first, I’d like to thank you for actually listening to the fans, not just on Dark Kingdom, but you did the same with Warriors Code as well, it’s heartening to know there are developers out there that care. I guess the first question I really have to ask is how on earth did you do it? How did you make such huge changes in such a short span of time and still manage a solid playable build at E3?

SOE: The team know how important it was to make the changes, and together the artists really pulled together and worked a lot of hours to make those changes in that short time.  It was amazing.

QJ.net: Were there any other changes made to the game other than the visual ones we can see, and how has the new art style affected the tone of the game?

SOE: The visual ones were the big changes that were made to the game.  The majority of the core game systems and planning remained the same.  The change in art did affect combat tuning somewhat, since all of the animations had to be updated.

QJ.net: How does Dark Kingdom tie into Brotherhood of the Blade and Warriors Code?

SOE: Like The Warrior’s Code before it, Dark Kingdom is an expansion of the Untold Legends universe.  While all three games take place in the same world, they each inhabit separate realms and have their own unique antagonists, protagonists, and plight.  Dureth, the setting in which Dark Kingdom unfolds, is the third realm to be unveiled in the Untold Legends universe.

While the focus of the story arc is unique to the setting of Dark Kingdom, there are some minor story tie-ins to the previous Untold Legends games that can be found by those who are looking for them.

QJ.net: Action RPG’s don’t traditionally have very strong stories but we understand legendary Dungeons and Dragons author Keith Baker‘s involved with setting the stage for Dark Kingdom, (my geek sense is tingling) can you give us a glimpse of what to expect from the story? Also, could you perhaps give us an idea of the scope of the production?

SOE: Keith has done a wonderful job molding our story into something truly unique and entertaining.  While I won’t go too heavily into details, I can tell you that the story takes place in the dawn of the darkest era to befall Dureth.  As members of an ancient and elite squad of mystic knights charged with the protection of Dureth, its people, and its dynasty, the players are faced with an unthinkable choice: to save their kingdom, they must betray their King, for the darkness that has descended upon the land is cast by the royal hand.

As the players progress through the storyline, they will uncover the horrible source of the King’s dark power and be faced with some intriguing and often dangerous twists.

QJ.net: We understand that there are three playable characters, a mage, a warrior and a scout, will each character have their own paths through the story? How will this enhance replay value?

SOE: Yes.  Each player character is a unique individual unto themselves with their own vested interest in the main plotline.  While the backbone of the storyline remains the same, the motivations, mood, and even some of the encountered NPCs (both combat and friendly) that the player encounters will differ with each character that is played.

The unique character arcs are different enough that they will still surprise and enthrall the player during a second and third play through the game.

QJ.net: How will the three playable characters differ in terms of gameplay?

SOE: All three have different base attributes, fighting styles, and abilities.  Zala, the scout, uses speed to overwhelm her opponents.  Her attacks arenÂ’t strong, but theyÂ’re very quick.  She can more easily jump and dodge out of the way, but sheÂ’ll take more damage when hit.  Her abilities focus on stealth and confusion.

Golan Kor, the warrior, wields a giant hammer and is the strongest of the three.  He can both dish out and take a lot of damage and heÂ’s able to pick up and hurl large objects at his foes.  His abilities often affect an area and draw upon the powers of earth and lightning.

The mage, Malakesh, uses magic in all of his actions.  His regular attacks have the most range.  His spells are the most powerful and have a large variety of effects.

QJ.net: You’ve mentioned that you plan on integrating physics based gameplay mechanics, could you expand a bit on the kinds of things we’ll be able to do?

SOE: WeÂ’re trying to integrate physics in ways to let you use the environment to your advantage if youÂ’re clever about it.  YouÂ’ll be able to use objects like rocks against your enemies.  Not just picking up and throwing them – you can also push a boulder from the top of a hill and watch it roll down and crush things in its path.  You can knock down pillars and then roll them along to protect you from enemy archers.

QJ.net: What sorts of environments, people, monsters and strange beings will players encounter on their journeys?

SOE: Players will find themselves in a host of visually and gameplay varied environments including the battle-torn Borderlands, the royal airship docks, underground steam tunnels, and the submerged ruins of a forgotten city.

While venturing through these unique and dangerous territories of Dureth, the players will find themselves fighting for their lives against the grotesque mutants that comprise the King’s new army.  The King has also taken an interest in the art of necromancy and the bodies of the long-dead have been awakened to join in the carnage.

In addition to the hostile NPCs, players will encounter and earn various allies as the plot progresses.  One such ally is Commander Torran, the leader of the Dragon’s Shade unit to which the players belong.

QJ.net: Do you have anything planned with regards the PS3 controllers motion sensing capabilities?

SOE: WeÂ’re not ready to discuss any of the potential uses of the motion sensitivity at this time.

QJ.net: How are you finding working with the PS3 hardware and what kinds of things are you doing that take advantage of the power it offers? Are you still targeting 1080p?

SOE: ItÂ’s definitely a challenging console to program for, but it has a lot of computing power available.  The biggest advantage really comes from using the CELL processors, which are extremely fast.  It lets you hand off the work for things like advanced physics and detailed particle systems without using the main core processor.

At this time, we are targeting 720p.

QJ.net: We’ve got a huge PSP following on our site so I’ve got to ask or risk getting flailed, anything down the line for the little fellow? A new Untold Legends Adventure? More Field Commander?

SOE: Unfortunately, I canÂ’t share anything about that right now.  Keep checking our website for the latest news on our games!

QJ.net: Any parting words for our readers?

SOE: We canÂ’t wait for you to be able to play Untold Legends Dark Kingdom!

Thanks for doing the interview, I know everyone appreciates all the hard work that’s going into Dark Kingdom and I for one will most certainly be picking it up come at launch.