PART ONE I TWO

With its colourful fantasy setting and surprisingly deep combat system, the EA published Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is definitely one to watch. The multiplatform project represents something of a departure for developer Big Huge Games, which had previously been known for its work on historical RTS franchises Rise of Nations and Age of Empires. With hundreds, if not thousands, of fantasy milieus having been produced across a variety of media over the years, the studio will have to work hard to make its mark on the competitive RPG landscape.

Kingdoms of Amalur executive producer Mike Fridley is no stranger to genre, having contributed to revered Elder Scrolls titles Morrowind and Oblivion during his time with Bethesda Softworks. We ask him to describe the measures that the studio has taken to ensure that the world of Amalur feel new and original. “While all fantasy settings have some common elements,” Fridley says, “what makes them feel unique is the story of the world and where the player fits in to that story.”

The hero of the piece has a rather unusual back story. He begins his adventure as just another corpse atop a retched mound of decaying bodies, but it isn’t long before he returns to the land of the living. Furthermore, his brief time on ‘the other side’ appears to have left him with certain qualities unheard of in others. “Our world’s story is very deep and one of those elements is the idea of fate,” Fridley says. “Every living being in Amalur has a fate, except the player. The player’s actions in Amalur will change the fate of those around him, and in turn, the world.”

Fridley is also banking on a little bit of star power to deliver something new and distinct. Big Huge Games is working with Forgotten Realms author R.A. Salvatore, creator of popular dark elf ranger Drizzt Do’Urden. “We have a great asset in the form of R.A. Salvatore. R.A. sat down before we started on Reckoning and outlined a 10,000 year history of Amalur.” According to Fridley, the world was then “brought to life through the artistic vision of Todd McFarlane”, who many will remember as the creator of comic book anti-hero Spawn. Perhaps of most interest to gamers will be the contribution of Ken Rolston, who Fridley reminds us, was the lead designer on The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

In keeping with the notion that the protagonist in Kingdoms of Amalur will choose his own destiny, Big Huge Games is encouraging players to customise their heroes as the adventure unfolds. “A big part of the choice we give the player in Reckoning is not having to make a choice on character skills or talents at character creation.” While some games require players to be knights or spell casters from day one, Kingdoms of Amalur players won’t be locked into a particular profession, “before they know anything about how that class will play.”

In lieu of a traditional class structure, Kingdoms of Amalur will feature a system labelled ‘destinies’. “Depending on how you spend your talent points at level-up,” Fridley says, “we unlock special destinies tailored to make you better at where you seem to be spending those points. There are 40 of these destinies to discover, unlocking all kinds of choices and options.” The end goal is to ensure that players “really feel like they are involved with the creation and progression of their character.”

Kingdoms of Amalur has received a lot of attention for bringing an action game feel to the RPG genre. During its most lively fighting sequences, the game looks to have more in common with God of War than Oblivion. When we ask Fridley to tell us about the impetus for this move, he recalls searching for a point of distinction during preproduction for the game. “We knew we wanted to make an open world RPG with tons of content, a distinct visual style, deep RPG systems, and even had some ideas about the destiny class system back then. All of that seemed like the minimum bar to make a good RPG and we wanted to make a great RPG.”

The cut and thrust of battle was soon identified as one area in which the game could potentially outstrip its competition. “We’re all big RPG players on the team,” Fridley says, “and we all knew that no one had really done combat well in a fantasy RPG before. There are some games that are better than others at combat, but none of them really shined in a way that action games shine.” Deciding on a fast paced combat system is one thing, implementing it, something else entirely. Big Huge Games was forced utilise “a lot more” animators and designers than a typical RPG would require. Clearly pleased with results, Fridley is generous in his praise for the combat team. “What they did wasn’t easy and really shines in Reckoning.”

The ambitious fighting system also necessitated a very tailored approach to encounter design. “If you are making an RPG where combat happens in a two metre area with little to no movement, you can build your world filled with tight corridors and small spaces,” Fridley says. “While Reckoning still has small spaces and corridors to explore, how we set up encounters in the world has to be handcrafted rather than just systematically populated. It’s a lot more work, but when you get your hands on the game and fight something for the first time, I’m sure you’ll agree it is worth the extra effort.”

PART ONE I TWO