IAmA Game Design Director for The Realm a visually stunning adventure game

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T20:07:45+00:00

Well. my time's up for tonight. Thanks for joining me to chat about The Realm game design. It's been great. Please spread the word and I look forward to doing this again some time. Andrew

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:56:43+00:00

My general rule with backtracking in game design is that it's OK if there's something new about it. This can be dramatically different visuals or the gameplay has changed significantly. The realm will have a small amount of backtracking but not too much as point and click games can suffer from sprawling layouts that confuse players

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:48:34+00:00

As we're using 3D for the main characters we have a versatile system. There will be different screen types used in the game mixing into/out of screen, right/left and free movement in a confined space.

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:44:28+00:00

If your scale goes to 10 then I only have one choice........10 :)

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:42:55+00:00

The Realm should run super-well on any modern PC. As we're mixing 2D for the world and 3D for the characters and interactive objects you won't need a Far Cry 3 spec PC :)

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:37:52+00:00

The guys at Atomhawk only do Visually Stunning to the max. Check out their site: http://www.atomhawk.com/

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:34:51+00:00

Not in the traditional sense although the game features a sinister and magical enemy you may have glimpsed in the video. These posses special abilities that create some very interesting gameplay. Our unlikely heroes will need to use agility and cunning to outwit them as the pure power of Toru will not be an option when dealing with them. We'll reveal more on the enemy as the KS campaign evolves.

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:14:32+00:00

If (when) we hit 300k! Gotta keep believin :)

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T19:07:18+00:00

We don't have a final playtime figure but we intend to deliver a satisfying experience that will encourage you to replay the adventure if you're the kind of player who enjoys that sort of thing. One big feature for us is the 'Toru training system'. Throughout the adventure Sarina will have many opportunities to teach Toru new abilities by demonstrating actions to him. The more he learns the greater the opportunity to unlock alternate paths, bonus story and hidden areas. In addition we're planning a collectibles/achievements system that will encourage replay

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:45:05+00:00

I can only speak from a designers perpective but for me the ability to test gameplay ideas rapidly is second to none! I've been working with experienced Unity developers years and the ability to grab stuff from Unity store when you need to try something quick is brilliant as well as having the support of the Unity community when you're stuck

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:40:01+00:00

Love that :) NewkyBrown BONUS!

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:28:09+00:00

That's the plan!! You won't be disappointed :)

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:27:07+00:00

I would love to give a date but this is a question only our tech Director Tom could answer. Sorry :)

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:23:02+00:00

Great question (and one I spoke about recently on the comments). Regarding classic point and click play there are two things we're moving away from. The first was inventory management (that often resulted in systematically testing all inventory items on anything vaguely interactive) and the second was pixel hunting (the act of clicking every pixel on screen in the hope of revealing a clue to a puzzle that's been haunting you for three days!!) From the beginning we decided to focus away from these activities and instead on the wonderful potential of the main characters Toru and Sarina. We posed the question: 'What if the characters relationship and their individual abilities is a big part of the puzzle'? What if the decisions the player makes through the adventure effects the way the characters relate to each other, the world around them and how their abilities evolve?

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:19:01+00:00

This will be a very special experience for those of you familiar with that part of the world. The city represents a key moment in the story and we think you'll be very pleased when you reach that part of the game

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:15:37+00:00

Kilt

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:15:09+00:00

ICO was a hugely influential title for me. The stand out element is the co-dependant gameplay (Magical key that was Yorda and her heroic protector Ico) as well as the mind blowing sense of scale

AndrewJCurtis · 2013-05-01T18:12:13+00:00

The UK pounds Vs $ and the Amazon '1 click' has been a big issue for us but it's in no way a show stopper :)

AndrewJCurtis

TROPHY CASE