E3 2001: The RPGs
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By the luck of the draw, Arcanum was the first I saw. This is the latest child of some of the members of the same team that gave us Fallout and Fallout II. It features an intriguing premise: what if your average pseudo-medieval fantasy world, complete with elves, dwarves, humans and orcs, suddenly developed mid-19th century industrial technology? (Happens all the time, right? Look, just suspend your disbelief for a while.) Now, go a step further. What if spells and magical artifacts didn't work for or against scientific types, while scientific items (everything from patented healing potions to guns) couldn't touch, for better or worse, magic-users? You fall into this world where magic and science are at each other's throats, quite literally-the result of dive bombing orcs setting fire to your airborne zeppelin. Gamers who enjoyed the highly configurable character of Fallout (where you could win as either good or evil, and find solutions to problems that emphasized combat, stealth, or charisma and intellect) will take delight in Arcanum. You can study up to sixteen different spell schools with a total of ninety spells, and seven technological disciplines with several dozen schematics for making valuable items. Spells and disciplines are learned by gaining experience, but sixteen separate skills for fighting, thieving and other activities are improved, Might & Magic fashion, by satisfying a series of quest-giving trainers.
Arcanum's engine is much the same as Fallout's, so if you're looking for fantastic visuals, look elsewhere. But the storyline is rich, the game balance excellent, and the product filled with interesting characters and non-linear challenges. Target release date on Arcanum is September, this year, though the product is already finished. (They don't want to release it in the US now, and wait three to four months to hit Europe and Asia. You know the pirates would make far more out of such a delay than the developers and publishers.)
There is a class of game that combines strategy and RPG elements; and hopefully nobody minds a brief mention of these on our RPG site. The one that particularly grabbed my interest was Master of Orion III, with part of Microprose's old MOO II team now safely ensconced within the protective economic field of Infogrammes. They've found an elegant solution to the old micro-management problem involving control of dozens of planets: a management system based on available points that lets you step in over AI-driven planetary governors, and make changes in production queues. The trick is that your points don't increase along with your empire's growth, so that you really need to focus on optimizing just a few of your planets by mid-game, while leaving the rest to develop on their own. Of course, this puts a considerable emphasis on AI, since planetary governors will be doing most of your production-and your diplomacy, too. You have to work through a bureaucracy to get things done. Building a militant empire will draw very able officers into your ranks; a peaceful, charismatic bunch of traders will get bureaucratic talent that mirrors these qualities. Sounds interesting, and it's due out the first part of 2002.
(By the way, the same team is very enthusiastic about the possibility of doing a Master of Magic II. We spoke for a long time about what a great, highly configurable, fun game it was, and how much more could be done for it with modern technology. Let's hope MOO III does well, so we have a shot at MOM II.)
On that same strategy/RPG front, Triumph Studios displayed bits and pieces of its forthcoming Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne. The graphics are superb, and the movement of players into six categories based on magical affiliation (light, dark, earth, fire, water, air) definitely customizes the RPG feel to a greater extent than the blended magic of the current version (where a player could mix light with fire, for example). A scenario editor is also promised, something that was sorely missed in AoW I. This is expected to be a Spring 2002 release.
Elixir Studios continues its work on Republic, one of the most innovative strategy/RPG titles I've seen in years. (It was first displayed in backrooms at E3, last year, to the press.) You're the leader of a small faction in Novostrania, a euphemism for the post-breakup Soviet Union. You lead a small faction customized to fit one of the major social groupings with a chance at government (military, criminal, religious leaders, etc) Over time, you attempt to convince other citizens to join your faction, then use their skills in turn to affect still larger numbers of people-eventually moving from city to city, as you attempt to spread the message while your opponents are doing the same.
