Depths of Peril Interview

[GameBanshee News]

FiringSquad had the opportunity to chat with Soldak Entertainment's Steven Peeler about their upcoming action RPG, Depths of Peril.

Q: What sort of unique features will make this game stand out from the crowd of other action-RPGs?

A: Even though some of the core RPG elements are familiar, the strategy elements make it play very different than a typical action RPG. Now all your normal RPG elements like gaining experience, getting better items, and choosing skills have another purpose. They help you and your covenant become more powerful so that you can defeat the other covenants.

There are a couple unique features that I will talk about right now. The main unique feature is that you are in a constant struggle for supremacy amongst yourself and a bunch of other factions. You can use diplomacy, trade, wars, and raids in this struggle. There is a large amount of strategy involved which is not typical for RPGs.

Also, the game world is larger than just your character. In most games, if the player doesn’t do anything, nothing happens in the world. It’s basically static. In Depths of Peril, if you do nothing, the other covenants will continue adventuring and get more powerful. They will make alliances and have wars. And if you still do nothing eventually they will go to war with you, raid your covenant house, and destroy you.

But the covenants are not the only things that are always on the move. The monsters in the world are always doing things. New unique monsters appear here and there. Monster leaders can start uprisings. Monsters can even attack the town or even start wars against other groups of monsters.

I mean in how many other RPGs can you be adventuring out in the world trying to quell an uprising of zombies when all of a sudden your covenant house starts being raided by an enemy covenant? All of a sudden you’re in this massive battle just to stay alive. And let’s hope you don’t have any other enemies that might decide that now is a good time to join in on the fun.

This game sounds like it might have promise.

[Monolith]

Interesting concept. Now it just depends on their ability to pull this off - and their willingness. Anyway, I'm just going to take this for PR crap until they prove me wrong and expect a bland hack n slash action game with stats representing the whole RPG part.

Just look at the games Steven Peeler has created so far:
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (2004), Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down - Team Sabre (2004), NovaLogic, Inc.
Half-Life: Counter-Strike (2003), Microsoft Game Studios
Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Blair Witch, Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale (2000), Gathering
Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 (2000), Gathering of Developers

He, at least he'll make the action part right.

[DesR85]

I've read the interview and I can't really comment much as it's still too early to tell how the game will play like. Anyway, based on that interview, the story reminds me of the same cliche used in almost every RPG out there (becoming a king of some country etc). I'll wait for further developments regarding this game.