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Realism is the key behind Black
Cactus and Microids upcoming RTS, Warrior Kings
Microids, in collaboration with developer Black Cactus, has thrown down a chainmail glove when it comes to upcoming real-time strategy games. And this game will attempt to march the genre forward by reaching into the past. Warrior Kings is set in a medieval world where small kingdoms struggle for supremacy. Yes, this game borrows from some of the more typical themes, uniting a land fragmented by chaos into a single realm with one king. And while there are errant knights and demons charging about, this program promises a true 3D game environment, terrain that works to strategic advantage of those controlling it, and superior animations. The game also promises a simplified resource system, simplified building system and simple controls over large numbers of units. What Microids is attempting to do is create a game that is rich in visual rendering, and yet will entice novice players into the realm and enable them to succeed almost at once. David Bailey, CEO of Black Cactus, took some time to talk with GameZone about this game and the company behind it. Question: Warrior Kings is a RTS, a genre that has quite a number of top-selling titles. What will make your title unique or stand apart from the pack? David: “I guess, you’d ask this question to any developer and obviously you’d get an answer saying that their game is sooooooooooooooooo much better than the competition. It’s a given." "Anyway, we’d say the main elements
differentiating WK from other RTS would be:
Q: Does this title incorporate any new technology? What type of engine powers it? David: “Yes. Lots. And its all ours, I tell you, ours! “OK seriously. The engine is fully scalable and card independent. A lot of the features depend on the PC you have. The engine includes Particle systems, dynamic shadows, bump maps, gloss surfaces, cloud shadows, shadows cased by hills and trees to the position of the sun, invisible LoD plus loads more. We have an unrivalled level of animation in the game bringing all units to life. Also, unusual for an RTS, some of the in-game characters are over 2,000 polys.” Q: What will players experience when they launch the game? The press release states that this is a medieval/fantasy world. Does this game incorporate historical elements in a fictional land, or does suspend any ties to reality and all aspects were born in the minds of the developers? David: “Do you assume
developers still have minds after two years making an RTS? Actually we tried to
make a game that a medieval person would recognize, drawing from Hieronymus
Bosch and a heap of artwork and loads of books. The map is not-unlike Europe
with the water level raised a bit, and the characters may or may not represent
real historical characters. Gold stars are available for those who correctly
identify our sources. David: “Playing the multi-player game against the test team. Nothing stirs the soul like the screams of a defeated enemy who watches his wagons turn traitor and his manor burn. Obviously, this a dream come true for Black Cactus who dreamt about developing such a game for so long. I guess we got to say thanks to Microïds.” Q: What has proved to be the most challenging aspect of creating this game? David: “Lack of sleep. That and the calls from angry wives, partners and mothers who want to see their beloveds at least once a year.” “In technical terms, testing a big RTS is a huge challenge, as is keeping the design tight. Also, the optimization work has been pretty hard on the minds of the programmers. Thanks, team!” Q: Does this game offer online gaming? If so, is it a king-of-the-hill type of death match, or is the multiplayer aspect a little more time consuming and intriguing? David: “Indeed. Eight player matches ranging from three-hour marathons of strategic brilliance to 20 minute instant-battles (depending on where you set the resources at the start).” “The MPG has different maps, but all the units, tech tree et cetera, are the same as the single-player game. As in the single-player game, everyone starts as the same neutral race, and depending on how they progress through the tech tree they end up Pagan, Imperial or Renaissance. “More modes are probably going to
emerge over the next few months, and we remain open to suggestions!”
David: “The story of the game is also the story of the company. In a nutshell, Jamie Thomson (he of Way of Tiger, Fabled Lands and other game books) and Dave Morris (not only co-author of Computer Games Architecture and Design, but Author and Games Designer in respect of the basics of Warrior Kings) worked with Ian Turnbull (who was then Development Director) at Eidos on a couple of projects. The team they were working with was full of great ideas: not only for games designs but also for methodologies for designing and making games. They sought out and brought on board a financial and management chap who happened to also be an RTS and RPG fan of about 18 years standing. Then we got together and won support from private and institutional investors in the UK.” “Skip forward to 2002, and we have 35 people on the premises and the place is buzzing as we realize that we actually do have a stunningly beautiful and deeply rewarding game and it is very nearly ready for release.” “A key feature is that everyone at
BCG is an RTS nut, and all but one of us has delivered at least two previous
titles (there are 90 or more game credits among the development team of 23).”
David: “Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep IS the answer.” “Then we will get on with making more great Warrior Kings things, and start to reveal more of our secret plans for more games on this engine.” For More Product Information |
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