NEWS - Tuesday, January 8, 2002
Doupe Interviews Snowball
Russian development studio Snowball Interactive has been more than a little busy working on releasing their upcoming adventure-RPG Fatherdale: The Guardians of Asgard for the PC/Xbox systems. The developer has done extensive research around the time period of AD 1072, in which the game is set in a medieval Nordic world, and has incorporated actual locations and names in the game. Players assume the role of a few immortal heroes who must protect an ancient artifact of knowledge, as they battle their eternal enemy and unfold hell (which was a very different kind of hell back then). To protect this ancient artifact, they must take on the reins of an evil warlord in a secluded northern valley of Fatherdale, just days before it becomes the Battlefield of Fate.Fatherdale offers over a hundred and fifty unique characters, over four-houndred hand-crafted inventory items in more than sixty unique locations. There will be a real-time battle system based on actual medieval fencing techniques and realistic combat dynamics, so the game is obviously beefed up.
Czech site (I think it’s Czech, anyway), Doupe.cz interviews the Russian studio Snowball, and it’s all in English. I really like this interview as it has inspired me to dig deeper into the title for more information, so check it out, here’s a tidbit:
Doupe: The Norse mythology theme is quite popular in these days, let’s mention awaited RTS Age of Mythology or MMORPG Midgard. Why did you choose this theme for your game as well?Sergei Klimov: For us it wasn’t a clear and conscious choice as we started from the other side: we wanted to make a game set in early medieval world, a game that would allow a more developed personality for the player and for other characters in the game. Swords and bravery, I would say.
We opened the map of XI century and sought a place that would be the meeting point of several cultures, and our historical consultants suggested a small northern valley then populated by Slavs, often visited by Viking and right on the border of the Nomad steppes. We went there for a few days, looked around, and oved the valley -- since then the small bits of information started to accumulate.
The legend of Asgard, the city of gods sought by Viking konungs and rumoured to be in the forests of Gardariki. The wild and violent fights for control among the Nomads, and the tradition of all-defying, independent and self-destructive tribes of Wild Nomads. The story of the wooden Keeps of the Slavs, and the institution of Guardians -- mighty warrior brothers bend on protecting the valley. In about a year and a half of research, we had a precise picture of what actually happened to our heroes.
Overall, the mythology of Fatherdale as a game universe at large is not entirely norse: yes, Konung Olaf seeks advice from Father Odin, but Guardian Kozarin rather hopes for a sign from Peroon -- the thunder god of Slav warriors, and Khan Bolosh is more worried about Horseless Rider. The subtitle of the game, the Guardians of Asgard, reflects the major conflict that is about to happen within the storyline, but it’s not meant to cease all other beliefs that NPCs have.
A release date for the Xbox version has yet to be set, but you may find something out in the interview. Screenshots included.
Source: http://gamespydaily.com
