Game of Thrones RPG Preview and Editorial

Even though we’ve been reporting about the game for awhile and even did an interview about it earlier this year, it appears that some of the mainstream sites are just starting to catch wind of Cyanide’s unnamed role-playing game based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. After learning about it, Kotaku actually called up Cyanide studio director Yves Bordeleau to siphon enough information for a quick preview that briefly covers the game’s mechanics and setting:

So while Genesis traces the history of Westeros from the landing of Nymeria through to more or less the start of the first book, the upcoming RPG will pick up from there and move concurrently with the first season of the TV show (and the first book). True to the style of Martin’s books, it will tell the story of two different characters, switching back and forth between them as their tales move alongside the events of the first book (and occasionally intersect with one another). None of the characters from the book will be playable, though the game’s protagonists will cross paths with plenty of familiar faces over the course of the game.

Late in production, Cyanide worked out a deal with HBO to use some assets and character designs from the locations and characters from the TV series, and some of the actors from the show will be performing dialogue for the game, as well. “We entered the agreement late in the game, unfortunately,” Bordeleau told me, “but we managed to have a lot of characters and locations modeled [after the series.]”

The combat uses what he called an “active pause system,” which he compared to the battle system from BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic. “You pause the game to give orders, but it doesn’t really pause, it slows the time down. You can see something coming and react to it.”

As for the story and general design, Bordeleau told me that it would be “Less action than Mass Effect 2, it’s closer to Knights of the Old Republic and the first Mass Effect. It’s all about the storyline.” He was cagey about how much choice would be involved in the game, but he did share in a follow-up email that “some of your actions and choices will have consequences in the game story”

In a very promising sign, Bordeleau mentioned that the developers are big fans of the storytelling in Planescape: Torment, and that fans of the art design and storytelling in that game will find a lot to like in the Game of Thrones RPG.

Prior to the preview, they had also done an editorial called “What A Better Game of Thrones Video Game Might Look Like”, which was inspired by the recently released A Game of Thrones: Genesis strategy title:

So: Politics, Betrayal. Got it. And then there’s the White Walkers. Lingering at the fringes, this dark, mysterious menace. Hmm. I guess we really did already kind of get A Song of Ice and Fire: The Video Game, didn’t we? It was made by BioWare, and they called it Dragon Age: Origins.

I remember when that game came out, I heard from a lot of G.R.R. Martin fans grumbling that David Gaider’s story had borrowed heavily from Martin’s already famous series. Now that I’ve read the books, I wouldn’t say they’re all that similar after all, Ice and Fire’s Wights and Walkers are far less central and more ephemeral (so far) than the ubiquitous Darkspawn of the Dragon Age series. But Dragon Age did feel similar in a lot of broader ways, particularly in how it embraced morally grey areas and no-win scenarios, and how many of its most interesting moments occurred outside of combat. The betrayal at Ostagar, the Landsmeet, the Elven Alienage, the fate of Teyrn Loghain. it all had a very Song of Ice and Fire vibe.

But then, Dragon Age: Origins still wasn’t quite a proper Song of Ice and Fire game, despite drawing clear inspiration from the books. And in truth, Martin’s world is so rich, so storied, that it would be almost impossible to include everything in any single game. Perhaps an adventure set during the much-fabled Age of Heroes? An action-RPG following the exploits of Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne? Castle management in the Red Keep? A tower-defense game set on The Wall?