Hellgate: London Interview

Hellgate Planet has conducted an interview with Flagship Studios’ Bill Roper about their upcoming action RPG, Hellgate: London. Here’s a bit to start you off:

Q How does the Quest System work and how will it provide players with an immersive roleplaying feeling in contrast with the mindless hack-and-slash of other games? What makes Hellgate: London different in the RPG department?

A: More than many RPGs, Hellgate: London revels in its hack-and-slash nature. This is not, however, and excuse for us to ignore story. To push this element of the game, we specifically divide the overarching storyline of the game (Quests) from directed opportunities (Missions, Tasks, Chance Events) so that when people are on a Quest, they know it is an important part of the storyline. We’re using devices such as voice and in-game cinematic sequences to differentiate these sections of the game from the less epic things that NPCs are interested in you doing for them.

An interesting element to tasks and missions are that we are utilizing the (content over time) philosophy top make these as dynamic as the rest of the world. Usually, when new content is introduced to the player, it is through going to new places. We are bringing content to where the player’s already are through the NPCs and set locations. An example of this would be where as one day a specific NPC might be paying three times the normal price for a specific kind of weapon, the next day he might need fuel mods and will offer you any mod of your choice from his inventory for every 10 you bring him. We also have special NPCs or events that occur within common locations during different times. For example, there may be rumors of a dark stranger who deals in arcane spells making his way to the Covent Garden station via the Underground. You would then learn that he should be arriving on a certain day, and will only be at that location for a set amount of time. This means that players will be able to get something new and special if they time where their character’s are in the world to coincide with these types of events.