Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Interview

Stuff has an article-style interview with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning team producer Sean Bean (who’s quick to point out he’s not that Sean Bean) and lead designer Ian Frazier, and, just as we’ve grown accustomed to recently, they’re not shy of comparing their game to other role-playing titles, both recent and less recent:

Bean says: ”There are are a couple of elements of our story that are reminiscent of Planescape Torment on the more traditional side of the RPG spectrum. You’re going to see elements of our loot system that are reminiscent of Titan Quest (which Frazier worked on) and Diablon and Dungeon Siege. As far as hardcore RPGs go, you’re going to see crafting systems, non-combat ways to traverse the world, persuasion, pickpocketing. We’ve taken everything of the best we’ve seen and ever played and swirled them together in one awesome thing.”

The producer believes that narrative-driven games like Mass Effect 2 and the Elder Scroll have been good for the RPG genre.

”I think what has been good is that in the last few years there have been some really strong action-RPGs. More traditional RPGs haven’t been doing so well in recent years and games like Mass Effect treated the narrative shooter, which is a new kind of RPG. You’ve got the Elder Scroll series and Fallout 3, and more recently Skyrim, which remind people that wandering around in a giant world is awesome. So that’s really good for us – getting that in the public eye and reminding people – but what people haven’t really been doing well on the RPG front is combat.”