The Banner Saga Interview

There’s a short but interesting interview with the developers at Stoic over at GameRanx, exclusively focused on their upcoming turn-based tactical RPG The Banner Saga. Here’s a couple of snippets:

Most turn-based strategy games offer only a linear path to advancing the story. The Banner Saga appears to differ from its counterparts by offering “player choice that drives your narrative.” Could you expand upon how this plays out in the game proper?

Think of it more as an RPG where your choices affect the story, the travel, and the combat. We wanted to give players options and let them tackle the game as they wanted so it really is up the player to forge their own path. It’s often fun to just watch people make choices and then later on see them play out. It is exciting to see people handle the same situation differently while still building their own path through the story.

When I take a look at The Banner Saga, it reminds me of Tactics Ogre a game which, while primarily a turn-based strategy game, allowed me to make a few choices here and there with regards to the narrative. Is The Banner Saga more of a party-bassed RPG like Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age, or a strategy game like Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem?

All good games! The Banner Saga is probably best summed up as a mix of all the above. At the core, our single player experience is focused on the RPG aspects of the story however your choices certainly impact what happens to you on your journey. You will have a large cast of characters that you meet along the way and you will be picking and choosing how and when to use them in combat as well. It’s also interesting to note that your choices also affect your party choices as sometimes your choice might mean you lose a character from your party or gain a character.