Frater Interview
Brian 'Dhruin' Turner, 2006-04-06

Polish studio Rebelmind is becoming a bit of an action/RPG specialist with Grom and Space Hack behind them and Frater in full development. While Space Hack was a simple hack'n'slash title that succeeded at this goal, Frater aims to be a little deeper along with an interesting 19th Century horror-themed setting. We had the chance to ask Krzysztof Krawczyk some questions about this project.

RPGDot: Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about Rebelmind.

Krzysztof Krawczyk: My name's Krzysztof Krawczyk. I'm the co-owner of Rebelmind company, on the market since 1999. We have already produced a few games, both for older and younger players. Those games were: Tymoteusz, Grom, Great Journey, Space Hack and finally, Frater which is going to be released this year.

RPGDot: Please give us an overview of Frater, the story and the sort of gameplay you hope to achieve.

Krzysztof Krawczyk: The story of the game takes place at the end of 19th Century and almost throughout the world. Ages long there were Wells of Souls, blocking Hell's access to our world - they had been opened. Hordes of the army of Hell have emerged and to fight them, the Alchemists' Fraternity, guarding the order on Earth sends one of its Hunters. At the beginning of the game, we can select one of 3 characters, which will of course determine the nature of our combat. Frater Simon is a mage and an alchemist, Elena is a very efficient and precise sharpshooter, and Tong Wong is a master martial artist.Generally Frater is a typical hack'n'slash and the character development is based on combat.

RPGDot: The setting has been described as "19th Century horror" - what sort of gameworld will the players discover, how strong are the horror elements and why did you choose this theme?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: I personally find late 19th Century one of the most exciting periods in history. Science started to evict old superstitions and the development of industry was changing whole societies. It is a perfect time for good and evil to fight. And this was the reason, why we have decided to put the character in the 19th Century.The player will discover a dark and mysterious world. He will meet vampires and werewolves, as well as their equivalents from other countries. There will be powerful daemons sucking our faith in victory out of us. Powerful dragonlike beasts will inhabit mountain lakes, awaiting misguided wanderers. The player surely will not be bored.

RPGDot: Can you describe some of the locations players will uncover? How is the gameworld organised - such as individual areas of continous world - and how much freedom do players have in moving around?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: We foresee five lands, each having four very large locations allowing for a few hours of gameplay. Our journey we will begin in central Europe in eastern Galicia, and after that the unveiling plot casts us to other continents. The locations will be very different and graphically marvellous.

The locations are very different. The player will have to tour a huge deserted castle hiding beneath a dark secret and a murderous condemned soul. The Tower of Prophets - a gigantic construct in which we will fight bloody battles. The Ice Desert will bear witness to fights with the army of the undead. Descending to Hell will allow us to touch the evil and destroy it.

RPGDot: This will be your third action/RPG, I believe. Your last title - Space Hack - received a wide range of review scores, with some critics appreciating the simple, linear gameplay and others wanting more depth. Where is Frater positioned - will you be following a similar template to Space Hack or are you looking to incorporate more complexity? What did you learn from Space Hack that will improve Frater?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: From the very beginning, Space Hack was planned as a simple hack'n'slash. During our work on this title we gained a lot of experience. Much of this knowledge we decided to use in Frater. The first effect of this being incomparably greater possible character development, as well as a vast variety of weapons. Also a skill development tree for the character has appeared. There are also helpers available in the game with their own development abilities. We have also a totally new possibility to combine the objects. There is a lot of novelties the players will surely like. We have improved the graphical engine so that our graphical team could show what they can do. Frater is much more complicated comparing to Space Hack.

RPGDot: There are three character archetypes in Frater - please tell us about them and the character development system.

Krzysztof Krawczyk: We have decided to have three selectable characters in th game. Each of them is a specialist in a different type of combat. Frater Simon is a mage and an alchemist. He advances in spells and magical staves. Elena is an accomplished expert in throwers and guns. No bow or machine gun has any secrets from her. Tong Wong is a melee expert. He perfected fighting with swords, axes and spears. Each character's system of development is based on four key characteristics: strength, dexterity, secret lore and endurance. Apart from that, each character has the opportunity to expand his skills tree. There are three types of trees available: offensive, defensive and general. Each of them has nine unique abilities to offer.

RPGDot: Combat is the central gameplay plank of action/RPGs - can you detail the combat system? What have you implemented to keep combat interesting over the length of the game?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: Indeed, the player will receive quite a support in terms of combat. We increased the number of items available in the game. We have applied the skills trees which will significantly affect combat. The player will also have Helpers at his disposal: a very strong and durable Golem as well as a very fast and shooting Neferkar. Additionally, every daemon the character seized is imprisoned and can be used in combat. Another new possibility is the ability to combine certain items which in return allows us to build weaponry sporting different features. A novum is the opportunity to combine any two items together.There are many elements affecting combat and providing joyful entertainment.

RPGDot: Please tell us about magic. Are there different schools and what sort of spells are players able to use?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: The spells are certainly a very important element. We will have three types of magic, each of them having its individual characteristics. Each spell will develop in terms of possibilities and visual effects. Frater Simon will be able to use magical staves, which will visibly change and strengthen available spells. We have put much work into visual presentation of each spell.

RPGDot: What sort of enemies will players encounter?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: The army of upper Hell which enslaved Earth will have a lot of upleasant and dangerous foes in its ranks. The spectrum will be really wide, from flying and firebreathing to savage multi-legged beasts. We will fight with daemons and with possessed zombies. Fire vampires will pour living fire on us, a powerful stone monstrum will attempt to press us into the ground. The beasts will set traps for us and attack in groups.

RPGDot: What can you tell us about equipment and items? Is there any crafting or item improvement? Special equipment such as matched armour sets?

Krzysztof Krawczyk: One of our goals was to diversify weaponry. We have created a lot of items fitting the character's class. Each type of weapon has a strong character affecting the gameplay. Each item possesses one or more (out of several dozen) additional characteristics, having a significant effect on their potential. Those features also affect the name of the item, and so the player can easily identify a given item.

I have already mentioned the ability to combine any two items and the magical staves visibly changing spells.

I hope that from this short outline you can already gather how diverse the items will be.

RPGDot: Is there anything you'd like to add in closing?

I'd like to wish all the best to all the readers and the editors of RPGDot. And to myself I wish that Frater will be to the players liking. Regards.

Thanks to Krzysztof Krawczyk for answering our questions and we wish them all the best with the development.