Sacred Interview

2003-05-17

Sacred is a promising Action-RPG by Ascaron, who took over some of the employees and code of the late Armalion project, which had to be cancelled due to developer Ikarion going bankrupt. Nevertheless, Sacred looks very promising and has aroused a lot of attention in Germany already. Recently, Armin from the German fanpage PlanetSacred has conducted an extra long interview with the two Lead Game Designers Aarne Jungerberg und Michael Bhatty and our Moriendor has translated the interview into English for you and PlanetSacred. As the interview is very long, we have split it into five parts and start off with questions about the game world:

The Game World

PlanetSacred: Is there going to be a natural wildlife?

Aarne: As you can see in the screenshots and videos that were released so far, we're putting a high emphasis on a live environment. You'll find NPCs in all variations, animals (like cows, chicken, deer, boars, bears, wolves etc.) and even birds.

PlanetSacred: Are all non-domestic animals hostile towards the player?

Aarne: Nope, not all of them. Deer is rather shy and will run away from the player. Other animals are not hostile from the beginning except for... (smiles and points to Michael).

Michael: ...characters who are more proficient in dealing with animals than others. The actions of animals change accordingly. That doesn't mean, however, that a player will be able to make friends with the Wargh wolves from the Dark Elven forest of Zhurag-Nar.

PlanetSacred: Is there any respawn for animals? Will the wilderness remain populated?

Aarne: Sure. We won't allow the player to kill friendly animals. This ain't "Deer Hunter"...

Michael: Exactly! It was very important to us to find a solution that does on the one hand offer hostile animals like the evil Wargh wolves but that also allows for other, tame animals.

PlanetSacred: How many ways are there to interact with the environment and with items?

Aarne: There are all sorts of different ways to interact with your environment, like opening or closing doors/gates, closets, chests, and boxes or triggering certain mechanisms. Regarding items, we'll have the typical RPG-like variety: Weapons, equipment, upgrades, scrolls, books and a few goodies...

PlanetSacred: Is there a schedule for NPCs ?

Aarne: Yes but it's not too detailed - not too dumbed down either. Let's just say that you won't find any NPCs that are standing in the streets at night and they'll act reasonably during day time.

PlanetSacred: Do the NPCs react to player actions?

Aarne: If the player fights near NPCs, they'll get scared and run away. Well, and if you start a conversation they'll say "Hi!"

Michael: ...and depending on your reputation in a certain area of the world, they'll either be friendly or less polite. In addition to that, there are a few more reactions towards special player characters but we don't want to spoil anything here.

PlanetSacred: Are there going to be any special events in towns such as weddings or something like that?

Aarne: There will be the occasional story-teller or musician performing in town squares but except for that you should not expect much more from an action RPG. Special events of any kind are better left to online RPGs or "pure" RPGs.

Michael: One should mention though that there will be special events within the side quests. The runaway groom was already mentioned in the press, I believe.

PlanetSacred: What's the size of Ancaria?

Aarne: Huge... like we said before, there will be ten distinct regions that all have their own individual visual style (deserts, snowy regions, swamps, volcanic areas, ...). These ten regions are then again subdivided into 30 areas. The whole world consists of 2500-3000 sectors. To give you an idea of the size of one sector: One sector has the size of a medieval village...

Michael: Most importantly, we have seamless transitions. There are no level limits where the next region has to be loaded. It all happens very "softly".

PlanetSacred: What about the portals that can be used for long distance travel?

Aarne: I don't want to spoil anything here but there will indeed be portals. You will be able to jump back and forth between those portals. The portals connect the regions and you have to find and activate them first before you can use them.

PlanetSacred: Can horses be renamed?

Aarne: That's a positive one according to the design doc. Therefore: Yes.

PlanetSacred: Do the looks of your horse depend on the equipment your character is wearing or can we buy some extra armor for the horse?

Aarne: There are no plans to allow you to equip your horse and err... which horse does automatically adapt to the looks of its owner, eh? ;-))

PlanetSacred: Are there different variations of animals depending on their age? E.g. "parents", "youngsters" and/or "babies"?

Aarne: Partially, yes ...

PlanetSacred: Are there children - NPCs?

Aarne: Not at this time. We'll have to see if our schedule allows for putting them in at some time. We'll see ...

PlanetSacred: Is the story different depending on which character you play?

Aarne: That's one for Michael... but the different characters do surely have their own ways of dealing with certain situations and... well, like I said... Michael...

Michael: Every player and every player character experiences his/her very own story. Global events are the same for everyone, of course, but exactly *how* the player experiences the story is a very individual matter. This is achieved by the placement and dramaturgy of different quests. In addition to that, there are a few special quests that are different depending on which character you play. The beginning of the game, love stories and different tasks in quests should be mentioned in this regard.

PlanetSacred: Are there going to be different endings of the story depending on your character or his/her actions?

Aarne: That question goes pretty much into detail. I'd like to pass it to Michael...

Michael: The dramaturgy of the dissolving of all conflicts requires narrowing down on a defined goal towards the end of the plot. To which extent this dissolving depends on the different characters... I won't tell.

PlanetSacred: Are there pets like cats and dogs in towns and domestic animals like geese, cows, chicken, pigs or swans in the countryside? Are there coaches, crates or ploughs?

Aarne: Partially already answered that one above. There will be domestic animals but no pets like cats and dogs. Coaches, crates and ploughs will be part of the environmental graphics but you won't see them in use... an interesting point though. I'll keep it in mind...

PlanetSacred: What did you mean by "...if you have gathered a certain series of books, you can improve a skill or be immersed deeper into the history of the world" in the preview at German Krawall?

Aarne: Definitely one for Michael. Here you go...

Michael: Bah, look at his malicious smile ;-). Well, we have scattered books with additional information all over the world. They include historical facts, mythology, religion, recipes, laws, anecdotes etc. etc. Reading these books does, of course, reveal a lot about this dense and complex world. BUT... even if you choose to ignore the stories, you will still be rewarded a skill upgrade if you manage to find all parts of a certain series of books.

PlanetSacred: Will we able to freely walk through a forest or will we have to stay on the roads?

Aarne: You'll have to stay on the roads... some of our forests are so huge that some guidance is necessary. And to keep it consistent, the same goes for smaller forests as well.

Michael: Guiding the player through the world is a very important aspect. It should be mentioned that "roads" should rather be considered as "guidelines". There will be junctions and crossings. You can also walk around single trees, of course. The roads are just there to guide you through dense forests.

PlanetSacred: Can we be robbed by thieves or even be kidnapped (as a quest)?

Aarne: Sure. Why shouldn't you be attacked by thugs? As long as you're not in a safe area, you can be attacked everywhere and thieves are definitely in the game. Regarding the quests, I'll have to forward you to our local poet ;-))

Michael: Yes, thugs have become a real plague in Ancaria ever since the taxes were raised and Prince Valor is fighting against the orcs down south. There are a few quests related to thieves, thugs and tax collectors.

PlanetSacred: Can we join guilds even if this has no direct influence on the course of the game?

Aarne: We haven't even thought about guilds so far, I believe...

PlanetSacred: Will there be sufficient different monster types in the game? Or are we going to encounter the same monsters that only differ from their basic model in color and size? How many variations of the same type will there be?

Aarne: There are many different types and the color is by far not the only thing that sets them apart... Monsters that carry weapons and armor will be different depending on the equipment they got. High level monsters are more likely to wear glowing, magical armor and fiery swords... other monster types will be different because of their behavior, special moves or magical abilities... to name Michael's favorite example... the mummy's variations are the "Hero's Mummy" and the "Lich". All three mummy types are going to look and act differently (one of the types can even turn into a sandstorm).

Michael: It was very important to us that enemies do not simply differ in color but also show a different behavior. Imagine you'd be meeting a knight in leather armor. So far; so good. You manage to disarm the knight in combat. He spots the axe of a dead orc nearby, runs towards it, picks it up and all of a sudden you're facing an axe warrior... Also, switching from melee to ranged combat requires a totally different approach.

PlanetSacred: Are there going to be sewers in towns? ;-)

Aarne: Not by default... but you might find the occasional sewer dungeon, of course.

Michael: I choose to remain silent... who knows what's creeping around in the sewers of "Hohenmut", the former "Mhurag-Nar".

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