Torchlight Interview (english): Story, Gameplay, Skills and Characters

pcgames.de: What is Torchlight about? Story, Characters, Gameplay - tell us everything! J

Russel: The story takes place in the mining town of Torchlight, a small, rough settlement on the edges of civilization which has discovered a very deep and ancient vein of magic ore called Ember. Beneath the town is a labyrinth of caverns and ruined civilizations, each of which tried to tap the power of Ember in ages past. Players explore the ruins trying to uncover the source of the destruction, and prevent it from consuming Torchlight and the lands beyond.

Three classes take up the challenge to enter Torchlight and literally get to the bottom of Ember - the Destroyer, the Alchemist, and the Vanquisher. We wanted to create classes that had classic RPG structure (melee, ranged, etc), but also make them unique and fresh. To that end, melee characters can use ranged weapons if they choose, ranged characters can tinker with magic, and there is no pure caster - all classes harness magic (the Ember) in their own ways.

The gameplay is a lot like Fate and Mythos, a style that fans and established gamers will immediately recognize while still being accessible to new gamers. Players can expect to battle their way through creature-infested dungeons, navigate rope-bridges over lava, and uncover secret chambers hidden behind false walls.

Torchlight is very fast paced with an emphasis on satisfying combat, interesting environments, and tons of loot.

pcgames.de: Torchlight looks a lot like Mythos. What did you guys learn from the development of Mythos that will enhance Torchlight?

Russel: I think many of the similarities are due to keeping nearly the entire team from Mythos on when we became Runic. Some of us had also worked on FATE as well, so we've hopefully been advancing this style all along the way to what you'll now see in Torchlight. I think that even with all of the similarities there's also a very obvious refinement that has occurred between where we were on Mythos and where we're now at with Torchlight . One of the things we learned from our time on Mythos was how to play to our specs and hone a style that is intentionally "low-tech”, but still feels crafted, refined, and modern.

From a gameplay standpoint, we had a fantastic test run that yielded a lot of feedback from testers and either validated some ideas or exposed some for fine-tuning or reworking. We all love this type of game and it's often a case of constantly improving upon a previous system, or creating a richer storyline, getting players more invested in the world, and making sure it's a really fun gaming experience.

pcgames.de: How will Skills develop in Torchlight? How many are there?

Russel: Each class has their own skill tree which is filled entirely with active skills, and a separate perk tree that is filled with passive abilities. There are also learnable spells that players can find in the world, which act like skills that any class can use. Given the variety of combinations, we expect players will come up with all kinds of interesting builds.

pcgames.de: You're using a very unique graphics style in this game. Why didn't you pick a dark, sinister setting?

Russel: Thanks! Hopefully by "unique” you mean "brilliant”. We do get this question a lot and I think it's really simple. We're not making a dark, sinister, oppressive game...it's a fun, fast-paced adventure. We want to make this new Torchlight universe one that people want to spend some time in and explore. Color isn't something to be afraid of...nor does grey, grit, and semi-realism make something "better”. Ultimately, you have to go with the visual look that best suits the game. And for us it meant working in a style that appeals to us, suits the tone of the world we're creating, and is inviting and accessible for players. Now, it's not to say that we aren't going for dark and sinister in certain areas, creatures, or with gear...we've hit those marks...we just do it with a bit of color and exaggeration!

pcgames.de: There are three different main characters in the game of which two have yet been announced. Any news about the third one? Will the characters have different storylines?

Russel: We can't tell you much about the third class yet, except it's a she! But to answer your other question, yes, the three classes do have their own storylines. Each of them has come to Torchlight for different reasons, and they each have different interests in finding the Ember.

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Wonder Russel, PR-Mann bei Runic Games - offizielle Stellenbeschreibung übrigens Minister of Culture - sowie seine Kollegen Erich Schaefer, John Dunbar und Jason Beck beantworten uns Fragen rund um den Action-Rollenspiel-MMO-Mix Torchlight. Die exklusiven Screenshots finden Sie in unserer Galerie.

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1. Seite 1 Torchlight-Interview: Alles über den Entwickler Runic
2. Seite 2 Torchlight Interview: Geschichte, Gameplay, Fähigkeiten und Charaktere
3. Seite 3 Torchlight Interview: Quests, Gegenstände und der Editor
4. Seite 4 Torchlight Interview: Der MMO-Teil und die Community
5. Seite 5 Torchlight-Interview (english): Everything about Runic Games
6. Seite 6 Torchlight Interview (english): Story, Gameplay, Skills and Characters
7. Seite 7 Torchlight Interview (english): Quests, Items and the Editor
8. Seite 8 Torchlight Interview (english): The MMO-Part and the Community