First Look at the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Demo
This article originally appeared on ZAM on March 7, 2011.
During a visit to Big Huge Games' studio, Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff was among the first group of people to watch a demo of this upcoming action RPG. Learn about the game that sets the stage for the MMO.
Last month, members of the ZAM team were given an opportunity to visit Big Huge Games' Maryland studio to get a first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. There are a few reasons why this single-player action RPG is glowing brightly on our radar. First and foremost, it's being made by a dream team: Curt Schilling, a three-time World Series champion and the founder and owner of 38 Studios; Todd McFarlane, a comic book artist who happens to be the creator of Spawn and owner of a successful toy company; R.A. Salvatore, a best-selling author who is best known for his Forgotten Realms novels; and Ken Rolston, a renowned designer who played a big part in The Elder Scrolls series of games.
And if that's not enough reason to keep an eye on the game, it's also our first glimpse into the original fantasy universe that will act as the setting for an upcoming MMO, as well comic books, novels, toys and additional games.
During our time at Big Huge Games, we listened to the team talk about the massive project and toured the studio to get a behind-the-scenes look at the game. We kicked things off by watching a live demo of the RPG, so keep reading after the jump for our first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
“I cant tell you how excited we are to finally show this game,” Creative Director Mark Nelson said to members of the press as he began to lead us through the demo, which was being played by Executive Producer Mike Fridley. “This is pre-alpha software. We're a long way out. There could be bugs. Most stuff is still in progress. We're not coming out until 2012. We're showing you a small slice of a really big world.”
Character creation and tutorial dungeon
And with that introduction, we dove into character creation. Reckoning takes place in the age of arcana, a time when magic is on the rise. There are four playable races: The Almain and Varani humans, and the Ljosalfar and Dokkalfar elves. You'll meet other races in Reckoning, and many will be playable in future Kingdoms of Amalur games. Fridley chose the Almain, which he described as a traditional warrior race.
You can then choose to worship the god of fire, wisdom, war, order or justice. Each god gives a minor stat boost to your character, but it won't affect gameplay too much. “Think of it more as how you see the world,” R. A. Salvatore said.
The customization options are plentiful, as players have come to expect in RPGs. “We want you to be able to change your face and skin color to tweak out your character and make a person you want to be for a while,” Nelson said.
After all your hard work in character creation, you're going to start the game as a corpse. Your character wakes up in a pile of bodies with no knowledge of why he was dead or how he came back to life. Soon enough, you'll hear a voice echoing through the tutorial dungeon that will offer at least some explanation of your character's fate.
“The person talking to us is a gnome, one of the other races in Amalur,” Nelson said. “He's the original creator of the Well of Souls, which brought you back from the dead. It's changed us. Every mortal in Amalur has a destiny. We're a blank slate and can make our own destiny.”
Alright, now it was time to get into some combat. After looting a basic sword and shield, Fridley killed some enemies with ease. You can have a couple weapons equipped at all times, as well as use magic. All of these abilities are mapped to various buttons and require some good ol' fashioned mashing to defeat your enemies. “We want combat to feel exciting with every button press,” Nelson said, noting that there are a variety of attacks available without the need to memorize any combos.
Blocking with the shield adds an interesting layer to combat. When you block, your character physically pulls out a massive shield and parries the attack. This move actually gives you a chance to attack your enemy.
Also, Nelson emphasized that when you loot something, you can immediately compare it to your current equipment and equip it without the need to open up any other menus. You can also add it to your junk pile to sell once you reach a vendor.
Exterior region, combat and towns
Once we were done with the tutorial dungeon, Nelson and Fridley showed us Dalentarth, the first exterior region in the game. There are five huge regions in the game, and each one contains five to 10 sub-regions. Dalentarth is warm and inviting with its gorgeous trees, lush grass and sunny skies. “R.A. Salvatore always says that this place needs to feel like home,” Nelson said. “This has to feel like a world worth defending.”
Now's a good time to mention that Salvatore has written 10,000 years of history for the Kingdoms of Amalur universe. “He's been a huge help to us developing plots and characters,” Nelson said.
To show off the new region, Fridley used his executive producer powers to level up the character, who was now wearing some shiny new armor and wielding an epic hammer. He waded into combat again, which truly looked impressive. He was using magic to pull enemies toward him and then demolishing them with his hammer. The action would randomly slow down so you could watch everything happen in intense detail. “Notice the exaggerated pauses. That's Todd's influence,” Nelson said.
Suddenly, Fridley killed the enemy using a massive slow-motion attack that required some rapid button-mashing to complete. “That was called a fate shift kill,” Nelson said. “One of the things we learn is that the player has the ability to change his fate, things around him and maybe the world.” More details on fate kills will be released in the future, but from the demo it looks like you can expect to use one every few battles.
We continued to tour the Dalentarth region as Nelson explained that everything in the game is handmade by the team. For example, all of the trees are hand-placed. The NPCs have their own schedules. There is a day and night cycle, so lights will turn on in towns in the evenings and more people will be asleep or at the pub. “It adds a layer of reality,” Nelson said.
Fridley made his way to a town, where you can complete traditional RPG tasks such as begin quests and sell items. There is also crafting in the game, and we were shown Sagecrafting, which is where you take gems and slot them into weapons and armor. “You can turn a regular sword into a flaming sword. Everything is better in the game when it's on fire,” Nelson joked.
Quest-givers are shown on the map as exclamation points. Nelson emphasized that there are a lot of quests: faction questions, hundreds of side quests and numerous discoverable quests. “We encourage players to explore off the beaten path. We want you to look for the fun stuff. It's worth seeing every nook and cranny, “ he said.
Fridley followed Nelson's advice and wandered down a small dirt path to take a look at some ruins. They were built by a race that is no longer a part of this world. “It's important to make sure that the world feels like it has a history, “ Nelson said. “Nothing goes in the world without a purpose.”
Fridley's character then walked right into a Banshaen serpent. The huge creature spit out three eggs, which hatched into Murghan minions. As the minions worked together to aid the Banshaen, Fridley decided to kill off the little guys first before demolishing the Banshaen with an epic fate kill move.
The mage class and a troll boss battle
Following the Banshaen battle, it was time to check out the Urul-Tusk dungeon. The character switched to a mage build, which led to a brief discussion on classes. “We don't really have traditional character classes in Reckoning. We have a destiny system, which plays to how the class analog works,” Nelson said.
Characters have three ability trees: Might, Finesse and Sorcery. Rather than being assigned a class, players swap out abilities to follow their destiny. “Most RPGs make you choose your class too far in advance. If you make the wrong choice, it sucks,” Nelson said. “We want you to have all the choice in the world.”
With the mage destiny equipped, Fridley had new bonuses and abilities at his disposal. Instead of rolling like a warrior, mages teleport. Their talisman “shield” doesn't mitigate damage as much as a warrior's shield, but it sets enemies on fire.
A mage in Reckoning is definitely not a typical glass cannon. You can cast ranges spells, but you can also dive into battle. Fridley showed off the mage's chakram weapons, which is comprised of a pair of throwing discs that look like something out of Tron. I can safely say they'd be my weapon of choice as a mage.
The combat with the mage was incredibly fluid. He ported around, casting spells and throwing his chakrams at kobolds. At one point, Fridley cast a huge AoE Meteor spell to showcase the offensive damage of the class.
Finally it was time to take on the Rock Troll boss. It's important to note the important role that music plays in Reckoning. The original song that played during the fight truly set the mood, and I'd purchase the soundtrack right now if it was available.
The troll pounded the ground with his huge club, so Fridley utilized a combination of teleportation and ranged spells to take down the beast. “He hits hard. As a mage, you really don't want to be hit by this guy,” Nelson said.
And with that, the demo and our first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was over. If you're a fan of single-player fantasy RPGs like Fable and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it's safe to say you'll want to keep an eye out for Reckoning when it comes out next year. The graphics are gorgeous, the storyline is interesting, the combat is intense, and the music deserves a standing ovation.
Of course, those of you looking forward to information on the upcoming MMO may be interested to know that the game will look nothing like Reckoning. It will be set in the same universe, but the art style will be completely different. Until we hear more about the MMO, we'll definitely be keeping our eye on Reckoning.
During a visit to Big Huge Games' studio, Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff was among the first group of people to watch a demo of this upcoming action RPG. Learn about the game that sets the stage for the MMO.
Last month, members of the ZAM team were given an opportunity to visit Big Huge Games' Maryland studio to get a first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. There are a few reasons why this single-player action RPG is glowing brightly on our radar. First and foremost, it's being made by a dream team: Curt Schilling, a three-time World Series champion and the founder and owner of 38 Studios; Todd McFarlane, a comic book artist who happens to be the creator of Spawn and owner of a successful toy company; R.A. Salvatore, a best-selling author who is best known for his Forgotten Realms novels; and Ken Rolston, a renowned designer who played a big part in The Elder Scrolls series of games.
And if that's not enough reason to keep an eye on the game, it's also our first glimpse into the original fantasy universe that will act as the setting for an upcoming MMO, as well comic books, novels, toys and additional games.
During our time at Big Huge Games, we listened to the team talk about the massive project and toured the studio to get a behind-the-scenes look at the game. We kicked things off by watching a live demo of the RPG, so keep reading after the jump for our first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
“I cant tell you how excited we are to finally show this game,” Creative Director Mark Nelson said to members of the press as he began to lead us through the demo, which was being played by Executive Producer Mike Fridley. “This is pre-alpha software. We're a long way out. There could be bugs. Most stuff is still in progress. We're not coming out until 2012. We're showing you a small slice of a really big world.”
Character creation and tutorial dungeon
And with that introduction, we dove into character creation. Reckoning takes place in the age of arcana, a time when magic is on the rise. There are four playable races: The Almain and Varani humans, and the Ljosalfar and Dokkalfar elves. You'll meet other races in Reckoning, and many will be playable in future Kingdoms of Amalur games. Fridley chose the Almain, which he described as a traditional warrior race.
You can then choose to worship the god of fire, wisdom, war, order or justice. Each god gives a minor stat boost to your character, but it won't affect gameplay too much. “Think of it more as how you see the world,” R. A. Salvatore said.
The customization options are plentiful, as players have come to expect in RPGs. “We want you to be able to change your face and skin color to tweak out your character and make a person you want to be for a while,” Nelson said.
After all your hard work in character creation, you're going to start the game as a corpse. Your character wakes up in a pile of bodies with no knowledge of why he was dead or how he came back to life. Soon enough, you'll hear a voice echoing through the tutorial dungeon that will offer at least some explanation of your character's fate.
“The person talking to us is a gnome, one of the other races in Amalur,” Nelson said. “He's the original creator of the Well of Souls, which brought you back from the dead. It's changed us. Every mortal in Amalur has a destiny. We're a blank slate and can make our own destiny.”
Alright, now it was time to get into some combat. After looting a basic sword and shield, Fridley killed some enemies with ease. You can have a couple weapons equipped at all times, as well as use magic. All of these abilities are mapped to various buttons and require some good ol' fashioned mashing to defeat your enemies. “We want combat to feel exciting with every button press,” Nelson said, noting that there are a variety of attacks available without the need to memorize any combos.
Blocking with the shield adds an interesting layer to combat. When you block, your character physically pulls out a massive shield and parries the attack. This move actually gives you a chance to attack your enemy.
Also, Nelson emphasized that when you loot something, you can immediately compare it to your current equipment and equip it without the need to open up any other menus. You can also add it to your junk pile to sell once you reach a vendor.
Exterior region, combat and towns
Once we were done with the tutorial dungeon, Nelson and Fridley showed us Dalentarth, the first exterior region in the game. There are five huge regions in the game, and each one contains five to 10 sub-regions. Dalentarth is warm and inviting with its gorgeous trees, lush grass and sunny skies. “R.A. Salvatore always says that this place needs to feel like home,” Nelson said. “This has to feel like a world worth defending.”
Now's a good time to mention that Salvatore has written 10,000 years of history for the Kingdoms of Amalur universe. “He's been a huge help to us developing plots and characters,” Nelson said.
To show off the new region, Fridley used his executive producer powers to level up the character, who was now wearing some shiny new armor and wielding an epic hammer. He waded into combat again, which truly looked impressive. He was using magic to pull enemies toward him and then demolishing them with his hammer. The action would randomly slow down so you could watch everything happen in intense detail. “Notice the exaggerated pauses. That's Todd's influence,” Nelson said.
Suddenly, Fridley killed the enemy using a massive slow-motion attack that required some rapid button-mashing to complete. “That was called a fate shift kill,” Nelson said. “One of the things we learn is that the player has the ability to change his fate, things around him and maybe the world.” More details on fate kills will be released in the future, but from the demo it looks like you can expect to use one every few battles.
We continued to tour the Dalentarth region as Nelson explained that everything in the game is handmade by the team. For example, all of the trees are hand-placed. The NPCs have their own schedules. There is a day and night cycle, so lights will turn on in towns in the evenings and more people will be asleep or at the pub. “It adds a layer of reality,” Nelson said.
Fridley made his way to a town, where you can complete traditional RPG tasks such as begin quests and sell items. There is also crafting in the game, and we were shown Sagecrafting, which is where you take gems and slot them into weapons and armor. “You can turn a regular sword into a flaming sword. Everything is better in the game when it's on fire,” Nelson joked.
Quest-givers are shown on the map as exclamation points. Nelson emphasized that there are a lot of quests: faction questions, hundreds of side quests and numerous discoverable quests. “We encourage players to explore off the beaten path. We want you to look for the fun stuff. It's worth seeing every nook and cranny, “ he said.
Fridley followed Nelson's advice and wandered down a small dirt path to take a look at some ruins. They were built by a race that is no longer a part of this world. “It's important to make sure that the world feels like it has a history, “ Nelson said. “Nothing goes in the world without a purpose.”
Fridley's character then walked right into a Banshaen serpent. The huge creature spit out three eggs, which hatched into Murghan minions. As the minions worked together to aid the Banshaen, Fridley decided to kill off the little guys first before demolishing the Banshaen with an epic fate kill move.
The mage class and a troll boss battle
Following the Banshaen battle, it was time to check out the Urul-Tusk dungeon. The character switched to a mage build, which led to a brief discussion on classes. “We don't really have traditional character classes in Reckoning. We have a destiny system, which plays to how the class analog works,” Nelson said.
Characters have three ability trees: Might, Finesse and Sorcery. Rather than being assigned a class, players swap out abilities to follow their destiny. “Most RPGs make you choose your class too far in advance. If you make the wrong choice, it sucks,” Nelson said. “We want you to have all the choice in the world.”
With the mage destiny equipped, Fridley had new bonuses and abilities at his disposal. Instead of rolling like a warrior, mages teleport. Their talisman “shield” doesn't mitigate damage as much as a warrior's shield, but it sets enemies on fire.
A mage in Reckoning is definitely not a typical glass cannon. You can cast ranges spells, but you can also dive into battle. Fridley showed off the mage's chakram weapons, which is comprised of a pair of throwing discs that look like something out of Tron. I can safely say they'd be my weapon of choice as a mage.
The combat with the mage was incredibly fluid. He ported around, casting spells and throwing his chakrams at kobolds. At one point, Fridley cast a huge AoE Meteor spell to showcase the offensive damage of the class.
Finally it was time to take on the Rock Troll boss. It's important to note the important role that music plays in Reckoning. The original song that played during the fight truly set the mood, and I'd purchase the soundtrack right now if it was available.
The troll pounded the ground with his huge club, so Fridley utilized a combination of teleportation and ranged spells to take down the beast. “He hits hard. As a mage, you really don't want to be hit by this guy,” Nelson said.
And with that, the demo and our first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was over. If you're a fan of single-player fantasy RPGs like Fable and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it's safe to say you'll want to keep an eye out for Reckoning when it comes out next year. The graphics are gorgeous, the storyline is interesting, the combat is intense, and the music deserves a standing ovation.
Of course, those of you looking forward to information on the upcoming MMO may be interested to know that the game will look nothing like Reckoning. It will be set in the same universe, but the art style will be completely different. Until we hear more about the MMO, we'll definitely be keeping our eye on Reckoning.