Our friends at XCN recently sat down with Kingdom Under Fire: Circle Of Doom Director, Henry Lee, for a chat about the game, here is what he had to say.
Enjoy!
In KUFCoD you stepped away from the traditional damage/level up stats and replaced these with visual feedback. In what way will players now how strong they are in the game?
Our goal was to create an action RPG that anyone can enjoy via Xbox LIVE without stress, and thus we opted to make this title a co-op game instead of a competition game with ‘functional’ growth rather than ‘statistic’ growth.
For this functional growth, we took out all the troublesome parameters like STR, DEX, INT, FBI, CIA…and just left HP, SP and LUCK so that the game can be played easily by anyone.
Instead, the game enables you to attach 70+ Enhancements on your equipment. For example, add Multi-Fire to a Shuriken and you can throw multiple ones in a single throw, and add Piercing to make the Shuriken pierce through multiple enemies.
You can add up to five types of Enhancements on each of your equipment through Item Synthesis.
Environment destruction or altering is very important. In what way will it give players new opportunities or abilities?
This was a visual factor we put in as a stepping stone for our future titles, so it does not have that much of an effect in the game. Hmm, actually, it does have a big impact, since you can find items or gold by destroying the background environment. For high LUCK characters like Duane with special Ability to destroy environments with ease, this can be a great way to get rich quickly.
What is your favourite Action RPG other then your own titles?
I was a hardcore Diablo 1 fan. I used to wake up in the morning, kill Diablo 3-4 times then go back to sleep!
How many enemies will be on screen at the same time and how will you ensure that the framerate doesn’t drop when this happens?
I guess it’s impossible to totally evade frame rate drops when too many enemies appear. Normally, about 30 or so enemies will be the limit. Before, we used to make games where thousands of units appeared; ironically, it was difficult to make a game that shows only dozens of enemies at first.
The story is most important to any RPG game, how will this story differ from what we have already seen?
In Circle of Doom we wanted to focus on the Xbox LIVE play, so we put less weight on the storyline. The story is short yet deep, and to sum it up… I wanted to show the gamers what my analysis of the human nature is. Perhaps the will is a program that strives to achieve a goal, and the spirit might be a data that holds memories… things like that.
Will KUF:COD still feature a strong strategic element, or will this be toned down so the game is more accessible to action gamers?
The RTS sequel to KUF: The Crusaders is currently being developed. It will be announced soon, so stay tuned. Circle of Doom is more like a spin-off action RPG that will appeal to ‘casual’ gamers in addition to die-hard, hardcore fans. We aimed to make an action RPG that is ‘simple, yet deep’.
We will be able to play as sexy female characters once more, and will there be an option to change outfits this time?
The Golden Rule of Female Armour (defence and bodily exposure increase in proportion to each other) has been upheld. We most humbly apologize that there is only one female character this time.
How many playable characters will be available and will we have to unlock any?
There are a total of six, though you must unlock one of them.
What sort of achievements can we expect?
There are typical Achievements for synthesizing equipment, raising character level to a certain point and such, and some weird stuff like The Timid Developer, which dares you to watch the entire staff roll on the starting menu and the ending staff roll as well.
Will the game offer some kind of online play, co-op or competitive?
Circle of Doom is focused on Xbox LIVE co-op rather than single player game. In COD, you can have fun and enjoy co-operating with friends, instead of trying to slice each other with chainsaws in competition.
To be honest, at first we didn’t consider even adding a single play mode, but that wouldn’t pass Microsoft’s requirements so we had to add that feature during development.
How much the campaign will last? Will it be replayable with different characters and offering a different experience?
Four characters among six have distinct storylines, and two of them do not. Circle of Doom is a game focused on multiplayer, so we did not stress the storyline much.
The action and play style will vary greatly by character. Circle of Doom has three difficulty modes of Normal, Hard and Extreme. In Normal mode, you can probably beat the game just by whacking enemies with friends. But when you play in the Hard and Extreme mode, enemies wield powers that rival or overwhelm your own, so you must prepare and plan strategically. I guess the three difficulty modes are totally different games in some respect.
Will we be controlling a single hero or a small party?
Players will control one character only.
What have been the main influences in the creation of Circle of Doom?
Nothing in particular. This time, my only goal was to make a game that people can have fun through Xbox LIVE without too much stress. Endorphin over adrenaline, you know.
What significant changes have there been to the way the game plays since earlier versions?
I’m not sure which earlier versions you’re referring to – but when you compare this game with, say, KUF: The Crusaders, you can clearly see that the genre itself has changed. We are developing a traditional RTS sequel to KUF: The Crusaders as well. However, KUF: Circle of Doom is a spin-off multiplayer action RPG that branches off from the original KUF series. It’s a very different game from The Crusaders.
How have you utilised the power of the Xbox 360 and its live functionality?
We tried to push it to the fullest extent, but it was difficult to balance the power level – we were used to making games that featured thousands of units, not mere dozens.
The LIVE feature is definitely what we utilised the most. Circle of Doom is a multiplayer game at its core, so the game itself could not be made at all if there was no LIVE for the Xbox 360.
We’ve heard that KUF:COD is using instanced dungeons to create a varied playing experience. How does this work?
We do generate random dungeons, but I don’t think this is a new concept. Since the game focuses on character growth, there are needs for repetitive play – so we’ve implemented this feature so that gamers would feel less tired by going to the same dungeon over and over again.
Are you viewing KUF:COD as an action game, an RPG, or something different entirely?
It’s not an action game, and it is not a traditional RPG with immersive plots. Circle of Doom is an action RPG that gamers can play in co-op and just have fun without stress. It’s a co-op game you can play by teaming up with friends, so people who are tired of all those games where you have to kill each other with chainsaws in competition should just lay back and enjoy this ‘simple yet deep’ RPG.
Thanks for your time!
