King's Bounty - Interview & Screens @ RPGVault

RPGVault has posted a feature article  on the strategy RPG title King's Bounty:The Legend, in development by Katuari Interactive. It gives a little background on the original 1990 strategy title from New World Computing, along with some detailed screens showing the hex-grid combat and unit placement. The article goes on to an in-depth interview with Dmitir Gusarov and Ivan Magazinnikove of Katauri:

  Jonric: To get the interview started, what are the basics we should know about King's Bounty: The Legend? What type of game will it be? What audience and ship date are you targeting?

Dmitri Gusarov: King's Bounty: The Legend is a role-playing game with turn-based tactical combat. The main hero explores the world in real-time mode. His character reveals as he improves skills, communicates with NPCs and accomplishes quests - just like in any other classical RPG. Speaking about the adventures, this game is a bit like Fallout. The player has the opportunity to travel around the world, deal with different characters, gather various resources and develop his skills.

 

Jonric: How will your game reflect the qualities of the original, and on the other hand, what additions and improvements are you implementing?

Ivan Magazinnikov: We wanted to make a high-quality, fascinating and attractive game. At the same time, we wanted to keep the magic atmosphere, classical appearance and the spirit of adventure as they were in the original. And the gameplay, of course!

We felt a lack of action in the adventures; that is why everything happens in the real-time mode in The Legend - the monsters are roaming, day changes to night... We added a role system, and plenty of characters and quests. We also created an interactive and highly detailed universe. The search for treasures became a specific game element, the idea of "living items" came to be, and the hero even received an opportunity to get married!

The battles changed too. First of all, we increased the role of the arenas; we made a lot of different ones and made them interactive. Units can acquire skills and specific features, and the magic system became very intricate and interesting. Players will also enjoy such innovations as Rage Spirits and super powerful bosses.