Dungeon Lords

Recently Mark Harwood, Producer of Dungeon Lords was kind enough to take some time away from his hectic schedule to sit down and answer a few questions about the new fantasy game Dungeon Lord.
GVK: What is the setting and story for the game?
The great wizard, Galdryn of the Meadows, has been slain by a deadly conspiracy within the Circle of Mages. His chief ally, Lord Davenmor, now struggles to save his kingdom from the dark forces of the conspiracy and the onslaught of Lord Barrowgrim’s army of marauders. Lord Davenmor has promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to Lord Barrowgrim to quell the invasion, but her heart belongs to another and after learning of her father’s pledge, she has vanished. Sensing treachery, Lord Barrowgrim has sent his army once more to destroy Lord Davenmor and raze the kingdom. Thus begins Dungeon Lords, Cry of the Kingdom Cracked, a tale of Love, Hate, Betrayal, Revenge, Honor, and Evil.
GVK: Going into this game, what were the main objectives you wanted to achieve in regards to content and gameplay?
Dungeon Lords is the first game to combine a deep 3-D RPG with arcade-style fighting. We are trying to put the player in the world and let the player do the actual fighting, while still offering the extensive world, deep character design, and huge story line that RPG players already love.
GVK: What weapons/units will be available to players?
As a sword and sorcery RPG, players can expect a wide variety of medieval weapons 4 different schools of magic and over 90 different spells. There are also 8 different races available for players to choose from when creating their character.
GVK: What sort of Multiplay will the game offer?
Dungeon Lords will support cooperative multiplayer. We decided to concentrate the single player experience on a single character, rather than a party to center the focus on the abilities of a single hero – the player, and his or her abilities. Similarly, we feel that the cooperative multiplayer aspect best replicates the classic role-playing experience.
GVK: Will the game be available on consoles?
Nothing has been ruled out at this point.
GVK: What is your background in gaming and what are your favorite games?
D.W. Bradley has been making great RPG games for 25 years. He is the lead writer and programmer for Dungeon Lords and is involved in almost every facet of the game on a daily basis.
GVK: What sort of new gameplay features will the game include that will separate it from others in the genre?
The basis of this game is technological: games can finally provide a superior action element without sacrificing breadth and depth. DW has said that Dungeon Lords is the game that he has always wanted to make, since it offers players the opportunity to play in an individualized manner without having to suffer through turn-based combat.
We really wanted to immerse the player, and capture the hero-experience that lies at the heart of role-playing, both on paper and in videogames. To that end, we consciously moved away from having the player control multiple characters – instead, cooperative multiplayer is designed to create the group experience where each player only has to worry about one character, and can role-play, whether in a group or playing alone.
Players will also be able to import their developed single-player characters into multi-player campaigns, and with so much unique gear and specialization available, we hope that players feel like they can develop an ideal character in a living real-time environment.
GVK: How long is the planned development cycle for the game?
The Dungeon Lords play dynamic has been under refinement for quite some time, much longer than the implementation the art and programming.
GVK: What engine is being used for the game?
Dungeon Lords uses a proprietary engine which supports many advanced features, including DirectX 9.0 specific features such as pixel-shading. Early adopters and other players with high-end hardware will see some astonishing effects, particularly outside, but the game has specifically been designed to allow players with a wide array of hardware to enjoy the game.