RPG Preview: Eschalon Book 1
There's a very interesting interview over at WithinGames with Thomas Riegsecker, the lead developer for the indie RPG, Eschalon: Book 1.

A few of the things he says really warms my heart, and gets me excited for this upcoming indie CRPG. Particularly these comments about how Eschalon will be "Old School":

" 'Old school' means focusing more on gameplay and less on graphics. It means focusing more on the story and less on power leveling. It means letting the player figure things out for themselves instead of altering the game to fit their play style. And in some ways, it actually means a simpler form of gameplay. That my sound contractive to what I was just talking about, but for those of you who have actually played these older games, you know what I mean."

Although he almost contradicts himself at one point. Speaking on the health of the "independent gaming scene", he states:

"I think the scene is stronger than ever. With digital distribution via the internet, more studios are putting out some very unique products that would never be picked up for retail distribution... But overall the indie scene is where real innovation is coming from; it`s definitely not coming from the big studios."

But then he states that with Eschalon: Book 1:

"Rather than reinvent the genre, we are attempting to replicate the feel of a classic RPG. Essentially, what we are trying to do is the equivalent of restoring a vintage car rather than design a shiny new vehicle from the ground up. This effort may not appeal to every gamer, the same way that vintage cars don`t appeal to all automobile enthusiasts."

So... I guess the indie scene is where innovation is taking place, but they aren't participating?

Anyway - Eschalon: Book I is looking to be an old-school, turn-based, story-heavy RPG that will hopefully find its way to release sometime this year. And as the name implies, they are already planning the sequel(s). While I loved older RPGs, I am a little bit wary. After all, they often weren't the easiest to get into and enjoy. But this really does sound interesting. I'm always afraid of getting my hopes up, but this is definitely a game I'm going to be keeping my eye on.

Go check out the interview here:
Interview about Eschalon: Book 1

Labels: Interviews, Roleplaying Games

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