We recently had the opportunity to conduct a Q&A session via email about Click Entertainment's upcoming action / RPG Thrown of Darkness with the game's Content Designer Koji Goto to get some more info on this title. We'd like to take this
opportunity to thank Mr. Goto for taking time out from his busy schedule to answer our questions. So, without further ado, here's the Q&A.

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Throne of Darkness Q&A with Koji Goto (Content Designer)

Conducted by Mr. Nash

October 7, 2000

Armchair Empire (AE): Is combat performed exclusively
through the game’s "plays" system, or can players take
control of one character exclusively with the rest on autopilot, like in Square’s Secret of Mana games?

Koji Goto (KG): Yes. The Plays allow you to fire off general
commands to characters without having to micromanage them every second and still control a single character.

AE: The game has four characters on the battlefield at once, with the other three on the side. Will these three characters be able to contribute to the battles (perhaps with spells and ranged weapons)?

KG: The three on the side will guard the castle against enemy incursions. They will act as AI, but you will be able to teleport your field characters back to the castle and fight along side of them (the only time you will be able to do that).

AE: Throne of Darkness is following the beat of a different drummer being capable of running at a resolution of 800X600. This has not often been seen in PC RPGs. What made you decide to go this route? Have there been any challenges in development that have presented themselves by utilizing this resolution?

KG: The increased resolution allows us to use more detailed graphics and not have to worry too much about pixelation for things like fire. No challenges that I can think of have cropped up because of this higher resolution.

AE: How extravagant can we expect spell effects to be in Throne of Darkness, visually speaking?

KG: Super extravagant. With the 16-bit color system, we will be able to accomplish rich, full spell effects.

AE: Have any pleasant surprises arisen during development thus far, helping to shape the game?

KG: While hashing out the Play system, we came to the conclusion that it would be quite easy to make a customizable Play System rather than the default hardwired Plays that we originally envisioned.

AE: How versatile is the game’s level editor expected to be? Just how many options will gamers have with this tool?

KG: Although the Level Editor will be available for the TOD: Expansion, the Players should have all the options necessary to create a full level within the world, although new objects created by the Players will not be allowed. (No pop machines in Throne of Darkness)

AE: There are so many different types of warriors that have roamed the pages of Japanese myth and history, how did you go about deciding on the seven heroes in the game?

KG: Actually, 28 heroes. I drew most of the heroes’ names from the ones I knew from my childhood, told to me by my father and grandfather. One of the names is actually an homage to my favorite animator and storyteller in Japan. You’ll have to figure that one out.

AE: Players will be able to make their own weapons and armor in Throne of Darkness. How extensive is this feature? Are we talking entirely new equipment, making modifications, or a little of both? Is it difficult, from a development standpoint, to include such a feature?

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KG: Players essentially take a base armor, and add the magical features they want. Items will be limited in their magic potential (so you can’t take a piece of light armor and cram unlimited amounts of magic into it). Players will also be able to make items from scratch, forging them out of old items that are discarded and given to the Blacksmith. Development of this customization function was actually quite simple, as we took existing creature that were created and made "parts" for them that could be used as raw materials.

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AE: When players grab weapons from fallen enemies these items will be tainted by the Dark Warlord’s evil and will have to be purified before they are equipped. Will the characters be able to carry large amounts of items so to help prevent the potential for crowded inventories when transporting these tainted weapons? Or is there any other methods being implemented that may help to combat this potential problem?

KG: Only magic weapons will actually be tainted. We are going to implement space saving features like stackable monster "parts" and certain weapons, like thrown weapons will also stack. The actual inventory isn’t very large, because most items will be either given to the blacksmith or offered to the gods. A personal inventory will also exist in the castle to allow characters additional space in their "field" inventory.

AE: To finish off this Q&A here’s a more general RPG-related question. Over the last couple of years RPG fans have really been spoiled with quite a few quality titles having been released for both the PC and the console systems. Have any survival tips for those 12-hour role-playing sessions that you’d like to share with the gaming community?

KG: Keep hydrated and watch out for the carpal tunnel syndrome.

Again we'd like to thank Mr. Goto for taking the time to do this interview. If you would like to learn more about Throne of Darkness be sure to check out our preview, or go the Official Throne of Darkness Website.

You can learn more about Click Entertainment by visiting their site at:

www.clickent.com


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