Argonauts re-interpreting RPGs

By Robert Purchese Published 2 August, 2007

Liquid puts Greek foot down.

Rise of the Argonauts developer Liquid Entertainment wants to re-interpret what an action role-playing game should be.

In an exclusive interview with Eurogamer, lead designer Charley Price told us many of the genre mechanics were out of date, and it would be "discarding the antiquated trappings that plague it".

Take combat, for example. In Rise of the Argonauts one stab in an unprotected area will grievously wound or kill an opponent - rather than blindly puncturing 20 holes in someone until their health bar depletes. Clever physics and sophisticated animation will combine with this to create something unique, Price argues.

Exploration will also intuitively change depending on what you've achieved, meaning there's always a reason to go back to somewhere, and no pre-set path to follow.

But the biggest trump is choice, manifested through the favour of the Gods system. Here each action you take affects a different God in a unique way - altering your abilities and powers awarded by them. So rather than have a simple good, evil, and neutral scenario, you'll have several options each favouring one deity. And it doesn't stop there, favour is always evident, in everything you do.

"The atmosphere that we are seeking to create is one where the player truly feels that the gods are always watching, and every action he performs will impact their favour in some way, which in turn has a distinct impact on the player's progression through the game as a whole," continued Price.

"This is something very unique to our game and to role-playing games, and it very quickly reinforces our primary goal - make every choice meaningful."

Rise of the Argonauts is being published by Codemasters, and is due for release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2008.

Check back next week on Eurogamer for our full interview with Charley Price.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Negotiator #1 5 years ago

    I don't know what the hell this article is about, so lets talk about something else.

  • Mageme #2 5 years ago

    Ditto that. So...

    Would you sink or swim in a pool of treacle?

  • posh_geordie #3 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 18:45:04 02-01-2012

  • neilka #4 5 years ago

    I knew a Major Consoles once. Cracking moustache!

  • Cappy #5 5 years ago

    "discarding the antiquated trappings that plague it".

    Famous last words.

  • Chris Gardiner #6 5 years ago

    Huh. Interesting. RPGs need a bit of a kick up the bum, and this man says the right words. Look forwards to that interview.

  • Ryuken #7 5 years ago

    Ah Liquid, hopefully they can return to form after those average post-Battle Realms games.

  • crazyhorse174 #8 5 years ago

    Interview rewritten to read:

    "Our game isn't really making any waves just now, so we'll make some bullshit claims about 'rewriting the book' in the hope of raising some hype about it!"

  • _Price_ #9 5 years ago

    "In Rise of the Argonauts one stab in an unprotected area will grievously wound or kill an opponent."

    This might sound like a relitively simple change, but I'm fed up of swinging a sword through an unprotected heathen's neck only for 10hp to be taken from a little red bar above his/her head. If I decide to hamstring an opponent before delivering the coup-de-grace, s/he'd better be limping as his/her head hits the ground....

  • GordonJ #10 5 years ago

    "Take combat, for example. In Rise of the Argonauts one stab in an unprotected area will grievously wound or kill an opponent - rather than blindly puncturing 20 holes in someone until their health bar depletes. Clever physics and sophisticated animation will combine with this to create something unique, Price argues."

    So, like Bushido Blade then.

  • Machetazo #11 5 years ago

    This has been announced as being shown off at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival. So, anyone in that part of the planet can check it out there.