Argonauts re-interpreting RPGs

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In an exclusive interview with Eurogamer, lead designer Charley Price told us many of the genre mechanics were out of date, and it would be "discarding the antiquated trappings that plague it".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