Grim Dawn Interview
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IG: Would Iron Lore have looked at creating a Titan Quest sequel or was that never on the cards?
AB: That was actually part of the problem, they were fully expecting to do a sequel and were laying the groundwork for it when THQ basically said they weren't interested in another PC-only game and wanted to see a new, multi-platform IP. So, they changed course, started working on a multi-platform ARPG with a 3rd person, over the shoulder camera and action-style combat. It was sort of like Oblivion meets Gears of War. It was actually rather similar to the recently released Kingdoms of Amalur but in a darker, grittier setting.
Coincidentally, we were all set to begin development with THQ when they suddenly pulled the plug and decided to buy Big Huge Games instead. They had been talking to BHG about a multi-platform RPG at the same time as Iron Lore and from what I heard, once BHG got Ken Rolston to sign on, THQ basically wet their pants and couldn't buy them fast enough. After that, Iron Lore just couldn't gain traction on a deal with another publisher fast enough and they ran out of money.
Since THQ owned the rights to Titan Quest, Iron Lore couldn't just shop it around to another publisher, so it was basically dead at that point.
IG: Following Titan Quest, did you feel that the game could have been better? And is that one of the reasons you started Crate Entertainment and the Grim Dawn project?
AB: I think fans wince whenever I talk about this but, as a player, even during development, I felt like Titan Quest was missing something for me. It was actually much more fun earlier on in development but we were forced to make various changes that I think diminished the final gameplay experience. Aside from the combat, I also felt like the world lacked a sense of imminent danger and mystery that has drawn me into other games.
Part of the inspiration for Grim Dawn is definitely the idea that this is our chance to finally make the game we really wanted to make. Often times as a designer, you don't get to indulge yourself because you're not always building a game for yourself, you're building for a specific target audience. On Titan Quest, part of the vision I had to work within was that we were building a game that would appeal to the casual market, would have an ESRB rating of E or T, show no blood, shouldn't have any human death or corpses, was set in a bright happy world etc.
As a hardcore ARPG player, I feel that I am the target audience for Grim Dawn and already it is a game that I am continually excited to play, even after all this time working on it. It has a certain magic that was missing for me in TQ and the combat is so much more satisfying, it just keeps you wanting to go smash that next enemy.
