Seven Dragon Saga Interview
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There's a new interview with on Combo Breaker with Tactical Simulations Interactive president David Klein, and while I could point you to a rough translation, there's a link at the bottom of the article to the original English transcript that I'll quote from instead. A few questions and their answers to dispel at least a couple of fears:
Gold Box RPGs were not only old-school but also quite hardcore is it at all possible to bring a new generation to that kind of games?
Hardcore can also imply a barrier to entry for people not familiar with the rules, or having a lot of die rolls. If the rules are getting in the way of fun, that's a bit tedious. So, spending a lot of time re-rolling characters to get the stats you want for a party of six characters is too grueling an experience. Seven Dragon Saga uses a skill based system (i.e. Divinity: Original Sin, Skyrim, etc...) but the gameplay will be accessible to players that enjoy games like Baldur's Gate or Wasteland 2.
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Reuniting an old studio does not always go well. Especially Black Isle set that example. How is this reunion «real» as opposed to the Black Isle reunion?
It's hard for us to comment on Interplay's goals for trying to recreate Black Isle as a label when so many of the core team are at other studios. SSI was originally founded as a wargaming company back when 1 or 2 guys creating an entire game was the norm rather than the exception. The core members of SSI that are passionate about RPG's (Keith Brors, Paul Murray, and David Shelley) are all involved with Seven Dragon Saga. Keith, Paul, and David STILL meet once a week as part of a weekly tabletop RPG group. :)
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Pillars of Eternity, Legend of Grimrock, Tides of Numenera, Divinity: Original Sin, Might & Magic X, Wasteland 2 That's big competition. How can you set yourselves apart?
So far, there seems to be a place for each of those games (and speaking as a consumer, I'm looking forward to playing the titles you've mentioned). Each game puts an emphasis on different aspects of the experience and brings something different to the table- be that a setting, a type of unfolding narrative with companions, or a good old dungeon crawl. TSI is making an effort to give the player meaningful choices from start to finish. Position, maneuver, weapon and spell choice all factor into tactical combat, allowing players a wide choice in approach. The party represents the greatest power in the world, and the player must
