GB Feature: Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows Interview

We've conducted an interview with Midway Games' Josh Sawyer, in which the former Black Isle Studios designer answers three pages of questions about their upcoming action RPG, Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Here's a bit to get you started:
GB: Can you tell us how the two new character classes will complement the four existing characters? What specific skills or abilities did you feel were missing from the classic Gauntlet classes?

Josh: The lancer and tragedian are the two new characters, and they both hail from an African-inspired land alternately called Ajanaku Orile and Indlopha.

The lancer is an aristocratic cavalier whose beloved mounts fabled (Great Ones) were slaughtered by the empire. He is very proud and well-educated, and quickly wears on the nerves of the characters. In the story, he often serves as a foil to the other (heroes). His primarily weapon style is Great Pierce: long two-handed thrusting weapons. His attacks are very graceful and acrobatic, often using a weapon for vaulting or spinning overhead in a dangerous pattern.

The tragedian is the strangest character in the game. Though she is from the same culture as the lancer, she shares little in common with him. The tragedian was part of a terrorist group that operated against the empire. After she was captured, she was tortured for years. Her face and mouth are so mutilated that she cannot speak, and she wears her tragedy mask at all times. She uses a prostitute's form of sign language, called Harlot's Tongue, to communicate with some of the other characters in the game. Her combat style is (Unarmed). It's a bit of a misnomer, because she uses weapons like punch daggers, cesti, claws, etc. while performing her lightning-fast attacks.

There weren't really existing skills or abilities that we thought the old Gauntlet characters needed. It was more a matter of adding depth to what was traditionally there. If a player wants to, he or she can mash away with the attacks, super attacks, and (peashooter) missile weapon. But for those who want to take the game beyond the basics, there's a lot to unlock and master.