Gaming Today Q&A: Marina Vashurina Discusses Disciples III: Renaissance

 

Coming this Fall to a PC near you is Akella’s newest RPG/strategy title Disciples III: Renaissance. This is the third installment in the popular Disciples series and builds on the successes of the first two games by introducing a host of new features as well as the same style of gameplay that made the previous titles popular. This will be the first time in the series that the gloomy world of Disciples will be rendered in full 3D by using the Virtual Dream engine which will in turn allow players to experience this realm as it should be.

As a Lord of one of the fantastical races of Nevendaar, players must fight to restore their deity’s rule over the world by choosing one of three playable races: the Empire, the Elven Alliance and the notorious Legion of the Damned – each with its own unique units and city design. Advances have also been made in the gameplay which will allow increased fluidity in multiplayer games and less downtime when playing alone, while a new upgrade system allows the player to assign attributes to their leaders. The RPG inventory system in Disciples III has been tweaked and now includes player stats and abilities along with visual representation of character’s equipped armor, weapons and artifacts.

Recently, we were given the opportunity to ask Marina Vashurina from .dat, the developers behind Disciples III, to tell our readers a bit more about the third installment in this popular RPG franchise, and explain to us what makes Disciples III different from the other RPGs that seem to have oversaturatting the market lately.

Gaming Today: Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell them a little bit about Disciples III: Renaissance.

Marina Vashurina: Hi there! I’m Marina Vashurina, PR-manager with .dat. I’m really excited to work on this legendary world and make it even more influential and breath-taking. The third installment in the prominent series returns us to Nevendaar torn apart with repetitive wars and ongoing unrest arisen from the factions’ inability to accept former foes as partners or at least neutral races. The game will feature three playable races: the Empire, the Legions of the Damned, and the Elven Alliance. As a Lord of a race you’ll choose you’ll need to fight hard to restore your deity’s rule over the world. You’ll see many twists and surprises in the mainline campaigns, though.

GT: How is Disciples III different from the previous installment? Is this a direct sequel or a completely new adventure?

MV: I can’t actually say that you’ll refer to the previous parts with every step you take. However you can find some roots and backdrop elements that come over from the previous installments. Besides some obvious refresh of the game artwork, what distinguishes this sequel from the previous ones is a focus on individual characters. Our story will be personal experience-driven with main characters playing a key role. They will travel the world of Nevendaar and we’ll be able to feel what they feel. There’ll be several characters of this type in Disciples III: Renaissance – available in either of the game campaigns. And the main, core character is Angel Innoel. But no more details can be unveiled now.

GT: The Disciples franchise is highly popular with RPG fans and we have heard that while there will be a host of new features – the same style of gameplay that made the previous titles popular will not have changed. What steps did you take to maintain the same level of familiarity while still developing a new gaming experience?

MV: As new features are concerned, the most obvious ones relate to the game’s transition to full 3D. It’s important to note though that battles still keep their dynamics and simplicity of perception. Also, the gamer will be able to make use of what used to be Rodplanters (they are called Land Guardian now) not only as a tool to expand the territory of the race’s influence on the map but also as individual units with their own peculiarities and upgrade system. Land Guardians are a kind of forts that can be used in tactical and strategic planning.

The Hero’s level-up system has also been changed. We’ve introduced static parameters that are pending the gamer’s action and affect the character’s capabilities.

Role-play system has also been upgraded. As for battles, we are striving to make them look more like tactical strategy, not card duels. Tactical strategy in which thinking is highly appreciated. We’ve also added some new resources – stones and miro (god favor). We’ve balanced economics and want to avoid cases when some resources are obviously abundant while others are missing. Magic plays a big role in Disciples III: Renaissance. Besides some magic effects on the global map, potions, race differences and other features Disciples fans are so much fond of, we’ve introduced cards and runes. Cards are unique spells on the global map that are impossible to learn while you’re in the Capital; however you can find them while traveling the land (on the map) or gain them (as a victory award). Runes are objects meant to help you during the combat. Just like cards, they can be found on the global map; they can also be obtained through magic spells, though. We try to be more RPG-oriented once you’re out of arena and even more strategy-oriented once you’re inside.

There will also be some special zones introduced in the game. While inside, a character receives some additional combat bonuses.

These and many other innovations introduced in the game provide a wide platform to experiment with the character’s development options.

GT: Thanks to the Virtual Dream Engine, this will be the first time a Disciples game will be rendered in 3D. Could you please tell us a little bit about working with the Virtual Dream Engine?

MV: The Virtual Dream Engine was originally created for general purposes, and it’s a module system that is expandable which is its obvious merit. The engine supports all modern technologies that are necessary to develop new-gen games.

GT: As a Lord of one of the fantastical races of Nevendaar, players must fight to restore their deity’s rule over the world by choosing one of three playable races: the Empire, the Elven Alliance and the notorious Legion of the Damned. What sort of interesting plot twists or surprises have the writers come up with for this?

MV: To go into detail here is to spoil the effect these very twists will make on the gamer once Disciples III is released. This installment is more individual-oriented. What people worry about, which objectives they have and the way they solve issues…their path to self-identification. As the game ships we’ll see whether we succeeded or not.

GT: What can you tell us about the multiplayer aspect of Disciples III?

MV: I must say we’ll try to keep all the great achievements of the multiplayer made in the previous parts. To build upon these features we are introducing huge maps which will house a wide variety of buildings, artifacts, monster dungeons and other assets.

GT: Multiplayer is extremely popular with gamers in this day and age. Will the single player, who is uninterested in the multiplayer area of Disciples III, still be interested in the game?

MV: For sure! Multiplayer differs from single-player in, actually, a direct foe the gamer has to face off with. In multiplayer he/she fights real people while single campaigns offer you to fight your PC. The single-player mode has a thoroughly developed storyline. We are proud of the storyline made so far that retains and builds upon the Disciples style.

The final version will have three campaigns, one per each race. Every campaign is the race’s view of the situation with its own tasks and main goals. Every following campaign continues the told and untold story described in the previous one, though. However, we’re not that cold-hearted to make you play through all the campaigns in pursuit of your favorite race’s campaign. However, we’ll make sure the player knows whether he “reads the game book” from the very beginning or whether he/she is closer to the end.

GT: The inventory system has been changed around a bit and will include player stats and abilities this time around. What else has been changed with the inventory system?

MV: The inventory system has been enlarged to be able to include more items (to be put in inventory slots). The number of slots has also increased. We’ve introduced a new possibility (which is more characteristic of RPGs) – the leader’s outfits affect the hero’s look on the map or arena. All units will be able to use a common inventory system. There’ll be some restrictions though. For example, you’ve got to gain enough intellect to make use of a magical artifact or rune.

GT: RPGs are one of the most popular forms of video games on the market. What will make Disciples III stand out amongst the vast selection of role-playing games?

MV: Firstly, that’s the unique setting of the Disciples world – traditions, compelling gameplay and modern standards of quality. I would say that Disciples III stands out among other strategies because of this obvious focus on RPG elements. The key difference is the character’s level-up system. The player can’t actually afford to lose any squad he/she invested much time and energy in. All the battles follow a “we can’t lose a unit” principle and that’s what makes Disciples quite different from the others in the row. That’s why it affects the gameplay so much.

GT: What can you tell us about the artistic process? Where did your artists and developers draw their inspiration from?

MV: Our designers worked really hard. They made over 150 character models and about 170 models of buildings and other objects. Inspiration source…well, first of all, these are works by Patrick Lambert, previous parts of the Disciples series, good artists’ works that fit the definition “gothic” and “somber”. Gloomy and spine-chilling music is something that definitely contributes to and builds upon this atmosphere.

As for graphics, the designers we have to commend first. These are not only artists but also scriptwriters, guys who make textures, animations – those elements that are actually viewed by consumers as the final version ships. So that’s the whole team that’s involved.

GT: How long has Disciples III been in production, and when can we expect it to be ready for retail?

MV: Our team has been developing Disciples III: Renaissance for about 2.5 years. The wait is almost over. The game is scheduled for Q3 this year.

GT: Mariana, thank you very much for your time. It is always a pleasure speaking with anyone involved with Akella. Before we close, is there anything else you would like for our readers to know about Disciples III: Renaissance?

MV: Thanks a lot for your patience as the game has being cooking for quite a while already. The wait is almost over and we really appreciate all the support we receive from the game fans.

Sounds like Disciples III is going to be everything fans have come to expect from the franchise and more. We here at Gaming Today look forward to watching the progression of the game and once again interacting with the folks over at Akella in the future. They really are good people.

As a lovely parting gift, Marina sent us over some new screenshots of the game, which I have posted below. I must say that the more I look at them, the more impatient I become for Disciples III to arrive. If you would like to find out more about Akella and Disciples III, Akella has totally revamped their English website and it is pretty snazzy and full of cool content. You can view it here, and as always, you can also look over our previous posts for more information.