Under Siege

Logan Booker digs into what makes Dungeon Siege 2 tick, with Gas Powered Games' Kevin Lambert and Sarah Boulian.

With the demise of adventure gaming years ago, it's amazing that role-playing is still going as strong as it is. With gamers turning to more action-orientated titles for instant gratification, it's becoming progressively harder for games that do have a learning curve longer than a minute to do well in the big bad world of video entertainment. Hence, developers have started looking back at their roots for inspiration. The remake of Sid Meier's Pirates! and the recent announcement of Supreme Commander, the sequel to Total Annihilation by the Chris Taylor-fronted Gas Powered Games, shows that sometimes the best way to move forward is to look back.

GPG didn't start its blast to the past with Supreme Commander though. In fact, it's had Dungeon Siege 2 under its hat for some time, and right now it's set to bring back everything that was great about the RPG -- adventure, excitement and co-operative gaming.

What's cooking?
'Dungeon Siege II has been in development for almost 3 years and includes everything we learned about RPGs since the original Dungeon Siege,' says lead designer Kevin Lambert and lead level designer Sarah Boulian.
'We have made some huge improvements in the engine and rendering technology, but also the game really emphasises the storytelling and character development systems.'

Dungeon Siege was an interesting take on the RPG landscape when it came out back in 2002. Instead of forcing the character into a role from the get-go, DS allowed the player to get a feel for the game world and its mechanics before making a choice. They could then improve their character by using certain abilities -- sword fighting to increase melee, or throwing around spells to improve their casting powers -- eventually shaping the character into a true representation of the player's play style. If there was anything wrong with the original, it was that it was a little too freeform and lacked solid direction, thanks to its obsession with boundless flexibility.

'We definitely wanted to keep the original game's character development mechanic of "you are what you do" -- if you want to be a fighter, put a sword in your hand. If you decide you want to be a mage, start casting spells,' says Lambert. 'Characters can develop in melee, ranged, nature magic and combat magic classes -- this mechanic is different from most other RPGs. DS2 enhances this mechanism with skill trees within each class that allow characters to specialize in one or more "roles" within each class (such as a fighter who can be a dual-wield specialist or a two-handed weapon specialist).'

GPG also promises, along with the retained gameplay, a more cohesive game story and involving quests. 'We've definitely paid close attention to the connection between the gameplay and the story. Through the use of the primary quests, the main storyline should prove to be extremely focused while still offering enough freedom for players to pursue optional areas and side quests if they desire,' says Boulian.
Of course, while GPG has worked hard to retain much that was good from the first game, they weren't going to leave them untweaked. 'The core features of the game -- and what I think the team is most proud of -- would have to be the improved combat system that focuses on a single hero and keeps the player engaged with special powers; the deeper character development with skill trees and pets; an improved story and quest system; and much better loot!' explains Lambert.

Party time
One exciting prospects of the original Dungeon Siege was its multiplayer. DS promised a fulfilling co-operative gaming experience, as well as a solid single player game with a computer-controlled party. Each member could be assigned orders, allowing for a great deal of freedom in tactics during combat. In reality, much of the game's highlights got lost in the playing, something that GPG was very aware of when making the sequel.
'The single player mode and story were among the team's main areas of focus ... Players will find 40+ hours of gameplay in the single player mode and that's just in Mercenary difficulty,' explains Lambert.
'Replaying the game on Veteran and Elite difficulty - which become unlocked when you complete the game in Mercenary and Veteran respectively - feature an additional 40+ hours each.'

'DS2's multiplayer can be played online or on a private LAN with up to 4 players and up to 3 party members each,' he says. And it is in co-operative play that much of a true RPG's fun lies, and this holds true with DS2. There's a reason why the father of the modern RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, was an innately social game. Due mainly to time pressures most CRPGs go against this, limiting themselves to an entirely unsocial experience. While there is much to be said for single player role-playing games, it seems a waste to not share a world full of characters and history with many people simultaneously. 'Cooperative play through the main storyline is the primary focus of DS2's multiplayer modes. Many of the powers are designed to work well when combined with another and this is especially evident in multiplayer,' Boulian assures.

According to Boulian, the DS universe is one with a lush, detailed history, a history that dates many thousands of years. Taking this and blending it with the gameplay of DS2 was a top priority. As a result, the world of Aranna, in which the game is set, lends itself to an epic quality.'While building levels, we considered a number of story factors, including where in the continent of Aranna each area exists, who lived there in the past, what major events had taken place there, and what bits of the past would still be present,' says Boulian. 'Much of DS2 takes place in areas where civilisation has been present for thousands of years, and the ruins of ancient structures lie scattered about the landscape. This sort of design depth can, in fact, affect the gameplay, bringing the world alive with more realism and believability.'