Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[Flawless]

38 Studios has assembled some great talent.

Some of the people working on this:

• Lead Designers - Ken Rolston (Redguard, Morrowind, Oblivion), Mark Nelson (Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3)
• Lead Narrative Designer - Erik J. Caponi (Oblivion, Fallout 3)
• Lead Systems Designer - Ian Frazier (Ultima 5: Lazarus, Titan Quest, Dawn of War: Soulstorm)
• Composer - Grant Kirkhope (GoldenEye, Banjo Kazooie, Viva Pinata)

Official Press Release

Open World RPG to be Unveiled at Comic-Con 2010 All-Star Panel Featuring Todd McFarlane, R. A. Salvatore, Ken Rolston and Curt Schilling

SAN DIEGO, Jul 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and 38 Studios, LLC announced Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the company's first title previously referred to under the codename "Project Mercury". Reckoning is an open-world role-playing game set in Amalur, a mysterious and magical new fantasy world created by New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore. Brought to life visually through the trademark visceral style of renowned artist and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, Reckoning brings a new level of intense action combat to the RPG genre. The game is being developed under the leadership of Ken Rolston, lead designer of the critically acclaimed RPGs Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and is scheduled for release in fall 2011.

"Reckoning is a great representation of how a team of incredibly talented and creative people with expertise in different areas can come together and complement each other so well," said Jen MacLean, CEO of 38 Studios. "We are thrilled to be developing an open-world RPG under the leadership of one of the greatest RPG designers in the industry, with creative direction by one of the most iconic artists of our time, set in a rich universe imagined by one of the top fantasy genre authors in the world. We can't wait to share the first details of this universe we have been so dedicated to building over the past few years."

"In Reckoning, we started with Bob and Todd's exceptional Kingdoms of Amalur game setting and imagery," said Ken Rolston, Lead Designer at Big Huge Games, a subsidiary of 38 Studios. "On that foundation we built the open-world exploration, vast narrative and character customization fans expect from the best RPGs. And we've added something new that we've always wanted from the genre -- a fast-paced, graphically stimulating action combat experience with fluid control and immersive, discoverable gameplay fans haven't seen before in other fantasy RPGs."

Reckoning is a single-player RPG that sets players on a heroic journey to unlock the mysteries of Amalur. Amalur is a magical world, filled with strange landscapes, exotic cities, colorful characters and terrifying creatures. This Thursday at International Comic-Con in San Diego, 38 Studios visionaries McFarlane, Rolston, and Salvatore, along with 38 Studios Founder and Chairman Curt Schilling, will be hosting a panel in the first-ever public discussion of Reckoning. Attendees will be among the first to see the world debut of Reckoning's first trailer, directed by McFarlane and will also receive a limited edition collectible poster designed by McFarlane. The panel takes place in room 6A from 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM and will be moderated by Spike TV's Geoff Keighley.

Reckoning will be available for the PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360(R) videogame and entertainment system, and PC. For more information about Reckoning, please visit www.reckoningthegame.com beginning Thursday, July 22, or follow the game on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ReckoningGame and become a fan on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ReckoningTheGame.

[Flawless]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

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Screens and Concept Art

[jfsolo]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Day one purchase.

[Misfit]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Day one purchase.

You're an easy sell.

Looks promising. Honestly, when Curt Schilling first announced he was getting into video games I never expected anything to come of it. This game, if anything, is well-funded and he's assembled a "super team" with a great track record. I'm looking forward to seeing some gameplay in the future.

[Jistic]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Will be following this one.

[Valdarez]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

LOVE Todd McFarlane's work. Read several Dritzz novels from R.A. Salvatore. Not the best author out there. Pretty dry, but good ideas which should work well with the game. Though if he's the story visionary, I have a feeling there won't be too many moving moments. Definitely looking forward to the game.

[Flawless]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

GDC Previews:

Eurogamer
RPGFan
Joystiq
Gamespot
IGN
G4

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38Watch: First Look

Summary

Lore

• It is the Age of Arcana and magic is on the rise
• Everyone that is born into the world of Amalur has a fate, a “destiny,” that is chosen for them. This destiny ends in death.
• You are the first to have been brought back from death via the Well of Souls.
• The Well of Souls is a magical edifice built by a gnome named, Fomorous Hugues.
• You are brought back without a fate, without a destiny and can shape it as you see fit.
• There are massive social and political implications behind the possibility of being able to change your fate.
• There is some kind of war going on against a people called the "Fay" (spelling uncertain).

Character Creation

• There are four races to choose from (Almain, Varani, Liosalfar, and Dokkalfar).
• The two human races are the Almain and the Varani.
• The two elvish races are the Liosalfar and the Dokkalfar.
• Each race comes with specific stat bonuses.
• You can play as a male or female without any impact on gameplay.
• Each races comes with a choice of spiritual sign that gives other stat bonuses. This choice varies depending on your race.
• You can fully customize the look of your character.

Talent Trees

• There are three talent trees: Might, Finesse, and Sorcery.
• You gain talent points as you level.
• You can place points wherever you see fit.
• Where you place points unlocks certain destinies, granting further stat bonuses.

Combat

• A single button is used for attack.
• There is a hard-core statistical underpinning to your effectiveness in combat.
• Combos are triggered based on timing and set up (i.e. attacking out of a block, pausing, holding down the attack button, attacking out of a dodge...).
• Parrying is possible with a shield or magical Talisman.
• Parrying is based on a timed response to an attack dealt by your foe.
• Dodging and Teleporting are utilized for defense.
• Fate-shift attacks are finishing moves that grant some kind of bonus that affects your destiny.
• You can equip two weapons at a time, and can change between them mid-combo.
• Spells are chosen via the distribution of talent points.

Loot

• The game features a Diablo-style loot system.
• Over 2 million possible permutations in the loot.
• Unique gear is available.
• You can equip gear directly from a side-by-side comparison in the loot window.
• Gear has a durability value.
• We saw two different long swords, a great hammer, an ice staff, and the dual-weilded Shokrum in the demo.

Crafting

• Three known types of crafting exist: Blacksmithing, Sagecrafting, and Alchemy.
• Sagecrafting incorporates the socketing of gems into weapons, thereby granting further bonuses to gear.

Exploration

• Reckoning is an open world game with day/night cycle.
• You can go wherever you want.
• There is a main quest line and, of course, side quests.
• There is “hundreds” of hours of gameplay for someone who wants to accomplish everything.
• There are over 100 dungeons in the game.
• There are five main areas and the demo only covered a very small portion of one of them.
• In the demo, the areas we saw were the Well of Souls, Dalentarth, the town of Didenhil, and the dungeon Urul-Tusk.

Monsters (seen in the demo)

• Faer Gorta: skeletal warriors.
• Assassins: dual weilding, human fighters.
• Boggarts: small, mask-wearing pests.
• Banshaen: the brood mother of the Murgan.
• Murgan: trident-wielding warriors, capable of summoning lighting alongside the Banshaen.
• Kobolds: low level cave-dwellers that throw fire and spears.
• Troll: a massive mini-boss weilding a huge wooden club.

Release Date

• As of GDC 2011, the quote on this is, "Coming 2012"

[masterkembo]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

The RPG Gamer preview is really good.

This game is definitely on my radar!

[Flawless]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

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You can view the entire presentation here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReckoningTheGame

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[Jistic]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Reminds me of Fable.

[trobinson97]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I was really excited about this game when I first heard about it. After seeing some screens, I'm not really feeling it anymore.

[Candyman5]

Curt schilling is helping to make this? Lol. Btw this is what fable should of been.


Sent from me, duh.

[Flawless]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Btw this is what fable should of been.

Pretty much. Watching the combat in this 42 minute demo sold me on this game.

http://live-event.ea.com/e3/chat/reckoning

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[Flawless]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Impressions from a recent hands-on event:

RPGamer

As the event ended, after playing for nearly six hours straight, I was still glued to Reckoning with a great desire to keep going. There is just something about Reckoning that hit home with me. I fell in love with the world and the combat right off. Often in WRPGs, I feel like I'm fighting the combat system rather than the enemies, but this was different. It was simple, yet deep, and it hooked me. Having a huge world to explore just topped it off, as that is one of my favorite things to do in an RPG. There were times when I was exploring that I just had to stop and admire the distant view; other times I was drawn to small details that stood out. The stylish look goes a long way to making the world more alluring.

Reckoning is likely to draw a lot of comparisons to other games, especially those in the Elder Scrolls series. It takes many of the appealing aspects of those games and adds in a third-person combat system that truly feels like the piece that's been missing in many open-world RPGs. For a game that focuses on character building and loot, being able to see your character's equipment is also a great addition. Reckoning features a beautiful world, an engaging combat system, and tons of content, so if you're a fan of open-world RPGs, this will be right up your alley.

IGN

Unlike many other RPGs, Reckoning does away with traditional classes. You don't pick what sort of hero you want to be before you're able to make an educated decision; you start playing and adapt your hero to your playstyle. For instance you might figure out through the course of the first few hours that you really like casting spells instead of swinging a sword or hammer, so you equip a staff and some robes and start wailing away with the winds of magic. If you eventually change your mind again, it's no big deal, just reset your skill points and do it all over again.

The skill trees in Reckoning also offer a wide array of choices. You can play one of three archetypes: the warrior uses a lot of melee weapons; the rogue uses dagger and ranged weaponry; the wizard uses staves and casts a lot of spells. Each archetype has a uniqueskill tree, leaving it up to you to decide how to allocate points gained by leveling up. If you want to specialize you can throw them all in a magic tree, or you can create an elaborate hybrid class that gets a little bit of everything, while specializing in nothing. You can further specialize your character by setting his "destiny." Each destiny has stats associated with it, and as you level up you unlock new ones that help solidify the type of class you're playing. For instance a melee hero might take a warrior destiny, giving them increased defense, while a mage hero might take a caster destiny, giving them increased magic damage. Like skill trees, you're given the option to change these regularly.

I have to wait until February of 2012 to finally release my character upon the world of Amalur, but the short session I played showed me a world developed with love, full of life, and rich with lore. I'll satiate my fantasy game needs in 2011 with Skyrim, but in 2012 I'm looking to Reckoning for my fix.

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[trobinson97]

Re: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

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