1. Could you go over what you presented this year at Magcon?
Yes, we presented all of the first chapter (of ten total) of Arc Arath, barring the random battles of course, which ends in the first major climactic scene of the game, where the heroes are finally driven to make the resolute decision to fight for the alien world whose existence is at stake in the story. In short, Lantis presented all of the general rules and principles of how the game is played, along with most of the major characters, and summarized the story as it was being played through. Also, the shameless Dr. pepper propaganda really spurred us on during our presentation. ^_^
2. What do you think might be a good estimate of when you might release your game?
We've been giving estimated release dates ever since first coming to the Mag, and they would all fly by with nothing more to show than slow but steady progress. It is probably due almost entirely to my always thinking of new and extended storyline ideas, and though it can be unnecessarily long I can at least guarantee the creativity and emotion of it, so in all, I can only say that there really isn't a point in continuing to try to assure everyone that it will be out next year or whatever, however we are putting effort into the game the entire time, so I can at least say that, when it is finally finished, the reason for the long wait will show. Also, once we finally get to the end of the game story/scene-wise (now with the help of Thutmose's legendary RPGMaker1 achievement), it is already apparent that going back through the game to develop and polish the battles will not take near as long as making the scenes and dialogue did, especially since we already have the outline of what monsters will appear, when they will appear, and the attacks that both the enemies and our characters will use. I hope nobody anticipates the game SO strongly that they truly care about a definite release date.
3. Is there anything you wish you would have added to your presentation?
Yeah, I kind of wish we could have had other random scenes to present along with the part of the game we already had, where we could introduce the other major characters who do not yet appear until after chapter one, as I am very proud of practically all of Arc Arath's cast that we've created. But, well, everyone will find out soon enough when they finally get to play through it, themselves. ^_^
4. What did you think of the presentation and live reactions this year?
5. What other games at MagCon did you find impressive and why?
Dray's "Dungeon Crawler" and, of course, like everyone else has surely answered already, mRevelle's "Survival". Dray's game looks like a much more fun and creative version of Tetris, and besides, you know an RPGMaker game is worthy (among those of us who actually play each others' home-made RPG's ^_^) when you have all of those present at the presentation playing the demo repeatedly to outdo each other in terms of score. As for "Survival", well, with someone like me, I can't help but think that playing as a cute schoolgirl fighting against legions of the undead is beyond awesome, and besides, mRevelle has really brought something ingenious to the table with the skill points and sphere-grid-like system of acquiring weapons and abilities.
6. What other games would you like to see a live presentation of at MagCon 2011?
7. Can we expect to see something from you next year?
I am sure of it, unless we've already finished the game entirely, of course. Since I already willingly admit that I don't think putting out any sort of estimated release date is meaningful anymore, I know that Lantis and I will at least want to keep putting out various scenes of gameplay to keep everyone interested, and well-assured that we are in fact continuing to progress through making this game.
This year's presentation of Arc Arath is below.
Note 1: Political Incorrectness and Bad Language inside.
Note 2: If viewing from the front of the Mag,
click here to view the first video.
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