The next game to be previewed is "Arc Arath", by Lantis. Arc Arath (Formerly known as Secret of Everyone) is a big, grand adventure that will span multiple cards and is sure to be a delight for anyone looking for an epic quest. This is a re-make of the game of the former name that was never released.

The team plans to make it as great at it can be. The early build of Arc Arath that I played has some real potenial to be great. Only time will tell if it really turns out to reach that potenial, but the promise is there, and it's strong.

I was lucky enough to talk to three of the four people in the group. I talked with Lantis over AIM, and his two buddies, SarahsKnight and Adam, over e-mail.

1ce: What exactly is your role in the Arc Arath?

Lantis: Programming really. Just taking what concepts we have and making them happen.

Adam: Mostly concept designs....helping with the look of characters and enemies throughout the game.

SarahsKnight: In general, I am the one who converts everyone's storyline ideas for Arc Arath into the proper dialogue on the actual game.

1ce: So, how did the story begin? Did the four of you guys sit down one rainy day and decide to make a world?

Adam: Lantis just came to us one day with this idea of his. He'd already started programming pieces of the game in RPG Maker and wanted us to help him with it. The whole thing just grew from there.

1ce: Is there a "mastermind" to the group or is it more equal?

SarahsKnight: Simply because Lantis was the one who came up with the whole idea of Arc Arath in the very beginning, and did 95% of the work on the first version, I'd say he's pretty much the mastermind.

Lantis: We really try to keep away from giving all the attention to just one person...

1ce: I've heard this game will use several memory cards. Could you elaborate?

Lantis: Sure. The first game was all typed out by me. And being perfectly honest, I stink at english. But SarahsKnight has a natural talent. And his work takes alot of room. We are officially about half way done and are working on our 8th memory card. Since we have made the game competely once, we can estimate how many it will take to finish the game. We are estimating around 14.

1ce: So, interesting original title (Secret of Everyone). Do you like Secret of Mana/Evermore?

SarahsKnight: SOE's title merely came about as a joke, because it used to be that every time I walked by a copy of The Secret of Evermore in a store, I would read it too quickly and end up thinking "The Secret of Every'one'? What a stupid-sounding title ...."

1ce: This game has a lot of hype going around for it. Why is that, do you think?

Adam: A lot of luck, I think.

SarahsKnight: Honestly, I couldn't say.

Lantis: I'm not sure, really. Good marketing?

1ce: Anyone on the team who's the hardest working? Likwise, who's the laziest?

Lantis: I'd have to say the SarahsKnight's put the most work into it. It takes hours on end not being able to use a keyboard to type. And the text in the game would give Xenosaga a run for it's money.

SarahsKnight: I would say that our work loads are equal in terms of the amount of time our responsibilities take, primarily because inputting text with a GUI interface rather than a USB keyboard really makes things go a lot slower.

1ce: How far are you guys in production? Got a release date?

Adam: We're aiming for a release sometime in 2008.....earlier if possible....

1ce: Any final comments?

Adam: I'm just anxious to see this project completed....and I"m interested to see everyone's reaction to the final product.

SarahsKnight: Much as I would like to keep talking, I may have done too much of that, already. Hope you didn't get bored with me at any point. SarahsKnight out!

Lantis: I really hope that this will be something everyone is looking forward too. But even if it bites it big, I will still be very proud of what we have accomplished. And a big thank you for everyone's support.

Arc Arath starts out a tad slow, but things quickly pick up. The presentation factor is here in spades, and the title scrren really wowed me. There are some interesting finds here that you wouldn't find in other RPG's, like characters that walk when they aren't moving, opening books and clean menus.

One of Arc Arath's biggest strengths is easily one of it's biggest weaknesses. There is a lot of text. A lot. Oftentimes I would start napping, wondering when the text would stop. Sadly, this trend doesn't end, leaving you with way more text than needed. This really brings down SoE's entertainment value, and is a factor that needs much attenion. The game also lacks a soul...It misses that "legendary" feel that is so vital to games like this.

Arc Arath has some great potenial to be the best of the best. The team is dedicated and creative, the game wows and can be wonderful to play. It's those moments of long text talks that hurt the game. It's still a very fixable problem, and I'm anxious to see what this title will bring in the future.