Technomage Preview

Sunflowers is a developer mostly known for its PC strategy games in Europe. That's about to change, because the company will soon release its first PlayStation game, Technomage. Technomage is Sunflowers' attempt to develop a hybrid action-adventure RPG, which it plans to release in Europe and in the US.

The game is set in the fantasy world of Gothos. Long before the events in the game transpired, there were hordes of evil creatures rising from within the earth who attacked the villages throughout Gothos. The citizens managed to defeat the creatures and save Gothos from destruction, but it was never known where the creatures had gone. At the game's outset, Gothos is a safe land once again, and two tribes - the Dreamers and the Steamers - share the country. The tribes respect one another, but there is an unwritten law that forbids romantic unions between the tribes. Thus, the two races shall never mix.

Things, of course, don't go as planned. Melvin, the game's protagonist, is the fruit of such a union; his father is a Steamer, and his mother is a Dreamer. He is being raised in Dreamertown, although he is a bit exotic, given that he is part Steamer. One day, the earth opens up and evil monsters come to the surface, with the destruction of Gothos as their ultimate goal. The city of the Steamers, Steamertown, narrowly escapes complete destruction. Melvin - being of questionable lineage - is suspected of being the origin of the problems. And this is where the game starts. You take the role of Melvin in his quest to identify the root of all the evil happening in Gothos and to restore peace.

Dreamers and Steamers have different abilities. While the Dreamers are a tribe with magic and mental abilities, the Steamers are the opposite, relying on their physical abilities to solve daily tasks, and they are highly suspicious of magic. Since Melvin is a child of mixed blood, his magical abilities are not as strong as those of other Dreamers, but he compensates with stronger physical abilities.

The game starts off in Dreamertown, Melvin's home. As Steamertown's being razed, Dreamertown's citizens blame Melvin for the carnage. They let him stay in Dreamertown for another day, pending the High Council's decision about whether or not to banish him. You, as Melvin, are then sent to Melvin's uncle, who teaches you the basics of the game; the small quest your uncle sends you on serves as a primer for the game's controls. Once you've completed the quest, your uncle advises you to leave and find your father, who is residing in what remains of Steamertown. With only a few provisions, Melvin - aka Technomage - flees.

When you arrive in Steamertown, you'll encounter the game's first volley of puzzles. As the village is still burning and the town is destroyed, the citizens desperately are looking for help. There's also a fire in the power station, and an explosion seems inevitable. It's your task now to repair the station and to thereby gain the sympathy of the Steamers. If you succeed, they will send you out to look for your father, who's still missing. Melvin believes that his father has much to do with the recent carnage and vows to find him, hoping that he'll have answers.

On your quest, you will explore several worlds. In one world - called the Hive - you'll encounter traders with whom you can trade. The traders give you advice on where to find armor, which you'll need to resist the attacks of poisonous creatures - spiders, scorpions, and the like. In the Fairy Forest, you'll need to prove that you really are a Dreamer. You'll have to use your magic abilities to solve puzzles, pass tests, and settle conflicts. On your adventure, you'll also encounter an area called the Canyon, the place of a fateful meeting. You'll meet Talis, a woman who shares the same fate as Melvin - she's the daughter of a Dreamer and a Steamer too. She has lived in the Canyon for a long time now, but upon hearing of Melvin's noble quest, she decides to leave her home and join him. Together they are a perfect team, because she knows a lot about the history of the tribes and villages and complements Melvin's less-than-perfect magical abilities.

The gameplay focuses on exploring the big worlds, solving puzzles, and battling enemy creatures. During your quest, you'll be able to improve some of Melvin's abilities by successfully completing encounters. Besides pushing crates to solve the game's puzzles, you'll also have to pull levers, use cranes, repair machines, or analyze ancient mechanisms. There are also a number of minigames scattered throughout Technomage, such as the bug race. In the bug race you are pit against a gang of fairies, riding the backs of insects. If you win, you'll get a magic potion, which is essential to your progress.

The eight expansive worlds have plenty to offer: There are more than 50 nonplayer characters you can interact with, more than 50 enemies to battle, and more than 50 levels to explore. On your quest to save the world from the beasts, you'll find treasures, search for objects to trade, drop, or use, and talk to people. The whole level is being displayed in real-time 3D, meaning you can alter the camera and rotate it as you wish. The graphical effects are impressive with nice dynamic lighting, which helps emphasize explosions and magical spells. The eight end bosses are challenging and well animated, with detailed skins and unique attack patterns. It will take you awhile to find the right way of attacking them, as one of the game programmers has the sole task of devising their attack patterns.

The animated cutscenes are gorgeous, and they bring to mind the classic film The Neverending Story. Both Melvin and his sidekick Talis show a wide range of emotions, seeming more human than most video game characters.

German developer and publisher Sunflowers seems to have one of the most interesting European action-adventure RPGs in the works. The game will be shipping shortly in Europe, so we'll soon let you know how the end product turned out. The company is currently negotiating for a US distribution and expects to ship the game stateside in the first or second quarter of 2001.