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Way back in the 20th century, three humble game designers at Interplay got together and created a masterpiece called Fallout. Brimming with creative energy and imagination, the 1997 postapocalyptic RPG helped reignite the then-dormant role-playing genre with a killer combination of deep gameplay and bold artistic design. Three years later, the game still looks and plays great.

This preview can also be read in the March issue of CGW.

After completing the initial design on Fallout 2 almost two years ago, the three designers packed their things and set out on a quest of their own: to found their own game company. And so it was that Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson started up Troika Games. Their first RPG is on its way later this year - and if you thought that Fallout was ambitious and cool, wait until you see Arcanum.

Dwarves With Guns

Arcanum retains Fallout's isometric perspective, but the interface has an industrialized "steampunk" look to it.

For their first project, Troika wanted to move away from Fallout's futuristic setting and create a classic fantasy RPG instead. But, just as the designers did with Fallout, they've added a twist: It's a fantasy world that's gone through an industrial revolution. Thus, though you'll still see all of your favorite Tolkienesque characters - gnomes, elves, ogres, halflings, and so on - you'll now have industrial-age weapons and machinery along with your arrows and spells. Now, dragons must share airspace with World War I-style zeppelins.

Robe-clad mages now roam an environment filled with giant machinery. Which side of the technology curve will you choose to be on?

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (the game's full title) retains Fallout's isometric perspective, but the team created a brand-new engine for the game, with 800x600 graphics and 16-bit color. Just as Fallout's graphic design mixed a futuristic setting with kitschy 1940s-style art, Arcanum features an eclectic melding of fantasy elements with a late-1800s Jules Verne-style industrial look. And this dual imagery - fantasy vs. technology, magic vs. machinery - forms the core conflict and the essence of Arcanum's story and gameplay.

Those who follow a technological path will gain access to schematics such as this, which will let you create all sorts of wondrous, and dangerous, mechanical objects.

You play as one of eight races - human, dwarf, halfling, elf, half-elf, gnome, or half-ogre. Stats are divided into four mental stats (intelligence, willpower, perception, and charisma), and four physical stats (strength, constitution, dexterity, and beauty). Most are standard RPG fare, but beauty is quite cool, determining a person's initial reaction to you before you ever speak. Create a butt-ugly gnome, for example, and NPCs may completely blow you off. (As in Fallout, you'll be able to recruit party members along the way.) The system is completely open for you to create any statistical combination - and the game will play out differently depending on your choices.

Similar to Fallout, Arcanum features optional "backgrounds," such as "Raised By Snake Handlers," which gives you a 20 percent resistance to poison. You can edit the background text, so the more creative and/or hard-core role-players can make up their own back story. Similarly, you can easily import portraits into the game, letting you customize your character's look.

Next: Steam and Spells