Sacrifice Details

Shiny has updated Sacrifice.net with an inside look at the development of the unusual-looking real-time strategy game.

Eric Flannum, Sacrifice's level architect, details the game's different approach to building and resource gathering. Central to the game is the player's wizard, who summons units and structures in addition to directly casting combat spells. At the beginning of a new level, the wizard must locate a mana fountain and build a manalith on it to harness the spell energy. Mana is radiated only a short way from the manalith, unless the player summons a basic helper, the manahoar, to channel mana to the player's wizard.

Shiny has ambitious plans to make the wizard's build AI play a strategic role when the player needs to concentrate elsewhere. Dan Liebgold, lead programmer on the project, describes some of the difficulties in making this a reality, commenting, "It's interesting that getting the wizard to look and act intelligent some of the time is easier than making him avoid stupid behavior all the time."

Look for more information on the game as its fall release target nears. In the meantime, take a look at these shots of these four new creatures.