Rune Q&A
We sit down and talk with lead designer Tim Gerritsen about this high fantasy action game.
Over the weekend, Gathering of Developers and Human Head Studios announced that development on Rune was recently completed, and that the third-person action game would soon be going into the final stages of production and distribution. Powered by Epic's powerful Unreal Tournament engine, Rune is a game steeped in Norse mythology, and it features an impressive hand-to-hand combat system that lets you wield a wide variety of distinctive melee weapons. We took this opportunity to talk to Rune's project manager, Tim Gerritsen, about the game's development cycle from start to finish, discuss the major obstacles Human Head encountered in making Rune, and reveal what the design team wished they could have added to the game but didn't have the chance to.
GameSpot: Briefly describe Rune and make sure to detail its plots and gameplay techniques.
Tim Gerritsen: Rune is a game about melee combat in the age of the Vikings, in a world where reality is closer to what the Vikings believed it to be - a fantastic world of fantastic creatures where the gods held sway.
You play a young Viking named Ragnar who is an Odinsblade - a defender of Odin and protector of his runestones on Midgard (Earth). You begin the game by going through your ritual of manhood, which is basically a test of your skills (and a chance to train a little). You hear of a group called the Dark Vikings, a group that has foresworn allegiance to Odin and has begun raiding and destroying local villages.
Your journey takes you through the fantastic places of Viking myth. You explore the depths of Muspelheim and Jotunheim as well as lands in Midgard. The game is based on the myths and lore of the Vikings, and as such, it provides a deep story that captures the excitement of the period in a game of epic adventure.
GS: Melee combat hasn't really been explored on the PC at the depth that Rune promises to deliver. Was the inspiration for the game based on a relative dearth of similar games?
TG: The inspiration came when Ted Halsted, one of the partners, sketched a Viking in one of the design meetings and came up with an early draft of an older version of Ragnar. He showed us the sketch and said, "Who the hell wouldn't want to play this guy?" It was hard to argue, as who wouldn't want to be a big Viking with lots of sharp objects to play with? The fact that there is really nothing else out there like it is a big bonus - and icing on the cake.
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- Gathering
- Human Head Studios
- Fantasy Action Adventure
- Release: Oct 29, 2000 »
- ESRB: Mature
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