Diablo with a history lesson. That may be the best way to describe Prince of Qin, an action-oriented RPG being readied by Object Software for an August release. The title is a departure of sorts for the Beijing-based developer, which has carved out a reputation for itself over the past few years based on historical strategy games such as Fate of the Dragon and Dragon Throne: Battle of Red Cliffs. This moves the company in a different direction, into a more commercial arena currently monopolized by the likes of Blizzard's Diablo series and newcomers like Gas Powered Games' Dungeon Siege.

Combat will be a big part of Prince of Qin.

But don't expect Prince of Qin to be dumbed down. Object Software's next project will retain the dedication to Chinese history demonstrated in its earlier efforts. A rough demo build reveals that the game should contain a lot more depth than the average hack-and-slasher. Although the basic elements of gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has slain a monster and picked up a sack of gold coins, these conventions are being spiced up with authentic historical details and a story adapted from events in Chinese antiquity. Add to that a leading man straight out of a heroic saga, a sprinkling of magic, weapons and other items that were commonplace in ancient China, and a substantial multiplayer mode, and you've got a role-playing game that might just stand out from the sword-swinging, elf-ears-wearing crowd.

For more on the development of Prince of Qin, we talked to lead designer Liu Yu Bin:

GameSpot: Can you go over the background story behind Prince of Qin? Like with your previous games, Fate of the Dragon and Dragon Throne: Battle of Red Cliffs, is the story here taken straight from Chinese history? Or is it a bit of a diversion?

Each character features a full complement of statistics.

Liu Yu Bin: Actually, it's both. The setting is historically accurate, but the story is ours. In 213 B.C., the first emperor of Qin, on the advice of his prime minister, Li Si, ordered that all the classical books of the six former states other than Qin be burned. In 212 B.C., Confucian scholars who objected began to be buried alive. The crown prince of Qin, Fu Su, the protagonist in the game, was one of the few at the imperial court who had the courage to object to these orders. His opposition infuriated his father, and he was sent to the north to supervise the construction of the Great Wall and defend the border from the Huns. Fu Su was very successful, leading his troops in numerous successful military campaigns, and he was universally popular. But his removal from the center of power carried a heavy price, because when the power play took place on the death of the first emperor, an effort was made to exclude him from the throne. In 210 B.C., Fu Su received a supposed imperial edict, ordering him to commit suicide. In history, Fu Su obeyed this edict and killed himself, but in the game, he lives and launches himself on a mission to find out the truth about the edict (it was a forgery) and to avenge himself against those who had plotted against him.

GS: Judging from the demo build, Prince of Qin is an action RPG. Are comparisons to Diablo warranted? There does seem to be a lot of story development for a game that is ostensibly focused on combat.

LYB: Yes, Prince of Qin is an "A-RPG," so we paid a lot of attention to the design of combat and game plots. Numerous stories on both the main storyline and subsidiary ones are unveiled in the context of multiple fierce fights. And the conversation system enables players to learn about the chaos of the collapse of the Qin Dynasty more realistically by talking with people. Through what Fu Su sees and does, players can experience for themselves what it was like to live through such a turbulent time. Through Fu Su's eyes, players will experience subtle feelings about love, hatred, life, and death.