Praetorians Q&A
We talk to Javier Arevalo from Pyro Studios to learn more about the upcoming real-time strategy game from the creators of Commandos.
The developers at Pyro Studios, creators of the Commandos series, are currently working on a real-time strategy game named Praetorians, which is set within an age when the Roman Empire was at the peak of its power, spreading its influence across Europe and Northern Africa. However, Pyro Studios plans to take a slightly different approach with Praetorians by not emphasizing resource management but rather by placing the focus on combat and specific tactics. Moreover, each of the three civilizations in the game has different attributes and a wide array of battle tactics that can give them a distinct advantage in certain situations. We spoke with Javier Arevalo, project leader for Praetorians, and asked why the development team wanted to stay away from a complex resource system, how the AI will react in battle, and what kind of multiplayer features are planned for the final release.
GameSpot: Tell us a little about the team working on Praetorians.
Javier Arevalo: The team that has worked on the project so far is composed [of] four graphics artists, five programmers, one designer, and [me] as project lead. Three of us worked on all the Commandos games before moving to Praetorians; for several members this is the first big project. In its final development phase the team will have grown to over 35 people.
GS: Why did you choose the Roman Empire as the backdrop for a real-time strategy game?
JA: The Roman Empire has proven its attractiveness in countless movies and books. It has already been the source of inspiration for many games, but most of them centered [on] the economic aspect and politics of city and empire building. We already thought that the Roman military campaigns were a huge and untapped area for gaming, but we were awed by what we found while doing research on armies and battles for the game. We want to convey some of that epic feeling to game players, while at the same time making it immediately accessible.
GS: Will players be able to choose from civilizations other than the Roman Empire?
JA: There are three distinct civilizations in the game: Romans, Barbarians and Egyptians. Barbarians are designed as a mixture of different European tribes (Gauls, Germanics, Celts) and are found during missions in Central and Northern Europe. Egyptians will be encountered once the player moves to the north of Africa. As the single-player story and missions unfold, the player will have to fight against them, and sometimes even ally with them to fight his or her own rebellions.
All these civilizations will be selectable for multiplayer games.
GS: What are the differences between these civilizations?
JA: Roman forces base their strength on strict discipline and organization. As such, their troops move perfectly ordered and are able to perform special maneuvers and formations. Barbarians are stronger, faster, less numerous and more disorganized. Egyptians are more flexible in both respects, since their culture was a tight mixture of political and military power, and religious fanaticism.
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- Release: Mar 10, 2003 »
- ESRB: Teen
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