00:13Hi everybody, we are back now with the second part of the development diaries.
00:17Today we are going to meet the person who is behind the story and the dialogues and
00:22will also learn more about the predecessor of the shadows called Hrattie Kingdoms.
00:31There really is only one right person to talk to about cult and it's Chris Bateman from
00:36International Homo.
00:37Chris is the author of Cult Hrattie Kingdoms, Disport Noir, Ghost Master and Shadows Hrattie
00:42Kingdoms 2.
00:43Unfortunately, because of his workload and the huge geographic distance, he wasn't able
00:47to join us in person, so instead he will join us with Skype.
00:52Chris, I know it has been very difficult for you to join us due to your workload and new
00:56baby, so we appreciate at least the virtual opportunity to talk to you.
01:01Can you tell us more about your role in Cult and the connection between Cult and Shadows?
01:06Hello, it's good to be with you today.
01:09As you say, my name is Chris Bateman, I was the game designer and writer on Cult Hrattie Kingdoms
01:18and I've also worked on the design team and the narrative lead and the script writer for
01:25the new game, Shadows Heretic Kingdoms.
01:27Ten years ago when we made Cult, I was running International Hobo, a games design and narrative
01:33consultancy for the video games industry.
01:35And although I still consult with International Hobo, I now also have a split career.
01:38I also work as an academic and just a few weeks ago I was awarded a doctorate on the aesthetics
01:45of play of games and video games.
01:47I think I'm the first person in the world to receive a PhD in that topic.
01:52Is there a direct connection between Cult and Shadows?
01:55Is this a sequel?
01:57Well, the new game is set in the same world, but it's not a direct sequel.
02:02We've got different central characters, although many of the old faces in Cult return.
02:08Fans of the first game will enjoy the connections between the two games, but new players can
02:12come to it as an entirely new game.
02:15It's more like Cult is a prequel to Shadows than Shadows is a sequel to Cult, if you see
02:21what I mean.
02:22What kind of fantasy world is the Heretic Kingdoms?
02:24What would you compare it to?
02:26Well, the fantasy genre tends to go down one of two lines.
02:31So on the one hand, you've got epic high fantasy, like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, that tends
02:38to have good versus evil and a quest structure.
02:42And then on the other hand, you've got sword and sorcery, which tends to be darker, more focused
02:49on the characters.
02:51And it draws from sources like Robert E. Howard's Conan, Fritz Leiber's Fafid and the Grey Mouser
02:57series, or Moorcock's Eternal Champion, of which the antihero Elric is probably the most
03:02famous character.
03:03In fact, Moorcock coined the term sword and sorcery to describe these kinds of stories.
03:09And both Cult and Shadows are definitely sword and sorcery.
03:13It's hard to tell if anyone is really a good guy in these games.
03:18And what are the influences on the Heretic Kingdoms settings?
03:21Well, as a sword and sorcery world, it draws heavily from sources I already mentioned, like
03:28Liber and Moorcock.
03:29And I'm especially influenced by Moorcock's work.
03:32However, the Heretic Kingdoms setting always had a strong element of necromancy and immortality
03:38at a price, which are themes more common in horror settings, or perhaps in the evil side
03:44of high fantasy.
03:46A lot of this trickles down through Dungeons & Dragons, which first combined high fantasy
03:51and sword and sorcery elements into one single setting.
03:54And it's been hugely influential in the history of games.
03:57When you say Dungeons & Dragons has been influential, do you mean just for RPGs?
04:03No, no, not just for RPGs and certainly not just for tabletop games.
04:08Almost every video game around today has elements of D&D in it.
04:13Whether we're talking about character advancement mechanics, which can now be found in everything
04:19from Call of Duty to Farmville, or the idea of a game with a central character that the player
04:26takes control on and influences a fictional world.
04:31The whole concept of an avatar arguably goes back to Dungeons & Dragons.
04:37One of the unusual elements of Cult was the Dreamworld.
04:40Can you say a little about how this has changed for Shadows?
04:44Well, in Cult, the Dreamworld was a parallel dimension that you could switch into to gain various
04:51tactical advantages in combat.
04:53And that all remains in Shadows.
04:56However, the world of Dreams has been corrupted and demons are escaping from the hell dimension
05:01known as Shattered Heaven.
05:03It's a much more dangerous place than it was in the first game.
05:07We also have some travel to other dimensions in Shadows, but I can't really say too much about that at
05:13this stage.
05:14Chris, thanks for your time. It was great to hear from you.
05:17And now, let's go back to the studio and meet Peter Harnack.
05:22So now we are back in our studio and right next to me is Peter, who's going to show us
05:28something more
05:28about the Shadows Heretic Kingdoms.
05:30Hi, my name is Peter, I'm Head of Scripting and I'm very glad to show you the beginning of the
05:35game.
05:37At the start of the Shadows Heretic Kingdoms, Dwarver can choose which soul to consume.
05:42Thus the player can select from the first three main characters, Calic, Jesker and Evia.
05:48Each of them is unique and radically different.
05:51Not only in skills and combat style, but also in personality and dialogues.
05:56Furthermore, each character has their own personal quest throughout the entire game.
06:01So to accomplish all quests you will need to play the game with each character.
06:08Player has two different forms at the beginning.
06:11Shadow form of the Dwarver and Mortal War form.
06:14Three main souls can be selected.
06:16Calic, the Bandit King of Thole, Evia, the Daughter of Fire and the Jesker, the Wild War.
06:25Calic, the Bandit King of Thole, usurped and murdered by his son Namek for control of the Guild of the
06:31Steel, a powerful mercenary order in the Outlands.
06:35He is a melee character, skilled with two-handed weapons and heavy armors.
06:42Evia is also known as the Daughter of Fire.
06:45Her mother was the last god empress of the Garulian Empire.
06:48She was a renegade, who tried to overthrow the Empire.
06:52She is a powerful magician, skilled in several schools of magic.
06:57Jesker, the Wild Boar, is a legendary hero of Corvent, who along with the House Malfagon overthrew the Theocrat in
07:04the Second Rebellion.
07:06He is killed in the ranged combat.
07:11Later during the game, also other souls can be consumed.
07:16Fourteen different playable characters are placed throughout the game and only few of them are human.
07:22No two characters are alike.
07:25We are going to uncover much more about the characters on the website and in its diaries, so watch out.
07:39The jagged peaks stretch from the borders of Corvent to the Eastern Ocean, a thousand leagues hence.
07:47The mountain range protects the northern borders of the wolf tribes of Temuria, but they rarely set foot in its
07:55passes.
07:59From the Outlands to Temuria, only one route can safely be trod.
08:05Broken Spear Pass.
08:11Griffins roost high atop the craggy ridges and may fancy a lone traveler as an easy meal for their young.
08:22Worse horrors lurk in the dark places, unseen by any mortal eye.
08:33High in the pass stands a remote Temurian border camp.
08:40Few who are not of the wolf tribes pass beyond into the Temurian wilds.
08:46I could only trust in the ingenuity of my accomplices to gain admittance.
08:52So, this is the end of these diaries.
08:54But, in the next diaries we'll look more into the shadows,
08:57we'll talk about the devourer and we will also introduce you to the early access build.
09:01Thanks for watching.
09:02Comment it, like it and share it.
09:04Bye!
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