RPGWatch - Masquerada Interview

Couchpotato

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We had the chance to talk with Ian Gregory, the Creative Director of Witching Hour Studios for our next interview about his new RPG game Masquerada: Songs and Shadows.

I hope you enjoy the interview.
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Couchpotato: Welcome to RPGWatch! Can you give a brief introduction about yourself and your company Witching Hour Studios?

Ian: Heya! Thank you! I’m Ian Gregory, the Creative Director here at Witching Hour Studios. We’re a small setup in sunny Singapore. And yes, we know Singapore isn’t quite known for game development. =)

We’re about five years old and we’re known for our line of turn-based strategy games, The Ravenmark Saga on mobile. We’re making a big change though, moving into PC and Console with our new title, Masquerada. A philosophy we try to adhere to speaks of two pillars: story and mechanics. Design choices are always weighed against those scales.
More information.
 
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Everytime I read the name of this game, it brings to mind the song from Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade.

I'm not into the cartoon-looking games, so this isn't on my radar. I also like games that take 30+ hours of non-combat activities to finish so we'll see if they flesh this out some. If they do, I might keep an eye on it.
 
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Ian: Combat is positional and many of the skills available help the player control the battlefield, considering that he/she is nearly always gonna be outnumbered. Walls of water, beds of lava. Players would have to use position and flanking to outsmart the enemy as they adhere to the same facing rules as the player.

This sounds good... or it would for a turn-based game... But for a game with RTwP combat I can't imagine how this would work without a considerable amount of frustration.
 
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Nice work again Couch!

I still am not 100% sure what to make of this game. Some parts look good while other aspects make me wonder. Have to wait and see. Hopefully it's not too simple with all the aspects they have taken out that are in most RPGs.
 
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Nice interview.

Forget about DA:I or other recent AAA caliber RPGs with dazzling visuals. As far as graphics are concerned, this looks to be a true gem. I just love the artistic design of this game. Reminds me of The Banner Saga, a title I love dearly. So hopefully the RPG mechanics and overall gameplay in Masquerada will match the wonderful portrayal of the game gameworld.
 
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i kinda like some of the story ideas here, though its funny that they would look to Venice for inspiration when they're in Singapore, which is a pretty intriguing city in its own right, imo.

Anybody like their ios games?
 
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i kinda like some of the story ideas here, though its funny that they would look to Venice for inspiration when they're in Singapore, which is a pretty intriguing city in its own right, imo.

Anybody like their ios games?
I bought both of them on a cheap iOS sale, and both were decent SRPG games. They remind me of a bunch of mobile RPG games I used to play on the PSP.

Here are two videos.

Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion




RAVENMARK: Mercenaries

 
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Another great interview Couch.

I admit, the graphical style of the game, isn't my cup of tea. But after reading the interview I'm intrigued by this game. The story and setting sound good and original. The inventory and economy systems not being in aren't a deal breaker for me, as I agree, if not done well (and so often they are not) just leave them out. A few other things leave some question marks, but overall, sounds pretty good.
 
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The main reference point for Masquerada seems to be the critically acclaimed Transistor. It uses a similar combat system.
 
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