Masquerada: Songs and Shadows Developer Interview
While at EGX last month I had the chance to play a game I had never heard of; Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. As I mentioned in my
hands-on impressions of the game, I was surprised that I had never heard of it because what I played was fantastic. I recently conducted an e-mail interview with Ian Gregory, Creative Director at Masquerada developer Witching Hour Studios, where we talked a bit about the upcoming RPG. He was also kind enough to give me some exclusive concept art and screenshots, which you can find at the bottom of this post.
Tell me a little about Masquerada: Songs and Shadows.
“Masquerada is a 2.5D role playing game along the same veins as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age. You follow Cicero Gavar, as he returns from exile to solve a mystery that could shake the very foundations of the city. Leading a party of three, he’s going to have to deal with the various guilds of the city, rebel maskrunners and the enigmatic fey creatures of city’s ruins. It’s a city of intrigue and grey morals, of opulence and beauty
Combat features a tactical pause system, allowing players to decide on the pace they’d like to enjoy combat. We also have an ability system that branches, so players with the same ability would have a starkly different experience.
It’s basically a game made by people who loved rpgs as kids.”
So it’s almost like a love letter to classic RPG’s like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights?
“Very much so! We try to distill what we loved in those games while updating it to a contemporary audience. From intuitive controls familiar to MOBA players to removing parts that clearly doesn’t add to the experience – like inventory Tetris.”
Inventory Tetris is the worst! Can you go into a bit more detail about the MOBA-style controls?
“We have right-click movement and number keys for ability use. Having four abilities and an ultimate (mask) ability per character bar gives the player options in combat without overwhelming them with choice. The telegraphs we’re using should also be familiar as ground markers show the area affected by allied or enemy characters.
We’re looking at the feel of the interaction between the controls and the mechanics.
Also, characters have about six to eight abilities to pick from, and each has an upgrade tree such that even if we both had the same ability on our bar, it would function quite differently. The example I tend to use is Zephyr. A teleport ability, it could be specced to be offensive and spawn a tornado where you teleport to, or, if you’d prefer something defensive, you could slow enemies with a wind chill when you teleport away from them.”
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