JHS: Is there some kind of quest system planned here? How does the story progression work in Frontiers?
LS: There’s a central story about war brewing between regions that you’re free to follow or ignore as you choose. There’s also a personal story involving your Uncle being lost in the Uncharted Lands, which you’re also free to ignore. The story progresses through a combination of quests and real time events which take place independently of your involvement. In general quests are as exploration-focused as everything else, whether they’re side quests or are tied to the main story.
JHS: Can you break down the gameplay in Frontiers for us? What does it mean to emphasize “exploration above all else”?
LS: The gameplay is very similar to other first person RPGs – you travel, gather information, go on quests, and so on. There are a few exceptions. First, it’s more relaxing because there isn’t the threat of death around every corner. Combat happens occasionally but it’s not a central mechanic. Second, there’s slightly more emphasis on the survival elements. You’ll be expected to find food somehow, whether it’s picking it or hunting it or stealing it. Staying fed is necessary for using skills – it sort of plays the role of manna.
Emphasizing exploration just means that when I put an obstacle in front of the player, I try to make sure it encourages exploration instead of making it more difficult. A lot of times in games you’ll hit a wall in the gameplay where exploration no longer becomes the solution – you’ll hit a closed gate, say, and you can’t explore until you’ve talked to a bunch of characters in the immediate area. In FRONTIERS, if there’s a gate you can’t get through, I make sure there’s a mountain pass and an underground cavern you *can* get through.
JHS: Can you tell us more about the game’s unique fast travel and the path creation ability?
LS: Path creation is the solution to a lot of problems in the game. If you’ve found a good place for trapping animals you can lay down a path to that area, making it easier to set and check traps. It takes less food to climb a mountain using a path than it does without one, so they’re useful for getting to places like the Highlands. You’ll often run across NPCs who need a clear path through a mountain pass or a wolf-infested forest and as a Pathfinder you have the ability to lay one down for them, or to repair / reroute an existing path. As you create paths the world becomes more and more connected and fast travel between regions becomes easier & easier.
