Gorsaul: Legacy of the Dragon, published by JoWooD and developed by Silver Style, is an RPG for RPGers. What do I mean by this, you ask? Well, it's got all the goodies an old-fashioned pen-and-paper RPGer could want, combined with a great storyline that only the best DM's could cook up, and some great graphics and intuitive controls for even the most hard-to-please RPGer (of paper/pen or computer origins). You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find nowadays with so many products hitting the market - but you'd be surprised.  

Gorasul is fresh on the market, originally released in Germany, a country where RPG also has an eager and ample following. Offering an in-depth storyline, a class system which includes many of the staples (as well as a few new ones), an extra set of unique "dragon magic" attributes (what kind of reputable RPG doesn't have a dragon?) and even a weapon which has a point system of its own (not to mention varying degrees of attitidue and ego). 

I had the chance to have a little Q&A session with the Gorasul team. Take a few to get the inside story on Gorasul and the passion behind it's development team.

1. Gorasul has an extremely well-defined storyline, a prominent feature in an industry which sometimes loses sight of the importance of plot development in game creation. Were there any particular influences that led to the creation of Gorasul (literary, etc…)? 

There were many influences that inspired us to make Gorasul. In particular, several members of the Silver Style team are fans of all kinds of fantasy literature and have been playing Pen & Paper RPG games for years. It would be difficult to pinpoint one particular influence. 

2. Another sign of your dedication to creating the most immersive experience possible was the inclusion of Corvus Corax to the score for the game. How did this partnership come about and how did they work with the development team to integrate their music into the atmosphere of Gorasul? 

Corvus Corax is known for its fantasy music. We have been fans of their music for a long time. JoWooD asked them to work with us on Gorasul. The guys from Corvus Corax really liked the concept behind Gorasul, so agreed to this partnership.

3. There are over 100 quests in Gorasul. Are any of these quests linear in nature or optional? Will the order in which you accomplish your quests have an effect on gameplay?

Many quests are optional, but others are part of the main storyline and have to be solved. The order of quest completition does not directly effect gameplay. However, different dialogues and a different storyline for different ways of solving a quest will change depending on how you complete your quests. 

4. Will there be any parties in Gorasul? If so, how will teams and team members be managed?

You can have a party of up to 4 members. An additional 4 members can join as temporary team members (including summoned creatures and npcs, which temporarily assist you during some quests).

You can control a single party member, or the whole party at once with one party member as the leader. 

To get full control over your party during combat, you can configure any of the party members to behave like you want (e.g. keeping their distance from the battle ground, or letting magic users go into dogfights when their mana is gone). 

5. Can you tell us a little about your AI in Gorasul? Can you give us any further details on how enemies will "learn" your habits to better confront you on the field of battle?

The enemy AI works differently depending on the creature's intelligence. A stupid zombie just beats you, that's it. Other opponents, like human magicians, are far more clever. They search your party for the weakest character and realize exactly which character poses the greatest danger for them. Of course the more clever creatures know when it's time for them to often flee, preferring to head to their brothers and sisters. Consequently, following an opponent can sometimes lead you into an ambush.

6. Gorasul will offer gamers the chance to focus their efforts and skills on particular attributes. Is this akin to a class system (mage, warrior, etc…)? Once you start a character on a certain path, or set of attributes to focus on, will you be able to change your focus later? Depending on your skill choices, will gameplay be affected or the plot altered?

In Gorasul has both -- a class system and the ability to increase particular attributes. You choose your class at the start of the game, but can't change it afterwards. You can spend additional attribute points after any level up to improve your character in certain aspects. 

Though you can change your focus at any time, your warrior never becomes the best mage, and your mage never will be a master swordsman. The influence of the class you choose at the beginning remains throughout the game. However, with additional attribute points, you can give the characters a new emphasis or round out their abilities. 

We at Silver Style choose this character system because we like the flexibility it offers the player. 

7. Gamers will have a choice between human skills and dragon skills. How will these two different magics be managed? What are the advantages and disadvantages of dragon magic?

You don't have to choose between different kinds of magic. The protagonist, Roszondas, is the only character who can use the special magic of the dragons, as he was raised by a wise old dragon and was infected by this strange mystic power.
The dragon magic is both a blessing and a curse, because Roszondas never learned to control its power completely. For example, these powers awake in his mind when he's in great danger. He then gets the mystic dragon strength to defeat his enemy ,or the mighty dragon fear that lets his opponents flee. 

8. Can you explain a little more about the different combat and game modes? Was this feature included to appease a wide range of different gaming tastes? How difficult is it to try to make a game both for hardcore RPG'ers as well as newcomers?

Yes, of course all these different combat and game modes should make the game attractive for a wide range of players. Listen to 3 people talking about RPGs, and you will get 5 different opinions. J The same thing happens in a development studio.

The most challenging aspect of these modes was the different game modes. We heard several times that people thought that we would spawn less creatures in the quest mode, but that's not true. The quest mode brings a "classic flair" into the game with its word riddles (it brings more quests!). The fight mode gives you a completely different challenge with its special boss enemies. 

The other thing we spent a lot of effort on was creating Gorasul for advanced players *and* beginners. You can choose between really easy fights that a beginner can handle, or you can choose tough challenges. All in all Gorasul definetely offers you a broad range of mode options. So, to answer your question about how difficult it was to make a game interesting for all these different gaming tastes: It was not really difficult, but it was really time-consuming.

9. Will you "collect" anything in Gorasul, such as armor, money, skills (as in scrolls which contain the skills), or experience points? 

Sure, you collect a lot of stuff. Equipment, money, experience and attribute points. Good equipment is always rare. If you feel that you don't have a chance to beat a certain creature with your current equipment or characters, you still have the opportunity (in most cases) to retreat und improve your skills and equipment.

10. How will the save system work in preserving your progress? Will you be able to save at any point?

Yes, you can save at any point. We really dislike save spots or other strange save mechanisms in RPG games. The ability to save at any time was really a basic part of our game design.

11. How would you describe battle: real time, turn-based, or a little bit of both?

Battle in Gorasul is highly configurable. You can fight in real time (which is the default mode), or you can activate automatic pauses for certain incidents. If you use all of the automatic pauses, the game becomes very close to having a turn-based battle system.

You also can decide to fight in an auto-attack mode, or in an action mode, e.g. Diablo.

We are sure that these capabilities of configuring the battle system will satisfy any type of RPG gamer.

12. How important do you think having a background in paper-and-pen RPG is in creating an RPG game for PC gamers? 

You don't need a paper&pen RPG experience to create a computer-based RPG, but it definitely helps and it might add certain aspects to the design.
In Gorasul, our developers p&p background made it much easier to create a main scenario that is rich in detail and builds a framework for the game's storyline.

13. Do you do any research with different kinds of gamers to see what they would like most in a new game?

Sure, and as an result of this we implemented all these different combat and game modes, because we found that roleplaying gamers have very, very individual preferences.

14. Can you tell us a little about the unique flexibility of the weapon gamers will be using in Gorasul? How will you be able to manipulate your weapon's characteristics?

The intelligent weapon has its own attributes, very similar to the other party members. It even has experiences points and levels up from time to time. You can spend attribute points on these unique weapon attributes (different from the characters' attributes, because the intelligent weapon plays a different role in the game than a player character) to specialize your weapon. By upgrading your weapon, you can have a weapon that gives you nice clues or another one that does critical hits. 

The intelligent weapon also becomes stronger, so that you can use it during the whole game. 

15. How did you get involved in the gaming world? Have you worked in different areas of the gaming world previously, or perhaps a similar industry? What kinds of things do you hope to do in the future?

The team of Silver Style is comprised of very experienced game developers who have worked in the gaming world for more than a decade, young employees who developed their first professional game with Gorasul, and everything in between these extremes. We have a great combination of talent -- young, creative ideas with the knowledge on how to bring the game development to the most satisfying result.

Our plans for the future are quite clear: There will be another Silver Style Game in the near future, "Natural Resistance," which will also be published by JoWooD. NR is a 3D strategy game with great tactical opportunities and an inspiring storyline.

However, we will also continue developing brand new RPG game. We don't want to reveal too much at this time. You can be sure, however, that our next RPG won't by your usual sequel with only minor enhancements. 

16. Do you have anything else you'd like to share with our readers about Gorasul or your experiences in creating it?

We would love to get feedback about Gorasul from players. We invite your readers to give us their feedback about Gorasul. Send us your thoughts and your ideas to feedback@silverstyle.de and visit our Website: www.silverstyle.de and JoWooD's web site (www.jowood.com) to view their upcoming releases.

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The Badger would like to send out a big thanks to the Silver Stlye and JoWooD  teams for their time, and is looking forward to getting back to the next Gorasul gaming session!