Interview: Sacred 2: Fallen Angels

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 13th February 2008

Alan Wild International Product Manager at Ascaron took the time out to speak to us about the sequel to 2004 action-RPG Sacred

RG: So Alan, what’s the story behind Sacred 2?

Sacred 2 Fallen Angel is set approximately two millennia before the events of the original SACRED. Now the focus is on T-Energy, a mysterious and powerful force flowing through Ancaria. While the Seraphim drifted towards a secluded life, the High Elves began to benefit from the T-Energy and this lead to them becoming the most dominant race in Ancaria.
With the power of T-Energy came great responsibility and great danger. Disputes over power festered and grew among the High Elves. These disputes led to civil war and the eventual collapse of the High Elf realm.
With T-Energy now out of control, the world is descending into chaos. Everybody wants to harness its powers and position themselves at the top of the Ancarian hierarchy. The player must decide whether to restore peace and order back in Ancaria, or whether to pursue a more sinister path of personal gain and strive for ultimate power. This choice has a direct effect on the overall experience, because in either case former allies may suddenly become your worst enemy…

Seraphim, coming along nicely!

RG: So the game is set 2000 years before the original, making it a prequel, what prompted you to do this?

We wanted to tell the story of how Ancaria became how we know it from the original Sacred. In a hugely popular world such as Ancaria there is so much we can add, and in SACRED 2, we are adding even more depth and feeling and atmosphere by going back to its past.

RG: Speaking of going to its past, how has feedback from the original game influenced the development of Sacred 2?

We listened to fans who said they wanted to be able to choose different paths with the same character, which of course you can now do. This gives a great level of player interaction as you can decide how your character develops, not only by choosing whether to follow the path of good or evil but also the clothes they wear and the weapons they use. With thousands of combinations the player can really feel as if the character is their own.

More mounts! In the previous game you could only ride horses, but now there is a unique mount for all 6 characters, including the Hellhound (mount of the Shadow Warrior) and, of course, the Tiger (favoured beast of the Seraphim)

In short, it is imperative that you listen to your fans, but as a developer you also have to trust to your own devices. After all, there were no fans before the first game was developed! It’s all about getting the right balance between your own development ideas and those of the fans.

RG: Sacred 2 sees the franchise debut on a console platform; will the Xbox 360 version have any significant differences?

There is a lot of cross over between features developed on the Xbox 360 and PC. Yes, there will be some differences, but in terms of content they are effectively the same game.

The primary difference between the two formats will be in the implementation of the Xbox 360 controller and a specifically designed user interface to transfer the ease of use functionality from the PC to the Xbox 360.

In addition to the PC multiplayer modes, the Xbox 360 version boasts a simultaneous 2-player co-operative mode, where you and a friend can settle back on the sofa, pick up a controller each and take up the quests together on the same screen and console.

RG: So players will be able to play together on the same console, will the Xbox 360 version feature support for Xbox Live?

Yes, you will be able to play S2FA on Xbox Live. The final details will be officially announced in the near future, but you will definitely be able to play co-op quests over Xbox Live with other players being able to dip in and out of your game with their character.

RG: Can’t you tell us more? We love exclusivity at RealGamer!

---SILENCE---

RG: Ok, so moving on, what can you tell us about the playable characters, in Sacred 2?

The only character from the original Sacred to cross over is the Seraphim, so there are 5 new characters, 6 in total:

• Seraphim
• Shadow Warrior
• Inquisitor
• Dryad
• High Elf
• Temple Guardian

Shadow Warrior, Yikes!

The Shadow Warrior is a mighty force in battle! He was enslaved and then trained by the High Elves to be an elite soldier. He excels at melee fighting and is extremely strong and self-disciplined. You can take the light or dark path with the Shadow Warrior, seeking out the rewards of absolution or destruction.

The High Elf lives for magic. After studying for most of her life at the Mage Academy of Thylysium, she is now ready to embark upon her journey to discover why T-Energy is causing mayhem. Although not physically strong, the High Elf is still deadly in a fight, using her magic to destroy enemies from a distance. As High Elves are swayed by the power of T-Energy, you are able to choose either the light or the dark path with the High Elf.

This is only a brief snippet of the character backgrounds. More information will be revealed about the characters in the coming months…

RG: As well as the new characters, what differences are there over the original, to the way players can develop their characters?

Yes loads! There are so many weapons, items, clothing, armour types, skills, Combat Arts and associated variations that your character will be effectively unique in the world of SACRED. The Combat Arts are newly designed and structured, adding to the potential for player-preferred character design.

We know the essence of the game is the player’s interaction with a character and the ability to build a character that you want to play. This really does encapsulate the feeling of virtual escapism within an Action RPG environment.

RG: The game features a Dark and Light path, will players be able to switch between the two, for instance do one quest from Light when playing the Dark path or is it a case of sticking to one?

The Light and Shadow campaigns run parallel to each other, and once you have chosen the path you wish to follow then your character will be offered quests according to that path. Of course, there are additional quests which can be found based upon your success on previous quests and other events, plus there are Easter Egg quests dotted around the world.

RG: Being an action based RPG, combat plays a big part in the game, how will players be able to modify their characters combat arts?

Players can modify their Combat Arts with a number of variations possible for each Combat Art. This means that even characters specializing in the same Combat Arts will boast distinct differences to each other. These modifications will offer high-level characters the opportunity for further, individual development.

RG: So now we know more about combat arts, what new enemies will we get to test our new moves on?

There are many new enemies, too many to list! One of the favourites of the day is The Renegade Legion (Undead soldiers re-animated by T-Energy who have turned against their former masters and wander the caves of Ancaria). We’ve also got Kobolds, other undead in various shapes and forms, dragons, orcs, and much, much more.

RG: What can you tell us about the multiplayer aspects of Sacred 2 and the differences to that of Sacred?

For a start, SACRED 2 is built on a network engine. Technically, this means there is no “stand alone” single player mode as such, but instead the engine simulates a solo game using multiplayer settings. In real terms, this means that at any point during your single player game you could, if you so choose, invite a friend to come and join your game at the point which you are currently at. Your friend will bring their character into the game, and you can continue your adventure together. If your friend then chooses to leave, the game will revert to single player again, with you continuing to play from the point at which your friend left.

In short, you’ve got a drop-in, drop-out mechanic to go from single to multiplayer in a seamless transition.

RG: Cool! A few games are doing this these days and it’s quite a major change, but just before we finish what would you say the biggest advancement of Sacred 2 over the original?

Without a doubt it has to be the entirely 3D gameworld. The look and feel of the world is incredible, not to mention its size! If you just stop and stand in Ancaria it really feels like a living, breathing world. The breeze blows through the grass, trees and plants while NPCs go about their daily lives in relation to the day and night cycle. This all adds to the atmosphere of the game, something which is definitely noticeable from the original and you have to see it to grasp how beautiful the world is. The world is so well designed that every step forward is an adventure into somewhere new. With the level of detail in SACRED 2, you could pass through the same location three or four times and still notice something different about it each time. It really encourages you to keep playing “for just a bit longer”… hmm, I wonder what is over that hill?!

And that is precisely the beauty of 3D!