Generation XX
The creators of Legend of Grimrock 1 & 2 are embarking on a radical new direction for their new game. We talk to PETRI HÄKKINEN and JUHO SALILA about how Druidstone will harken back to the glory days of top-down tactical combat...
being born in Finland we want to pass on this awe and wonder of the natural world to our players
The two Legend of Grimrock games were huge sellers, and revitalised the firstperson dungeon-crawling genre. So when we learned that the indie devs responsible were taking a very different direction with their next game, we had to know why.
Petri Häkkinen, responsible for game design and programming at Ctrl Alt Ninja, told us that the team simply needed a change of pace. “I guess we could have made a third game but making it right after working so long and so intensively on the previous games it wouldn’t have been a labour of love any more. We felt we would have been repeating the same recipe all over again. That said, it’s not impossible that we’ll revisit the Grimrock universe in some form at some point.
“We are huge fans of tactical turn-based games and we also play tabletop RPGs and board games such as Descent: Journeys in the Dark, so making this kind of game was a natural choice. Personally for me Druidstone is a game I have been wanting to make for a long time. SSI’s Pool of Radiance, the original [D&D] Gold Box game and one of our inspirations, left a big mark on me when I was younger. Druidstone combines the best parts of the board games and those old-school CRPGs we still love to play even today. I’m talking about the grid and tactical combat using a solid rules system and of course the wonder of exploring an unknown, fantastical world.”
Art lead Juho Salila concurred, stating that their goal was to try something new but stay with the fantasy genre they love. “One of the biggest new things for us is the strong emphasis on story. With the Grimrock games, we had the story in the background, but this time we’re bringing it forth. So far it’s been really fun, but also challenging.
“Telling a story in a dungeon crawler was difficult because you cannot really see the main characters, other than the small portraits in the corner of the screen. With a top-down perspective it’s much more feasible and with Druidstone we are really bringing the characters to life, each with personal back-stories and quirky personalities.”
But why druids? Juho informed us that they chose a druid as the lead character because druids emanate a certain aura of mysticism. “We think they are a versatile character type that is not limited into doing just one thing and they aren’t the most common character class you see in games. Druids in Druidstone are definitely inspired by Gaelic tradition, but we didn’t want to limit ourselves to the traditional or stereotypical fantasy druids, so we are definitely making some creative decisions.”
Petri also pointed out that the dev team are all Finns – nature plays a big part in their lives. “Even if you live in a city in Finland, you can get to the middle of a forest in just half an hour. The winters are snowy and so intense that people are literally being killed by cold every year. The Finnish forests are among the few rare places on earth where you can actually experience total silence and the wonderful feeling of being part of something greater. I think even if they don’t realise it themselves, most Finns have a special connection with nature and the Finnish mythology and Kalevala are full of interesting characters and tales. There are relatively few games out there that capture the feeling of this natural world.
“We could have centred the story of Druidstone on Finnish mythology, but that would have been perhaps a little bit too much in our own comfort zone. So that’s why we looked a little further and found the druids, Stonehenge, and all the interesting lore which happen to share thematically much with Nordic ways. After all, we have tales of the witches and shamans of Lapland which are not that far removed from druids… I think us being born in Finland are privileged to be part of this beautiful country and we want to pass on this awe and wonder of the natural world to our players.”
Juho told us that they’re leaning towards a high fantasy setting with Druidstone, but without the traditional well-used elves and orcs. “We consciously try to stay away from them and create our own interesting mix of characters, creatures, monsters, and magic. The game world isn’t limited to the Menhir Forest, the story also takes the player to cold snowy mountains and, for example, to a frozen monastery that holds a terrible past, and other wonderful places. Woven into the story, we also have a theme of Seeds, or other planes of existence – a multiverse that plays a special part in the story.”
As for the game design, Juho said that this time they’re not inspired by a direct paragon, as they were with Grimrock. “There are a couple of games which we are very fond of and hope to capture their atmosphere such as Baldur’s Gate and the Final Fantasy games, especially those on the original PlayStation. Yes, they’re quite different from each other, but we have taken the spirit of those games and merged them into Druidstone.”
Petri pointed out SSI’s Gold Box games as another strong influence. “We have also enjoyed XCOM and its later incarnations very much. Many of the CRPGs of yore suffered from insensible rulesets (looking at you AD&D!) and poor user-interfaces, so we are certainly going to improve on them. Looking at newer games it has been
somewhat disappointing to me how many of them have dropped the grid and instead rely on free 3D movement. We believe that tactical combat works just so much better on a grid where you can position your heroes exactly and easily determine ranges, blocked squares, and area of effects at a glance.”
The level design in Druidstone was originally roguelike in nature, but Juho told us how this concept evolved at they iterated. “As the game started take its shape and the story we wanted to tell was becoming clear, it made the procedural level generation more unfitting, so we’ve toned down the procedurality and pretty much dropped the roguelike side of the game. At the moment we have a system that randomises and joins premade areas. We’ll have to see how much authored and randomised content there’ll be in the end. We’ll keep adjusting the balance according to what makes the game most fun to play.”
Next Juho touched upon the flexible party-based RPG system. “Even though Leonhard the main character may start as a more combat-oriented character, he may learn to cast spells as the game progresses, though he may not be as powerful as a mage, but the possibility will be there. Of course Leonhard will not be travelling alone. He will be accompanied by other party members, who have unique skill sets. Currently we have four playable characters in the game: a druid, a dryad, a mage, and a wolf, each with different personalities and abilities. The druid and wolf are focused on combat, the mage is a more traditional spellcaster and the dryad is a healing/ supporting character, though she packs quite a punch.”
At this point Petri wanted to make clear that the RPG mechanics are still a work in progress. “At the moment we have a system that separates experience points (XP) and ability points (AP). Gaining XP allows you to go up in levels which will increase your health and unlock new abilities. We wanted to limit the effect of grinding, so advancing in levels will not gain you ability points. Instead APs are awarded when you progress in the game, and they can be used to buy new active and passive abilities and spells for your characters depending on their character class.”
Juho and Petri went to great pains to stress how thankful they are for all the support they’ve received from Legend of Grimrock fans over the years. Yet the recent glut of indie titles has not escaped their attention, and Juho admitted this trend is worrying. “It doesn’t help any more that you have a really great game when people can’t find the game. As games are nowadays technically pretty easy to make and publish, the sheer volume of mediocre or downright joke games drowns out the good ones. Honestly, we can’t say at the moment how to battle that problem.”
Petri noted that while making and publishing games is easier than ever, this is part of a natural progression as platforms get older. “As a new platform appears, for example when Steam or iPhone launched, there is an initial gold rush period when new titles fill the void. Because of their gate keepers, consoles seem to be the only platforms which are not overwhelmingly crowded at the moment. I think the big question is, what will be the next new platform? Perhaps AR could be it, but then again it could be a little bit too gimmicky to have mass appeal. As for the secret of survival? I simply don’t know. That’s why I’m making every game as if it’s my last.”
For more details, visit druidstone-game.com.