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Anyone familiar with D&D style hack 'n' slashes have likely noticed that the worlds they adventure in, the dungeons they seek to plunder rarely make much sense. Certainly, it's nice to brave a dank, dark cave, best an ogre and then be rewarded with a chest filled with gold and a magical sword, but you have to, at some point, ask yourself why the ogre didn't use the magical sword to make small work of you or, for that matter, why he didn't simply take the gold and fly to some nice isle in the tropics. Next time you're in a dungeon... or a castle, for that matter... look for a bathroom. If you're playing with a real-life DM, wait until you've explored the entire map, then explain that, "I really need to go!"
The folks at Firefly have grown tired of this slipshod form of dungeon making; they've decided to do something about it. In their new game, Dungeon Hero, you'll be subjected, yea, even submerged into a living, breathing underground world of the goblins, as they struggle to make ends meet and fight against a rival faction, the Red Eyes. The war has taken its toll on these goblins, and they're in need of a hero - something no one would ever have guessed you for; you're a tall, strong human who's build would allow for heroics, but, as a cut-throat and a mercenary, you would never be viewed as heroic by your peers. Then again, these are goblins - and with them, you seem to fit the bill, nicely.
Firefly is developing Dungeon Hero to have something that other hack 'n' slash games have never truly had before: continuity and a believable environment. The underground goblin city will be a place that you visit many times within Dungeon Hero, and you'll be able to see the world and the story advancing around you as you play. Instead of cinematics that advance the storyline, you'll see the goblin preachers preaching or see the wounded soldiers returning from war in greater numbers. You'll have to be observant of the world around you - just as if you were there.
The underground city is divided into four quadrants: Willow, Birch, Oak and The Greys. This is because these goblins worship trees, as they live beneath them and among their roots. Each quadrant has a very distinct purpose and feel. Birch is the main religious area, bright and colorful and featuring preachers in the streets. To contrast, The Greys are a slum or ghetto-like area: a rough place that is under a lake and suffers continuous downpour, where the poverty-stricken and criminals live. Oak is the industrial heart of the city, where mining and war-making are the primary industries. Resources are constantly mined from deep within the earth, then forged into weapons to use against the Red Eyes. Willows has docks on an underground river and it is the trade center for this underground world. Its construction is a conglomeration of shanties, piers and ships, where focus is on function.
Dungeon Hero is being developed for the PC and Xbox 360 console. |
