The Runes of Kalevala Developer’s Blog II – The Quickening

Trying to succinctly explain The Runes of Kalevala has proven quite difficult. We start talking and then people say ”So it’s an RPG”, and we go ”yeah, but…”. Trying to make a game that offers a wider appeal also means that the explanation becomes wider and less precise, pitching becomes a nightmare as it’s not easily pigeonholed. Bottom line is that the game we’re making  isn’t about a genre of games, it’s about a group of players.

The Runes of Kalevala is an episodic 2D RPG featuring local co-op and a story based on the eponymous Finnish national epic The Kalevala.

But that doesn’t really tell you a whole lot about the game and what makes it unique. Let me instead begin by telling you about the game from a player’s perspective.

The Runes of Kalevala is a battle

Players encounter powerful creatures of legend and may engage them in battle. The combat system is designed to be tactical and challenging. Button mashing is not an option to succeed as a warrior.

The Runes of Kalevala is a puzzle

Not all legendary heroes sees combat as the best solution, some rely on stealth, wits and the clever use of magic to circumvent conflict. To find ways to avoid battles, to sneak past powerful monsters in the shadows and steal their secrets is just as viable an option for making progress.

The Runes of Kalevala is an epic story of Finnish mythology

The stories of the Kalevala goes back three thousand years. They were past on through songs, called runes, by folk singers over the course of millennia. These runes were instrumental in forming a Finnish national identity that later on would lead to the country’s independence in 1917. The tales would go on to inspire Tolkien’s writing and has had a profound influence on fantasy literature.

The game offers the player to re-enact Finnish mythology and experience the story rather than being told about it. Playing the game they will do the things that the heroes of the Kalevala did, they will face the challenges that they faced and they will triumph as they did: together.

The Runes of Kalevala is a sandbox.

It is a world where these various features can be experienced together with friends.

Locally cooperative games generally relies on the people you are playing with enjoying the same activities as you do.

The Runes of Kalevala is based around one basic premise: the celebration of how that which sets us apart can make us better together.

When the combat and stealth elements of The Runes of Kalevala are combined, new dynamics arise out of the player’s preference for different activities. Distract an enemy by engaging it and allow your co-player to sneak behind it and land the final blow. Keep a boss busy while she sneaks into his lair and steals the source of his power. Do several side quests simultaneously in a multiplayer speedrun.

The Runes of Kalevala is an episodic game with short episodes forming a larger connected narrative. Each DLC is a new rune that continues the story from the previous one, expanding the Kalevala tale. But in downloading new content the players are also invited to expand their own myths and create their own legends. All the player characters, new spells, skills and loot in the new episode becomes available for previous maps, expanding the ways earlier episodes can be played.

Picture: Runes of Kalevala Teaser Trailer Logo by Thom Hujanen © Tasteful Games 2016Teaser_Logo_1.080

Postat i:Big Game Project, Okategoriserade

About Anders Hagström

2014  Graphics