Rise of the Argonauts Q&A Feature

Codemasters and Liquid Entertainment's Rise of the Argonauts takes players back into Ancient Greece, as players take on the role of Jason in the epic adventure to discover the Golden Fleece.

TVG recently tracked down Liquid Entertainment's president Ed Del Castillo in a deep and dark dungeon to answer some of our questions on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC RPG.

TVG: For many, the story of Jason and the Argonauts is synonymous with the classic 1960s movie; how will Rise of the Argonauts set out to change all that?

Like the Ray Harryhausen movie, we're departing from the myth but, we're going a bit further than they did. We're assembling the X-Men of Greek mythology. The Jason myth is one of the only places in Greek mythology that you get such a confluence of great heroes and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take it to the next level.

TVG: The game is an action RPG, something of a departure for a publisher like Codemasters, even if they've dabbled with the occasional fantasy title in the past. What do you think it was about Argonauts that made the game irresistible to them?

The perception is that Codemasters has traditionally been quite UK and Europe centric with its products but that is changing. They've built new offices in North America and signed with some American game makers in a massive push to globalize their company and become a full fledged player in the games industry. Broadening the types of games they do is a natural part of that. Rise of the Argonauts was the result of a collaborative effort between both companies (Liquid and Codies) to come up with a great game that could be a great brand with legs. However, with the Overlord games which are a great take on the fantasy genre, and of course Lord of the Rings Online in Europe, they certainly have a great track record in fantasy games. I think Rise of the Argonauts both broadens and compliments that range, while being a great game in its own right.

TVG: Rise of the Argonauts is Liquid Entertainment's first foray into the RPG genre, let alone the first action RPG for the studio. With a heritage steeped in the RTS genre, what were some of the challenges faced in designing and developing the game's mechanics compared with how the studio would approach an RTS?

Well, some of the first games I ever worked on were RPGs, but that was for a very small company. At Liquid we have a lot of passion for RPGs and fantasy and it's great to be in the position now where we have this rich world where we think we can push the genre forward, put that passion to good use, and have the technology and team to realise this new project properly. That doesn't mean it's all been easy - of course taking the "double jump" (platforms and genres) was a trick. Two things made that less painless. First was middleware - Unreal has really helped us bridge the gap without having to spend much longer developing our own tech. Second was experience - we have lots of folks on staff with the talent and right experience for the job.

TVG: Argonauts will face some serious competition as an RPG this autumn, most notably from Bethesda's Fallout 3. What do you think will enable Rise of the Argonauts' mythical story to stand out from their post-apocalyptic world?

You know, Bethesda is great, we have a lot of respect for them. They've certainly gotten lots of my money over the years. Fallout is a deep, classic RPG in the sense that it involves developing a character through stats, equipment management and so on. We offer something with a different flavour. We have our own, rich world but we're also making our own stamp on the genre, streamlining a lot of the menu driven RPG play and turn based combat for an immersive, continuous, real time in-world experience. We've got these fantastic stories, characters that have lasted the test of time, and brutal real-time combat. And of course, it's evidently more of a fantasy game than post-apocalyptic, so we certainly offer a different proposition and experience.

TVG: Time and time again, developers have mentioned delays and issues in producing titles for PlayStation 3 (especially with the Unreal Engine 3); how has the team at Liquid coped with the nuances of the console and is it on track to launch simultaneously with the PC and Xbox 360 version?

Simply put, we started with a solid, core tech team and we went into Unreal with eyes wide open which helped. I think some other folks expected Unreal to be a genie in a bottle that was going to solve all their problems, but no middleware is capable of that. We are happy that whichever platform gamers choose to play Rise of the Argonauts on, they'll have the same, fun experience, and yes, they'll release at the same time.

TVG: There's a trend for more and more games to include some sort of co-operative gameplay; is this a feature embraced by Liquid for Rise of the Argonauts, and if so, how has it been implemented?

With ROTA, we wanted to pour all of our efforts into delivering a really strong single-player game first and foremost - it's really Jason's journey that you experience, this powerful, forceful character going on an incredible journey and the trials and challenges he faces on the way. We want to focus our efforts on establishing the game, set up the characters and the world before we give the player a chance to play with anyone other than Jason.

TVG: Rise of the Argonauts has very stylised visuals; what were the main inspirations?

We had three main inspirations. First, we really wanted a style that immediately communicated that you were in a fantasy. A world that is not like ours. Second, we wanted an aspirational, "wish you were here" feeling like you get when you see postcards of exotic places. That saturated look that says the place you're looking is somewhere you really want to experience. Lastly, well, of a lot of other games take a design decision that overloads Unreal games with browns and greys. We wanted to use Epic's technology to produce something that really stands out, showing that you can create these vibrant, exotic places that stands out from the crowd. You only have to look at the screenshots or videos to see that we've got a really exciting proposition.

TVG: Downloadable content remains at the forefront for many games in order for them to sustain interest in the months after release; what sort of DLC does Liquid have in mind for Rise of the Argonauts?

We certainly have ideas and plans for where we'd like to go, but I guess, well, it's in the hands of the Gods at the moment!

TVG: The crew of the Argo was made up of some key individuals of Greek mythology, including Heracles, Perseus, and Oedipus, and of course, Jason; will all the crew members make it into Rise of the Argonauts, and how are their individual skills harnessed in gameplay?

Suffice to say that we're bringing together the beginnings of what will be Codemaster's version of the X-men. You can expect that everyone on board will have a cool and consequential power that they will either bring to bear in this game or the next. And of course, the individual skills, talents and characters will compliment each other and effect gameplay depending on how you use them.

TVG: Is Rise of the Argonauts part of a multi-title deal between Codies and Liquid for a franchise, or does the future of the IP and the relationship rest solely on how well the game performs at retail?

Liquid's put a ton of work into making this brand something far more significant than just a one off game and there have been discussions about a sequel and a movie. There are so many stories to tell, so much more depth to these amazing characters and in a sense, while Rise of the Argonauts is a huge and exciting project for us, and one that we think will stand up to the best games in the market, we've barely scratched the surface of its potential. Obviously, one never knows how these things will turn out but let's just say that Liquid is ready, willing, and able to stand behind the whole of the Argonauts universe.

TVG would like to express our gratitude to Ed Del Castillo for taking the time to answer our questions. Rise of the Argonauts is planned for a September 08 release, so keep your eyes peeled for more on TVG soon...