Strategy Informer talks with David Silverstein, Producer on Mytheon

Strategy Informer: First of all, could you describe your role within the development of Mytheon?

David Silverstein: Hi I’m David Silverstein, Producer at True Games Interactive and I work directly with Petroglyph Games on Mytheon.

Strategy Informer: How would you describe the game to those who may be hearing about it for the first time?

David Silverstein: Mytheon is free to download and play micro-transaction action/strategy RPG game with a highly addictive collectability element. Set in the world of ancient mythology, players can choose from 3 distinct classes to wield “Power Stones” to battle against the mythological gods starting in Greece. Players can use the stones to call forth loyal minions, menacing structures and devastating spells to aid in the struggle against the gods. There will be hundreds of these stones in the game and collecting them is vital to gaining the upper hand in the struggle.

Strategy Informer: In a press release we received, it was said that Mytheon is creating an “addictive new genre”. Do you feel this is the case, and that other developers will follow soon after?

David Silverstein: Yes absolutely! Collectible games have been done, action/strategy has been done, RPG has been done. However it’s how we combine all of these elements that help to create a game which all at the same time feels familiar, compelling and fun, yet still totally fresh in comparison to other games out there.

Strategy Informer: We understand that Mytheon will explore the mythologies of Ancient Greece. Can you give us any information on the other time periods players will be able to explore?

David Silverstein: Well our main focus is currently on Greek mythology, but as you mention we will definitely be exploring additional mythologies – at least one additional at launch, with more planned as expansion content. We’ll be getting into more detail soon, but for now you can get a good hint of what the other launch mythology will be by carefully looking at the three character classes : )

Strategy Informer: Do you think this is Mytheon’s unique selling point?

David Silverstein: We definitely think exploring mythology is one of Mytheon’s unique selling points, but really its the way we are combining the familiarity of these ancient myths with a unique storyline that revolves around collecting “Power Stones” to fight against these well-known ancient mythological gods.

Strategy Informer: Is this title suitable for newcomers to the PC strategy world?

David Silverstein: One of our goals with Mytheon is to ensure just about anyone can get in and learn the basics quickly and have fun without ever feeling overwhelmed. In fact, all of the most basic controls and such have a lot in common with Action/RPG Of course as players become more familiar with all of the mechanics, they can really begin to dig in to the deeper strategic elements.

Strategy Informer: How much choice will players have with regards to customizing their heroes?

David Silverstein: Well players can choose between 3 classes (Warcaster, Elementalist and Eidolon). Each class is designed around unique abilities and Power Stone sets, giving the players flexibility to do different things in PvE or PvP matches.

Players will also be able to customize their characters appearance and acquire new weapons, armor, items and stones that will add more uniqueness to the look and feel their characters have among other things.

Strategy Informer: Many of the Petroglyph team worked on the influential Command and Conquer series. Will we see any influences from C&C in Mytheon?

David Silverstein: Many of the folks at Petroglyph did work on the C&C games, so definitely expect some influence from it as well as other games they’ve worked on, though maybe not completely obvious at first being that Mytheon is not an actual RTS.

Strategy Informer: Have you considered a console version of the game? Do you think you can utilize the current generation to make a product on par with the PC release?

David Silverstein: There are currently no plans to do a console release and to my knowledge the hardware manufacturers have yet to embrace the idea of a free to play micro-transaction model on their systems.

Strategy Informer: The game is scheduled for a Q1 2010 release, any update or clarity on this yet?

David Silverstein: We’ll be providing more info on release date and betas soon, but for now Q1 2010 is still our launch time frame.

Strategy Informer: Any final words for our readers?

David Silverstein: Thanks for reading and happy gaming!