An internal interview with Requital's project leader/lead programmer, Dmitry Lisitsa

Primal Software: First can you please explain who you are and what you have done on the project?

Dmitry Lisitsa: Dmitry Lisitsa, project leader/lead programmer.

Dmitry Lisitsa

Primal Software: Can you please explain what sort of game Requital is please?

Dmitry Lisitsa: Requital is a 3D 3rd person action RPG. The action of the game takes place in a world similar to the Ancient Russia of the VI century. Clothes, weapons and lifestyle in the game reflect this historical epoch. The player gets into a fairy-tale, where real things co-exist with fantasy ones. The characters and their actions recreate images of people, who live in accordance with ancient laws and traditions.

Primal Software: Could you outline the story behind the game?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The storyline is about a young man, who took the path of a warrior with one single purpose – to take a revenge on the killer of his clan. The revenge happens fast, but the character unexpectedly gets into an incredible story, which makes him reconsider his life.

Primal Software: You say that it is a combat RPG can you explain the combat side to this game?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The character has three main weapon skills: hand-to-hand fight, close combat weapons, and ranged weapons. When one of these skills is used, it develops, and new options of using the selected weapons open. The character gets a certain number of experience points for killing enemies and completing tasks. These points increase the general level of the character and can be distributed among four main features: constitution, strength, dexterity and speed. Besides usual blows and hand-to-hand fight techniques, there is a big number of perks in the game. Perks are also acquired with the use of points accumulated with experience growth. Part of these perks has constant influence on the character; another part temporarily increases its stats or allows using special combat techniques. There is a unique set of special techniques for every kind of weapons, including swords, spears, bows, and just fists.

In order to win, the player will have to learn how to combine correctly simple and special blows, as the latter ones consume a lot of energy when used. The character needs some time to restore the lost energy, and he cannot perform any actions during this time. It is important to remember this and watch this indicator, in order not to remain helpless during the battle. The character’s defense is determined by the ability of avoiding the blows and the indicator of the used armor. The armor can be light, medium and heavy and includes leather jackets and pants, hammered chain armors and nobility armor. The heavier the armor is, the more damage it can contain, but at the same time it decreases the speed and increases the energy consumption. The camera is behind the character’s back most of the time, but it always can be rotated and scaled, zoom in to the character, so all the details of the combat can be seen.

Primal Software: I see that you can upgrade weapons how many weapons do you have and what sort of ability does each weapon have?

Dmitry Lisitsa: There are more than 100 kinds of weapons in the game. They include swords, axes, spears, daggers, bows, thrower weapons and even the agricultural instruments. Those, who don’t like to leave a blood trace behind them, can play almost all the game using only their fists. Use of weapons requires certain talents from the main character. In order to wield a heavy sword or axe, the character must have enough strength, and the use of combat bows is possible only when the dexterity is developed enough. The weapon itself cannot be improved, but the skills, which influence this or that weapon mastery, can be improved. It’s not enough to have strength in order to wield the sword. The player must perfect this skill in action. The more duels the player has, using this kind of weapon, the better he will master it.

Primal Software: How does the magic work within the game what’s sorts of things can you do?

Dmitry Lisitsa: We don’t have the magic, which most of the games of this genre have. That is, we don’t have flame spheres or electrical lightings. However, we have the magic of wizards and witches. First of all, it is magic, hidden in mascots, magic potions, spelled objects. It is magic of ancestors and pagan gods, almost invisible and invincible. The creatures of darkness, evil spirits and dead people can only be defeated with charmed weapons; magic potions give temporary or constant increase of stats; amulets and rings protect the character from different troubles and give him new skills. However, in general, the character takes the path of a warrior, and more attention is paid to the warrior skills.

Primal Software: On your travels you are offered tasks – what’s happens if you decline the task to the whole story? Also what happens if you take the task but never bother doing it? Does this have a bearing on the story?

Dmitry Lisitsa: This game is about a warrior’s story. This warrior has a certain goal and takes all the efforts to reach this goal. His way is predetermined by events, but does not have time limits. This means that the player can complete the stages of the main task, but at the same time can be distracted to complete minor tasks. The player cannot decline the tasks of the main storyline, but many of them can be done in a non-linear order.

Primal Software: I see that your character can only carry some much items before he tires, is there a point in picking ups items to sell? As you may have to travel long distance before you can trade?

Dmitry Lisitsa: Any item that can be put into the inventory has certain weight, so sooner or alter the player will face the problem of overweight, and will have to choose which items to keep, which ones to throw away, and which ones take to a trader. Traders are people who are ready to bring from a traveler anything for a reasonable price or offer him their unique goods. The range of goods depends of the traders’ prosperity. In big cities and settlements the goods are much more varied, but in the remote places the character can meet people, who sell truly unique items. The traders do not exchange goods; they buy and sell them for money – golden and silver coins.

Primal Software: Does the game have jump ports to save working between places that you have been before?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The player travels around a big world: forests, plains, swamps, mountains, caves, towns and settlements will gradually open to him along with the main storyline. Every new place gives new stories and new tasks. It is often necessary to come back to the places, which the character visited many times. In order to reduce the time of transfer, we made an option of traveling around a global map. This option is valid only for locations, which the player discovered in a traditional way.

Primal Software: Whilst you are travelling do you at any time have people join you on the travel not just escort task, but people that will fight with you? And how many at one time?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The character travels alone most of the time, with only one constant companion – a bat. Besides the bat, he has other friends. He has to take care of them. Sometimes other warriors join the character, and they solve some tasks together. There are no mercenaries on the game, but some battles become really big, when there are more than 10 allies on the battlefield.

Primal Software: How important is it to build up your stats before you fight the main character in the game?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The game is balanced in a way that after finishing the main storyline, the character will be developed well enough to fight the main enemy.

Primal Software: How many levels are there in the game? Will it always be a forest?

Dmitry Lisitsa: There are eight big maps with a diverse landscape in the game. It includes rivers, fields, towns, dungeons, mountains, swamps, even a desert, and of course big forests. Our landscapes won’t seem monotonous to anyone.

Primal Software: How many hours of game play will the final game have?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The game has 15 hours of game play, if the player takes only the main storyline. In the very end, after one of the free endings, you will be offered to stay in this world and to finish all minor tasks.

Primal Software: Does the game have day and night circles? And if so how does this affect the game?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The ancient Slavic people worshiped the moon and the sun as gods, so we felt obliged to introduce day and night circles into the game. It does not influence the game play, but transforms the graphics, gives the player an opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, listen to the day birds singing and the chirr of the night cicadas.

Primal Software: Why should people invest time in this game what do you feel that you offer different to other games?

Dmitry Lisitsa: The ancient Slavic world is so rarely used by game developers, that it can be considered unique. In my opinion, atmosphere is one of the main advantages of the game. Combat system, character development, and a breathtaking storyline are other strong points of the game.