Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

Release Date: May 9, 2006

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

We get some info on Big Huge Games' trip into steampunk fantasy.

Real-time strategy games are still going strong in the PC gaming culture as is evidenced by the large catalogs that continue to release every year. Next year will be no different and Rise of Nations developer Big Huge Games is coming back with their second full title as a development house with Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. While the name denotes a game sticking to a franchise, gamers will find Rise of Legends quite a bit different than its predecessor. For one, it's only loosely based off of some real world influences.

Rise of Legends will bring some interesting things to RTS gamers. Gameplay will allow for a good amount of freedom of choice while visually Big Huge Games is trying some new ideas for bases and some incredibly large units. VP of Development and Executive Producer Tim Train took some time to answer some questions about the game and we've got the answers. We'll actually be able to see the game pretty soon ourselves so make sure to keep your eyes open for more info on that front as well. For now, enjoy the interview and make sure to check out the new screens!

IGNPC: Has it been more difficult to come up with a wholly original idea rather than drawing from history? How is the approach to development different when you're using fantasy instead of history?

Tim Train: It's always more challenging to come up with something brand new, but the tradeoff is you're also freed of the constraints. Some of the big opportunities in making a fantasy game included the chance to let our artists get really creative with the graphics (without the need to worry if we were "being true enough to history") and likewise to include powerful game effects that wouldn't necessarily make sense in the ancient age.

In terms of how the development approach is different, one example is that nobody ever showed me a concept sketch when we were making a history game. But for Rise of Legends the concept sketch was king. We had twice-weekly sessions between the senior designers and senior artists where we'd approve concept sketches for the heroes, units, buildings, terrain, and so forth, and that's how the setting for our game came to look so good.

IGNPC: Even though the game world is original, the factions seem to be drawn from the real world. Can you discuss the inspiration behind groups like the Vinci or the Alim? How have you adapted them to fit the game?

Tim Train: Not so much drawn from the "real" world in the ripped-from-the-headlines kind of a sense, but rather the concepts for each nation were inspired by "legends," if you will, that come from around the world. The Alim nation, for example, was inspired by the stories of the Arabian Nights, and includes Genies, Afreets, desert magic, glass citadels, and hidden treasures. Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of course inspired our Vinci nation, and we added "steampunk" and Miyazaki-style elements to create an wondrously-advanced-yet-strangely-backward technological nation. In neither case have we really tried to stay true to our starting material in terms of accepting a lot of constraints from it - rather we've been inspired by each legend as a starting point or touchstone and then taken it in a creative fantasy direction.

IGNPC: What can you tell us about the other factions? Are they going to have similar historical counterparts?

Tim Train: Must…not…talk…about…other…faction…

IGNPC: The game seems to present a fundamental conflict between science and magic. Would you explain the context of how this struggle plays out during the game?

Tim Train: Science and Magic coexist in the world of Rise of Legends, but not always peacefully. They operate by different rules and this leads those whose lives are steeped in one or the other to see the world in different ways. Of course there is also the possibility of balance or fusion, and the opportunities and perils of this are embodied in our protagonist Giacomo and his story.

IGNPC: The basic story follows Giacomo of the Vinci faction. What can you tell us about the arc of the story? What's his basic motivation and challenge here? What other characters are going to be important to the story?

Tim Train: Giacomo comes to power in the wake of his brother's assassination by the Doge (pronounced doj), a dastardly megalomaniac bent on supreme power. As the story unfolds, Giacomo learns that the events surrounding his brother's death were even darker than he could have imagined. Luckily, he doesn't have to go in alone. The player draws from a variety of other heroes. For example, there's Carlini, a Vinci general and one of Giacomo's most trusted advisors. There's also Lenora, the captain of a rogue group of air mercenaries called the Pirata. Once the story moves on to the Alim lands, Giacomo must ally with or defeat a whole host of more mysterious characters.

IGNPC: Tell us about the branching campaign structure. It sounds like players are going to have a bit more flexibility this time around.

Tim Train: The story follows a narrative arc but how the strategic goals are achieved is up to the player. For example, the first campaign pits Giacomo against the evil Doge of Venucci. The Doge's home territory is on the opposite side of the Vinci lands with a number of other factions between the two advisaries. The plans for military campaigns, city development, and Giacomo's army composition are in the hands of the player.

IGNPC: What about the Conquer the World game type? Can we expect it to work as it did in Rise of Nations?

Tim Train: The original Conquer the World provided some of the inspiration for the campaign game, but primarily we're building on the concepts we introduced in the Thrones & Patriots expansion for Rise of Nations. The gameplay has the strategic feel and open-ended play of the original, but adds a compelling and tightly-knit storyline. Most importantly, there are a whole host of innovative new features and choices in the outer map that fans of the original will definitely appreciate.

IGNPC: Is there any chance Conquer the World will include a multiplayer component this time around?

Tim Train: For now Conquer the World remains a single-player experience.

IGNPC: What sort of lessons did you learn from Rise of Nations and how are they being applied to the campaign and Conquer the World aspects of Rise of Legends.

Tim Train: We were very happy with Conquer the World Rise of Nations; however we feel that CtW really came into its own in the expansion Thrones & Patriots. By providing a context (The Cold War, Napoleon's Campaigns, etc.) the experience was deeper and more interesting. Rise of Legends takes that approach one step further by focusing on characters and a narrative in a fictional setting.

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Game Details

Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Big Huge Games
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Release Date:
United States: May 9, 2006
UK: May 26, 2006
MSRP: 49.99 USD
T for Teen : Blood and Gore, Violence
Also Available On: