GameShark talks with Wild Tangent's Travis Baldree, the lead developer on this promising PC role-playing game coming out later this week:

GameShark: Give us an overview of this game and how it deviates from the beaten path taken by most action RPG's for the PC.



Travis: Fate obviously owes a lot to the Diablo franchise, and roguelike games in general. However, this particular style of play has never been presented to a more casual audience in an accessible way. With Fate, we're attempting to do that, while still maintaining the depth that more traditional gamers expect.

GameShark: What does FATE bring to the table that other RPG's don't that lends itself to being enjoyed by a wider audience?



Travis: Accessibility and tone are the two main factors. We're walking a thin line with the art style - trying not to be offputting without seeming too cute. You have a pet throughout the game that can perform tasks for you, and alleviate the tedium of inventory management. We actually found that just having the pet around makes the game feel more friendly, less lonely for first-time players. Hopefully we've struck the right balance, and at the end of it, the game still has a recognizable style that doesn't seem too generic. As far as accessibility goes, every effort has been made to offer players help whenever they need it, and to give them the ability to control how long they want to play. Most roguelike games don't have a save-anywhere system - part of the 'stick' of the carrot-and-stick gameplay is that quitting sends you back to town, and you'll have to work your way back to where you last were. We remove that here - we want people to be able to play for 15 minutes, stop, and come back and pick up right where they left off. Death is also not as punishing as most games, but instead provides you with interesting choices and trade-offs to make instead. We wanted to encourage players to keep going, rather than requiring them to replay something they've already done ( although they do have that option )

GameShark: When you first began conceiving the concept of this game was it intended for such a broader audience?



Travis: Yes, from the very beginning.

GameShark: Explain to players the interesting way that death is handled in the game.



Travis: When players 'die', they are approached by the figure of Fate. Fate offers the player 3 choices - for an Experience and Fame penalty, they can continue playing right where they died with full health. For a minor gold penalty, they can be randomly teleported to a nearby level and resurrected. Or they can have all of their gold dropped on the ground, and be teleported 3 levels upward. They then have approximately 30-40 minutes to return and collect their gold before it is stolen. There is actually a fourth option - they can quit and load from a previous save if they so desire.

GameShark: Do you think FATE is too cute for hardcore gamers?



Travis: So far, we don't think so. We've had good response from both sides of the fence.

GameShark: Will there be a multiplayer component in the final version of the game? If not did you ever consider it?



Travis: There will not be multiplayer in this version of Fate. It was considered, but given our extremely short timeline, and the fact that this is a bit of a gamble for us, we determined that it was a feature best left for version 2.

GameShark: Let's get the usual Laundry list questions out of the way..



-How many different weapon types are there?



Travis: There are 8 classes of weapons, and within each class, roughly 15-20 or so weapons - so that comes out to about 120 base weapons.



There are then Elite and Legendary versions of each, and something like 250 artifact items, as well as randomly enchanted magical items.

- How many spells are there and what are the sub categories of magic players will have access to?



Travis: There are roughly 40 individual spells spread across 3 classes of magic - Attack, Defense, and Charm. Improving the skill in a class of magic improves the potency of ALL spells within that class. However, you may only have 6 spells in each class available at a time.

- How many levels are there and once completed will players be able to reenter the dungeons or have to start fresh?



Travis: There are effectively an infinite number of dungeon levels, but the major quest for each game is usually completed between level 40 and 50. Players have the option to keep journeying downward, or they can elect to retire whenever they feel like it. Previously visited levels do repopulate after 30-40 minutes of time away from them, so you can revisit previous levels at a later time.