Klujber Andras on Defenders of Ardania

Feature

The Majesty games are real-time strategy games set in the humorous fantasy world of Ardania. We got in contact with Klujber Andr�s, the game's lead designer.

July 9th, 2011 by Ingvi Sn�dal

Hooked Gamers: How will attacks take place? Will the player just choose the types of warriors that will take part in the attack, or will some more strategy be involved?

Klujber Andr�s: In regards to its mechanics, yes, the player chooses the units and sends them against the enemy base. However, those who would like to do it effectively will have to consider the role of each unit. The player can choose the order in which the units will be sent, and set the time to pass between units; it is better to send the slower tank-type units first, so that they can draw the towers' fire, and then send the faster but weaker types. The units will march toward the enemy base, taking the shortest route possible. If the player wishes otherwise, a rally point can be set that the units will have to reach before starting towards the enemy � or they can also be herded by cheaper towers. However, the most important thing is to learn the roles well and send each type at the right time.

Hooked Gamers: You have stated that attackers will have 24 varied units at their disposal. Tell us a little bit about how that works. Will they also be upgradable or customizable in some way?

Klujber Andr�s: In much the same way as with the towers, we're talking about 3*8 units. Furthermore, half of these are nearly identical for every race (swarmer, soldier, tank, and runner), with small differing racial characteristics. The other half bears special features, like sneaking, flying, attacking enemy towers, etc. Upgrades for the units, unlike those for the towers, are automatic. The more units you send of a given class, the more experience it gets; after a time, it advances a level, making it stronger and/or unlocking special skills. For every kind of unit, a hero � an army in itself � becomes available after reaching the third level. As every hero is unique, only one hero of a certain type can be present in a battle at any given time; however, the player can have three different classes of heroes at once. So, there cannot be three warrior heroes running around the level, but there can be a warrior hero, a cleric hero, and a wizard hero at the same time.

Hooked Gamers: The game is also said to feature multiplayer for up to 4 players. Tell us a little bit about how that works? Will two be attacking and two defending, or will there be multiple modes to choose from?

Klujber Andr�s: There will be three different multiplayer modes in Defenders of Ardania.

There is the classic Free For All (FFA) mode where everyone fights everyone, and only one remains standing at the end.

There is two-versus-two mode, where four players fight each other in teams of two. They can share the roles of attacking and defending, though both basically have everything at their disposal. This way, they don�t have to decide their roles at the start of the game � they can change according to the battle. Furthermore, allies can help one another with support spells and the bounty system.

Team Survival mode is a cooperative mode where two players fight against two AI opponents. This mode is closest to a traditional tower defense game. Players only have towers here, and they have no other goal than to survive for as long as they can against the increasingly strong assaults of the AIs.

For every game mode, there will also be leaderboards and detailed statistics, naturally.

Hooked Gamers: The game is set for release on PSN, XBLA, iPad, and PC. Obviously, these platforms are incompatible with one another and it is impossible to make the game exactly the same across the board, what are the differences between the games, and what difficulties have you encountered in the process of developing a game for such distinct platforms?

Klujber Andr�s: We have strived for the greatest possible similarity between PSN, XBLA, and PC versions. Differences can only be found in the binding standards for any given platform and the controls. It is somewhat different with the iPad version, as there were much stricter hardware limits than for the other ones. This is why the gameplay is a bit simpler for this version. This means fewer units and towers, but we spent a lot of time so that iPad owners get the same atmosphere and enjoyable gameplay.

Hooked Gamers: The game has been in Beta for a couple of months now, are you close to a release date?

Klujber Andr�s: The game has improved in all areas during the past few months since the beta started, and we are indeed much closer, but there is still a lot to do. As so many have said before me, a game is rarely finished; developers mostly just stop developing it. Currently, the release seems to be set for Q3 2011.

Hooked Gamers: We have a little tradition of giving the developers a chance to say something about their game that they are desperate to get out there. Is there anything waiting to burst?

Klujber Andr�s: I think we can say that, in Defenders of Ardania, we have brought together two enjoyable game styles that are favourites for many of us. We managed to find our own unique approach to gameplay and atmosphere in the constantly growing market of TD games. We hope that it will bring long hours of joyful battles for many of you. For those of you who are not yet convinced, let me reveal that there are beautiful elvish and thief girls in the game.