A vivid setting that blends fantasy and steampunk, a world rife with commentary on very real issues, choice and consequence mechanics to allow players to shape their own story, combat and progression systems inspired by genre classics- based on what we’ve seen of it so far, Dreamate’s upcoming CRPG New Arc Line is making some very intriguing promises that, as a fan of RPGs, you’re going to find tough to not be excited by. Due out later this year for PC and consoles, New Arc Line seems to have all the elements in place to deliver a memorable experience, and to learn more about what will make it tick, we recently reached out to its developers with a few of our questions. Below, you can read our interview with creative director Vladyslav Dobrovolskyi.
"What we want to achieve with New Arc Line is to create a fantasy setting that reflects the imperfections of the real world; the social issues you mentioned are all rooted deep in the world-building, and we try to present them to the player as neutral a perspective as possible, as well as making them feel like a natural part of the world, not being too “in your face” about it."
New Arc Line’s part-fantasy, past-steampunk setting is looking quite fascinating, even if it’s just its genre-blending aesthetic we’re looking at. What served as your primary inspirations when coming up with the game’s setting?
For us, it was like traveling back in time, trying to explore the boundaries between different genres while learning from previous successful projects. For example, Planescape: Torment offered players almost endless worlds with unique creatures and ideas that pushed the boundaries of everyone’s imagination. On the other hand, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura features a world where magic and technology conflict, but somehow coexist to create a complex society with a rich history.
These games showed us how deep you can go into creating a world where every corner is filled with exciting stories. We wanted to create something similar, but with our unique perspective, where you, as an explorer of ancient ruins, discover not only buried treasures but also the forgotten stories they hold.
But we faced a so-called “threshold of entry” into such a complex philosophy. After all, a long time had passed since the release of those games, and many players were used to more familiar, traditional fantasy settings. At that moment, Disco Elysium came to our attention and showed us how to create a clear entrance to an unusual world with the most phantasmagoric solutions, with the main plot revealing itself to you step by step. You seem to start as an ordinary detective, but gradually, the plot unfolds, and you discover more and more intriguing layers of the story. Each new character you meet reveals more and more details about the game world, and each task you encounter allows you to delve deeper into the strangeness of the fictional world.
Moving beyond the aesthetic, the game’s setting is also looking like a thematically charged one, with things such as segregation and official corruption seemingly having a part to play in the story, and players playing as an immigrant. How central will those elements be to the story, and how have you ensured that they’re tackled with the necessary care and nuance?
How significant of a role will choice and consequence mechanics play in New Arc Line? How radically can the story change course based on choices being made by the player?
The two questions are closely connected, so let me answer both simultaneously. What we want to achieve with New Arc Line is to create a fantasy setting that reflects the imperfections of the real world; the social issues you mentioned are all rooted deep in the world-building, and we try to present them to the player as neutral a perspective as possible, as well as making them feel like a natural part of the world, not being too “in your face” about it.
So, for example, the player might encounter some form of slavery being practiced at a factory. They might decide to step in and stop it, endorse it, and encourage the owners to continue, find a different option altogether, or decide just to walk away and not get involved. The world will react to players’ choices like this one, but we are not preaching to them what is good or evil; there is no morality meter or anything like that. The player can also try to stay out of the “big picture” as much as possible since they are on quite a personal mission; they can simply focus on saving their family; they don’t have to become a world-changing hero/villain if they don’t want to.
These choices accumulate and can affect the story significantly, leading to many different endings. Admittedly, it will be less than twelve thousand, but players will be happy with the variety and impact their choices will make.
What can you tell us about New Arc Line’s character creation toolset and how much freedom it will offer to players in making the protagonist they wish to make?
I would call it “classic” for the cRPG genre. It has many tools for making the character exactly as the player wants.
"The conflict between technology and magic is the central theme of our game. The history, philosophy, different classes, and mechanics are truly diverse."
New Arc Line’s two central pillars – magic and technology – are looking like they’ll be integrated into the gameplay experience in some really interesting ways as well. Depending on which of the two players lean towards, what sort of variety can we expect from characters’ abilities, builds, and their progression curves?
The conflict between technology and magic is the central theme of our game. The history, philosophy, different classes, and mechanics are truly diverse. All this will give a deeper understanding of the motivations of both factions. As for the classes, all fit their archetype, and the number of tactical options available to the player is large and varied.
Speaking of which, what can you tell us about New Arc Line’s progression mechanics? Across its six classes and 12 subclasses, how much room for build diversity can players expect?
Player progression consists of several components. First, there is player character development (characteristics and skills) and their armor — there is another layer to the progression system, but I can’t tell you more about it right now. Secondly, the main setting (different cool techno and magic stuff) — a big headache for our testers. But despite the ability to control a party of 4 characters, the player will need quite a lot of replaying to explore and reveal all the possibilities of available classes. We are trying hard to make the gameplay fun and exciting for the player. For example, suppose you pump up the Hellfire mage skills. In that case, you can be a burning half-naked berserker, destroying everything and everyone with a huge flaming hammer, or you could be a typical fire mage or even shoot fireballs from cool fire cannons. There are many diverse options, and we can’t wait to see what character builds our players will come up with!
Personally, as a lifelong turn-based defender, New Arc Line’s combat is looking like one of its more intriguing elements. Still, there is a sizeable contingent of players who prefer real-time combat. We’ve seen a few instances in the past of games that offer both turn-based and real-time combat as options- is that something that you’ve thought about for New Arc Line, or is it an experience that’s been expressly designed as a turn-based one?
We experimented with the combat system for a long time: we had combat with active pause, time slowdown, and other variants. We tried a lot of options and decided that turn-based combat was the best option for New Arc Line. The player will be able to take their time to think everything through and choose their tactical preferences – like dominoes lined up in a row and pushing the last one, looking at how your plan is brought to life. Or, build nothing and just destroy everything round after round.
"We experimented with the combat system for a long time: we had combat with active pause, time slowdown, and other variants. We tried a lot of options and decided that turn-based combat was the best option for New Arc Line."
Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?
We live now in a world where every second counts. Everyone has too much to do now and too little time. We don’t want to see the final statistic that only 20% of players finish our game because it’s too long. So if you ask, “How long will it take to get through New Arc Line?”, well, my answer: imagine you’re on a hike. If you go straight to your goal, it will take you about 30 hours. But if you decide to stop, explore the neighborhood, and talk to the locals – it will take up to 70 hours. We want everyone to find something different in our world and enjoy it.
Do you have any plans to eventually also bring the game to Nintendo Switch?
We’re focused on the current platforms but also looking at Nintendo Switch. So, we’re flirting with the idea right now: we’re winking from afar but still need to get to the ‘dating’ stage. But we’re thinking about it because we know how many players would love to take New Arc Line on a journey without taking a break from their favorite console.
Share Your Thoughts Below (Always follow our comments policy!)