Overlord Interview (con't)

FiringSquad: The game gives the player control of ‘minions’ to do his deeds. How does having to control others influence the game’s design and goals?

Rhianna Pratchett: Your Minions are your main weapon in the game, although as Overlord you get your own weapons, armour and spells. You can control them individually or in groups using the right analogue stick or mouse, whilst you move your Overlord with the left analogue stick or WASD keys. It’s a very intuitive control mechanic.

You have four types of Minions to do your bidding. You start the game with brown Minions, your main melee fighters. Then you’ll have to locate and secure the loyalty of the other three lost minion tribes.

There are the red Minions, who have a ranged fire attack and fire immunity, and the green Minions who are very stealthy with a ferocious backstab attack and poison immunity. Lastly there are blue Minions, who aren’t terribly good fighters but they can heal your other Minions in battle, as well as damage magical creatures.

Your Minions are pretty smart and they will automatically bring back life-force, gold and other goodies they find. They’re also resourceful creatures and they know how to make best use of any weapons or armour they find, from swords and axes, to pitchforks and rolling pins!

FiringSquad: What sort of things can you command your minions to do in Overlord and how is this accomplished?

Rhianna Pratchett: Obviously attacking and looting are your Minions’ main priorities. However, you’ll have to use them wisely in battle. Reds need to be kept away from the main fight so they can use their ranged attack safely, whilst blues need to stay on the sides ready to resurrect any fallen Minions.

Guard markers can be used to keep your Minions in one place, which is especially good if you want to make sure they don’t go rushing into battle. If you place greens on a guard marker, the sneaky little devils will become almost invisible.

In addition to combat, minions can be used to interact with the world. They slavishly remove obstacles blocking your path, or work together to retrieve your lost Dark Tower objects.

As Overlord you will also gain access to a number of spells which have a direct benefit to your Minions. These will increase their health and attack points and make them even more battle hungry than they already are. As with most spells these need to be use wisely, as a Minion under the thrall of the Berserk spell is likely to attack everything in site, animal, vegetable or mineral!

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the kinds of missions and locations that will appear in the game?

Rhianna Pratchett: Tracking down the heroes will lead you through several different domains and locations, each with their own very distinct style. You start off in the pleasant, rural setting of the mellow hills, real Thomas Hardy country with grazing sheep, green pastures and tinkling streams. You’ll also venture through Evernight, a war-torn forest filled with corrupted creatures and nightmares made flesh. Then there’s the city of Heaven’s Peak, which has been locked down with a virulent and deadly plague that’s turning its inhabitants into the walking dead.

There are plenty of typical fantasy locations, only they’ve been given a special Overlord twist which makes them very fresh and fun to play through.

FiringSquad: Will Overlord have any multiplayer elements to it?

Lennart Sas: Overlord multiplayer has two competitive game modes, and one co-operative. Slaughter is a form of death match where the score is determined by the number of kills on the enemy Overlord, his Minions, and random bystanders. Plunder is all about looting more stuff than your opponent. Finally, in Survival, it’s about the perverse act of two Overlords working together in order to stay alive as long as possible against a never ending stream of enemies.