Producer Akihiro Hino's live demonstration of Level 5's new PS3 RPG White Knight Story was one of the highlights of yesterday's PlayStation Premiere event. Today, we managed to get a few additional details via an interview with Hino in the latest issue of Famitsu.
While we haven't heard much on White Knight since its unveiling at last year's Tokyo Game Show, Hino confirmed that the concepts behind the game haven't changed. The themes of the game are heroes and a magnificent fantasy, with a story centered on a simple premise, a captured princess whom the hero must rescue.
The game will have a story-driven structure, with players being able to advance to new areas as they clear story sequences in one area. However, Hino expects the player freedom to slowly grow as you advance in the game, with quests appearing in previously inaccessible areas.
One of the new screenshots that we posted from the PlayStation Premiere shows a new aspect of the game's battle system: a battle between two giants. What's surprising about the scene is that in addition to the large White Knight and his foe, human-sized characters can be seen fighting as well.
The staff had to make a few adjustments to get this system to work, visually. Originally, the giants were supposed to be 15 meters high, but at that height, they couldn't be made to fit completely on the screen while showing the human-sized characters as well. So, the designers switched to 7 meters height, and everything fit just perfectly. Hino believes the current size allows players to get a feel for the size of the giants while still allowing for human characters to join in on the fray.
The game will be full of such giant beasts. Look forward to a large number of knights on top of the White Knight and his rival, the Black Knight. The game will also feature giant monsters, including a two-kilometer insect that carries a town on its back.
Hino was also quizzed on the character creation component that was also unveiled at the Premier event. While the game's main cast seems to be set, you'll be able to create your own character that will then adventure as part of your party. Hino suggested that players might want to create their own likeness so that it will feel like they're a true part of the adventure.
As we mentioned yesterday, the character creation facility is powerful. In fact, it's actually the same set of tools that Level 5 used when creating the game's NPC characters! To show off the toolkit's power, Famitsu showed a number of celebrity recreations, including one of the magazine's Editor in Chief! The avatar versions looked spot on with their real life counterparts. Looks like Nintendo's Mii Channel may have some serious competition!
The interview closed off with another promise of a Tokyo Game Show playable demo. Just two more months!
Já sabemos que os RPGs da Level 5 são de confiança.