Seraphim Interview

It's a third person, all-out, UT engine powered battle in Heaven that involves fallen angels and Gods! What more could you want from an action title? The guys over at Valkyrie Studios were kind enough to give up a few minutes of their time, and chat with us about the game. We got in touch with Brian "BMAN" Babendererde, VP of Valkyrie, and persuaded him to kindly ask Jarod Pranno, Artist and Co-designer on the project to answer a few of our questions.

In case you're wondering about Valkyrie's gaming background, let me just remind you that they are the team behind the excellent RPG adventure, Septerra Core. Unlike Septerra Core though, Seraphim is a fast paced, third person 3D action game that allows players to move not only on the ground, but also in the air. Players take the role of fallen winged gods, who battle for dominion over the lands of mortal men. Each of these demi-gods is a powder keg of destructive fury, wrapped up in a human sized, armored warrior. Set against a mythic and evolving back-story, the game allows the player to control his path to victory.

Fighting angel.

Is that a Mayan God?

Players choose to belong to one of several clans, each of which has it's own strengths and weaknesses. From here they will customize their winged warriors with an RPG-style experience point system, choosing stats, weapons and even unique looks. Combat takes the form of missions with alternate objectives on full-scale multi-player battlefields. Earn experience to further enhance your warrior while moving ever closer to domination of the earth.

We've also snagged three exclusive screenshots from the game, just to whet your appetites a little. So, without further ado, I give you the Seraphim Interview:

Action Trip: Can you give us few more details on the "mythic and evolving back-story"?

Jarod Pranno: Seraphim takes place in a fantasy world where a battle among the gods and a war in Heaven has taken place. The defeated rebel angels are thrown down to earth, and split into three clans, (Angel, Demon and Fey). They begin fighting amongst themselves for control over this new world and the mortal humans that already inhabit it. We are drawing on inspiration from Milton's Paradise Lost, Norse and Babylonian Mythology, as well as some anime and modern fantasy. The player takes the role of one of these fallen angels, wielding the powers of a demi-god and fighting his clan's enemies.

AT: What are some of the clans, and what is their background? You say that each clan has its strengths and weaknesses; can you give us an example?

JP: As the Seraphim fell to earth, they took on one of three forms: Angel (with bird wings), Demon (with bat wings), or Fey (with insect wings). Each of these clans has their own innate strategies. For example, the Fey have the weakest flight ability, but they have the strongest spell ability. The Angels are strong fliers, but are weakly armored and so forth. Each of the clans also has their own story arc through the game, witnessing the war from different viewpoints and fighting for different reasons. And just because you choose to play a Demon clan member doesn't mean you are evil. We are letting the players choose their fate by the way they play, as it is possible to play an evil angel if you want.

AT: In what way will the players change the clans' looks? Third Person "Over the Shoulder" Kinetic 3D Action ...with vast amounts of character customization. Can you elaborate a bit on this?

JP: We are experimenting with different character creation methods. The player will definitely be able to choose their sex as well as their basic looks, (colors, textures, wing styles etc). A player's armor and weapons will change the way he looks as well. Past this, we are playing around with the idea of changing the looks of the character based on the character's stats, because the player will be able to change the stats of his angel just like in an RPG. Imagine boosting your flight stat through experience and seeing your angel's wings grow more massive. We want the player to be able to create exactly what he wants, to create a unique persona to use, especially for online play. If you have played Armored Core for the PSX, you know what we are aiming for.