[p]“[i]Strings of Fate XI: Magic Dream[/i].” This is a tribute to classic computer RPGs and especially the Might and Magic series, new parts of which have not been released for over a decade. We talked about the inspiration and development with Sergey Fedosov - the author of the game and chief designer of the company “MIRTEK”, within which the studio was created and engaged in the project. [/p][p] [b]“One day I had a dream where I was in a computer game”[/b][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube="KWbFX_iswtU;full"][/previewyoutube][p] [b]- How did it happen that a company, previously unconnected with games, is suddenly working on what appears to be a rather large-scale project? Are there people in the team with actual experience in gamemade?[/b] [/p][p] Fate really determines our life path. That's how one day I had a dream where I was in a computer game, and when I woke up I realized that the day had come when I had to change something. I approached the director of our company with a proposal to create a new business line and got approval. The initial task was to gather a small team of Stavropol residents. We managed to find such people, but it was not easy. Initially, the team consisted of a programmer, a character artist and an environment artist. A little later, when it became clear that someone should control the entire storyline and create a description of a huge world, I found a scriptwriter. At that time, the programmer already had experience working with a foreign company on an online role-playing game. The scriptwriter was a person who had experience as a presenter in the world of tabletop role-playing games - I found it interesting.[/p][p][b]- The question that's on the tip of my tongue. Why XI? Is it some kind of conceptual reference that only the developers understand, a hint at the continuation of Might & Magic, the story of which was cut short at the tenth installment, or are there ten issues of Strings of Fate that can't be found anywhere?[/b] You've got it right. It is indeed a reference to the Might & Magic series, which broke off at part ten. From what I, as a fan of this game series, was very dreary at heart. And then there was an opportunity to create a sequel. Of course, I took it. I (not without the help of my friends) created a completely different fairy tale world, justifying the appearance of magic and monsters, and decided to tell people a story about this world, about its people and non-humans, about their relationships, problems and especially - about the fate of those who really take part in saving their own world. It's also a reminder that it's been 11 years since the release of Might & Magic X: Legacy.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube="c4uclHhBfBc;full"][/previewyoutube][p][b]- “Strings of Fate XI: Magic Dream” - a representative of atypical for the modern game industry subspecies of role-playing games. I would even say, outdated. How was the idea to make such a game now?[/b] [/p][p]The idea appeared to make a continuation of the “Sword and Magic” series. All mechanics and interface were created from scratch by analogy with the predecessor-inspired game. I believe that if 3DO continued to release new parts of its game, the development of the “Sword and Magic” series would have come to a variant similar to ours. But maybe we will still see masterpieces of the series from the rights-holder company. Who knows... The game is initially based on retro mechanics, but nevertheless, Unreal Engine allows to realize more, and we are not ready to give it up. Some mechanics are finalized, some are improved. For example, the game will have puzzles based on the physical interaction of objects. [/p][p][b]“We want to listen to the audience.”[/b] [/p][p] [b]- At the turn of the 90-00s, classic RPGs like Might and Magic and Wizardry appeared on the covers of magazines, including Russian ones, but now it's more of a terra incognita for the general public. Is your game primarily for yourself, or do you have a vision of your target audience? What is the portrait of your player?[/b][/p][p]Our target audience is RPG fans of that era. Besides, we think that by bringing our innovations to the game, we will make it interesting for modern players as well. They will also be interested in touching the classics, but updated. The game is not made for ourselves. It is created for fans, for the revival and continuation of the legendary series. [/p][p][b]- What do you say to young gamers, who have not seen Might and Magic, but also missed the recent remake of the first Wizardry? What could be the unique offer of Strings of Fate for this audience?[/b] [/p][p] Our studio is made up of gamers of all kinds, with different tastes and views, and this is certainly reflected in the game. We make the game world on a fairly powerful engine, and adapt old mechanics to its new features. Young gamers will meet the game, which is made on modern graphics, for modern hardware, with free movement in a large, colorful and open world, with a huge number of interesting tasks and puzzles, as well as traditionally unexpected ending.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube="KcPX4KFPF0U;full"][/previewyoutube][p][b]- How strictly does Strings of Fate follow the classic rules of the genre? Is it just a greeting from the 90's, or are there some modern game-design solutions in the game?[/b] [/p][p] We tried to keep the basic mechanics and visual design in the original, familiar to fans. But still we follow the development. And if in the first part of the game we only learned how to create the game, realized the basic mechanics, drew the interface, then in the next two parts of the game there are those ideas, for which we haven't saved time yet. We put the game on sale in young access and for the reason that we want to listen to the audience, collect feedback and still hang. [/p][p] [b]“The most important thing is that the game evokes emotions in a person”[/b] [/p][p] [b]- Tell us about the game world. Today fantasy is represented by quite a large number of subgenres, high, dystopian, pseudohistorical, down-to-earth and many more. What works were oriented on when creating the lore of “Strings of Destiny”?[/b] [/p][p] Our game world is post-apocalyptic. The technologically advanced planet Litea is attacked by an unknown intangible object (we called it Evil) and, using the knowledge of magical teleportation, use creatures from other worlds to enslave (or perhaps just learn) the inhabitants of this planet.[/p][p]In essence - it is a clash of technogenic and magical worldviews, as a result of which technogenic beings learn magic, learn to control it and, as a result, defeat Evil, sending it to imprisonment. Our game begins a thousand years after this event, when word gets out that Evil is ready to break out of its confinement. This is a classic heroic fantasy with an epic story of the formation of the main characters.[/p][p][img src="https://vkplay.ru/hotbox/content_files/UgcFile/2025/04/28/7215cad7440c494e963d626f0484bfac.jpg"][/img][/p][p][b]- How serious will the plot of Strings of Destiny be? Is it straight up gritty epic fantasy or is there plenty of room for humor, references, self-irony, and trendy postmodernism?[/b][/p][p]I honestly believe that the most important thing is that a game, like a good book, should evoke emotions in a person. Somewhere the player should swoon in delight at the beauty he has seen, somewhere he should be amazed at the cunning of the quest, should not hesitate to praise himself for his wit or sagacity, smile at some joke, feel distrust for some character, and so on. The game is called “Strings of Fate” because it is about the lives and fates of people, non-humans, aliens from other worlds. About how the strings of these destinies are intertwined and finely tuned. Humor in the narration and the environment of the characters is present, as well as various references to famous heroes of literature, as well as mass-media. [/p][p] [b]- How big is this world and what will the player be able to do, besides going through the main plot and NPC assignments?[/b] [/p][p]The world will be big enough. We're releasing the first part now - it's the evergreen lands of Wellandor. This is the most labor-intensive part of the game, as we have to develop all the game mechanics from scratch. The next two additions will add islands, the northern lands of Liard, swamps, a desert, a great rift and a celestial limit, in the depths of which, according to rumors, the ancient Evil is sealed. Players will be able to explore the world outside of quests.[/p][p]The game will feature many different terrain puzzles. Item collecting will be implemented and a built-in mini-game similar to Arcomage (a mini-game from the Might and Magic series, later released as a standalone game - ed.) will be added. [img src="https://vkplay.ru/hotbox/content_files/UgcFile/2025/04/28/401d89ab3fc74c888fb20290a9d68fd5.jpg"][/img][/p][p][b]“We don't have the moral right to make the game small”[/b] [/p][p] [b]- For the last probably 15 years, RPG developers have often used scale and length as a measure of quality. But in the last couple years alone, there have been a number of big games released, from Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3 to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, that together simply don't leave gamers time for other novelties. Both former Sony executives and the head of Saber Interactive, for example, say that 100-hour adventures must give way to smaller ones. Does your game have some sort of minimum amount of time in which a gamer can complete the story, and how much time can they spend in the game world beyond that?[/b] [/p][p]Might and Magic IX came out in 2002 and after that we had to wait 12 years and hope that someone would pick up the baton and release the tenth installment. And then we had to wait for 11 years again. Our kids have had time to grow up. I believe that we simply do not have the moral right to make the game small. It's gonna be a big game.[/p][p]At the moment “Strings of Fate XI: The Magic Dream” is designed for an average of 20 hours to complete the main quest chain and about 100 hours to complete all the additional quest lines and side quests. [/p][p] [b]- Let's return directly to the game. How is the combat and magic system in “Strings of Destiny” organized and how difficult will it be for a player not familiar with this kind of RPG? [/b][/p][p] We use pointing at monsters to strike, like in normal shooters. The reverse strike system works differently. Monsters deal damage without aiming. The calculation system for dealing damage is classic, similar to Might and Magic VI and VIII, but taking into account the new character abilities. Magic is also classic, and we tried to keep it in its original form, as it is one of the foundations of the game mechanics.[/p][p][img src="https://vkplay.ru/hotbox/content_files/UgcFile/2025/04/28/e1516dd3f4b54d0ea024be7748d9abfd.jpg"][/img][b]- Are the characters in the party strictly limited to the narrative or will the player have a wide choice of characters to take on the team?[/b][/p][p]The first part of the game is as much about collecting a full party as it is about collecting a full party. The miner, starting his quest to get rid of his obsessive dreams, finds the next character. Then, already together, they find another character - and so on. There are only five characters, and this story is about them. Characters will not be divided by class, but due to their fate, they will be inclined to some skills more than others. [/p][p] [b]“Fan support in some matters is simply necessary” - When can we expect the full version of the game to be released?[/b] [/p][p] We've already gone to VK PLAY in early access to gather feedback. And we have two main issues that we can't solve yet. The first issue is balance. And the second issue is management. Our young studio is releasing a project for the first time and fan support in some issues is simply necessary. Not all the content we have developed is available now. This is done deliberately to get answers to our questions. For example, interactive puzzles on the terrain have been completely excluded from the game build so far. We plan to have this mechanic evaluated separately and will introduce one of the updates to gather fan feedback.[/p][p][img src="https://vkplay.ru/hotbox/content_files/UgcFile/2025/04/28/a9f4dbcde2f54008abdcc461365c2639.jpg"][/img][/p][p][b]- Are you thinking about DLC or are you planning to realize the maximum of accumulated ideas already in the first version of “Strings of Destiny”?[/b] [/p][p]As I've already said, this is our first project. And we have a small team for such an ambitious project. We have planned the whole game, but we won't be able to release it in full at once. We are releasing the first part of Strings of Fate, the Magic Dream. This part will allow you to gather a party of five characters and get to know them, the history of the world itself and its inhabitants. The next two DLCs will add new territories, new destinies to the world and allow you to complete the game. Hopefully, it will be completed in exactly one year. [/p][p] [b]- And lastly - a few words for our readers, both for veterans of the genre and for those who will discover a role-playing adventure of this format for the first time.[/b] [/p][p] “Strings of Fate” is a big Russian project from a small team. And first of all - the developers need support. How to do their job - they know. But how not to lose faith in the importance of what you do - that's the question. And here the support from the fans of the “Sword and Magic” series would be as good as possible. Try to play - perhaps you will find this genre interesting for yourself. After all, everyone knows that “Without trying - you won't know!”[/p]