EA has announced that it will be publishing a new mobile phone RPG developed by Id and Fountainhead Entertainment (probably best known for its work in machinima). Orcs and Elves is a first-person, turn-based title, based on the engine created for Id's award-winning Doom RPG.
"With the help of a magical talking wand, players explore an ancient Dwarven fortress riddled with legendary beasts and untold treasures," explains the press release. And later on:
"Orcs & Elves catapults gamers into a world of sword and sorcery with over five hours of feature-rich gameplay. Players can wield eleven mystical weapons from flaming swords to powerful cross bows as they confront over thirty five vicious enemies - including trolls, dark elves and the undead. In this heroic quest to save the Dwarven citadel from the forces of darkness, mobile gamers encounter secrets, treasure chests, devious traps, puzzles and mysterious characters."
It's interesting how, when working on mobile titles, many studios immediately revert to old skool maxims - opting for geriatric genres (in this case the Dungeon Master-style RPG) and using the sort of simple, functional titles we used to find in the 8bit home computer era. "The formative computer games of my youth were fantasy games, so I am happy to finally bring one to market," comments John Carmack.
Perhaps more industry veterans will go this way - using the limited resources and lower customer expectations of the mobile phone platform to explore gaps in their game design CVs. Didn't get round to coding that killer 2D platformer in the Spectrum era? Never released your Dragon 32 text adventure? Get 'em out there now!
But seriously, it's a little disappointing to find Id falling back on such a well-worn fantasy-style setting for its next mobile phone RPG. The graphics are limited, but surely the designer's imagination doesn't have to be...
