To think it was only around half a year ago that Immortals of Aveum was first announced back at The Game Awards in December of last year. The team at Ascendant Studios -- led by industry veteran Bret Robbins -- is hoping to provide a title that is both familiar yet fresh in a genre so often punctuated by guns and militaristic aesthetics. Immortals, however, swaps out ballistics for magic and traditional, boots-on-the-ground military for agile, strafe-dodging Battle Mages. After spending a couple of hours with a vertical slice of the game, I had the chance to sit down with the game's Lead Producer, Tyler Sparks, to get a better idea on how Immortals aims to pivot itself. Not just as a debut game for a fledgling studio, but as a brand new "magic-shooter" in a world of both sci-fi and fantasy persuasion.

[Hardcore Gamer] I'm going to start by asking something a lot of people would usually leave until last, but what's your general mood and what's the team's general mood given the game's out in just over a month. Nervous, excited, anxious?

[Tyler Sparks] All of the above. Terrified. I mean, this is a project that's been in development for almost five years now. During that time, this has been our baby and it's our very first game so it's the launch title for Ascendant Studios. There's a lot on the line, but I think the prevailing feeling is one of excitement because what we have here is such a unique experience. Not only from the cinematic narrative campaign, but its unique gameplay -- a first-person magic shooter. There are some things like it, but we're completely unique in my opinion. Especially with the way we've executed here and so there's this eagerness to share it with the world and see what people think.

Was there any feeling that perhaps you wanted to announce or show this off to the world earlier? I remember it was shown off for the first time at The Game Awards in December and that's...what...seven or eight months before release [July 20th]?

That's right...it's a short time.

Was there any idea of announcing it earlier, just to get a bit more eyes on it? Or did you make it clear that you wanted to announce Immortals at that time?

There's arguments to be made for any marketing strategy. That's something Scott [Marketing Director] -- he crafted that plan with Bret [CEO of Ascendant Studios] and analyzed the different strategies and settled on this one, for a variety of reasons. We're doing it this way and so far it seems to be going really well.

Immortals of Aveum Interview Screenshot

You talked about the vision of the game and how you'd describe it as a "magic-shooter." I was reading up on how the idea came from Bret and how he was taking a shot from a game like Call of Duty and replacing bits and pieces. In terms of the consumer's perspective, how do you want this game to be seen in context to where it lies in the genre? Do you want Immortals to be seen as a sort of reaction against the genre's conventions or are you more focused on Immortals being its own unique identity in that respect?

That's a very interesting question. I think in this case, it's all about its unique identity. We're not just a reskinned game. The departure from shooting with guns is sort of an unfettering experience because rather than being stuck with a gun that has maybe one or two modes of fire -- maybe you have two guns, maybe you have a side-arm -- now we've got over 25 different spells. Five different categories that allow for really tactical gameplay. You can play it like a shooter and just charge in there, blast everything in front of you. Or you can sit back and take a look at the combat in front of you.

Maybe there's a sniper whose targeting you and annoying you. And while these enemies are rushing towards you, you take the time to interrupt one of his spells and while he's stunned, you hit him with a headshot and take him out. Maybe there's a ledge that's nearby and you can start pulling people off into the abyss. Every combat encounter can be approached and tackled in completely different ways. I think that unique aspect to it -- it's unlike anything I've ever played.

But because the game is first-person, does that limit or restrict how you structure combat in the sense of where enemies are placed?

Sure

Does that dictate enemies' overall behavior when combat takes place?

I think there's certainly an element of that that informs combat structure, but that hasn't stopped us from having flanking enemies and we sort of encourage situational awareness. The idea being that because you have these bevvy of spells at your disposal, you are capable of handling huge amounts of enemies at any given time. And so it's really on you as the player to recognize: "oh there's a threat coming from over here, I have to do something to neutralize this group to then turn and deal with this group."

A lot of that helps as our visual language and our HUD to inform the player when you're getting hit from the sides, or there's call-outs when you hear something from the side you go: "oh there's something going on over here." Or maybe a door opens and you hear that happening. A brute gives out a war cry. There's a couple of arenas where you're getting hit from all sides and that's where we force the player into: "OK, time to figure this out." You've got a problem in front of you and you're dealing with a real-time, fast-paced combat situation, how are you going to deal with it?

Immortals of Aveum Interview Screenshot 5

So the agency is still definitely with the player? You didn't want to go in thinking: "oh right, I've got to blatantly tell the player what to do." It's giving them visual cues and as you say, audible cues to work out how they want to tackle it?

Absolutely. In no situations do we want to hold the player's hand and tell them: "OK, you have to use this spell here and then that over there..." It's "figure it out." If you just want to sit with your simple blue bolt blast and just take out enemies that way, you can do it. It might take you a really long time and you might die a couple of times, but it's possible. It's never really forcing the player into a scenario, it's providing the paints for the canvas.

I'm glad you brought up the concept of visual language. When I saw this game for the first time, one of the details that I latched onto (and this is probably coming from personal preference), was the fact that the player's main tool, the Sigil, depending on the magic type equipped, alters its shape. That reminded me of the arm-cannon from Metroid Prime. I like how you've applied these very minor details -- which in gameplay terms have no real effect -- but it gives them a unique identity.

I think it's an accumulative effect. Individually that one piece might not make that much of a difference but you're building a complete picture. The way that works is on the fly, if maybe you don't remember which weapon you're on, the second it pops up, you'll get a little visual iconography to be like: "oh right, that's what this does."

It definitely works because when I was frantically shifting between magic types, I would look at the shape of the Sigil, going "OK, that's not the red type...oh that's it, because it's that shape."

Right, you don't have time to read what it says.

Immortals of Aveum Interview Screenshot 3

Talking specifically about the tone of the world, one of the things that was brought up during the presentation which caught my eye, was the names Lord of the Rings and the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe] brought up at the same time. On the surface, that's two very polarizing tones.

Absolutely.

Would it be fair to say Immortals is trying to find a happy-medium between the two?

I think it speaks more to the scope and scale of the story. What we're talking about here is a very cinematic, narrative-driven, single-player story. That starts from your main character being this orphan on the streets, to becoming this Battle Mage, to fully realizing his power and then stepping into the highest stakes game ever: the fate of the world. That's more where we're taking inspiration from and also the fantasy elements combined with hero stories.

This is a hero story; might not be a superhero in the convention of the MCU...and we're telling a number of those different stories at the same time. It's not just Jak's story, there's a suite of other characters that are very deep. These are not one-dimensional "I'm the general, I tell you what to do and that's all I do." There's a reason for this character to be who they are, there's motivation, that backstory comes out. There's a lot of story to tell here and to unpack here. I think that's where that epicness comes into play.

In terms of character writing and dialogue itself, would you say it lines up with this idea that they are taking this situation seriously? They're not making a joke, they're not making light of it. There are instances where, for example, Jak will say something that's a touch comical but at the end of the day, he's still taking this situation seriously?

I think the weight of the stakes is always present and I think that tone pervades throughout. If Sandrakk [Immortals' main antagonist] wins the Everwar and takes control of all magic, that's the end of their lives as they know them. That's a pretty big deal. But at the same time, these are still very human characters. And so you'll find throughout the story that it's not just this heavy, burdensome "DOOM, DOOM, DOOM!" drumbeat. But rather, it has its ups and downs.

There's victories, there's losses and then there's times where they come together. The tone, the message is there, but we try to make sure that we don't overburden and crush the player with that sort of weight.

Immortals of Aveum Interview Screenshot 2

It's more like an ebb and flow. To try and find that ideal balance between the two?

Absolutely. That's a very difficult needle to thread. And I think Bret and especially Michael -- the writer -- that's something they've been wrestling with for all these years. And they've done just a spectacular job with delivering that.

Has that been the most challenging aspect to get right in this game?

It's hard to say because it is such a unique undertaking. There's multiple facets to this game; if you approach it purely from the technical side -- being the first game to release on Unreal [Engine] 5.1 -- there's technical hurdles. Even though it's been an absolute joy working with them. Then also making sure we land the idea of a magic, first-person shooter. And then also making sure that that story hits. I would say, nothing else matters if the story doesn't land because otherwise it's just a vehicle for gameplay and that's not what we set out to do. So yeh, I would definitely say that that is the focus -- to make sure that cinematic, narrative campaign is immersive, it pulls you in and takes you on this wild ride all the way to its end.

Is there added pressure because you talk about being the first game to run on 5.1? Being a magic-shooter, a new studio, your debut game on top. It's pressure, but is it in a way exciting to try and tackle that and be the one to say "yep, we managed to ride it out and succeed"?

That's the attitude. You could let it crush you, but I think we're all such a seasoned group of professionals that we recognize this for the opportunity that it is. To have this vehicle to deliver on that is such a fantastic opportunity.