Alpha: Survivors of Ragnarok
Arguably one of the best aspects of indie game development is watching how a project matures from its alpha state into a full release that is ready to play. The transformation of Minecraft over the past two years or so has captivated the world as notch has improved upon the game to give us something that is highly enjoyable. The guys at French Rice Games have a concept on their hands that is worthy of attention, even at this alpha stage.
Dubbed Survivors of Ragnarök, the game is a 2D Dwarf Fortress inspired game that seems as though it will bridge the gap between those who want to get into playing Dwarf Fortress but are extremely off-put by the graphics or the control scheme. While correcting Dwarf Fortress with a tileset is certainly an option (and one path I’ve taken myself), the control scheme for the game is terribly convoluted to the point that it is almost inaccessible except for the most dedicated of players.
The alpha for Survivors of Ragnarök contains a much more friendly interface with awesome pixel art that should combine to make an interesting game indeed. Since the guys released an alpha this week, I contacted the team to ask a few questions of my own, as I was curious as to what direction the game would take over the course of the next year.
Ashley: You say you’re striving for a 2D Dwarf Fortress feel, which I absolutely love. However, will you be going with some of the same complexities that are available in Dwarf Fortress, such as having farms for your dwarves, as well as other specialized professions?
Genel: Yes we plan on having the same complexity as DF. I’m not entirely sure if I can talk about this right now but what the hell. We plan on each dwarf having it’s own individual stats when it comes to farming, fighting, mining, crafting, etc. Dwarves with greater stats in said area will be top priority in completing tasks such farming, mining, and fighting off the occasional goblin.
Ashley: I think I read somewhere that you’ll be able to jump into a body of a single dwarf and control his movements. Is that permanently? Does that dwarf become the leader of the whole group?
Genel: Because we draw heavy inspiration on Dwarf Fortress we plan on creating an adventure mode. You will be able to explore the ruins of destroyed bastions of old, scour the land for wealth and fortune, and occasionally attack a chicken. As for being able to control a dwarf during a normal game we do not have plans for it. However it does sound like an interesting idea. You can and will be able to promote a dwarf leader however.
Ashley: Will their be immigrants to the new settlement and will there be multiple soil types, or are you going for a more Minecraft feel in terms of terrain simplicity?
Genel: As your fortress expands in scale it will start attracting more dwarfs and traders. In terms of soil as for now there is dirt and sand. We however plan on expanding on this concept however it is not on the top of our to do list.
If you’re interested in checking out the newly released alpha version of Survivors of Ragnarok, you can download it from the SoR IndieDB page. The current alpha that has been released is basically a technical demo that displays how the dwarves will pathfind to various resources such as food and water. There is no building or gaming concept unless you consider a dwarf climbing a mountain to get to a piece of cooked chicken an epic game. However, even with this bare bones technical alpha, you should definitely give these guys a follow on IndieDB so you can keep up with their progress.
