Masters of the Broken World Q&As, Screenshots, and Concept Art

It’s been awhile since I checked in on the progress that Unicorn Games is making with their “non-linear” turn-based strategy/RPG Masters of the Broken World, and it looks like there’s been a flurry of activity on their official Facebook page in recent weeks. Not only have they treated us to the very first overland and city screenshots from the game, but they’ve also released some character portraits and concept art, an assortment of “screenshot stories” that begin here, and two Q&As with lead designer Alexey Bokulev (here and here). An excerpt from each Q&A:

3) The 2D prototype that you developed since 2007 was eventually made available for the general public in 2009 (under the name of Eador), and it was even released in Russia as a retail edition in 2010. When did you begin working on the current version, Masters of the Broken World, which is what we may call a ‘˜modern re-make’ of that prototype?

Development of the re-make began in the beginning of 2010. We started discussing the possibility of a re-make at the end of 2009 with Snowball and Snowberry, and then the actual contract was signed in Q1 2010. It took me three years to develop the original game and I think it will take us also three years to finish the re-make, we’re looking at 2012 release date at the moment.

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2) You mentioned in one of your interviews that one specific thing about this game is roleplay. What do you mean by that? And how does the karma system work in the game?

The main principle of karma is that everything you do influences it. And by everything I mean everything, like selecting an answer in a game event, constructing a bulding, making a spell, or hiring a warrior. Roleplay in Masters of the Broken World is the way you make your decisions. You choose your way of development and how you will govern your people, whether you make them work till they drop or help them as much as you can. And there is no right way and no wrong way, any way you pick may lead to victory or defeat.

And the peoples of Eador think of you depending on where your karma balance leans. The kind races are prone to entering into alliance with a kind ruler, warriors with sinful souls are happy to serve the dark lord and so on. Besides, karma defines your relationships with other rulers as each has their own karma and their own views.