Torchlight

Perfect World Announces 2 Hour Free-Trial For Torchlight!

DoranM — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:38:28 GMT

Perfect World Entertainment has announced that players can now try out Torchlight for free! The two hour free trial version of Torchlight can be downloaded from the Perfect World portal at http://torchlight.perfectworld.com/. Once the trial time has expired, players can unlock the full version for US$19.99.

For more information or to download a trial version of Torchlight from the Perfect World portal, please visit http://torchlight.perfectworld.com

About Runic Games, Inc.

Runic Games is a developer of PC-based entertainment software, designing games that focus on quality, approachability, and fun. Runic Games is staffed by a team with experienced members, including leads on "Diablo," "Diablo II," "Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," "Fate," "Hellgate: London" and "Mythos." Runic Games is located in Seattle, Washington, United States.

About Perfect World Entertainment

Perfect World Entertainment, a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), publishes free-to-play, online games and provides online services in North America. The Company primarily publishes three-dimensional, or 3D, online games based on the Perfect World proprietary Angelica 3D game engine and game development platform. Perfect World Entertainment's goal is to provide North American users with perfectly polished gameplay, exceptional localization, the highest quality customer service, and an unparalleled online community experience.

For more information on Perfect World Entertainment visit http://www.perfectworld.com/about/aboutus

Curse Interviews Runic Games On Torchlight's Present and Future

Browncoat — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:36:49 GMT

Here at Curse we had an opportunity to sit down with Jason Beck (Art Director), Max Schaefer (CEO), and Travis Baldree (President/Project Lead) of Runic Games and catch up with them after the whirlwind release of their single player action RPG Torchlight. Torchlight has garnered a lot of love from the blogosphere as well as webcomic heavyweights such as Penny Arcade, for its old school Diablo-esque feel and fun gameplay. We wanted to find out how things have gone since the release as well as any future plans for this hot little title, so check out their answers below!

Curse: Let's start out by taking your temperature. Game releases are always hectic and insane. How are you guys feeling, post-release, about the reception of Torchlight?

Max Schaefer: Really good I'd say. You know, it's been a bit of a scramble since the start of the game - taking feedback, sitting on the forums, squashing little bugs here and there that you scramble to fix. The period after release is always incredibly hectic, but we've been really, really happy with the way people have responded so far.

Curse: It's fair to assume that Torchlight has garnered a fair amount of attention from bloggers and webcomics for its gameplay. What's been the most surprising or best reaction you've heard from around the 'Net so far?

Travis Baldree: Getting a Penny Arcade comic?

Max: Yeah. That was good...that was good.

Travis: We giggled like little girls.

Curse: I see that on the frontpage you have a nice little montage of the comics that have given you some love, and I can tell you guys are just as excited as they are for the game.

Max: Totally. And I think that's what's surprised us the most, is that people are responding to one of our main mission statements with the game - it's just to make something fun, and not to have too many pretenses, not try to be "this-killer" or "that-killer", but just make something fun. And I think people are responding to that really well.

Curse: I'm asking the obligatory "sell your game to our readers" question, but I'd like to hear your reasons from a more personal perspective as developers, rather than just the marketspeak we've already seen. That being said, answer the simple question, "What's the big deal about Torchlight?"

Travis: It's a game that we really enjoyed making, so we put a lot of love into it - and we hope the people see that that comes through and that they just have a good time playing it.

Max: Yeah, I think that's the main motivation for us was to make something that we enjoyed playing and again, not aimed at some sort of "marketing target" or another game out there - just make something that we wanted to play that we didn't think was well-represented in the marketplace...and I guess other people were looking for that too.

Curse: Do you really think the visual style of the game is something that helped draw in that target to get to with the game that you've got?

Jason Beck: We certainly hope so. Art styles are kind of a tricky thing. There's people that will have a very negative response to something that is kind of out of their comfort zone, but I think that what we've seen so far is that people have been pretty positive about the looks of the game and the fact that it runs really smooth. Hopefully it's something we've kind of hit a happy medium as far as appealing to people who aren't really into these types of games, but also something that's not entirely off-putting to established fans.

Curse: Give us a couple of things you've identified since release about the game that you're working on. How significant has the community of players been in identifying these?

Travis: They've been pretty active. We've got some ridiculous amount of posts in our forum for the past two weeks. We had an initial patch that went out, I think, Thursday night or early Friday, that included lots of little fixes for things people found as well as some hardware fixes that we did. We've still got reams and reams and reams of feedback to go through on all aspects of the game. People love to speculate on how things might be a little bit different.

Curse: One of the things that I said was "wow, the load times for these levels are long,", but I installed the (1.12) patch and I saw a great reduction in that.

Max: That was one of the big ones.

Travis: Yep, definitely.

Curse: Torchlight is a single player experience, but the whole design of the game practically screams multiplayer. You've said you're in the process of creating an online multiplayer action RPG in the future set in this world, so what do you think you will get out of the single player release that will help you develop that?

Travis: Well apart from the feedback we're going to be getting from players on everything from class balance to how the dungeons are handled, all the tools that we've used to build the single player are actually going to be used in the MMO. So it really wasn't a detour for us so much as it is a step on the road. It's been really useful already.

Jason: Yeah, and just from a creative standpoint, we saw the single player as essentially a small little bite-sized chunk of a world, and it's nice to be able to reserve bigger ideas and grander thoughts for an MMO. You can kind of have a nice little test run with it in the single player game, and get people's reactions, and just sort of build on it from there.

Curse: Obviously, the whole Torchlight experience is evocative of Diablo, for those that have played. While this is good in many aspects, how do you feel you have carved a unique identity for Torchlight, now and in the future?

Max: Well, it's definitely in the genre of Diablo, and the control schemes are the same, much like traditional MMOs use the WASD movement and free-look with the mouse, and first-person shooters have their control schemes that are very common between them.

I think that we've carved out a different style - certainly in contrast to Diablo. Diablo is a very gothic, very somber, very serious game, andTorchlight is more of a rollicking adventure sort of thing that doesn't quite take itself so seriously. So I just think through style, and through polish and some little extra features here and there, we definitely are trying to give Torchlight its own identity.

Curse: One of the things that struck me when I started playing was stylistically it was just different (from Diablo), and the movement was smoother...you just keep going with it. It's definitely got that "Diablo but on crack" kind of way about it.

Max: Yeah, there were some of those mechanics from Diablo that we brought over - constant rewards that keeps you going and going.

Curse: ...but yet one of the new features was that whole "sending your pet to town to sell" thing, because all the mobs explode loot. That's a great addition and I hope more games adopt something like that in the future.

Max: That's definitely something that's proven to be popular among fans.

Curse: Torchlight's including the level editor, and you've already seen some player-created mod content. How are you planning on encouraging and fostering the community of Torchlight editors out there?

Travis: Well, we'll be spending a lot of time in the forums. Actually we're hoping to release the editor sometime today (editor's note: it's out as of 11/10/09, and you can get the editor as a free download). We've already had mods from the get-go. We released a big asset pack that includes a lot of the raw art from the game, so we included all our original 3D Studio Max files. All the characters, all their wardrobes, all their animations, full tilesets, weapons monsters. So we want to give them as much raw material for them to work with as we can.

Curse: As you know Curse has a big modding community for a variety of other games, so to hear that you guys are going to be there with them from the get-go is awesome.

Max: Well, one thing we aren't going to be doing is hosting mods, because we're a very small studio, very small group of guys, and to have to review everything people are making so that it isn't violating copyright is not really tenable for a studio like us. So what we're doing is working closely with a couple of fansites who have set up big mod databases and they're basically going to carry the weight for us with that. But we'll be working with them a lot just to make sure that it's as good as it can be and that people are having as good of an experience with it as possible.

Curse: How can your community best give you feedback and thoughts about the game?

Travis: Well, we're really active in the forums, so the forums are a great way to go. I don't know how many posts I've clocked in the last two or three days, but it's at least 300. We're super-active in them, we try and read everything as much as humanly active.

Max: They're basically our best communication line to our fans.

Jason: As we move into the MMO, we'll be trying to get a beta going as quickly as we can, so that's a great way for people to jump in there.

Curse: What's coming down the pipe in the future for Torchlight? Anything you can tease or reveal at this time?

Max: Well, we've pretty launched into making the MMO version of the game, now, and while we do that, we might make some assets here and there that might trickle down to the single player guys. Also, I know some guys in the office like to play around with mods too, so some of the mods you might see available at the fansites will probably be generated by some of our guys. Those are basically the only firm plans. We don't have any firm plans right now for a specific expansion, or another sellable thing of any kind, but we'll see how things go - not ruling that out either.

Curse: What are the developers looking forward to the most, now that Torchlight is out and it's received so much praise?

Jason: A nap.

Max: A nap, royalty checks, things like that. *laughter*. But hey, we'd also like to have a little time to check out Dragon Age (Origins),Borderlands, things like that that have come out at the same time we've come out that we haven't had a chance to play. We came out at a crowded time!

Thanks again to Jason, Max, and Travis from Runic for taking time out to talk about Torchlight! Be sure to check it out at the Torchlight website if you haven't yet - it's a title you don't want to miss.

Torchlight Announces Official Release!

DoranM — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:42:55 GMT

Torchlight will officially release today and is obtainable at the Torchlight Website! If you've missed the fanfare surrounding Torchlight now is your chance to get caught up!

Torchlight Background

The team is made up of industry veterans including Max and Erich Schaefer, two of the co-founders of Blizzard North, developers of Diablo and Diablo II, Travis Baldree, the project director for Mythos and creator of FATE, and many other talented individuals.

Torchlight is set in a mining-turned-boomtown situated above a recently-discovered vein of rich magical ore. The ore is a potent substance that can be harnessed to grant the wielder great power, but by the same token imperils the lives of all those around them. There's lots of underworld caverns and creatures to test your abilities and there seems to be a brighter overtone to the game despite the screenshots taking place underground (go lava!).

Recently, several big baddies have been coming out from the darkness under the town. Players will choose from among three character classes, and venture from the safety of the town of Torchlight into randomly generated dungeon levels, with a huge variety of creepy monsters, endless variations of loot to find, and quests to complete. The endless randomization ensures a long-lived gameplay experience.

Here's a look at the three available classes and their introduction into Torchlight:

The Alchemist:
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The Vanquisher:
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The Destroyer:
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Torchlight Screenshots

Playing Torchlight

We were fortunate enough to have been able to play this game before release date. We had time to experiment with each class and have spent hours exploring beneath the city. Here's a list of some of the things you might enjoy in Torchlight:

Randomization – Levels are randomly created, so it never gets boring. By randomly creating a level it's really a different experience each time you play. Monsters will attack you from different locations, treasures and puzzles will hold the same intrigue and difficulty when tracking them down, and items will drop randomly as you face off against different monsters in different locations on different maps every time.
Very Simple Interface – The interface is very intuitive, if you've ever looked at a computer screen before you're going to find this a snap to pickup and start playing.
Retirement System – As you rank your character up and train them you're given the option to retire that character and give NEW characters that you create certain benefits learned from the old character. This ads a whole new level of strategy when you retire your Alchemist to play something else.
Pets – In Torchlight players can have pets that will battle alongside them. Pets can fight with you, hold things, and help you on your journey in a number of ways. It's a comforting feeling having them there with you, and they AI for pets is developed very well.
Customization – As soon as you start playing you begin to differentiate your character from other characters of the same class. With a pet, treasure drops, and other cosmetic choices you have a unique character after your first few dungeon crawls.
Map Editor – Runic Games has embraced the modding community by including an editor so that allows players to design and share content. Creating your own maps and then powering through them is really a blast.

Torchlight should stand out as the only smash'n'bash game with this level of detail and replay ability in recent history. To find out how you can pickup a copy of Torchlight visit their official website at: http://torchlight.perfectworld.com.

Torchlight Announces Pre-Orders Before Oct 27th Release Date!

DoranM — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:33:47 GMT

Torchlight pre-orders are now available at the Perfect World website! Anyone who pre-orders will be entered to win a specially signed Torchlight poster! If you haven't had a chance to see Torchlight in action visit our Torchlight News section for several articles and videos!

Here's a look at the pre-order announcement:

October 20, 2009 – Redwood City, CA – Perfect World Entertainment, Inc, a wholly owned US subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), today announced that it will be distributing Runic Games’ upcoming single-player version of its action-RPG, Torchlight for PC. Preorders will be available on the Perfect World Entertainment portal at http://torchlight.perfectworld.com/.

Along with being one of the first to download the game for US$19.99 on October 27, preorders will be entered to win limited edition Torchlight posters signed by Runic Games’ CEO, Max Schaefer and co-founder, Erich Schaefer. The Schaefer brothers are best known for co-founding Blizzard North and for their work on bringing Diablo and Diablo II to life.

Here's a look at the most recent Torchlight screenshots:

Torchlight New Dev Diary and "Pillow Fight" Trailer Released!

DoranM — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:50 GMT

The folks over at Torchlight have sent us a recent update about the game and included a new promotional "Pillow Fight" trailer and a dev diary! Torchlight releasing on October 27th and retail for $19.99. It can be downloaded from the Perfect World website!

Here's a look at the latest developer diary and pillow fight trailer from the folks at Torchlight:

Torchlight Dev Diary # 2

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The Pillow Fight Trailer:

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Torchlight Level Editor Videos Released!

DoranM — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:41:28 GMT

Runic Games is releasing the dungeon-smasher Torchlight this month and has sent us three videos highlighting the powerful development tools that will allow players to create their own dungeons and content! The creators of the game are some of the same people that brought us Diablo, Diablo II and Fate.

Torchlight is coming Oct. 27th and will be downloadable via the Perfect World website!

Here's a look at the development tools for Torchlight:

Editor Video #1:
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Editor Video #2:
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Editor Video #3:
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Torchlight Reveals First Ever Trailer Of Alchemist Class!

DoranM — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:56:23 GMT

Torchlight has revealed the the first ever trailer for the character class "The Alchemist"! Torchlight releases in October, and will be available for digital download via the Perfect World Torchlight page. Torchlight has announced that they will be launching October 27th and will be fully downloadable for $19.99!

Here's more on The Alchemist and a look at the latest release video for this exciting new game:

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PAX 2009 Torchlight Character Class Reveal: The Vanquisher

DoranM — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:23:22 GMT

At PAX 2009 Torchlight revealed the last character class "The Vanquisher" and showcased the below video! Torchlight releases in October, and will be available for digital download via the Perfect World Torchlight page Here's more on the vanquisher and a look at the latest release video for this exciting new game:

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Here's more information on the Vaquisher:

Part of an ancient order dedicated to justice and bringing balance to the world, the Vanquisher was sent out to Torchlight to investigate the mysterious slayings and missing town folks. Unknown to her, the darkness below the small town of Torchlight runs far deeper than the mines beneath. As an expert marksman, the Vanquisher is able to take enemies from afar as well as use traps to confuse and deliberate her foes from all directions.
The flow of Ember and the darkness below will test the Vanquisher’s skill and conviction to the fullest.

Torchlight Release Date and Price Announced At PAX!

DoranM — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:11:15 GMT

Torchlight has announced at PAX that they will be launching October 27th and will be fully downloadable for $19.99! Torchlight was on display at PAX over the weekend and we had the opportunity to check out several of the classes and run through the levels.

There are three playable classes: Destroyer, Alchemist, and Vanquisher. Each of these classes has several unique abilities for smashing, zapping, and piercing their opponents. Levels are randomly created so each adventure is unique. Monsters, treasure, puzzles and items are also different each time you play the game!

We were able to get some hands-on time with the Destroyer class. He's a powerful berserker who specializes in close-ranged combat

Here's the description for the Destroyer class:

The Destroyer

An endless wanderer, who is drawn to conflict with his dual-welding blades, was led to Torchlight after hearing of the evils befallen it. Through channeling the power of his ancestors, the Destroyer excels at close-quarter combat and is able to smite his foes with such ferocity as to easily dispatch multiple enemies at once. With a strong sense of virtue, the Destroyer sets out to deal justice with his blades, but things may not be as simple in Torchlight as they appear.

With a darkness rising to cloud the Destroyer’s judgment, only time will tell whether or not the draw of Ember will tempt his soul into corruption.

Video of the Destroyer class in action:

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Here's a look at the final Torchlight Teaser Trailer:
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For more information on the game visit the Torchlight website!

Torchlight Interview With Lead Composer and New Screenshots!

DoranM — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:32:18 GMT

We were recently able to sit down with Matt Uelmen, a composer for the upcoming game Torchlight, to talk about his influences and how Torchlight has taken shape with music. We've also released three exclusive screenshots of the game, coming later this year, that show some of the dark caverns and areas that the game's known for!

Here's a look the Matt Uelmen Interview about Composing fo Torchlight:

1. Tell us about your musical background – how long have you been a musician, what instruments did you play, and what led you to composing?

One of my siblings was taking piano lessons in the house more or less from birth, I started around 5 or 6. I picked up the guitar at 13. I've always enjoyed studying music.

2. Music and games: were you always a gamer? When did you know that composing for video games was the perfect job for you?

I loved the coin-op classics from the golden age like asteroids, pac-man, elevator action, dig-dug, pole position etc. I also enjoyed many apple II games and was lucky enough to have a neighbor with most of the atari 2600 library. I think I finally felt like I really belonged in the business when I wrote the track which became the opening interior in "Diablo" sometime in spring 1996.

3. What was your first gig like composing for games? Tell us how that initial experience went, and what you learned from it.

My first experience working on games was working on a Sega Genesis title - "Justice League: Task Force" - with most of the core team that would make "Diablo" a year later. It was a tremendous experience in many ways - we built a team, cultivated a great relationship with Blizzard (which was working on the SNES version of the title), and, personally, I took a regular beating from the producer, which was very good for toughening me up at 22.

4. Who are your biggest influences or idols in the music world?

I'm using some Scriabin in the current tracks for the game and when I have the luxury of putting more time into a track, I like to try to explore the area between tonal and atonal approaches. In my high school years, I would probably name something like the second disc of Prince's 1999 as being in the 'idol' category. The way he could spin so many variations on the same chord and do it on seven different instruments was and is amazing.

5. What came first, the score or the story? How does the game you’re working on affect the music you write, or vice versa?

The pacing and context of the gameplay itself is almost all of what inspires the score.

6. What is special about Torchlight to you, from a composer’s perspective, and how has that influenced the music?

Well, it is hard to think of that in the past tense, since I still need to write the first interior and town music! Torchlight has had fun, tight gameplay since last winter, when it was just the Destroyer, skeletons and maybe 3 other monster types. That enough makes it special - there should be plenty of games for the PC which are easily accessible, with intuitive controls and fast action, not buggy and really more about the gameplay than an overblown cinematic or movie tie-in. Oddly enough, despite something like a half billion PCs or more potentially being on the planet in coming years, there aren't.

7. What games are you playing at the moment that you love? And similarly, what are you listening to lately that you’d recommend?

I really enjoyed the new Total War game, and finished a few single player campaigns. Because my work usually involves audio, I actually don't get a chance to listen to too much of it as a recreational thing. Like many other people, I just try to sneak in youtube tracks which I like in between work. So many legendary live performances are up there, and you could spend months catching up.

Torchlight Screenshots, Official Trailer, and Key Features List!

DoranM — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:06:32 GMT

Torchlight is a new game being developed by Runic Games and being published by Perfect World. It is being developed in Seattle team by a veteran team composed of the designers and leads of projects like Diablo, Diablo II, Mythos, and Fate. We had a chance to play the game at E3 and it was incredibly fun with lots of details and much more to come before the game is released this fall. Runic Games will initially release Torchlight as a standalone Single Player game, Torchlight will be released in the latter part of 2009 as a download or in box. Following the single player release, work will commence on a fully-featured MMO version.

Here's a look at some recently released screenshots for the game:

Here's a look at the exclusive Torchlight Trailer:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Here are some of the unique features of Torchlight:

Single Player Version

Players will choose from among three character classes, and venture from the safety of the town of Torchlight into randomly generated dungeon levels, with a huge variety of creepy monsters, endless variations of loot to find, and quests to complete. The endless randomization ensures a long-lived gameplay experience.

11.0pt; KEY FEATURES

Randomization – Our level layouts are randomly created, so each adventure is unique. Monsters, treasures, puzzles, and items are also different each time you embark on an adventure.
Easy, approachable interface – Torchlight is designed to be easy to play right from the beginning. The intuitive interface gives players easy access to a rich and varied world.
Retirement System 10.0pt; – Once characters are sufficiently leveled up, they can “retire” and bestow specific benefits and perks to new characters.
Pets – Players will choose a pet to accompany them. Pets can level up along with the player, and will help in battle, carry items, and perform a variety of helpful services.
Character Classes 10.0pt; – 10.0pt; font-family: Microsoft Sans Serif; color: black"> Players will create and customize a character from one of three classes available, and choose an animal companion . Through cosmetic choices, skill path decisions, and the treasures they acquire, each character will be custom-tailored and different.
Fishing – Players can take a break from the high-energy pace of adventuring to visit one of the fishing holes and relax and see what they can catch. Fish have interesting benefits for the player and pet, and other rewards can also be discovered
Included Editor – Runic Games is embracing our modding community by including an editor so our players can create and design their own content.

MMO Version

The Torchlight MMO expands on virtually every aspect of gameplay. While maintaining the fast-paced Action RPG gameplay style, Torchlight will introduce many traditional MMO features and an expansive world. Like the other Perfect World-published MMOs, Torchlight will be “Free-To-Play.” Players can earn and spend money to upgrade a large variety of items to enhance their game play experience through an in-game item shop.

Published by Perfect World, the Torchlight MMO will offer a rich social environment where players can adventure together in a contiguous over world environment with many different dungeon types to explore. Populated by a diverse and colorful set of vendors, quest-givers, and town elders, players will learn about the rich lore and history of Torchlight and the surrounding Ember veins, and set off on quests and adventures that reveal the secrets, dangers, and long history of the magical substance.

The release date for the Torchlight MMO is yet to be determined.

KEY MMO ADDITIONS

Expansive World 10.0pt;– Large overland areas and deep, randomly generated dungeons offer a variety of exploration and adventuring opportunities.
Customization – The level of character customization is upped significantly in the MMO, with more class choices, looks, and options which allow a truly personalized character.
Territory Wars – Torchlight will take advantage of precedent set by other Perfect World MMOs and offer weekly battles for territory, with winners receiving significant rewards.
Mounts – Large variety of mounts to assist in navigating the world.
PvP – Torchlight will give PvP fans a variety of constructs to determine just who the mightiest warrior in the land is.
Social Features – Marriage systems, buddy lists, chat features, and world events will all create a rich social environment never before seen in an action MMO.

Introducing: Torchlight Coming Fall 2009 - We've Got Exclusive Screenshots!

DoranM — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:30:55 GMT

We just received an update on a new title being released this fall called Torchlight. The game will originally launch as a single player game and be playable online when the MMO version of the game launches in 2010.We'll be taking an in-depth look at this game at E3 and posting more details as we get them!

Runic Games is hard at work on its upcoming title "Torchlight," having just announced a publishing deal with Perfect World, the leading online game developer in China. Torchlight will be a single-player action-RPG, with a subsequently released MMO to be published by Perfect World. The game is set in a mining-turned-boomtown situated above a recently-discovered vein of rich magical ore. The ore is a potent substance that can be harnessed to grant the wielder great power, but by the same token imperils the lives of all those around them.

Runic Games has a unique history for a start-up--the team of 14 all signed on following Flagship Seattle's closure last year, and has since added several key team members. Previously working on Mythos, an action-RPG MMO, they elected to stay together to continue developing a similar title. The Runic Games team is made up of industry veterans including Max and Erich Schaefer, two of the cofounders of Blizzard North, developers of Diablo and Diablo II, Travis Baldree, the project director for Mythos and creator of FATE, and many other talented individuals.

Torchlight stays close to the fast-paced, randomized, and accessible roots of the developers' previous titles. Work on the MMO will be underway following the release of the single- player game due out this year, and will build upon the gameplay and lore developed for the single-player title.