Is there permadeath in the game?Fredrik Ulvmoen, Game Designer:
Yes! The non-hero characters who make up most of your war band will die permanently. However, reaching zero health points does not necessarily equate to death. Once a unit reaches zero health, they are “At the Gates of Valhalla,” their fates now in the hands of the gods. While in this state, units push beyond their normal limits to continue fighting at great risk of injury or even death.
Hero characters can also enter this state, but in the unfortunate case that they die, the current mission will have to be restarted, as you will not be able to continue the story without them. If a unit survives a mission after having entered this state, they receive an injury. Injuries range from debilitating effects that reduce their effectiveness in combat to severe injuries that take them out of commission for a duration and may leave permanent disfigurements that give the unit new traits.
Allowing units to fight on with an increasing chance of death with every incoming hit adds an additional layer of risk and reward, as well as giving the player some leeway when it comes to character deaths. A situation is still salvageable even if mission-critical or favorite characters end up in a tough spot.
In-between combat and exploration, players will return to their settlement, where they can govern and interact with key facets of your village, like the local blacksmith. What does this additional mechanic add to the experience of Norse?
Ulvmoen: The player settlement serves as a hub where players manage their warriors and commission new equipment and upgrades. Interacting with the workers in the settlement is how players gain new equipment. These interactions with craftsmen such as Torsten the Blacksmith take place through an interface that combines dialogue and crafting. While queuing the weapons and equipment they want crafted, players will get to know the characters of the village, gain insight into their thoughts on the state of their world, and the player’s own progress through the game.
This creates a sense of community in which players can build up from a single farmhouse to the thriving settlement their favorite characters call home. Our dynamic characters will comment on the outcome of the last raid, lament the loss of fallen warriors, complain about their workload, or perhaps even be unavailable due to being drunk or otherwise indisposed.
Furthermore, combining these elements with seasonal ceremonies, disputes among inhabitants, and settlement-wide decrees which impact various aspects of the game, we aim to create a hub that not only provides a respite between missions, but also stands as an exciting feature in its own right, one that players will eagerly look forward to returning to.
One of the interesting facets of combat is the use of Glima, a type of Nordic folk wrestling. Why did the team decide to include this unique combat style?
Ulvmoen: Because we focus largely on melee combat, we felt Glima would make a great addition, not only visually and mechanically because of its unique abilities, but it also gives the game an aspect of a less widely represented piece of Nordic culture. We’ve been through several iterations of Glima, experimenting with how best to represent the wrestling style within our combat system, ranging from overly complicated minigames, to simpler abilities. In its current form, it lands somewhere in-between, being simple and easy to understand, whilst still adding an additional layer of strategy to consider when using abilities.
When activated, Glima abilities have an initial success chance and allow the player to spend action points to make additional attempts with increasing chances of success. These abilities can have effects at the start, during attempts, on failure, and on success; it gives us a lot of flexibility to simulate the wrestling style. This design approach not only allows us to capture the essence of Glima, but also provides an engaging gameplay mechanic. One which both internal testing and initial user feedback has deemed an exciting addition to Norse.
Source: Unreal Engine Blog