Avowed Game Director Carrie Patel has appeared on the latest episode of the Dropped Frames podcast hosted by itmeJP and CohhCarnage to talk about the upcoming first-person action RPG.
First of all, she confirmed Obsidian Entertainment is not only aware of the feedback regarding the combat shown last month in the Developer Direct, but they were already planning to improve it so that it would feel more impactful.
We’re getting to share more and more, but all of that is while the game is still in progress, obviously. One of the heartening things has been seeing fans call out some of the things that we are actively working on, like the sense of hitting and impacts as you’re attacking enemies. It’s like yep, what y’all saw was still a few weeks behind where we were even when that footage was released just because of the nature of the way these things are put together, and the team’s been working on it, so it’s kind of nice to always say like, yep, they saw it, we know it. Trust us; we’re working on it.
Patel also confirmed that background choices made during character creation will affect certain dialogue options available to players in Avowed.
There are some decisions you can make about your character at the very beginning that are going to have some mechanical impacts as well as some roleplay impacts. One thing you might have noticed in this video is when the player is talking to Nauki near the end of the quest, there’s an option with a particular icon next to it and that’s background-locked. That means because the player picked a particular background on character creation, we’re assuming that they have certain aptitudes, experiences, etc., that let them speak to what they’re saying right then. Players of Pillars of Eternity will recognize that there were various options you could choose at character creation that would sometimes open these opportunities up. Some of them are going to be about creating the character who kind of looks and feels the way you want them to, and then some of them will open certain doors for roleplaying.
Patel shared additional information on the game throughout the interview:
- There are no mini-games in Avowed
- The game features a day/night cycle, but it doesn’t affect gameplay
- There are no mounts, although some gear may affect movement speed and there are some movement abilities like charge
- Magic won’t be limited to wands; grimoires are an option, too
- While skill trees are classless, it will be possible to specialize in more classic archetypes
- Companions in Avowed have skill trees, too, although they are more limited
- There is a weapon upgrade system
- Once again, Obsidian reiterates that the scope will be similar to The Outer Worlds.
Avowed is targeting a Fall 2024 launch on PC and Xbox Series S|X. Although, according to the latest rumors, Microsoft might be on the verge of going multiplatform. If that’s truly the case, Obsidian’s upcoming action RPG may also launch on other consoles in the future.
