runic-games posts

One of the most important parts of any good action RPG are the monsters you slaughter. After all, if you fight the same old skeletons and oozes and imps, all that loot grinding can get a bit tedious! Runic has revealed some of the new monster designs for Torchlight 2 on the game's site, and they are rather impressive. The one to the left is one of our person favorites: dwarven automata.

They have also promised to reveal more information about the game every other week until E3 as well, meaning that we will soon get more than just monster pictures and backstories. We personally hope that they reveal the history of the world soon, since Torchlight got us quite interested!

Torchlight II was first announced with a "spring" or a "first half of 2011" release date time frame with the action-RPG sequel was also announced. Now it looks like the Runic Games-developed sequel won't make that release date window and is now targeting a time period sometime in July.

According to Digital Spy, Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer is blaming the team's work on the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade port of the original Torchlight as the reason for the delay for Torchlight II for the PC. However he added that some of the improvements and optiminaztion for the Xbox Live Arcade port will make its way into Torchlight II, saying, "We've got load times down, we've got some animation stuff that's a little bit better, and it's feeling really good right now."

[Via Blue's News]

The biggest new feature in Torchlight II, compared to the original game in the action-RPG series, is multiplayer support. In a new interview at VG247.com Max Schaefer, the co-founder of the game's developer Runic Games, says that co-op mode will be included, adding, "The sweet spot, just from playing in the office, is 1-4 players.

That doesn't mean the game can't handle more than four players, however. Schaefer admits, "There's no technological reason why we can't increase that, but once you get up to, like, eight players, it gets ridiculously crowded if you're at all in the same area." Schaefer says the team hasn't yet decided on what the final version will support saying, "It'll probably be between four and eight." Torchlight II, due out this spring, will also have a PvP mode but he says it's mainly just for kicks, saying, "We're not going to spend any time trying to really balance it very well [laughs], or make particular games for it."

One year ago today, the folks at start-up game developer Runic Games released Torchlight, a downloadable fantasy action-RPG that was created by some of the folks behind Blizzard's first two Diablo games. Torchlight was a huge success for the developer; last August it revealed to Gamasutra that it has sold "well over" 600,000 copies.

That sales number is about to get even bigger. To celebrate the first anniversary of Torchlight's release, the developer is selling the game for just $10, a 50 percent discount, on its web site from now until 11 am Eastern time on Friday. And of course the team is working on Torchlight 2 which is due out sometime in 2011.

It's been well over two years since Blizzard first officially announced its plans for releasing Diablo 3, yet the third game in the popular action-RPG franchise seems no closer to its actual release than when it was first announced. In fact, a third game from another action-RPG franchise might be released before Blizzard's title.

Runic Games, formed in part by former Blizzard team members, launched its downloadable action-RPG title Torchlight in late 2009 to solid sales and critical response and a sequel, Torchlight 2, is already set for a spring 2011 release. However when asked by our sister site Joystiq if a possible Torchlight 3 could come out before Diablo 3, Runic Games' co-founder Max stated Schaefer, "I really think we will, I'm not joking about it."

Schaefer said the small size of the Runic Games team means that they could bring out a third title in the series before Blizzard finally releases Diablo 3. Still Schaefer says he doesn't envy the Diablo 3 development team in the least, saying, "Everything has to be super epic. More epic than anything that's come before, more epic than World of Warcraft. They have to do that. It puts them in a really tough spot, I don't envy them. It has to be perfect."

It should be noted that Torchlight 3 has yet to be officially announced and that Runic Games have stated that once Torchlight 2 has been completed the dev team plans to start working again on their previous announced MMO title set in Torchlight's fictional universe.

Torchlight was one of our favorite games of 2009, and a contender for game of the year as well. An independent title made by refugees from the Diablo development team, it blew us away with its visual charm and gameplay depth. However, it lacked multiplayer, which was the only crippling omission in such a brilliant hack'n'slash title. Developer Runic Games is correcting that with Torchlight 2, as this trailer shows so plainly.

There are two really interesting bits in this Gamescom trailer. First is that Runic Games actually read the criticism directed at the original game, both from fans and professionals. It's always good to know your opinions are getting heard. While this part of the trailer is hardly flashy, it's still satisfying. The other important part is the display of all the new features they've packed into Torchlight 2, such as outdoor environments, multiplayer co-op, and all those flashy graphics you know and love.

Download HD Torchlight 2 Gamescom Trailer (25 MB)
Check out all Torchlight 2 downloads

There's been some debate recently over just how big the market is for downloadable PC games in comparison to copies sold in retail stores. One study said downloadable copies of PC games have almost caught up with retail sales while another stated that retail sales still hold the vast majority of PC game units.

In a new chat at Gamasutra, Runic Games' CEO Max Schaefer stated that sales of its fantasy action-RPG Torchlight are now "well over" 600,000 units. However sales for the downloadable version of the game have topped the boxed copies by a ratio of almost four to one. Those numbers might be affected by the fact that Torchlight started as a downloadable game first, in October 2009, with a retail release coming a few months later in January 2010. Sales of Torchlight have trailed off by 10 percent every week, according to Schaefer but adds, "It still sells like crazy every time it goes on sale." The developer just announced plans for a sequel, Torchlight II, that is scheduled for a downloadable release in spring of 2011.

Big Download just got off the phone with Runic Games' PR head Wonder Russell who gave us a little more info on today's surprise announcement of Torchlight II, the sequel to 2009's sleeper hit action-RPG game. Russell told us that while the developer isn't yet ready to release screenshots of Torchlight II, she did confirm that a playable version of the game will be on display at Gamescom in Germany later this month and also at PAX Prime 2010 in Seattle in early September.

Russell also confirmed to us that the previously announced plans for a Torchlight-based free-to-play MMO game have been delayed as the development team at Runic Games is now working sole on Torchlight II. Russell said that the MMO project will be back up to speed once Torchlight II is completed.

In a little bit of a surprise, developer Runic Games has announced plans to release Torchlight II, the sequel to their critically acclaimed fantasy action-RPG. The original game sold more than 500,000 copies but many thought Runic Games' next project would be a free-to-play MMO based on Torchlight's fantasy world.

Instead Torchlight II, due for release as a digital download in spring 2011, will be a direct sequel to the original's fantasy action-RPG with the addition of co-op online multiplayer via a free matchmaking service. The game will also feature four customizable player character, new quests, new monsters and even a new feature allowing for characters to own pets.

It's no secret that developer Runic Games plans to follow up the success of their downloadable action-RPG Torchlight with an MMO that's set in the same fictional fantasy world. PCGamer's web site reveals, via Runic's president Travis Baldree, that the development team wants the MMO to play "as close to single player as we can get it.:" The title will be free to play but will support microtransactions for its revenue source.

The microtransaction business model is certainly gaining more and more supporters from both developers and players but oddly enough Baldree won't be participating in his own game's business plan, saying, "I will never, ever buy a microtransaction item. I'm that kind of player. And the game has to be enjoyable for me, too."