I’ve always enjoyed fantasy settings — I read Lord of the Rings, Shannara, Xanth, and many similar books when I was younger. I’ve played a good share of RPGs, both on the tabletop and on the computer. Dungeons & Dragons has provided me a wealth of experiences over the years.
Though I don’t always have the patience for it, Civilization-style games have always interested me as well. In these, you can craft an empire, expanding your reach and allying with or exterminating your neighbors.
A game I played a lot was Heroes of Might and Magic (mainly 1 through 3). What’s neat about this series is that it’s less of a traditional 4X game and more like a strategy + RPG hybrid. You have individual heroes that can gain experience and level up, and you explore the map to pick up treasure and fight monsters (and other players).
HoMM is sort of the foundation I’m working from for Realms (working title), a turn-based strategy game that tries to capture that feeling of excitement and exploration as you take on the role of a hero exploring and conquering the world.
I love creating stories, whether they’re written directly or they emerge naturally from a game system. And I love creating worlds. This game should have plenty of both.
Freeciv screenshot by Nybygger at English Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0. HoMM 3 screenshot from gog.com.
