We talk to several members of the Visionary Realms team to get the skinny on Pantheon

Salim Grant, Director of Development

Vanguard's launch suffered from some performance and technical issues at launch, which some would say really hurt its chances for success. What's different now in your approach to engineering to avoid similar issues?

I think the biggest difference is in the tech we are using and how we are approaching scope. Vanguard just got too big and as a result some things suffered; one of them being performance. We want to understand the relationship of scope to team members and manage that much better. 

Fellow Kickstarter brethren Cloud Imperium has taken the tact that high-end PC hardware will be required to play their game Star Citizen. What are your hardware goals for Pantheon to deliver the experience you envision?

We want to find a balance between a great looking game and platform proliferation. Using Unity gives us a big headstart in that regard. We will not be releasing a game that requires a high end machine to run it.

Vu Nguyen, Dungeon Designer

You are known for some of the most memorable dungeons of EverQuest, such as Old Sebilis, Estate of Unrest and more. What's your personal philosophy on open-world dungeon design?

To me making a zone is a chance for me to take a person on a little trip that they cannot go on in the real world.  I think a person logs in to experience what they cannot in real life and that is what I try and deliver to them.  

Ultimately my goal is to take them to a place they can only dream of, or in this project, places that nightmares are made of.

I think it is also a good idea to control the players visibility, a player should be able to see their destination but have to figure out how to get there.  Fear comes from not knowing what is around the corner and in controlling the visibility of what a player can see and what they can’t can create mystery and surprise.  Storyline and lore are important because there should be a history and reason for the zone existing, and that without the players the zone should still feel like there is life that continues in there. There should be themed areas and a narrative that explains what has happened or is happening in that area.

I also like to give players options on which route they want to take instead of being on a linear path.  Sometimes there will be choices a player has to make and commit to that decision as there may be no way that they can backtrack if they have to drop down to a ledge to enter a space.  I like to use a lof of height in an area and make narrow ledges and bridges to increase the sense of danger.  Trap doors and secret areas are also good for the players to have to stay alert, and reward them for exploring.  With that, the zone should look good and things should be place spatially with the right proportions and an interesting flow intersecting the screen providing many picturesque spots to enjoy the scenic view. Plus, they should run efficiently and have no bugs. I do have a bit of twisted humor and tend to throw in some weirdness just for fun to mess with people, so I guess you will just have to wait and see.

Tony Garcia, Lore & Narrative

For many players, the setting and the lore has to be strong enough to give context for all of the things they're going to be doing. Could you talk about how the world of Terminus was born?

I initially created three fictional worlds to base the game world on. As the team’s goals became more focused it became clear that we needed a world that was epic, utilized traditional fantasy elements, had dramatically diverse environments and was easily extensible.

We also did not want to create the standard world progression of mortal realm to planes, but we did want to include deities. What was born from those original three worlds in order to serve our final goal was Terminus, a world of worlds where the realms have come together rather than the world acting as a portal. Here upon one world in the wake of cataclysm planar collisions, civilizations and pantheons collide. Having been removed from their planar roots, gods are severely dependent upon the number of followers.

How they coexist and survive will vary from land to land as players will discover.

What are your plans for getting players involved in the story while playing the game? How will it be presented to them?

Pantheons. Our world is host to a large number of pantheons. Each of these pantheons has its own story and its own set of rewards. 

As an adventurer, you will find that most of your gear and abilities are tied to any number of these pantheons so simply by earning rewards you will be introduced to the story of Terminus. 

To aid in telling the tale of these pantheons there are three primary forms of narrative within the game world.

• There is the story of the region (parent zone) that acts like a D&D setting where the player can delve into its history in a myriad of ways. 
• There is the adventure point, smaller areas of interest that exist off the beaten path and tell their tales with little to no exposition. 
• And finally there is a passive narrative that has the player discovering lost artifacts from his origin world that are scattered across the globe. 

By introducing these elements early in the story as well as creating social sites in the world where people can gather before their adventures, I hope to capture the players interest and tell the tales of Terminus.

James Rochelle, Art Director

In this day and age, it's hard to make one fantasy world stand out from the next. Could you talk a bit about your approach to Art Direction, and how players will know they're looking at Pantheon when they see art or screenshots?

Basically I’m looking at the kind of high fantasy that contains elements of art that may not always be the recognized standard. Terminus and Pantheon are strange and fantastic worlds and that’s what I want to emphasize. I want to shake up the normal fantasy dynamic by adding artistic twists to the things we sort of take for granted now. Look for some interesting takes on familiar archetypes!

Will you be creating more of a stylized look, or going for realism? 

I think we’ve generally decided we want stylized that is reaching for some realism. It’s always tough to explain the idea of what is wanted because those terms usually bring up visual images that may not be what we are really talking about. We’re going for a fantasy art style that is identifiable instantly as Pantheon, but has its roots in traditional art.

Let's Kick It!

If you like what you've read and want to support their efforts, the Kickstarter page can be found here. You can also find Pantheon on pantheonrotf.com as well as Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks to Brad, Salim and the entire team at Visionary Realms for their time!  Good luck team, we're fans and we're pulling for you!

Bill "Lethality" Leonard, Social Media Director