14 DAY TRIAL // Chris Taylor, head of Gas Powered Games, has recently talked about a sequel to the 2005 success Dungeon Siege II. Currently, the company is working on completing Space Siege, a game that will be published by Sega later this year.
Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer Germany, Chris Taylor mentioned the fact that he would try to create a game that respected the legacy of the first two titles bearing the name Dungeon Siege, while crafting an experience that focused on single player rather than on a group mechanic. Space Siege itself is focused on the exploits of just one hero who battles hordes of aliens, and some commentators have already nick-named the game "Diablo II in space." The previous Dungeon Siege games were dungeon crawlers in which party customization held a central role in gameplay, as the players faced countless enemies with parties made up of numerous characters.
The main reason behind the developers' decision seems to be the complexity of creating a game that deals with multiple characters parties and with their adventures. Focusing on just one character makes it much easier to create more content, a more interesting plot and better environments.
Presumably, the game will offer the same action oriented gameplay as Space Siege and might even use the same engine. It seems that the title is still in the very early stages of development, especially because of the fact that most of the resources at Gas Powered Games are focused on finishing Space Siege in time for its release date.
Gas Powered made a name for itself by creating Supreme Commander, a very detailed and tactics-oriented real time strategy title, that sold well and was billed as being the spiritual successor of the old Total Annihilation series of games, also designed by Chris Taylor. If Space Siege does well in sales and a publisher is quickly secured, we might see the new Dungeon Siege game released sometime in the fall of 2009.