Recently, we were given the opportunity to sit down and talk with Robert Quick of TGI and Mathew Anderson of Petroglyph about the game and their interest in our community.

Steve Spohn, AbleGamers:  Mytheon is very unique in its style of play; what was the inspiration to create a game unlike other RPGs, where you summon units in a random fashion that almost resembles Magic the Gathering meets Diablo?

Mathew Anderson Petroglyph: Many games often focus primarily on action, role-play, or strategy themes. Mytheon takes the best from all these genres, creating an action RPG with a very identifiable strategy component. While not making the game more difficult to learn, the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” aspect of how the stones are called up in battle creates an amazing array of choices when battling monsters or an opponent in PvP.

SS:  What would you consider enticing features Mytheon has to offer that other games don’t?

MA: Mytheon is the first game to combine the best of the RPG genre, which includes games such as Diablo and Titan’s Quest, adds a great action component, and tops it off with a heavy dose of strategy. This mix forms the absolute core of the game, plus you get to actually experience and interact with historical mythological creatures from throughout our history. All the while you adventure with friends to defeat monsters & the gods themselves, or defeating others through PvP tournaments.

SS: Was accessibility a factor in the design phase for the development team?  And, if so, does your development team have any disabled members on staff?

MA: When designing games, accessibility is always an important factor to us, though there are practical limits in how far we can take it. Symbols and other shapes have been detailed in unique ways so that they are not only more easily identified by gamers, but easier for all players to quickly identify key actions they may need when fighting in a furious PvP battle. We do not have any disabled members on our staff.

SS:  Colorblind players have difficulty in situations that use heavy red and green shading; will there be an option to change the hue of enemies?

MA: Mytheon was developed with a heavy emphasis on the game design, so that play was intuitive and easily recognized. We’ve been able to establish a unique, easily identifiable user interface and control system so that all gamers can more quickly identify the icons, regardless of color. This makes it so that anyone who does suffer from colorblindness is still able to enjoy the game. We are continually gathering feedback from our players on ways to improve Mytheon, so any suggestions are gladly welcomed.

SS:  Mytheon has done a good job with text in all areas of the game, but the fonts on some  text is extremely difficult to read even with transparencies on/off, will there be an option to change the font, font size, or the color of the text in future patches?

MA: This is what’s great about Beta testing, it’s allowed concerns like this to come to the forefront and be more quickly addressed. While we do not currently allow the user to make direct changes to the UI, this is a feature request that we have passed along to our development team.

SS:  In the UI, only certain elements can be moved to any position the gamer desires.  The ability to customize positions, shapes, and sizes of interface elements increases the accessibility factors of a game tremendously, is there a reason the customization of Mytheon’s interface is so low?

MA: The primary focus when developing Mytheon was on creating this novel RPG format, a format which had never been done before. To fully utilize this we created our interface with customization options for the individual gamer. Restrictions such as time and engine prevented us from taking these customization options as far as we would have liked to, unfortunately.

SS:  On the same subject, an option to allow gamers to click and hold or use the arrow/WASD keys as opposed to point and click, which is usually the preferred method in 2-D top-down games, but also allows for individuals with carpal tunnel, repetitive stress, and some motor impairments to have an easier time playing the game.

1. a. Was there a reason for point-and-click as opposed to click and hold like Diablo or World of Warcraft?
2. b. Will you allow movement with the arrow/WASD keys?

MA: We found a point-and-click system to be an easier and more intuitive way to navigate around the world of Mytheon and for attacking. Our controls are also set up so that adding WASD would have compromised other areas such as camera control. This is still being looked at as a potential future update, if enough users request it.

SS:  Mytheon seems to cater to the disabled community more than many developers we've seen, what is driving the desire to make sure disabled gamers are included in your game, and is this a trend we should look for in the industry or with your company?

Robert Quick: Life is filled with plenty of challenges, and gaming should not be considered one of them.  The Mytheon community is open to everyone, and we aim to recognize those who have had to overcome greater obstacles to play our game.  While we are not able to speak for the rest of the industry, True Games is committed to making sure their entire gaming community has the chance to have a fun, enjoyable gaming experience. For any users wishing to stay up to date on the latest news or find out more information, please join our Facebook page at facebook.com/Mytheon.

User Submitted Questions

SS:  Will PVP be strategy based or based on reaction time?

MA: Mytheon is an action RPG that utilizes strategy in its fighting. In a close PvP battle reaction time is always important, but strategy is used in how you construct your stone collection and in selecting which stones to cast when! Plus, the random order in which the stones are displayed makes how you construct your collection of stones that much more important.

SS:  Is there an “end game” to Mytheon?  Can you describe the end content/encounters?

MA: While Mytheon is not an MMO, we do have constantly expanding storylines for those that enjoy questing. The Greek realm allows you to battle Poseidon, Aries, and other gods. You even get to face off against Zeus in an epic battle on Mount Olympus, challenging the most powerful of the Greek gods. Yet by expanding the realm with future forays into Egyptian and other mythologies, we open up whole new worlds for the user to explore.

Each encounter with an enemy is different and offers a vast array of future playability depending upon your level, what stones and items you bring with you, what the enemy drops when they’re defeated, and who you team up with on each quest. So this also makes it so that each god can be played an infinite number of times, with a different experience each time!

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