Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West

Answers by Martin Wahlund (CEO, Fatshark), Rikard Blomberg (Lead Programmer, Fatshark) and Robert Bäckström (Producer, Fatshark).

When is the release scheduled for?

The game will be released during the winter 2009/2010.

What's the general idea behind Lead & Gold?

Lead and Gold - Gangs of the Wild West is all about class based team play shooter action. We have strived to create a game that’s not just slapping on a TDM sticker on a map and then watch the players run around and kill each other without a plan, we actually tried to create game modes and reward systems that encourage player cooperation in several aspects of the game play.

Lead and Gold is also about being easy to access for the console audience but in the same time be able to meet the specific demands of the PC gamers.

Team based multiplayer? Please describe some key elements, such as classes, objectives and team interaction.

Not only are the playable characters designed to entice team co-operation, but the game modes, levels and game design as a whole are all focused on team play . A premium example is the use of Synergy effects that boosts players in their respective areas of expertise when they choose to stick together as a team.

Is this a kind of Battlefield 1943, only in the West?

No, not really. We have obviously looked at the Battlefield series to see what we can use from it in our game since it is an excellent multiplayer game. But we would be well off target if we just tried to clone their concept. We have a totally different take on the game modes, the pacing of the games and the role of the player class. Besides that, we are a third person shooter.

We saw in the announcement trailer some buildings being blasted into slivers, is there support for dynamic environment in the game?

There are several game modes where destructible structures and objects play a central part of the mission objectives. Besides that, several environment features in the maps are dynamic and powder kegs can be used to blow up lots of different pieces of architecture, to make it easier for your team or harder for your enemies.

Would you by any chance name some particular classes and give some examples of how the synergy mechanics work?

Sure. There is one class named the Trapper, a female version of the classic frontier huntsman. A player fighting alongside her will have his/her chances of scoring a critical hit dramatically increased, to encourage teaming up and protecting each other.

Another class is the Blaster, a burly mining expert. A player fighting alongside him will have his/her protection (resistance to damage increased), to encourage teaming up and protecting each other.

Information

For more information about Lead and Gold – Gangs of the Wild West, visit www.fatshark.se/leadandgold

Or contact Gunnar Johansson; gjohansson@hype.se