Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
2001
Audio: English
- role-playing (rpg)
- fantasy
- science fiction
- open world
- single player
- multiplayer
- co-operative
The story
Imagine a place of wonder,where magic and technology hold equal sway, and an adventurer might just as easily wield a flintlock pistol as a flaming sword. A place where great industrial cities house castle keeps and factories, home to Dwarves, Humans, Orcs and Elves alike. A place of ancient runes and steamworks, of magic and machines, of sorcery and science. Arcanum is the first game to come from the development house Troika Games, LLC, started by former Fallout team members Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson. This team takes the depth of gameplay and world-building in role-playing games to entirely new levels of realism and excitement. Arcanum creates a compelling new world where magic and technology coexist in an uneasy balance. As Arcanum opens, the mechanical age has only recently arrived in this ancient land where Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and other races have learned to survive in the new sprawling industrialized cities. But this radical shift from magic to technology has created a potentially explosive situation. As the townspeople and other thinkers begin mass production of light bulbs, batteries, eyeglasses and guns, the Mages grow leery. This tightly wound setting is the starting point from which the character must set out on his quest.
What it’s like
Warm, smoky and slightly ornate, with isometric pre-rendered backdrops in sepia, brass and dusky green, where gaslamps glow over cobbled streets and smokestacks lean against castle walls. Cities feel crowded and grimy, and the day-to-night cycle shifts the palette from sooty amber to blue-grey, with steam hanging over the rooftops. The soundtrack is a low, unhurried orchestral hum, and town life sounds like murmured dialogue, clanking machinery and distant bells. Vibe: cozy-industrial curiosity with a tense undercurrent, a world that feels lived-in rather than spectacular. It suits long, unhurried evenings, a rainy weekend with tea, or a slow session spent wandering and reading every signpost. Pacing is deliberate: much of the time goes to talking, trading, crafting and exploring, with real-time-with-pause fights that come in bursts. Its emotional register is wry and idealistic, following a lone adventurer who gets pulled into the uneasy standoff between mages and inventors. Violence is moderate: sword, gun and spell combat with some blood and occasional grisly deaths, but no sustained gore, and the romance and adult themes are light. It is for players who love dense world-building, branching conversations and tinkering with gadgets, and who enjoy a setting where sorcery and science argue over the same streets.
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