Henry Sterchi: Players should be able to complete a single play through of the story in 10-17 hours, depending upon varying factors. Once this is complete, getting your character to level 50 should take an additional 20+ hours, and once at level 50, there are still hours and hours of gameplay left for people that want to collect the elite suits, get the best loot, complete the best charm quests, gain maximum skill points, etc… Plus, you can then do this for multiple classes, so you can easily spend hours and hours playing and replaying the game. There is just so much to the story and the game that the deeper you dig the more you get out of it.

Henry Sterchi: The game features 4 main game play worlds (plus 4 Cyberspace versions of each World), and the Aesir Hub World and its Cyberspace equivalent. Within the game’s levels are subsections, and once an area is completed, you can replay and jump around however you like from the HUB. So basically in the main story or campaign play through, the worlds have a clear order with beginnings and ends, but in repeat play throughs and co-op you can tackle the worlds and sections however you like.

Henry Sterchi: “Too Human” was designed as an action RPG with equal emphasis on both components. Things ingrained in the action element benefit the RPG element (the better you play, the faster your combo level grows and you get things like stat and experience bonuses). The RPG elements are not only classic RPG stats bonuses, but things that directly affect the action game play. For example, each of the weapon classes has different game play styles and effects on the game play. Ultimately we would like to have the action players excited about collecting loot and levelling their character, and in the same vein, have RPG gamers excited about doing cool moves, big combos, and succeeding in the action.

Henry Sterchi: We hope so – we’ve put a lot of time into designing and planning the overall story structure of “Too Human”, both the first game and the entire trilogy. To Silicon Knights, deep story is a priority and we usually try to find as many ways to bring it into the game as possible without disrupting the player’s flow. We want the player’s experience to be an intense cinematic experience, yet also intriguing and thought provoking. The story can be enjoyed on a surface level, but hopefully also on a much deeper level as our earlier games have been.

Henry Sterchi: While “Too Human” plays differently than other action games, the level of intensity should satisfy action hungry fans. A lot of action games have a combo system that relies on the player stringing a series of hits against a single foe, or a small, focused amount of foes. “Too Human’s” combo system focuses on the game’s 360- degree combat and right stick attacking game play. It bases combo growth on hitting a mass number of foes with varying techniques, and then utilizing the combo gained to allow very noticeable character bonuses, such as XP bonuses and even fuel the use of special powers. Also, since “Too Human” combines action with RPG, there is a great deal of strategy in how you approach each battle, in addition to the standard core action foundation of requiring players to execute twitch commands.

Henry Sterchi: You can jump into anyone’s online game at any time, with both players being any level. Surviving will be more challenging for the lower level player, but if players are within 10 to 15 levels of each other, the difficult change isn’t as severe. There are actually a wide variety of things that change based on the players’ levels, including what enemy level ranges spawn in, how many enemies attack, what enemy types (polarities, elites, etc.) they face, and more. The end result is a game that remains challenging for 2 players, but will allow players of a fairly great level disparity to play together and remain fun, and challenging.

Henry Sterchi: There are always things that work as well, or not as well, as originally designed or envisioned. While some of these things have changed to accommodate improvements, the key essence of the game from its core pillars was maintained throughout the development process. While it wasn’t easy to achieve, we really feel that we have struck a unique and enjoyable blend of fast-pace action with deep RPG gameplay that is easily accessible and fun. We also feel that we have incorporated a robust high-quality storyline with a cinematic presentation and a rich online co-op experience. These were always our core goals.

Henry Sterchi: Silicon Knights has a few different things in the works right now, but we can’t announce anything new at this time.

Henry Sterchi: We’ve had a lot of people ask this question, and there’s always potential for something like this in the future games, but the first game focuses on telling Baldur’s story and introducing the other gods.

Henry Sterchi: “Too Human” was always a science fiction story first, but as we developed the story we noticed lots of unintentional parallels with mythology creeping into it. The Norse myth angle worked well with our themes of humanity and technology, so we embraced it completely.

Henry Sterchi: The enemies and difficulty are constantly evolving in “Too Human”. There are some key levels where new things will begin to show up, like new polarity types, new attacks and strategies from the enemies, etc… The game is designed to offer a constant challenge and to keep bringing in new things all the way to level 50. To play well at level 50, players will need to become very good at the game, be good at using every skill/ability they have, and be outfitted extremely well.

Henry Sterchi: The universe and the entire overarching story has all been created and mapped out. The levels and main goals of the three games have also been mapped out. Silicon Knights creates upfront full and rich universes that have a deep pool of content that people can dive into. This is true for “Too Human”. However, each game of the trilogy is designed to be a self-contained experience, as well as carry over player progress to the sequels.

Henry Sterchi: The Nordic peoples relied on speaking and singing their stories, and consequently much of it has been lost to the ravages of time. Only a few written works survive, thanks mostly to an Icelandic nobleman and scholar named Snorri Sturluson, who compiled the most comprehensive texts on the subject. Baldur’s absence gave us creative freedom to create his story based on the other mythologies surrounding him.

Also, we wanted to make a game world that is rich for storytelling – not just borrowing from the myth, but one that would enable many more peripheral stories. There is no telling what other perspectives could be brought forward. Loki and Thor’s story would be interesting perspectives.

Henry Sterchi: No. We set out to make an action RPG hybrid that was tailor made for the consoles, so it’s hard to really narrow down any specific citing of inspiration because there so many unique things about “Too Human”. ”Too Human” draws from archetypes in different genres, but has definitely carved out a place of its own.

Henry Sterchi: Vsync is turned on, so you should see almost no tearing at all in “Too Human”. You may see some artifacting from the post processing filters that are on, but it isn’t vsync or tearing related. “Too Human’s” game play runs at a consistent 30 frames per second. You will see occasional, but very brief, dips when there are massive amounts of enemies, explosions, AND effects playing simultaneously, but these instances are short-lived and quite rare. We feel very confident about the performance, especially when you look at some of the massive environments, sheer hordes of enemies onscreen, and the explosive chaos the gameplay is capable of. You will also notice no load times during the game. We feel confident that “Too Human’s” performance is well above most games on the Xbox 360.

Henry Sterchi: There was a wide array of factors that went into the decision to only include 2-player co-op. It is all about quality over quantity and we felt it was the right decision. 4- player co-op in “Too Human” just wasn’t offering the superior experience we felt it should. There are a massive amount of things happening on screen at a blistering pace during “Too Human”, and a great deal of player response, strategy, and twitch is required to make the game feel right. 2-player was just a better fit with the gameplay, but we are definitely keeping the door open in the future on whether to increase the number of coop players.

Henry Sterchi: With “Too Human’s” interactive cut scene approach, implementing this feature wasn’t a quick switch to turn on, and there was actually a lot involved. This was not a priority, since the team’s experience with other co-op games found that lengthy interruptions and cinematics were always skipped or viewed as a distraction.

Henry Sterchi: “Too Human” was always designed as an action/RPG hybrid. A great deal of work went into both systems. Unfortunately some of the misconceptions about the game stem from us only having the action side of the game available for demo. The RPG side was able to be demoed, but at a later date. Consequently, people thought it was a pure action game based on what they saw. The reality of it was, we had smacking around enemies up and running right away. That’s something that is easy to show. However, a deep and progressive loot and RPG system takes a lot of various components to show, including full game progression and working inventory management/systems. Both the action and RPG elements of the game are equally important to “Too Human”, and always have been since the beginning of the development cycle.

Henry Sterchi: We actually feel the opposite. The reason “Too Human” has survived for so long is because the core concept and story are so strong. Through the course of “Too Human”, we feel those elements got even stronger and that the story and concept are better than ever. In fact, “Too Human” was ahead of its time. It needed the power of the Xbox 360 to fully be realized.

Henry Sterchi: We focused on giving players a good bulk of the points for their first complete play through. Achievements beyond the first play through have several focuses:
- Rewarding players for getting to level 50
- Hitting in-game accomplishments (x # of air kills for example)
- Rewarding skill
- Rewarding people for trying multiple classes, and for collecting the end game loot

We feel achievements should reward players for playing the game by actually being achievements.

Henry Sterchi: Coop has always been a key pillar of “Too Human”. All of the classes, levels, skills, and gameplay features were designed to give players a fun area to play in, with a cool set of team-based abilities. Having the same action-packed and feature rich gameplay you would expect from a single player game in co-op is a very appealing and fun part of “Too Human”.

Henry Sterchi: As players gain experience, they level up. With each level they gain, they will earn skill points. These skill points can then be used in either the class skill tree or the alignment skill tree. Putting points into these trees do a large variety of things that enhance your character and can even radically alter the gameplay. Each tree is unique and players can power up passive things like their damage, or the chance to fire a ricocheting bullet, as well as add on completely new things like spider abilities, battle cry skills, and even a sentient power that your weapon can unleash on your foes. Skill trees are about powering up and customizing your character, earning new abilities, and ultimately changing the game play.

Henry Sterchi: The system is designed with all of these possibilities and more in mind, but we are not announcing any DLC plans at the moment.

Henry Sterchi: You can play through the entire game from beginning to end in co-op mode, but you will not see any of the game’s cinematics in co-op mode.

Henry Sterchi: Level 50 is the cap for this “Too Human” game. This will increase with DLC and the rest of the Trilogy.

Henry Sterchi: A tremendous amount. There are 3 main melee types with 3 handedness types, and 3 main gun types with 3 different ammo types. This totals to 18 distinct weapon classes that affect the gameplay differently and can be combined with each other for even greater variety (e.g. one-handed sword and dual pistols can be equipped, or a two-handed hammer and a laser cannon). All of these weapon types drop as loot with varying statistics and properties assigned to them. You can get weapons of varying appearance and color, fire swords, hammers with experience bonuses, etc… These combinations range in the hundreds of thousands.

Henry Sterchi: There are no player-controlled vehicles, as this does not suite the type of game that “Too Human” is, but you will see vehicles introduced into the universe throughout the cut scenes and cinematics.

Henry Sterchi: While working on the early stages of “Too Human” and developing the main storylines, a lot of different mythologies crept in. We had a smattering of Greek myths as well, but the Nordic tales seemed to ring truer to our themes of mankind’s struggle to comprehend and work with technology. The Norse psyche is about courage in the face of adversity, and that is a good way to describe mankind’s dependency on tools and machines. In the end, we decided to only utilize the Nordic mythos.

Henry Sterchi: Game development is very challenging and having a setback like that never helps. The team as a whole definitely felt some of the initial backlash, but everyone knew “Too Human’s” potential and did not waver. Everyone battered down and focused on making “Too Human” the best game possible and, even with all of the added challenges, the game is really something for that the team is proud of.

Henry Sterchi: The level of uniqueness in the game is really amazing, especially for a console game. Most people hear about the right stick combat system, but until you play the game, it’s hard to realize that what we have done is focus on 360-degree combat and a massive amount of swarming enemies. Instead of multiple hits against a target being a combo, “Too Human” focuses on large combos from chaining different enemies. When you seamlessly mow through dozens of enemies in an instant, it’s a feeling unlike any other game.
I’d also list;
- Fast-pace action combat that is accessible yet deep, and very fun
- Extremely robust RPG system, including an immense amount of character building and progression, as well as a nearly limitless amount of item variety
- Rich storyline and universe with developed characters and plot arcs
- Movie quality soundtrack and dynamic audio.
- Incredibly intense two-player online co-op gameplay.

Henry Sterchi: The content on Siliconknights.com is legacy from the original marketing reveal of the game. The plan was to reveal the action elements first, then follow with the RPG elements. “Too Human” was always designed as an action/RPG hybrid. A great deal of work went into both systems. Unfortunately some of the misconceptions about the game stem from us having something showable on the RPG side later than the action side, so people thought it was a pure action game based on what they saw. The reality of it was, we had smacking around enemies up and running right away, and that’s something easy to show. However, a deep and progressive loot and RPG system takes longer to pull together to show and includes full game progression and working inventory management/systems. Both of these elements are equally important to “Too Human”, and always have been since the beginning of the development cycle.

I recommend visiting xbox.com’s game detail page at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/t/toohuman/ for more up-to-date information regarding “Too Human”.

Henry Sterchi: The demo is now available and in less than a month has been downloaded over 1 million times. It is available for download for both Gold and Silver Xbox Live members. The amount of content and gameplay is unprecedented, as it features a sizeable amount of cinematics and about an hour’s worth of gameplay. The demo begins in the game’s first World and starts off with a small variety of enemies and encounters, but it allows you to level up a few levels, try multiple classes, earn a good amount of skills to try out, and collect items. There’s a lot of content here and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Henry Sterchi: The co-op mode allows you to play through the entire campaign. It features 3 loot modes, allows you to jump around to sections if you’ve already completed them, and allows in-game trading with your co-op partner. The in- game cinematics, however, are not available during online co-op.

Henry Sterchi: The plan has always been to release the other instalments in a timely manner, but we have no official announcements at this time.

Henry Sterchi: Vsync is turned on, so you should see almost no tearing at all in “Too Human”. You may see some artifacting from the post processing filters that are on, but it isn’t vsync or tearing related. “Too Human’s” game play runs at a consistent 30 frames per second. You will see occasional, but very brief, dips when there are massive amounts of enemies, explosions, AND effects playing simultaneously, but these instances are short-lived and quite rare. We feel very confident about the performance, especially when you look at some of the massive environments, sheer hordes of enemies onscreen, and the explosive chaos the gameplay is capable of. You will also notice no load times during the game. We feel confident that “Too Human’s” performance is well above most games on the Xbox 360.

Henry Sterchi: I would tell people to expect an action-packed game that features a great deal of character building and customization through item collecting. The actual gameplay of “Too Human” is quite unique, and I would highly recommend people download the robust demo of “Too Human” that is currently available for download by Gold and Silver members over Xbox Live. There’s about an hour’s worth of content/gameplay and it lets people experience “Too Human” for themselves.

Henry Sterchi: Actually, the game has been in actual development on the Xbox 360 for far less than the rumoured 10 years. In reality, the development of the game cyclone the Xbox 360 was approximately 4 years. In addition, the action/RPG concept is still pretty under explored on the Xbox 360 and there are still no games available that are really like “Too Human”. For Xbox 360 and Xbox Live players who have been waiting for a co-op action/RPG that allows looting and collecting similar to Diablo, “Too Human’s” August release date can’t arrive soon enough.

Henry Sterchi: Our high concept idea is that the world of “Too Human” is a possible early history of the world, or a far future history of the world yet to be written. Did Norse culture grow out of this long forgotten time?

We have taken a different approach to Nordic culture. We tried to capture as much of the flavour of the Viking (primarily) culture wherever possible, but only so far as our storyline allowed. Our ultimate goal was to blend the historic Viking culture, the mythology itself and our science fiction themes into one rational and interesting setting.