As should be obvious to frequent visitors of the site, I’m rather stoked about the upcoming RPG from Big Huge Games and 38 Studios, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. And why shouldn’t I be? It’s an open-world RPG headed up by Ken Rolston (of Oblivion fame), with a dazzling artistic look provided by Todd McFarlane, a deep backstory provided by R.A. Salvatore, and gameplay design by none other than Ian Frazier, whom most of us know as Tiberius Moongazer from the Ultima V: Lazarus project.

There is, in other words, a ton of potential, and a very real possibility that this game will deliver some of that good old RPG feeling we’ve all been missing.

As such, and because I do periodically report on the game on the site here, I’ve decided to start putting together weekend roundups of news, video, and whatever other material I come across related to Reckoning and spotlighting its development.

It’s worth noting that 38 Studios does not support the SOPA legislation.

Good on Curt Schilling for this:

At 38 Studios, we are very strong supporters of copyright and trademark protection for creators of intellectual property. Having said that, we cannot in good conscience support the SOPA legislation as it’s currently written. We hope there are continued efforts to amend the legislation that will protect creators’ works, while also maintaining the freedom and openness the Internet provides people worldwide.

That is, I think, a pretty fair stance on the issue.

The latest community Q&A from the Reckoning team has some points worth highlighting.

In particular, I’d like to draw your collective attentions to this comment:

Our quests are too legit to quit. Given R.A.’s and Ken’s presence on the team, quests and narrative are key features of Reckoning. Because we have such a detailed combat system, you are going to find a few “kill something” quests scattered throughout the Faelands. But we have a huge fiction that we need to communicate — and as quests are one of the best ways of doing so, you’ll find that the scope and presentation of quests ratchet up pretty darn quickly. In Reckoning, you’ll see quests covering a wide range – you can encounter a mini-questline about stopping a doomsday cult from waking evil incarnate, and you can help a lonely fisherman make contact with a mermaid he caught a fleeting glimpse of… – By Thomas “Bentaporst” Murphy, Narrative Designer

And also to this comment:

Humorous moments can definitely bring out the flavor of a fantasy setting – it’s just a question of knowing when and how to use it. The Amalur universe is full of epic conflicts and large-scale battles. These moments can quickly lose their significance if the tone of the game isn’t balanced correctly. One of the things we decided pretty early on was humor in the universe should be driven by context and coherence – we weren’t going to have two NPCs start running through the Dead Parrot sketch (“This boggart is no more! It has ceased to be!”). That said, I think that the humorous moments of Reckoning all contribute to the deeper themes of Amalur – the diversity of races and differences of their culture, the rise of magic and the hazards of living in these vibrant and dangerous lands. – By Thomas “Bentaporst” Murphy, Narrative Designer

I will just venture to say that both of these give me a generally positive feeling about the narrative elements within Reckoning, and about how enjoyable it will be to watch its story unfold.

That said, the game also features some pretty sweet combat!

Feast your eyes:

Rock, Paper, Shotgun is suitably intrigued by this video, especially for how it delves into issues of art and animation during combat sequences.

VentureBeat is certainly looking forward to the game.

And their description of it is one I’ve heard before, but which bears repeating:

38 Studios says Reckoning will have the open-world exploration, vast narrative, and character customization fans expect from the genre, as well as fast-paced, graphically stimulating action and fluid controls. If God of War and Fable had a baby, it would probably look a lot like Reckoning, and expectations are high for this brand new IP.

Open-world exploration in the mold of a Bethesda game, mind you. Remember that point!

According to Ten Ton Hammer readers, Reckoning is more “anticipated” than Mass Effect 3!

Granted, Reckoning is still just a runner-up in the survey, but it did in fact beat out the upcoming conclusion to BioWare’s epic sci-fi action-RPG trilogy.

WARNING: Do not watch this if you hate spoilers!

The New York Times also has some good things to say about the game.

Update: Reckoning system requirements announced!

Thanks to Andy Panthro for spotting these!