Dungeon Siege - Gameplay

Gameplay

The player participates in a quest to save the kingdom of Ehb, located in the world of Aranna, from the forces of evil, following the main character from the humble beginnings as a farmer to the ultimate destiny as a powerful hero or heroine. As the game progresses, the main character may be joined by other adventurers, whom the player also controls. The background is based in a fantasy medieval world with geographic variety in open and closed environments (dungeons). The graphics are mildly detailed with environment changes.

The gameplay is a mixture of pause-and-go tactical management and point-and-click action. The mechanic is highly similar to that of later Ultima games (so much so that fans have recreated certain Ultima titles using the Dungeon Siege engine), and to a lesser degree, early action role-playing games like Diablo and Nox. The Dungeon Siege quest is highly linear and involves constant hack and slash battle, similar in some ways to platform and beat 'em up games.

The game uses a display engine that makes the entire experience seamless, with no load screens. The interface is completely scripted with a programming language called 'scrit' and the development of its expertise is called 'scrit-foo.' This scripting system allowed for many "siegelet" add-ons, which modified game play.

The party system is automated but efficient with basic formations, resources, and action-response. In addition to being able to recruit non-player characters (NPCs) that function much like the player's own character, it is possible to buy mules to help carry more items as a member of the group. Players can recruit and disband party members, but must retain at least one party member at all times.

Dungeon Siege supports multiplayer cooperative gaming over LANs and the Internet (direct TCP/IP connection, and previously ZoneMatch, which was shut down in June, 2006).