I recently got to do an e-mai interview with Brandon Jones who is making Lumin: Land of Light. Our interview guy Quentin helped me out with this, researching the game and coming up with questions. Pretty much this interview wouldn’t have happened without him!
Q: Can you give us a brief background on the story of the world of “Lumin: Land Of Light“? What sets this game apart from other RPG games that are currently out there?
A: Lumin: Land of Light is a Sandbox RPG with a plot. The player ends up on Lumin with no memory of anything before that moment and it is up to them build their own character and find their way home. During their adventures they will encounter NPCs in the form of mentors, enemies and friends which will unfold the mysteries behind Lumin.
Q: This game has been in the making for ten years. What was the original inspiration and how has that vision evolved since then? Along those lines, at what point was it decided to tie it canonically into YouTube and a board game? What surprises and challenges have you faced as a result of making a multi-platform universe?
A: The world Lumin is based off of originally started as a fanfic series I wrote in High School. As I continued writing, my characters began having their own personalities and adventures. There was a point when I had quit writing but then returned to my craft with Lumin: Land of Light. Lumin first started off as its own series but soon after I began adding characters from my old series.
Q: What percentage of the full game is completed?
A: Our full game is roughly 40% complete but we have already programmed the core mechanics to the game, so the hardest part is more or less done.
Q: In “Lumin: Land Of Light“, you level up by fighting monsters and you gain new fighting skills/magic spells by reading books that you can find or purchase. What was the inspiration behind this unique leveling system?
A: There are several reasons I have gone with this idea. The first and most important is my love of reading and wanting to promote it. Another reason is to give the players more of a table top role-playing game experience. The fact that leveling only affects their stats and they have to rely on learning skills allows them to customize their character easier as well as give them a sense of accomplishment for exploring the lore of Lumin.
Q: On the YouTube page, one of the videos stated five classes have been announced, three hidden classes, and there is a game storyline for each of the classes. Do the various storylines and characters intertwine? Or are they all standalone?
A: There will be hidden classes and all the classes will be intertwined. For example, as a knight you will eventually fight the thief Naomi “The Ferret” Kismet who is actually the mentor for the knight class. Another example is the priest quest type known as “Exorcise”. If you are a priest, you go there to learn and perfect your spells. However as a knight, you can do that same quest in order to protect the priests in training. And on a final note, all of the classes will have the same conclusion, just taking place in different parts of Lumin.
Q: Can you tell us about any of the secret classes (such as the one that was found early on in the demo available through the Game Play Theatre website)?
A: We will have three secret classes the player can find, each with their own set of mentors, skills and quests. They will also provide more insight in the lore of not only Lumin, but also lore in future episodes and games.
Q: The YouTube channel gives a lot of background on the various characters of “Lumin: Land Of Light“, such as Levi (a shape-shifting Leviathan), Naomi (‘The Ferret’ of the Thieves Guild), and Artura Kismet (‘White Lightning’ of the Knighthood), among others. However, one character that seems to pervade the entire world of “Lumin” is a mysterious blue-haired bard that is just called ‘The Host’. Who -or what- is he, exactly?
A: The Host, whose real name has just been revealed as Angelus, is actually the first character I introduced from my first project. He is not only a demon, but is also the key to Lumin’s biggest secret.
Q: In the Summer 2015 YouTube update, “The Lumin Trilogy Special: The Forgotten Family” was announced. It was revealed that those videos would show new characters, a couple major secrets of Lumin: Land Of Light, and would start the main story arc. Other projects also previously announced was the first season of “Sisters Of Fate” and a YouTube section called “The Woeful Jester” that would feature performances from the cast of “Lumin: Land Of Light“. What is the current status on all of these?
A: Sisters of Fate was the main plot about the Kismet sisters and an early experiment on how to introduce Lumin to the people. Over time it was decided to just feature all the characters in various videos that could show off more of the Lumin world. The Woeful Jester is open for any and all who wish to express themselves musically for both fans and our staff; so far I have only done one song as The Host with Iris but I am working on a few more. And as for The Forgotten Family, we will be releasing the first episode by Spring Break this year and will go in to The Host’s history and how he became what he is now.
Q: On the official YouTube channel, a video was posted to show an ‘Iris cheat’ that exists in the demo. Will there be more secrets like that throughout the final game?
A: There are going to be plenty of secrets in the final product including the chance to team up with bosses, rare spells, and hidden party members. Of course with that being said, I am a bit of a devious game designer. For example, you can get Levi to join your team during a boss battle, but it’s hidden in such a way that most players will not catch on right away.
Q: Not much has been announced online about the “Lumin: Battlegrounds (Standard Edition)” board game, with it so far only being sold at the various conventions that Game Play Theatre has made an appearance at. How does the board game tie into the overall “Lumin: Land Of Light” universe, what is the gameplay like, and are there any plans to make it available for purchase online?
A: The Lumin: Battlegrounds board game incorporates both the characters and landmarks in Lumin. Lumin: Battlegrounds is a board game that combines Magic: The Gathering with elements of chess. Both players have seven pieces to represent the classes in Lumin and the player can replace one of those class pieces with a character associated with that class. An example would be if someone wanted to use the Julia Kismet game piece, it would take the place of their mage piece. The reason we haven’t said much about it is because I am currently the only one doing most of the tasks in the company, from writing, to programming, to promoting and so on. I apologize for the fact that it takes me so long to get around to things but I have just recently acquired some help.
See more of the interview on PAGE 2.
