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Now that Rage of the Gladiator has been out for a little while we were curious to find out what the folks at Ghostfire Games have thought of the reception to it.  We have had the pleasure today of having Ed Roman answer some questions concerning the game.

Thanks so much for joining us today. Before we get started can you introduce yourself to everyone?

Ed Roman, CEO/Owner of Ghostfire Games.

We’ve talked to you before, but could you tell us a little bit about what exactly Rage of the Gladiator is?

Rage of the Gladiator is a fantasy-based fighting game. You play the role of Gracius, battling for his life in the arena, wielding a magical warhammer and shield.

It is a series of boss-battles (which we feel are the coolest part of video games!). In these boss battles, you must avoid attacks, and then execute a well-timed series of hits. Some boss attacks require precise timing to avoid, and others require that you avoid the attack in the right way (dodging left, dodging right, jumping, blocking, or counterattacking).

Each opponent has a unique style and pattern that you need to pay close attention to. Learn to exploit the weakness of each enemy with the proper timing and agility, and you will triumph.

The immediate comparison everyone, including you, is going to make is to a game many people know and love, Punch-Out!!. How did the idea for this style of game come about and how did you go about making it feel different from that game?

We started working on this game before Wii Punch-Out!! was even announced. It actually was inspired by several games. Overall our formula for making this game is:

• To create a combat system inspired by some of the best ideas from games such as 1980s Punch Out
• Create a fantasy world with interesting fantasy bosses, and an compelling storyline
• Add-in music inspired from movies such as 300
• Inject a theme inspired by games such as God of War
• Put in cutscenes inspired by games such as Final Fantasy for demolishing your enemy
• Give the player a tech-tree inspired by games such as Diablo or World of Warcraft

We reviewed Rage of the Gladiator and thought it was a great game. How has, in your eyes, the reaction been to the game from players around the world?

We’re very pleased with the reaction. We’re getting a lot of fan email and people on the forums discussing the game. It feels great to put your heart into a game and see the world enjoy it!

Were there any characters you had in the game originally that had to be removed, and if so what were the reasons behind removing them?

We originally had plans for an Angel Knight (a flying angel) which was cut due to size purposes.

We also at one point envisioned a boss that consisted of a plague swarm of bats, rats, and insects. The idea was that the arena gate would open and this plague swarm would fly at you, and you’d have to aim your weapon at the appropriate vermin. In the end that boss was cut since it felt too much like a mini-game and a gimmick than an actual boss.

This was one of the first WiiWare games, if not the first, to use Motion Plus. How did that additional control fidelity change the game?

We were fortunate since the game’s combat engine already lent itself well to Wii MotionPlus (the device didn’t exist for most of the game’s development). Surprisingly it didn’t affect much at all. We added the ability for the player to swing up/down with the Wii MotionPlus and we had to alter a few bosses to be balanced with that approach, but overall the game’s mechanics remain identical.

Keeping with the controls, there are a number of different options available for players. I, personally, use the Wii Remote on its side. Have you seen any reaction among the fans as to what their favorite way to control the game was?

Old-school gamers love the quick responsiveness of buttons and thus we’ve noticed they prefer horizontal. But a lot of people have chosen the Wii because of its motion sensing, and the motion controls add a lot of exercise, plus it’s a hell of a lot of fun to swing your arm and have your warhammer correspond to that swing.

The other big feature of this game was the character customization through the skill tree. It really gave players the ability to customize the play style to their own style of play. I went all defense and really loved my first playthrough. How have you been seeing the reaction to the skill tree and what have been some of the more popular paths to take that you’ve seen?

We spent a lot of time balancing and tuning the skill tree. It all really depends on your personal preferences for how you like to make your character. Also, in the end it really doesn’t matter which skill tree path you take, since you can get all of the powers by the end of the game, so you don’t have to worry about “gimping” your character.

One of the things I was very impressed with was all the things that are included in the game. Things that really stand out to me are the spectacular lighting effects and full voice work for all the characters. How did you cram so much into such a small space?

We learned a lot from our previous game, Helix (WiiWare). We use a lot of audio compression and graphics compression. We also rely heavily on particle effects (which take up a very tiny amount of space compared to character models and animations).

Now that the game has been out for a while has there been anything you would have changed based on player feedback?

That’s a great question. I think every game can be improved. In our game, we probably would have tightened up some of the story narration dialogue, and also added the ability for players to respect their skill tree.

I’m a big fan of the snake charmer character. Have there been any of the characters that people are saying are their favorites?

It’s actually been a mixed set of opinions across the board. The Chimera in particular is a fan favorite because he has multiple personality disorder and argues with himself (since he has 3 talking heads). Lord Vensor the 3rd speaks to you in a very annoying/condescending way, and some gamers love that since when they beat him they feel like they really wanted to shut him up.

Are there any hidden strategies to beating some of these bosses, especially in challenge mode, that maybe fans haven’t come across yet? Any pro tips you can give the readers?

A lot of players seem to have troubles with Master Yee. He is a martial artist that whacks you really quickly with his staff. I will say this: It is not intended that you can react to that attack quickly enough. You need to devise another strategy that doesn’t involve reacting to his tell.

Is this a franchise you see possibly returning to in the future? If so, where would you like to see this franchise go in the future?

You’ve now done two very different style WiiWare games. Is this a platform (WiiWare) you really see Ghostfire Games continuing with or will there be the possibility of a bigger game, with a possible retail release in the future?

What else is Ghostfire working on right now? Is there anything coming up that you can talk about?

The answers to all 3 of these questions are: it is too early to tell. We need to see what the revenues from the game look like before moving forward.

Thank you so much for joining us. Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers before we leave?

We’d like to thank the fans who purchased the game. We love reading your fan mail and we’re privileged to have the opportunity to bring this game to you. Europe – the game comes out April 15 2010 so we hope you enjoy it too!

I want to thank Ed, once again, for joining us today to answer some questions about Rage of the Gladiator.   If you haven’t seen our review of the game you should head over here and check it out.  After that you need to download the game because it’s a lot of fun.