Question Time: Morgan Lean

Today’s Question Time is with Morgan Lean, co-founder of Sydney’s Epiphany Games. Epiphany is going through an exciting time at the moment – they’ve just released their first major PC game, a RTS titled Frozen Hearth, and are on a quest to get the game through on Greenlight, solidifying their plans of a trilogy in the Frozen Hearth universe.

We covered a little bit about Epiphany Games’ history earlier on. While Frozen Hearth is the first big game under their belt, they’ve indirectly been involved with over 100 games, getting their start by working on the Gamebryo engine.

By strategically picking which elements of Gamebryo to work on (with a future big release in mind), Epiphany found itself in a position with just the right technology for their desired RTS.

The result is Frozen Hearth, a RTS game bursting at the seams with new ideas. Featuring a human faction with Celtic inspiration, and an invading race of ice monsters, it couldn’t be more asymmetrical if it tried. But if one were to draw comparisons, there are some similarities with Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, especially when it comes to capturing resource points, and the inclusion of a powerful hero unit.

Frozen Hearth’s heroes are a little more powerful than usual though, and some might say it has one foot in the MOBA camp. I found it to be a very fun LAN game, with no lack of interesting new things to try out. It’s certainly one for the core gamers though, placing bold emphasis on micro-management.

Frozen Hearth boasts a coop-capable campaign, and several multiplayer modes. They since been supporting the game with updates, and special events like the Christmas content. You can check out the game’s Greenlight page here, and show the game some support.

I’m keen to find out how the launch has gone so far, what it’s like dealing with Valve, what’s needed in the Greenlight process, and what advice Lean has for an increasingly crowded, yet extremely talented, Australian indie scene. But I’ll leave all that to you guys — take it away!