Q&A with Re-Logic about Terraria: Otherworld

Do we get a pet fighting with us that levels? Unlike the bunny and spider etc in Terraria, a creature that follows us all the time and can develop?

There are currently no plans for this feature in the initial release version.

Will there be an upgraded engine that allows you to do ALL the stuff that you want?

Terraria: Otherworld utilizes a brand new, custom engine built for the game.
Of course, nothing is truly limitless – that would be impossible – but this new engine does allow for the expanding on what was possible in the original Terraria.
The core of Otherworld has been set up with all the experience of building Terraria and the 15+ years of experience that Engine Software’s team has. A lot of things the development team ran into while expanding the Terraria experience have already been taken into account writing the core technology for this game:

• Content can easily be added,
• Multi-platform support,
• No tile/item/texture limitations,
• Build with localization in mind and
• Very streamlined and optimized algorithms for world generation, rendering, lighting.

Are there different worlds that one character can visit like in the original? Can you create one character and play it in various worlds?

In a similar fashion to the original Terraria, yes. You can always take your existing character into a fresh world.
In regards to “travelling between worlds” within a single “world file”, no.

Is there an endless world or has it boundaries?

The worlds will not be “limitless”. Given the goal of purification of the world, this would create a paradox of sorts where the player could never actually achieve that goal.
We are toying with the idea of “wraparound” worlds vs worlds that end at each side (like in Terraria)

A highly discussed question: Will there be „proper“ dragons that are majestic and huge?

Currently there is no “proper” dragon…our monster design is focused on the design of the world and the lore as a whole – with some quirky sidesteps (it is Terraria after all).
Bigger isn’t always better, some of the most annoying and hard monsters in Otherworld are half your size.

Will the concept of killing bosses and thus making the game harder remain? Will it then be as linear as the original, i.e. killing boss x results in happening 1 etc…

Well, to be honest, we do not see the original Terraria as all that linear in this regard. There are no real set “goals” in Terraria – and only a few bosses are actually “gates” to unlock new content (i.e. Wall of Flesh). The rest, you are truly open to exploring, fighting, etc on your own terms and timing – or not.
Otherworld should be a bit more “structured” in this area – which fits with the overall design of a more “driven” Terraria experience.
As the story progresses and you push the corruption in the world further back, it is a safe assumption that this evil force will redouble its efforts to stop you.
Of course, this is still a Terraria game – so we don’t want anyone getting the impression that it is “on rails”. More of a “structured sandbox”, if that term works?

Can we change ourselves by doing certain things and maybe influencing the world by doing so? For instance, killing peaceful birds and ducks makes us evil and makes the world darker.

Killing birds and bunnies is evil by default – the game does not need to tell you this.
There are no real world consequences to random actions by the player, although the way you are perceived by your rag-tag band of survivors can – and will – change during the game.

How would you describe your feelings about the game in one word?

Excited!

How would you describe the game in general in one word?

Focused

What is your favourite weapon so far?

Really digging the flamethrower we showed in our GDC trailer (around the 0:33s mark).

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As for now, I am even more excited than I was before and I cannot wait for the game to be released. Well, I have to, of course, but it is kind of hard. I think (and that is purely my thought based on what I already read and the answers you see above) that Terraria: Otherworld will be an amazing game full of possibilities and created with such fantasy that it is hard to not get lost in it (in a completely positive sense, like losing yourself in a good book). As for me, this is, among few other elements, what makes a game unique and good.

At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco they also introduced many new things including a new trailer and lots of information about the strategy or RPG elements, for instance. If you want to read current or additional news about Terraria: Otherworld, visit the forum or the website. You can find a German summary of this Q&A on gameplane.de.

Thank you again for answering my questions and that insight. :)