UGDB: How did you come up with the idea to create a mythical fighting game? Were there any other concepts that you were exploring when you designed the main concept of Tournament of Legends?

KH: We knew we wanted to make a fantasy-based fighting game and looked toward myths around the world for inspiration. We really had an awesome time researching different myths and coming up with ideas for each character. Once we decided on the switch to a more mythology-based fighter, we really didn’t explore any other main concepts for ToL. It was full steam ahead on development once we decided where we were headed.

UGDB: What was the reasoning behind switching development focus from Gladiator A.D. a more realistic themed gladiatorial combat game to Tournament of Legends a mythical gladiatorial one?

KH: The main reasoning was that, to be honest, the realistic setting and art style ended up hindering the creative process a bit. We took what amounted to a prototype to E3 2009 and got lots of great feedback. We went back to the office and decided to take the game a slightly different route. We did end up using some of the core game play mechanics from the other version. We wanted to focus on the core fighting mechanic and make that easy to pick up and play. We didn’t want to dilute the game with unnecessary elements that were not fun in the long run. Ultimately we feel that ToL is a much tighter game because of this.

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