Crytek: Combat in Ryse ‘Mashing to Mastery’

Speaking to GameReactor Crytek's game design director PJ Estevez  has said the core of Ryse: Son of Rome is a concept they call 'mashing to mastery' adding that while the game is designed for anyone to play it will challenging to "master".

Estevez commented, "We have this concept we call mashing to mastery. The idea is that anyone can play it and they can mash the buttons and fight, but if you get the right timing you're able to actually able to master it. Master the reaction you get out of the AI. You worked on the AI, you get them to this executable state and you execute them and we're like: 'Why does it have to stop there?' 'Why do I have to stop and watch this movie play out?'

"Because we've all played games that have executions and like 30 minutes into it you're like 'Really, I smash this guys head, then I stab then I kick him,'" he continued. "So we're like, let's continue the flow, let's make it open up a window and give guys who want to spend time learning it more of a reward bonus."

Estevez admitted that some players likely groaned at the presence of quick time events in the game but he insists these slow-motion executions are intended to add to the experience.

"It's probably one of these things where you see it on stage and you see the button prompts and everyone's like, 'Aww, it's a QTE!' But no, it's really about the flow and maintaining it."

Ryse was originally announced as a Kinect title for Xbox 360 but will now coming to Xbox One and will be played principally with a controller. 

Via: GameSpot.