Not all types of games lend themselves to all types of licenses, naturally. The RPG genre works best with licenses where the focus of the creators has been on the universe as much as on the characters.

I would like to point out that this is far from a simple tutorial. In fact, learning the ropes of the game is only a minor part of what you do in this period. I do not know with 100 percent certainty the amount of time that you will spend solving the challenges set before you in the single-player part of the game, but our goal is clear: We want to create a full-fledged stand-alone game that gives you a story-driven role-playing experience where the focus is on you, your character, and your journey.

In Hyborian Adventures, which is the first in several titles planned on the Age of Conan brand, the playable races are Aquilonian, Cimmerian, and Stygian. Over time, this will be increased. They will have different looks and hometowns, but the choice of classes will also be different for the various races. For instance, only the Stygians will have access to the mage class and its branching specializations.

The archetype classes are warrior, mage, priest, and rogue. You get to choose a class at level five, as you arrive at Tortage, the freebooter town on the Baracha Isles. You begin your life without a class, and all you need to choose is your looks and race.

When thinking about what Hyboria and being a character like Conan is all about, picking up a sword and crushing something seems very natural. The ritualized indirect, or downright slow, combat found in many role-playing games simply didn't lend itself as well to something as violent, brutal, and direct as a game in the Hyborian age.

It is true that we try to make the visual look and feel of magic in Conan different from what you have seen in other games and the more traditional fantasy settings. The clownlike, fireball-tossing magic users in pointy hats, with puffs and multicolored robes, are not part of the Hyborian universe.