Tonight RPGamer held a discussion session with Andrew Brown, the associate producer at THQ for Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage, and Andrew Brechin, the assistant designer and level editor at H20, the game's developer. The chat was very informative, and there are several little tidbits to share.

• There are now thirteen playable characters. Two new characters are Sholeh and Dougal.

• The game has non-linear aspects, and a player determines when a character is added or dropped. This will affect the dialogue heard during your quest, hence the information that you will receive.

• There will be two different options with the expansion pack. One option will be a standard high resolution mode, while the other will be a 32-bit color texture mode, where the textures will be much smoother and polished looking.

• Combat will be turn-based, but very fast-paced.

• The Day/Night cycle will affect characters directly, as they will either be 'Solar' or 'Lunar.' This does not imply whether a character is good or evil.

• Random weather can drastically change combat conditions.

• Characters earn experience points to gain levels, but must select the skills they wish to improve.

• The music is being composed by the duo responsible for the music in the PC game "Homeworld."

• The storyline will revolve mainly around the hero Alaron's self-discovery, and the player will NOT be trying to save the world.

• A sequel is very likely on a next-generation platform, should the first game be a success.

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage still has a Summer 2000 release date, and will probably be released later in the Summer opposed to earlier. RPGamer hopes to bring you the full chat transcript very soon. In the meantime, enjoy these tidbits of information in what looks like not just an average RPG, but an answer to whether a high-quality RPG can be made on the Nintendo 64. All signs point to yes, and THQ and H2O are the ones delivering it.