Marcel Bernardi, Lead Artist for QUByte Interactive Talks Blades & Battles – Interview Series

“And Arthur, more and more bewildered, put his hand to the hilt and drew forth the sword as if out of a well-greased scabbard.” Alas, QUByte Interactive’s latest beat ‘em up arcade game, Blades & Battles, is to be the Excalibur to a legacy as old as time itself, and, respectively, it’s something that we’re eager to see at the Round Table in all its fantastical glory.

Of course, I wanted to learn all there was to know about Blades & Battles and its barbaric take on the beloved myth, and so, naturally, I decided to reach out to the team over at QUByte. Enter Marcel Bernardi, Lead Artist for the studio’s upcoming title.

Thanks for taking the time out to speak with us, Marcel. Of course, there are several things that we would love to chat with you about here. However, before we dip into the details, would you mind painting us a picture of your latest project? What is Blades & Battles, in a nutshell?

Marcel: Blades & Battles is an Arcade Beat’em Up that’ll bring the joy and simplicity of a good gaming section that we loved to spend time on, all in a very well known legend setting with lots of twists and moments that are not very faithful to the original story.

You’ve described Blades & Battles as an “immersive, action-packed experience of chivalry, honor, and adventure.” What we would like to know, however, is how this experience will tie into the bloodstream of the King Arthur mythology. What’s the story here?

Marcel: Actually we choose not to be very faithful to the original story, but to be more loose and fantastic. We’ll show the characters at the beginning of their warrior lives, to rescue their friend Merlin from the clutches of the evil She-Orc sorceress, Morgana.

Let’s delve a little deeper into these two playable characters, Arthur and Lancelot, and their respective personalities and abilities. Mind telling us a bit more about these two legendary heroes and how they’ll work in tandem with one another?

Marcel: Our version of Arthur will be more barbaric and to show his evolution to the knight that we all know, alas Lancelot will be shown at his youth as a wannabe knight, not even realizing the hero that he’ll become. Their fighting skills will reflect this moment on their lives and will complement one another.

Tell us about the setting—the world in which we shall be able to traverse, explore, and oftentimes conquer. What sorts of medieval wonders await us in these bustling boroughs?

Marcel: The evil sorceress Morgana, the She-Orc, captured the most powerful sorceress on the lands of Avalon, the already old Merlin. With his powers under her subjugation, a race of evil orcs and animalistic creatures and monsters were released on the lands to destroy all its people. The salvation of the future kingdom is in the hands of the young warriors Arthur and his new found friend, Lancelot.

🚨 New project reveal 🚨

Blades & Battles is our new beat ‘em up game set in a fantasy world, where players take on the mission to rescue the wizard Merlin from the clutches of the evil witch Morgana.

Wishlist now: https://t.co/j0sj7WYtRG#QUByteConnect2024 pic.twitter.com/ucmd4ifVNm

— QUByte Interactive (@qubytegames) October 31, 2024

Perhaps we’re taking our seats at the Round Table a little earlier than we should, but we have to ask: what is the secret to succeeding in Blades & Battles? Care to share any useful tips, tricks, or general words of advice with our readers?

Marcel: Our goal with Blades & Battles will be to deliver the old Arcade experience to the player, nothing too complicated, but only a couple of guys beating a lot of evil creatures with lots of combos, moves and funny moments.

While we have you here, we do have to raise that all-important question: what’s next for Blades & Battles? Are you nearing another milestone in the development cycle, or would you rather keep the details under wraps?

Marcel: We’re refining the moves and combos, a lot. We want a very immersive combat and easy to perform, but at the same time nothing shallow. Our next milestone will be to deliver very cool boss fights.

Is there a way for us to stay up to date with Blades & Battles, as well as other things pertaining specifically to QUByte Interactive? Are there any important social feeds, newsletters, or event details that we could share with our audience?

Marcel: Please follow us on all QUByte’s social media.

Would you like to add anything to the page before we go ahead and close the book?

Marcel: I would like to thank everyone that took the time to know Blades & Battles a little bit more, and we really hope that everyone who plays it has a lot of fun. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for your time, Marcel.

You can find more information on QUByte Interactive’s Blades & Battles over on X. You can also add the game to your wishlist on Steam for additional updates here.