It's no secret that the developers of Perihelion Interactive have drawn from various creative influences when creating their upcoming tactical RPG, The Mandate. That's why, to give a little more background on the game's setting, the team have introduced a text-based adventure influenced by the likes of the classic game Zork called Scourge of The Mandate, which puts players in the shoes of one of the worst space pirates in Mandate history.

A space exploration game that tasks disgraced ex-soldiers to captain a ship of rogues to save a failing empire, The Mandate puts focus not just on space exploration and starship battles, but on the crew, drawing inspiration from shows like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. The game also comes with isometric battles, crewmates that become more reliable with each survived encounter, and both single and cooperative missions, drawing inspiration from games like XCOM, Fallout and Star Trek Online.

Scourge is a browser-based text-adventure game built in the Unity engine, which adds some background to the world of the game, where an Imperial Mandate has allowed the Empire to expand across the universe taking on other civilizations and gather resources at its leisure. Players will guide the fate of the Scourge himself, Jameson Howth, and what he did to become the most hated and feared man in the universe:

In the dark future days of rebellion and civil war, when worlds turn on each other and fleets clash in deep space, there are few names as universally abhorred as that of Jameson Howth: The atrocities and crimes committed by this villain have ensured him a place amongst the pantheon of legendary pirates. This Scourge of The Mandate is still believed to be at large in Fringe space, though his infamous ship, the Deathless, has not been seen in years.

What motivated Howth to become such a notorious pirate, and what vile and unforgivable crimes did he commit? In this text adventure, players will take on the role of Jameson Howth and determine his fate.

On Scourge of the Mandate, Ole Herbjørnsen, Executive Producer of Perihelion Interactive said:

Scourge of The Mandate ties in with our design philosophy and the name Perihelion, which is defined as the closest point that an object orbits a sun. We are the body orbiting the sun, which in this case, is the legendary games that have inspired us, including classics such as Zork.  Many of these old games had gameplay or immersion that in some ways is superior to modern day offerings and gave these games more of a ‘soul’.

Scourge of The Mandate can be played right now, and joins Perihelion Interactive's other unique ways to experience The Mandate's world, including the ability to create your own character and build your own starship.

The Mandate is set to release to Windows, Mac and Linux platforms for a Q1 2015 release and is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter; for more details on the game, check out the previously released trailers and screenshots, and the recently released developer diary.