Titirangi is a somewhat unlikely location for a games developer.

The leafy West Auckland suburb is perhaps better known as a centre for conventional artistic impression - you're more likely to find quality ceramics in lieu of a burgeoning software industry. But if Kiwi studio Grinding Gear Games has anything to do with it, material creativity may soon be replaced with that of a digital nature.

Path of Exile is the Grinding Gear's first project, explains studio co-founder Chris Wilson. An online, free-to-play action RPG title, the game draws heavily on the techniques and systems central to such illustrious games as Diablo and Titan Quest. However, the team at Grinding Gear have tasked themselves with creating a more grim, more macabre product, opting for a wan palette, darker tones and an overwhelming sense of despair: “We’re working towards dismemberment,” adds Wilson cheerily.

Path of Exile’s development history is so indie it borders on the clichéd: Wilson first began work on Exile in his bedroom in November 2006 before teaming up with another programmer, Jonathan Rogers, and graduating to the garage. Since then, Grinding Gear Games has grown exponentially, bringing on a further eight staff and taking up residence in their current West Auckland offices.

As the title would suggest, players first find themselves washed up on the shores of a forsaken and desolate continent after being exiled from civilisation for their crimes. Australians should feel right at home, then.

The developers were quick to explain their philosophy - there's no wall of text indoctrinating the player. Instead, the studio believes in environmental narratives. The game speaks for itself, gradually introducing newcomers to the world and their fate through visual clues rather than the usual scrolling pages of lore recited by suitably stereotypical non-player characters.

Three of six character classes have been announced to date: Marauder, the warrior archetype; Ranger, the ranged archetype; Witch, the spellcasting archetype. The remaining three classes will be hybrids.

The combat mechanics are firmly within familiar territory: Mouse buttons are mapped to attacks, number keys to potions, and movement is dictated by a mouse click.

Item acquisition will also be familiar. In true loot casino fashion, most items and their statistics are randomised and are found arbitrarily on vanquished enemies and in chests. As you’d expect, more powerful items are found on more powerful enemies.

The departure from traditional hack'n'slash canon comes in different forms. The monetary system takes very much a back seat to the acquisition and trading of items themselves. This, in turn, is linked into the ability to modify existing weapons in an extremely broad fashion, rendering the relentless drive to seek out particular unique items unnecessary.

Instead of acquiring new skills as they level, players find, trade or are given skill gems. These skill gems level up as the player does. Weapons, armour and skills can also be modified through the use of support gems acquired from drops, chests or quests. These can hasten a character’s attack speed, knock back or multi-shot, for example.

Beyond this extensive gem system there are passive skills. The passive skill menu is a web of interconnected abilities loosely organised into strength, dexterity and magical categories. All passive skills are available to all classes meaning that if you want to, you can create a melee-capable spellcaster. By launch, the developer intends to make approximately 1,000 passive skills available to players.

Path of Exile will be free to download, but Grinding Gear intends to glean a humble living from the game through what they call “ethical micro-transactions.” Players will not be able to purchase any power or advancement but will be able to buy a range of optional aesthetic upgrades, changing, for example, a standard spell animation for a more elaborate one. Account activity such as server transfers will also be available at a price, however the fundamental game itself will remain entirely free to play.

The servers are based in the States and regional servers in Europe and Oceania are currently "under consideration". For those concerned about latency, Grinding Gear points out that they’re doing their internal play testing on the US servers (from Titirangi) and that the game is quite literally being optimised at international traffic speeds.

Beyond server delineation, Path of Exile will also feature leagues with different rule sets. At one end of the spectrum will be “standard” rules such as consensual player vs. player combat - at the other, cut throat non-consensual player killing and a hardcore league.

The rule set for the hardcore league is particularly inspired: Should a player be killed, their character will be relegated to a softcore league. In a sense, everybody wins: The loser retains his or her advancement and time investment and the victor has permanently removed that character from the league.

Grinding Gear also intends to create temporary leagues with rewards. For example, a levelling league to run over a weekend wherein the slowest advancing character is eliminated every hour.

Path of Exile may well be the most exciting locally produced PC game we've ever encountered. References to New Zealand also abound, from moss-covered rain forests to the "Rhoa", a Doctor Moreau-like hybrid of a rhinoceros and a moa.

With closed beta testing due to start soon, we strongly suggest you get in at the ground floor by signing up at the official site. We'll be following the progression of this title keenly over the coming months.