zyklop
21.06.2006, 07:24
First we would like to say "Thank you" to Jörg Schindler from German publisher Zuxxez. He arranged an interview with the developers of the upcoming roleplaying game "TwoWorlds". So we had the chance to ask the Technical Director from Reality Pump, Miroslaw Dymek, a whole bunch of questions about the game...
GGP: According to earlier announcements there should be an ingame video on E3. Where is it, is it possible to download it in the next few weeks ?
MD: At E3 there was shown an internal Video for business partners. Soon we will release the first official ingame-video for all interested gamers.
GGP: Is a complete German localization planed and who will do it ?
MD: Naturally we will organize a complete localization for the German market. A high quality translation of the dialogs influences essentialy the athmosphere in a roleplaying game. We will work together with our experienced partners, who made also an excellent work for titles like "Earth 2160". This will include some famous synchro-voices from german and international stars known well in the biz.
GGP: What about support for TwoWorlds ? Gamers often complain about poor support from publishers. Will it be better for this game ?
MD: Supporting our community is very important for us, we will try to strong our engagement in this sector. In the time before game release for example there are the developer diaries on our official site. There our fans can find daily news from Reality Pump and exclusive screens and pictures. But in the moment our main focus is the development of the game.
GGP: Tell us about the gaming world, is it a "classical" scenario we know from many fantasy rpg´s or will there be individual elements ? What about the background for the races, is there a "real" difference (besides the height and weapons) between dwarves and elves, will there be individual stats and behaviours ? Will orcs always be evil like the known stereotypes or is it possible to meet an orc, who cultivates roses and believes in the goodness of each creature ? And what about new races unique to TwoWorlds ?
MD: Well, naturally our game is based on a classical fantasy scenerio too. Otherwise our fans would declare us after release as totally "nuts". But we build in some new, very innovative elements, that we would like to reveal later. For the second part of your question: Characters not only differ from each other in appearance, they also behave in different ways. For example lets have a look at dwarves and orcs. Both races are rough, fiercefull warriors, but they differ from each other in many things. For dwarves things like honour, bravery and the art of craftmanship are very important values, orcs on the other hand are motivated by things like military, brute force and anarchy. well, this are more classical gradations. But there are also some special features for each race. For example, most of the time there are little fights between the single dwarven clans to increase the social status. We try to build in many finenesses in the behaviour of each race to create more living and believable cultures.
GGP: Talking about "roses"... (smile) - is it only possible to level up by fighting, or will there be quests, that demand careful behaviour like stealth or using your brain to be succesfull ?
MD: Normally the quests in TwoWorlds will not be limited to only one possible solution, quite the reverse. We try to give the players as much space for acting and exploring as possible. The task and the goal are predefined, that´s clear, but how the player reaches the goal is totally up to him. Deceit, murder, flattery - nearly all is possible. On this way a simple quest can change to a whole campaign. For example, if the player needs a specific item, that is stored at a specific place, he has to find this location first. In the next step he has to make himself familiar with the people inhabiting this place to decide, how he has to act to get the wished item at the end.
GGP: What about the "hunters and collectors" in the gamers community ? Will there be unique items, you can get ? Is it possible to create such items by your own via crafting ? Is it possible to enchant items, and if the answer is "yes", who will be able to do it ? Will it be like NeverwinterNights, where each character can enchant items ?
MD: "Hunters and collectors" will be very happy with our game. There are many rare items, that each player would like to have in his inventory. In addition, there are planned many ways to upgrade and enchant items using magic, boosting there features to higher levels. We use a very flexible system for it, so if players like it, they can spend much time to organize and combine their precious items.
GGP: Tell us about the saving system. Can you save your game anytime and everywhere like Oblivion or Gothic ? Or is it similar to Diablo, where you only save your character ?
MD: We use both systems, in single-player-mode you can save anytime, in multi-player-games saving works automatically before important decisions are made.
GGP: Please let´s have a look in the crystal orb (smile) - Is the third quarter 2006 for release still realistic or should we plan to add TwoWorlds on our christmas list ?
MD: In the moment we assume the given deadline.
GGP: Are there any AddOns planned, perhaps already a second part ?
MD: Naturally we would like to expand the universe of TwoWorlds. And what instruments are more suiteble for this as Add-On´s and new episodes ? But in the moment our main focus is completing the whole game. We don´t try to saddle the horse from the back...
GGP: In the last few years the topic "modding" got more and more importance for gamers, so will it be supported by TwoWorlds ? What about special modding tools or standardized interfaces for exporter tools (i.e. for 3dMax), that would give modders a chance to expand the game ?
MD: Mod-tools are always an interesting way to expand an existing game world. But for this goes the same as for the last question - first we concentrate on completing the main game to get the best possible results. Other things will be decided later on.
GGP: How many hours will it take for an average player to complete the main quest and how long for discovering each secret spot in the game and complete all sidequests ?
MD: Well, this is a reasonable question esspecially for a roleplaying game, but in the moment i can´t answer it in detail. Only this: There´s a whole bunch of things to discover, even players, who strictly follow the main quest, will have to do many things...(smile). The whole playtime differs and depends on the way you play. We can see this in the moment very good by observing our team while playing. The more players join the TwoWorlds-universe, the more different plot directions occure.
GGP: There´s a rumor, that a player character will have to eat, drink and sleep not to get some minus points. Is this true ?
MD: No, that´s not true. This kind of features were never be planned.
GGP: Will the story be more straight and linear as i.e. in "Oblivion" ? Is it possible to make wrong decisions that will make it impossible to complete the story ?
MD: If it´s impossible to complete a quest according to a wrong decision, this would imo be a heavy flaw in game design. We try to avoid things like this under all circumstances. In the first case roleplaying games live from the freedom of decision-making, so players shoud´nt be prevented from exploring important parts of the story. Each decision should have consequences, but under all circumstances the player must be able to complete the game in a satisfying way. No matter how he plays - whether he decides to ignore 95% of the quests, to rampage like a barbarian through the whole game or to follow strictly the red line of the main story.
GGP: According an earlier announcement there will be 8-10 different classes in TwoWorlds. Can you tell us something about it ?
MD: In the multi-player-modus you can choose from 8 different character-classes. This includes among other things necromancers, barbarians, fighters and magicians.
GGP: What minimum hardware requirements will we need to play TwoWorlds and what kind of system will be able to handle max. options ?
MD: We use a very advanced engine that gives the player different options to change single features, so it will be possible to play TwoWorlds even on older PC´s. More detailed informations about this coming soon.
GGP: Well, the last point is not a question, it´s more like a request: Please design the inventory as user-friendly as possible. No concessions to console interfaces (experienced rpg-fans will know, what i mean - blink) - just a plain, nice and simple to organize inventory and all gamers will be happy...
MD: OMG, perhaps you´ve read my mind...(smile). Like we talked about earlier, collecting items is a key element in our game. It would´nt be very smart of us to neglect the design of such an important element like the inventory, eh...? In my opinion in the meantime we already made a very handy and comfortable inventory, easy to use and organize.
GGP: Last but not least we wish to thank all members of your team for developing a promising roleplaying game like TwoWorlds. In the last years (essepecially 2005 was a horrible year in this case) the rpg community was´nt smiled upon by fate - too many shooters and strategy games according to the so-called mainstream taste. So each new rpg is a new promise for nearly endless hours of adventure and fun...
GGP: According to earlier announcements there should be an ingame video on E3. Where is it, is it possible to download it in the next few weeks ?
MD: At E3 there was shown an internal Video for business partners. Soon we will release the first official ingame-video for all interested gamers.
GGP: Is a complete German localization planed and who will do it ?
MD: Naturally we will organize a complete localization for the German market. A high quality translation of the dialogs influences essentialy the athmosphere in a roleplaying game. We will work together with our experienced partners, who made also an excellent work for titles like "Earth 2160". This will include some famous synchro-voices from german and international stars known well in the biz.
GGP: What about support for TwoWorlds ? Gamers often complain about poor support from publishers. Will it be better for this game ?
MD: Supporting our community is very important for us, we will try to strong our engagement in this sector. In the time before game release for example there are the developer diaries on our official site. There our fans can find daily news from Reality Pump and exclusive screens and pictures. But in the moment our main focus is the development of the game.
GGP: Tell us about the gaming world, is it a "classical" scenario we know from many fantasy rpg´s or will there be individual elements ? What about the background for the races, is there a "real" difference (besides the height and weapons) between dwarves and elves, will there be individual stats and behaviours ? Will orcs always be evil like the known stereotypes or is it possible to meet an orc, who cultivates roses and believes in the goodness of each creature ? And what about new races unique to TwoWorlds ?
MD: Well, naturally our game is based on a classical fantasy scenerio too. Otherwise our fans would declare us after release as totally "nuts". But we build in some new, very innovative elements, that we would like to reveal later. For the second part of your question: Characters not only differ from each other in appearance, they also behave in different ways. For example lets have a look at dwarves and orcs. Both races are rough, fiercefull warriors, but they differ from each other in many things. For dwarves things like honour, bravery and the art of craftmanship are very important values, orcs on the other hand are motivated by things like military, brute force and anarchy. well, this are more classical gradations. But there are also some special features for each race. For example, most of the time there are little fights between the single dwarven clans to increase the social status. We try to build in many finenesses in the behaviour of each race to create more living and believable cultures.
GGP: Talking about "roses"... (smile) - is it only possible to level up by fighting, or will there be quests, that demand careful behaviour like stealth or using your brain to be succesfull ?
MD: Normally the quests in TwoWorlds will not be limited to only one possible solution, quite the reverse. We try to give the players as much space for acting and exploring as possible. The task and the goal are predefined, that´s clear, but how the player reaches the goal is totally up to him. Deceit, murder, flattery - nearly all is possible. On this way a simple quest can change to a whole campaign. For example, if the player needs a specific item, that is stored at a specific place, he has to find this location first. In the next step he has to make himself familiar with the people inhabiting this place to decide, how he has to act to get the wished item at the end.
GGP: What about the "hunters and collectors" in the gamers community ? Will there be unique items, you can get ? Is it possible to create such items by your own via crafting ? Is it possible to enchant items, and if the answer is "yes", who will be able to do it ? Will it be like NeverwinterNights, where each character can enchant items ?
MD: "Hunters and collectors" will be very happy with our game. There are many rare items, that each player would like to have in his inventory. In addition, there are planned many ways to upgrade and enchant items using magic, boosting there features to higher levels. We use a very flexible system for it, so if players like it, they can spend much time to organize and combine their precious items.
GGP: Tell us about the saving system. Can you save your game anytime and everywhere like Oblivion or Gothic ? Or is it similar to Diablo, where you only save your character ?
MD: We use both systems, in single-player-mode you can save anytime, in multi-player-games saving works automatically before important decisions are made.
GGP: Please let´s have a look in the crystal orb (smile) - Is the third quarter 2006 for release still realistic or should we plan to add TwoWorlds on our christmas list ?
MD: In the moment we assume the given deadline.
GGP: Are there any AddOns planned, perhaps already a second part ?
MD: Naturally we would like to expand the universe of TwoWorlds. And what instruments are more suiteble for this as Add-On´s and new episodes ? But in the moment our main focus is completing the whole game. We don´t try to saddle the horse from the back...
GGP: In the last few years the topic "modding" got more and more importance for gamers, so will it be supported by TwoWorlds ? What about special modding tools or standardized interfaces for exporter tools (i.e. for 3dMax), that would give modders a chance to expand the game ?
MD: Mod-tools are always an interesting way to expand an existing game world. But for this goes the same as for the last question - first we concentrate on completing the main game to get the best possible results. Other things will be decided later on.
GGP: How many hours will it take for an average player to complete the main quest and how long for discovering each secret spot in the game and complete all sidequests ?
MD: Well, this is a reasonable question esspecially for a roleplaying game, but in the moment i can´t answer it in detail. Only this: There´s a whole bunch of things to discover, even players, who strictly follow the main quest, will have to do many things...(smile). The whole playtime differs and depends on the way you play. We can see this in the moment very good by observing our team while playing. The more players join the TwoWorlds-universe, the more different plot directions occure.
GGP: There´s a rumor, that a player character will have to eat, drink and sleep not to get some minus points. Is this true ?
MD: No, that´s not true. This kind of features were never be planned.
GGP: Will the story be more straight and linear as i.e. in "Oblivion" ? Is it possible to make wrong decisions that will make it impossible to complete the story ?
MD: If it´s impossible to complete a quest according to a wrong decision, this would imo be a heavy flaw in game design. We try to avoid things like this under all circumstances. In the first case roleplaying games live from the freedom of decision-making, so players shoud´nt be prevented from exploring important parts of the story. Each decision should have consequences, but under all circumstances the player must be able to complete the game in a satisfying way. No matter how he plays - whether he decides to ignore 95% of the quests, to rampage like a barbarian through the whole game or to follow strictly the red line of the main story.
GGP: According an earlier announcement there will be 8-10 different classes in TwoWorlds. Can you tell us something about it ?
MD: In the multi-player-modus you can choose from 8 different character-classes. This includes among other things necromancers, barbarians, fighters and magicians.
GGP: What minimum hardware requirements will we need to play TwoWorlds and what kind of system will be able to handle max. options ?
MD: We use a very advanced engine that gives the player different options to change single features, so it will be possible to play TwoWorlds even on older PC´s. More detailed informations about this coming soon.
GGP: Well, the last point is not a question, it´s more like a request: Please design the inventory as user-friendly as possible. No concessions to console interfaces (experienced rpg-fans will know, what i mean - blink) - just a plain, nice and simple to organize inventory and all gamers will be happy...
MD: OMG, perhaps you´ve read my mind...(smile). Like we talked about earlier, collecting items is a key element in our game. It would´nt be very smart of us to neglect the design of such an important element like the inventory, eh...? In my opinion in the meantime we already made a very handy and comfortable inventory, easy to use and organize.
GGP: Last but not least we wish to thank all members of your team for developing a promising roleplaying game like TwoWorlds. In the last years (essepecially 2005 was a horrible year in this case) the rpg community was´nt smiled upon by fate - too many shooters and strategy games according to the so-called mainstream taste. So each new rpg is a new promise for nearly endless hours of adventure and fun...