Piranha Bytes Tuesdays!
I’m rather stoked about the upcoming open-world (or semi-open-world, at least) RPG from Piranha Bytes, Risen 2: Dark Waters. Because of this, and because in addition to most things Ultima I do try and put some focus on other RPG series, I’ve decided that each Tuesday from here on will feature a post which aggregates any news about of Piranha Bytes and either of their excellent (and Ultima-inspired!) RPG series: Gothic and Risen.
Where’s the interest for Ultima fans? Mostly in the people at Piranha Bytes. The German developer has made it clear, in the past, that their games are heavily inspired by the Ultima series, and they have more or less consistently tried to incorporate features in their game worlds that Ultima fans will find familiar. If you’re looking for examples of how to do NPC scheduling right in a 3D game, play something by Piranha Bytes.
Their upcoming game, Risen 2: Dark Waters is, granted, a bit of a different beast in that it fuses a Caribbean pirate flavour on to the typical medieval fantasy context. By all appearances, that will make for intersting results (imagine a game centered around Buccaneer’s Den).
Risen 2
Matt Barton — the vlogger behind the Matt Chat series of gaming interviews and retrospectives — has posted his 133rd episode this week, and in it he takes a look at Piranha Bytes’ Ultima-inspired RPG classic, Gothic.
]About the game, Matt offers this short summary along with the video:
This week, I tour a new favorite, Piranha Bytes’ 2001 classic Gothic. I didn’t play this game when it came out, and now regret it. After a rather slow start, this game picks up in intensity and becomes a must-play for any true CRPG fan. I loved it and hope you will, too.
Gothic, more than almost any other 3D RPG which came after it, built upon the spirit of the Ultima series and the technological foundation of Ultima 9 to deliver an epic RPG experience, complete with an open world and NPC schedules.
I too didn’t play Gothic upon its release; I didn’t even become aware of it until a few years ago. But wow, did I ever miss out on something phenomenal!
Risen 2 Character Profile: Patty the Pirate Bride
GameBanshee suspects that Patty, being the daughter of Captain Steelbeard (one of the central figures in Risen 2), might also be the sister of the protagonist.
Armed with a sabre, a pistol and a very sharp tongue, Patty has boldly stood by the nameless hero since Faranga. She is the astute daughter of probably the most famous and most notorious pirate of all time: Gregorius Emanuel Steelbeard. She has spent most of her life searching for her missing father.
To help in her search, she follows in the footsteps of her father and earns her living as a pirate bride. She has certainly managed to hold her ground in the male-dominated pirate world and has earned the respect of her male counterparts. To help survive she has developed a rough and sassy manner.
Does the term “pirate bride” mean hooker? Anyone?
PCR Online has an interview with Daniel Oberlerchner, the brand manager for Deep Silver (the company that’s publishing Dark Waters). He says a couple things worth noting in the course of the interview. Here’s the first thing, regarding the continuity between Risen and its sequel:
One big challenge for us was that we also had to keep in mind that some console players didn?t play the first game, so we made sure to include several cool ?lore?-characters in the game who will give you the bigger picture of what has happened in Risen 1 and what the legacy of the hero character has been so far.
Now, hidden underneath that statement is the implication that Risen 2 is being built, at least to some degree, to play better on consoles. Make of that what you will, Dragons and Dragonettes, and then wash the bitter taste out with a look at this other thing Mr. Oberlerchner had to say:
In the case of Risen 2 we are very fortunate that we don’t have to lead in the technology race. Risen 2 already looks stunning in DirectX 9 because better technology doesn’t necessarily allow for a better RPG experience.
Although Risen 2 features fluid animations, advanced lighting, particle effects, 3D soundscapes and very cool water shaders with real time caustics and refractions and all those bells and whistles, it?s the living and breathing world that is the star. In the end, it?s not about the brush that paints the picture, but the artist.
Sounds encouraging, no?
RPGamer evidently hosted one such event back in November, and have now featured a second one.
Notable takeaways, according to GameBanshee, are that the game will mostly take place above ground (although there will be dungeons and caves), and that the world was designed in a way that falls between the massive, open world scope of Gothic 3 and the more focused, story-driven scope of Risen.
