The Future of RPGs @ G4

[Dhruin]

G4TV rounds up some upcoming RPGs - namely Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Dragon Age 2, Deus Ex: HR, The Witcher 2 and some MMOs. A sample:

We don't know much about The Elder Scrolls 5, except that it's finally actually coming out, and will arrive on 11/11/11. Perhaps the best news of all around the announcement of the game was the fact that it would be using an entirely new engine, rather than the beginning-to-show-its-age Gamebryo engine. Plus, when you have Max von Sydow narrating your game trailer, you don't really need that many details about your game.
We're sure that more information will be forthcoming in the new year, but we do know that the game will feature Dragonborne characters. The name Skyrim refers to the northernmost provence in Tamriel, which is snowy and mountainous. Five of the world's highest peaks are located here, and it's been the site of many previous battles. It's not new to the Elder Scrolls universe of course, but it sounds like the conflict that's brewing there will be, dare we say, epic? Snow, mountains, dragons .... new engine? Count us in.

More information.

 

[zadokAllen]

G4TV rounds up some upcoming RPGs - namely Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Dragon Age 2, Deus Ex: HR, The Witcher 2

…namely 3,3,5 (sorry, V),2,3,2. Sadly lacking number ones, this future.

 

[Anderson]

Yeah, no kidding. Are there any original RPGs coming out this year, or is everything a sequel?

Sequels or not, though, I'm looking forward to this year of RPGs.

 

[skavenhorde]

#1s include Avadon, Frayed Knights, Age of Decadence (hopefully), Dead State (hopefully), Driftmoon, Grim Dawn, Dungeons (not really RPG, but can't wait for this one )
There aren't a bunch of fresh new titles from the AAAs, but quite a few from the indie devs out there.

I'm also interested in seeing what The Sims Medieval is all about. Sounds interesting if the can somehow integrate RPG elements like questing and leveling up with The Sims AI. If it's just The Sims set in a different time period then I'll pass. I already have enough Sim games to last me a lifetime.

 

[Tragos]

Those are only "established titles" , i am sure that an indy or a small studio production will make the difference this year .

 

[MrSanta78]

#1s include Avadon, Frayed Knights, Age of Decadence (hopefully), Dead State (hopefully), Driftmoon, Grim Dawn, Dungeons (not really RPG, but can't wait for this one )
There aren't a bunch of fresh new titles from the AAAs, but quite a few from the indie devs out there.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - another #1.
Grim Dawn will be really released this year?

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I'm also interested in seeing what The Sims Medieval is all about. Sounds interesting if the can somehow integrate RPG elements like questing and leveling up with The Sims AI. If it's just The Sims set in a different time period then I'll pass. I already have enough Sim games to last me a lifetime.

I'm hugely interested in that, too.

It could imho be the REAL future of RPGs - because it is a push forward into territories no man have moved in before ... namely the social aspects of RPGs.

I sense a deep potential in it - but I also sense that only EA will be willing to "use", to "exploit" it, because I rather believe that more traditional, especially male-driven developers will despise this mix of social RPG and combat RPG.

Combat. That's all RPGs are about. Especially wihin the oh-so-well-selling action games.

The mediaval SIms is in my opinion nothing but a break open (of the door) towards what I call "social RPGs" - and thus opening the door for completely new types of customers.

And even worse : Like the action-RPG lovers who want action, combat, action, combat within "modern" PGs and nothing else,
this group of potential customers will insist of a more groing social aspect of RPGs.

This will most likely result in a "Clash of Cultures", so to say. Combat-lovers vs. social aspects lovers.

And it will imho be very, very, VERY difficult to combine both in ONE game. I almost expect the first attempts to that to utterly fail.
I fear there would have to be two completely different games combinesin one - similar to Spellforce, which also is kind of two entirely different games combined in one : RPG and RTS.

This is the future of RPGs I see.

Not this stuff like Mass Effect, which is rather like some kind of Interactive Movie to me ...

 

[EvilManagedCare]

How does Max Von Sydow's narration mean you don't need details about the game itself? Oh, that's right: Big name actors = quality title. Or at least in G4's world it does

 

[zadokAllen]

There aren't a bunch of fresh new titles from the AAAs, but quite a few from the indie devs out there.

It`s true, and I don`t really have a problem with how things turned out. Indies are advanced enough these days to produce RPG`s similar to these I enjoyed 20 to 15 years ago… It`s a time machine of sorts Maybe in 10 years we`ll see indie Morrowind…

There`s also a chance for Knights of a Chalice 2 this year

 

[GothicGothicness]

Wow knights of the Chalice 2 ?

 

[rich ruffo]

Inquisitor , Bastion , Magika , Grim Dawn , Age of Decadence , Torchlight 2 , Dead State , Avadon: Black Fortress , Forsaken Gods {PATCHED}, Drakensang: River of Time , Path of Exile , Guild of Wars 2, Witcher 2 , Dungeon Siege 3 , Diablo 3 , Neverwinter , Dilogus: The Winds Of War , Does anybody know the status of The Broken Hourglass, E.Y.E , Scars Of War, Demonicon?

 

[Dasale]

Inquisitor , Bastion , Magika , Grim Dawn , Age of Decadence , Torchlight 2 , Dead State , Avadon: Black Fortress , Forsaken Gods {PATCHED}, Drakensang: River of Time , Path of Exile , Guild of Wars 2, Witcher 2 , Dungeon Siege 3 , Diablo 3 , Neverwinter , Dilogus: The Winds Of War , Does anybody know the status of The Broken Hourglass, E.Y.E , Scars Of War, Demonicon?

Few questions:

• Forsaken Gods? isn't this already released? Or is now patch are considered as new release?
• Drakensang: River of Time? Why future?
• Guild of Wars 2? Isn't this MMORPG?
• Neverwinter? You mean a 3 is coming?

Yeah Torchlight 2 alas it's quite clear that they focus entirely on adding multiplayer that I don't care. So I suspect this will be a release I won't like because many single player design will be screwed by a multi player design, still have some hope for this one.

I didn't knew Dungeon Siege 3 was coming, Obsidian and Square Enix for and ex Microsoft game, funny. Looking at the trailer it seems a Diablo clone and nope Dungeon Siege was a different approach than pure Diablo clone. I'm looking with much more curiosity Diablo clones since Torchlight but well, what I have seen in this trailer seems not a good approach of fights.

 

[Dhruin]

[*]Drakensang: River of Time? Why future?
[...]
[*]Neverwinter? You mean a 3 is coming?
[/LIST]

Drakensang: TRoT...there aren't many options for buying an English version for many people, so "future" is perfectly reasonable. We're not all German or Dutch, you know.

Neverwinter (no "3", just "Neverwinter") was announced a while back. It's primarily an online title.

 

[rich ruffo]

Forsaken Gods is being officially patched ,meaning Re-Coded and since Arcania was a shell of a game this will be the closest game we get to Gothic. Torchlight 2 will be a huge improvement to its predisessor .NeverWinter actually sounds good if you can play solo . And yes your right Guild Wars 2 is an MMO but my God man the game looks incredible plus you can play it like a single player RPG.

 

[Anderson]

All the new RPG titles mentioned here appear to be PC only. Console players are getting all sequels, with the exception of Kingdoms of Amalur (which I don't really expect this year, but we'll see).

 

[skavenhorde]

Not true. The best console RPG is a brand new one called "Cthulhu Saves the World"

It's looks very JRPG, but I won't hold that against it. The setting is too good to pass on once I get my new Xbox and it's only 2 or 3 dollars.

As for the rest of the RPGs on a console, I couldn't care any less. I don't really want to play rpgs on a console. That's mostly for action games.

 

[Anderson]

Not true. The best console RPG is a brand new one called "Cthulhu Saves the World"

Yeah, I wasn't thinking of arcade RPGs, just normal releases, but there are a few new ones there. In addition to Cthulhu (which I've heard good things about, but it's not for me), Bastion, Magika, and Torchlight are all supposed to be coming (Torchlight's a sequel but would be new for console players). I suppose that new IPs are more likely to come through XBLA and PSN than the normal retail chain.

p.s. Oh yeah, I forgot Venetica, which will be out for consoles next week.

 

[rich ruffo]

Is Cthulhu coming to the PS3 ?

 

[Anderson]

I don't think so. I googled it, and all of the references on the first page were to the 360.

 

[Dasale]

Drakensang: TRoT…there aren't many options for buying an English version for many people, so "future" is perfectly reasonable. We're not all German or Dutch, you know.

Neverwinter (no "3", just "Neverwinter") was announced a while back. It's primarily an online title.

I didn't knew for Drakensang River of Time the box French version is released since October, I believed there was already an English version.