Risen - Interviews @ WoR

World of Risen posted an interview with Andy Walsh, one of Risen's English story authors, and another one with PB's Quy Hoang made at the GamesCom.

13. How much do you try to keep close to the original and how much do you invent maybe even entire new storylines? Are there specific topics that are a complete no-go and must be rewritten from scratch?

[Andy Walsh None of the story is different from the German game, all the story even the number of speech files was all set in stone. The English Version does, however, tell the story in a different way to the German game (people say completely different things to the other version on a lot of occasions) and the English version gives more detail about some areas of the story. Other changes...well a number of the characters have different names and personalities to suit the move from German to English, that said their game and story roles remain the same in each.

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More information.

I don't know how it will work out, but that English story writer sounds great.

I watched one of the videos again, and although the second interview linked here says the HUD can be turned on & off item by item, I doubt that includes the focus text (floating object labels), which is a real shame. When you've gone to all the effort to shape, texture, light and animate the denizens of this world, and the environment itself, it really detracts when you say IGNORE ALL THAT - YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS IS A PORCUPINE AND IT IS HERE ------->.

I can see these things from the stellar 3d work, but they won't let me immerse myself in their world, there's this extra level on top where it's translated into simple words for me. Why have the models at all?

Do any of the WoG readers know if this text is optional at all?

The English Version does, however, tell the story in a different way to the German game (people say completely different things to the other version on a lot of occasions) and the English version gives more detail about some areas of the story. Other changes...well a number of the characters have different names and personalities to suit the move from German to English

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This I do not like. Not one bit. Nuh-uh.

I suppose I should start learning German now.

I suppose I should start learning German now.

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I'm trying to learn this language two years now but I'm horrible at it :\
Scheisse Deutsch ist schwer :/

Maybe they could do a subtitled version of the German game. I know some German words don't really have English equivalents, like geist, but still. Just subtitle geist as geist. Non-English movies are much better subbed than dubbed. Inglorious Basterds used multiple languages beautifully.

The more I hear about this rewriting thing the less I like it.

It might turn out that the work the english writers did is brilliant (I somehow doubt it
though I am sure it will be a quality professional job) but I would have liked to experience
the story/characters/dialogs that PB has actually written (like in G1/2).

This is a bit of a turn off...

I feel the other way around, that they're reworking the dialogue instead of simply translating it should make the game feel more natural if done right, the story's still the same. I'm hopeful this will end up as a positive thing about the game, since the Gothic games in English are great but the translation isn't really their strongest point.

Toaster said:

I'm hopeful this will end up as a positive thing about the game, since the Gothic games in English are great but the translation isn't really their strongest point.

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Well yeah I'll have to agree there. But we are talking about different personalities for
characters and completely different dialogues (per the quote) here and not simple
rephrasing or adjusting context (in the case of german references).

What I am hearing gives me the impression that they read the original didn't like it
(or perhaps it didn't make sense to them) and rewrote large parts of it while keeping
the general structure of the story (I hope) intact, ouch. Too many liberties taken there
I hope this works for PB too and its not forced upon them by a publisher eager to
"enhance" the appeal of its product to English speaking audience.

Anyway we'll know how good this works out in a month or so (still buying)...

Krzychu said:

This I do not like. Not one bit. Nuh-uh.

I suppose I should start learning German now.

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Did you read the interview? I think this puts it into context:

Previous games had just had a straight translation meaning some dialogue was a bit clunky, difficult to understand or contained jokes that worked in Germany but made no sense in English. For Risen that was something they wanted to change and we have.

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A smarter solution would be to just do an english version, and let the world adapt

But then, the smart solution is rarely the one used.