Piranha Bytes - New RPG to be announced at GC

Nope, they'll do intelligent goblins this time, since intelligent orcs will be too much like Gothic III :p

Now, seriously, I believe they can make another good game, but I agree with Brother None that they should try and go for something different. Different is good, not bad. It might not sell that well, but if it's good it'll sell enough to make a sequel (like GI -> GII) which will be more popular and their reputations will be restored, if not enhanced, by making a good game and a daring move.
 
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ROFL... I think PB needs to give their employees more spare time so they can update themselves on what games are in the making. Ralf (Art Director) from PB seems to think that Mass Effect is a tool for creating cinematic stories...

1. Seeing that Mass Effect will be coming out in November, are you considering a cinematic feel to the game, just like Mass Effect has?? Or perhaps more precisely: What do you think of ME's cinematic design? And you think that games should be this way in the future?

Ralf: 1. Mass Effect is a great storytelling tool. There are no plans yet to use it for the current project though (I certainly would love it!)

2. What do you, as game designers think of Mass Effect's dialogue design where you pick a topic and then the main person of the story says something (slightly) in that general area of the topic. You'll only need to tell if it OK, bad or good, though.

Ralf: 2. I think it makes the character to appear much more lifelike.

http://forum.worldofplayers.de/forum/showthread.php?t=250383&page=4
 
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I was also hoping for a departure from the typical fantasy setting too. But I'm not going to turn up my nose at another PB game. These guys have basically earned my unconditional purchase of their next game.

Are they really trying to get the game out before 2009? That would leave only two years to work on the game. That seems like an unrealistically ambitious plan, especially when you consider that they have to build a new engine for it. Wasn't one of the major problems with Gothic 3 that the engine building didn't go well and they needed more time to finish it? And they worked for Gothic 3 for three years.
 
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True. But they fooled around with GameBryo for who-knows-how-long ;) so the engine development (with all their experience gathered over the last few years) might not take as long this time and they are making a much smaller game than Gothic 3, too, so it would not seem totally unrealistic that they might make late 2008.
BTW, that same Ralf that I quoted above called the schedule "sporty" in a post just this week so I guess they are fully aware that not a lot may go wrong to stay on schedule.
 
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I would prefer something different from the standard fantasy formula, but I don't mind if they do go with the same/similar setting. As long as it's similar gameplay-wise to Gothic 1/2. That's what I fell in love with in G1/2.

But if I had to wish for a type of setting, I think I would go for something steampunk.
 
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Their team is slightly bigger than it was for G3. Ralf said they´re 23 people now, I think. So we have a bigger team for a much smaller project and a publisher who is not in danger of running out of cash.

It has been confirmed that they´re not allowed to use anything from G3. The CM team can´t use the tools though, which makes it possible that the tools are indeed PB´s property. This would save them a lot of time.

From a business standpoint PB´s decision makes perfect sense. They focus on their core competency, make a small game and create a new IP quickly. They can be on the market with the sequel when JoWooD´s Gothic 4 comes out. And IF the new game is almost as good as the first Gothic it will put a lot of pressure on JoWooD. Then JoWooD will have to prove that PB was indeed the limiting factor for G3´s quality, and not JoWooD´s chronically unstable business situation. A good G4 is as good for PB as it is for JoWooD though, because they get the franchise back later.
 
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Their team is slightly bigger than it was for G3. Ralf said they´re 23 people now, I think.

Yes but at least two of them are interns. Of course, that doesn't mean much. They could be even better than a full employee if PB lucked out :) .

So we have a bigger team for a much smaller project and a publisher who is not in danger of running out of cash.

Well, thanks to Koch, JoWooD wasn't really in any danger of running out of cash during the development of Gothic 3 either. The financial basis for the development of Gothic 3 always seemed 100% secure.

Then JoWooD will have to prove that PB was indeed the limiting factor for G3´s quality, and not JoWooD´s chronically unstable business situation.

Huh? How so? When PB confessed and admitted all their little sins in regards to Gothic 3, they made it perfectly clear that they had full creative freedom and that it was basically their own fault that Gothic 3 turned out the way it did. I don't think that JoWooD has to prove anything. They depend very much on the quality of the developer they pick. Not their fault that PB didn't deliver quality work.
Let's just hope that PB manages to rediscover their old qualities and that JoWooD makes a good decision when they sign a studio for Gothic 4.
 
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Even if it was PBs fault, JoWood could have taken a closer look at what was happening during development to avoid those screwups.

I don't mind the game being small, certainly not if this helps make the game better.
GIII also had too many fetch quests. Go find 15 sacks of grain and bring them back here...
Yes, Gothic had them too but they were done a lot better (like Whisker's sword, if that's really his name, maybe Whistler...)
 
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Even if it was PBs fault, JoWood could have taken a closer look at what was happening during development to avoid those screwups.

Yep. Two sides to every coin ;) . PB most certainly very much enjoyed the total freedom they had but on the other hand (and they admitted that as well recently) they could have used more control sometimes. Either way, people who want to worship PB as the über gods of game development, will always find a way to argue against JoWooD. If they put PB under more control or more pressure they are the bad guys for pushing PB around and if they let them do whatever the hell they want they are the bad guys for not paying close enough attention to what PB were doing. It's always lose-lose for JoWooD.
 
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Yep. Two sides to every coin ;) . PB most certainly very much enjoyed the total freedom they had but on the other hand (and they admitted that as well recently) they could have used more control sometimes. Either way, people who want to worship PB as the über gods of game development, will always find a way to argue against JoWooD. If they put PB under more control or more pressure they are the bad guys for pushing PB around and if they let them do whatever the hell they want they are the bad guys for not paying close enough attention to what PB were doing. It's always lose-lose for JoWooD.

Finally you see it, Mo!


:)lol:)
Just couldn't resist posting this.

On topic: I will be happy to hear some real info at GC (which means from RPGWatch, but backep up this time), cause even the news we get from PB seems really vague to me -> most likely because they haven't got yet so much.
 
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PB had a meeting with Koch Media/Deep Silver marketing/PR a couple of weeks ago. That's where they decided upon a vague, non-detailed PR/marketing roadmap for the new project. Part of the deal seems to be that PB doesn't reveal too much info before the GC so while they certainly could tell us a lot more, they also have to pay attention to not interfere with Koch's marketing activities.
 
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Moriendor, you're right. Just wanted to say it's both their faults and I just hope both of them can continue making/publishing good games :D


So we won't see anything actually at the GC except maybe for a story for the game ?
 
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So we won't see anything actually at the GC except maybe for a story for the game ?

They are keeping a tight lid on it for now. Ralf has been flip-flopping a bit. Once he said that screens would definitely not be shown and then he said that it is a possibility that they might have a surprise for people who expect to "see" something (which could also mean art or renders). He keeps pointing out though that Koch/Deep Silver will basically be deciding what's shown. The only thing that is definite is that there will be a press conference where PB's new project will be discussed.
My guess would be that they will announce the name (if so it seems like the name will be a last minute decision since they still had not agreed on one until very recently), reveal the setting and a few key features and that they will also have some artwork or renders but no screenies or trailers. We'll see in three weeks ;) .
 
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I believe Gorath might be. I volunteered, but no-one was able to supply the air-fare and accommodation costs!! :)
 
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I hope they don't tell us anything, actually. They should keep quiet for at least two years now - there's already a whole lot of 100% certain customers, and there's no use in making more hype (leads to being dissapointed due to expecting too much).
 
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Indeed, I was waiting for G3 for years after seeing the first screenshots and getting a little info. I prefer Blizzards way of doing it - wait untill the game is almost finished and then shock the world.
 
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ID Software did this, too.
 
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id's game is probably still far off. I'm guessing it won't be out at least until 2009.
 
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