Gothic 4 - First Look @ Gamespot

The team invested months of research into the differences between European and American gaming preferences, so much so that there will be two different color palates for Arcania: North American (bright and beautiful) and European (muted and gritty).

I can't stop laughing. They researched GAMING preferences and came out with different COLORS? Why not just making a changeable skintheme for the GUI, goddammit .... (like Deus Ex!)

And I can't believe that they think changing some features won't change the core gameplay. They obviously trying to create Oblivion II. Hell, why are they even calling it Gothic ...
 
So former developer Piranha Bytes is gone, replaced by Spellbound Entertainment in hopes that fans of the epic RPG genre will eventually see Gothic in the same bright light as Oblivion
didn't even felt like reading further after this part. I never played oblivion but I heared it enough Oblivion and Gothic are almost 2 opposites. I already fear the next gothic.

The new setting with the new unnamed hero seems got, although it will be weird to play gothic with an other protagonist.
But the idea of the "normal classes" in gothic. Mmmm I don't know??
 
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The IGN preview has more detailed infos. Seems the NA & Euro versions are only different in a couple of filters creating a more colourful or more gritty look.
The handholding features can be disabled. They call this "Gothic mode". :p
 
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They're going to have two color schemes in an attempt to please both audiences? This is sounding even more horrible than I imagined...

What's next, are they going to have a linear/non-linear setting so those who prefer shallow gameplay can have that too?

Whatever happened to having an artistic vision and going with it, instead of desperately trying to target as many people as you can.
 
Whatever happened to having an artistic vision and going with it, instead of desperately trying to target as many people as you can.

For the last five years, I've been asking the same question.

As for Arcania, Arcadia and Arcanium discussed in this thread, so far it's clear they will suck, all three of them. Unless, of course, developers would stop being spellbound by gain and submit to the artistic pain instead. Right now they're catching the wrong dream.
 
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They're going to have two color schemes in an attempt to please both audiences? This is sounding even more horrible than I imagined...
I don't think this is bad per se, as long as you would be able to change the palette in the settings according to your personal preference. I'm not against choice, if the choice isn't forced on me according to where I live.
 
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I don't think this is bad per se, as long as you would be able to change the palette in the settings according to your personal preference. I'm not against choice, if the choice isn't forced on me according to where I live.

It's not the choice itself, as it would have no influence on my enjoyment at all.

It's the fact that they implemented such a choice that is extremely revealing about their thought process. They're making a Gothic game, and yet they actually want to implement bright and happy colors because they don't want to push anyone away.

To me, it's like saying they're making a game based on what they THINK people want, instead of what THEY want to make. The latter requires an understanding of game design and artistic integrity - the former is a sure-fire sign of having no vision beyond the acquisition of wealth.

If they were really making a Gothic game, they'd make it with one color scheme - the right one. Gothic was always about a plausible game world, and it's pretty obvious that it should never be bright and gay in appearance.
 
I do agree with dartagnan, the colours of Gothic were a big part of the scene, of the setting, bringing you in the right mood. Try this with vivid colours like i Mario :p and it is not the same anymore
 
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If they were really making a Gothic game, they'd make it with one color scheme - the right one. Gothic was always about a plausible game world, and it's pretty obvious that it should never be bright and gay in appearance.
It's pretty obvious that the "right" color scheme doesn't sell in NA. At all. The first time I saw Gothic 3 in a store, it was already budget priced (I think the release price was $30). With the cost of game development today, I can understand that they don't want to give up on the NA market completely.

This said, I will only be ok with this if I have the personal choice in this matter. And, of course, the game contents should be interesting. I don't need another Oblivion, with pretty graphics, rudimentary interface and boring contents. But the color scheme is something that's not that important to me (I got used to bright colors from BG on), and if I get the choice, I'll be happy.
 
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I fear it with will be oblivion with a little snuff of gothic in it.
Or maybe Gothic with too much oblvion in it.
I guess the only one capable of making the real successor to Gothic will be PB. I hope their RPG (that is how they are calling it, isn't it?) will be that one. or atleast in spirit even if it isn't the continue of the series. I fear that I will have to say that G3 was the end of it.
 
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It's pretty obvious that the "right" color scheme doesn't sell in NA. At all. The first time I saw Gothic 3 in a store, it was already budget priced (I think the release price was $30). With the cost of game development today, I can understand that they don't want to give up on the NA market completely.

This said, I will only be ok with this if I have the personal choice in this matter. And, of course, the game contents should be interesting. I don't need another Oblivion, with pretty graphics, rudimentary interface and boring contents. But the color scheme is something that's not that important to me (I got used to bright colors from BG on), and if I get the choice, I'll be happy.

I don't doubt that they're doing what they can to suit the markets, but let's just say I STRONGLY doubt the color scheme of Gothic 3 was the reason it didn't sell more units.

If they intend to change the game further in an attempt to sell more units - which I'm positive they will - then that's good for them. But it won't be Gothic and it'll basically be selling out to make a buck. JoWood + new developer + this kind of decision = compromising the franchise to make money.

I personally have no intention of supporting that kind of direction, even if it's understandable from a business point of view.

I think the first two Gothics were good enough that the series deserves better than this, but oh well. It's just another potential gem down the drain - what else is new.
 
All I can say is thank God for GoGamer.com.

I'll be importing the dark gritty EU version. Hopefully it will be in english or have it as an option at least.
 
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It also find it somewhat dubious that the reason that Gothic didn't sell in the US was because it had a "gloomy" pallete. There have been may other gloom-themed games and this was never trotted out as a reason for poor sales. The other reasons (marketing, distribution etc ) that other have referred to in the past seem way more plausible. If I was NAmerican I'd be quite insulted that some have such a low opinion of my game selection ablities "gee, this game is like all dark and dreary...I want bright colours! So what it's grim and evil? I want bright colours!!!" :biggrin: I wonder who they got to do their market research? Perhaps a kindergarten class ;)
 
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If I was NAmerican I'd be quite insulted that some have such a low opinion of my game selection ablities "gee, this game is like all dark and dreary...I want bright colours! So what it's grim and evil? I want bright colours!!!" :biggrin: I wonder who they got to do their market research? Perhaps a kindergarten class ;)
Other than a self-selected board of CRPG enthusiasts ;)? I just think of the people I know who play pen & paper RPGs and absolutely love Oblivion. They play it on a console, because it's easy to do and "family-compatible". They think I'm weird when I say that I don't care for the game. Of course, I understand that none of you wants the next Gothic to be an Oblivion copy. I don't want that, either. But nevertheless, I don't doubt the company's results about market preferences.

Well, the point that the game looks drab was raised in some reviews. But I agree that other aspects are responsible for the complete failure of Gothic in the US market. With Gothic 3, it was already known from the European release that the game is a bugfest, which limited its chances from the release on. I can understand that the company doesn't talk too much about it in interviews. Although a sentence like "This time we will eliminate most bugs prior to release" would be reassuring, although I doubt we will hear it in this form.

Actually, I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to release any new game with "Gothic" in the title on the US market. It might draw customers in Europe, but in the US, it serves as a warning sign. I can imagine that they will drop the second half of the title for the US release.
 
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FYI, Arcadia is the alternate magical world in the The Longest Journey games. Probably the reviewer accidentally mixed them up.
I like the mix-up with Arcadia, because that's the Greek province that has been used to describe pastoral idylls since antiquity, and this is exactly the image that I get when I look at the screenshots :). As a benefit, it's also known to D&D and Planescape fans.
 
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For me, Gothic 3 killed everything I liked about Gothic. And lets face it - they will never be able to get back to what Gothic once was. I don't care about how the next game is named or which color palette it has - I care about if it is good or not. If it's good and has some sort of Gothic setting, fine.

And for them making it an Oblivion II: Well, if they manage to avoid the mistakes Bethesda has made (everything leveling with you) and if they manage to embrace the good things (open world), nothing against that. I am stilll sinking a considerable amount of time in a modded Oblivion and still have fun with it.
 
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Someone has to take over the Elder Scrolls franchise now that Bethesda is busy on Fallout. I saw a scavenger the other day... disgusting creatures.

Gladman elaborated on the more user-friendly approach. "That's one of those things that's more North American-centric. A map that hand-holds you through... which you can turn off if you want to." Both Gladman and Podilchuk went on to talk about how if players dislike any kind of UI or map assists it all can be turned off. It's called Gothic mode, apparently, and is being implemented for the hardcore German audience.
I weep.
 
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That name change... I just can't get Edmund: A Butler's Tale by Gertrude Perkins out of my head.
 
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Gothic series has never sold well in US iirc. Sounds like they are getting desperate to figure out reasons why. Perhaps the game is too unforgiving and hard. The dark setting just amplifies it.
 
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