RoA: Blade of Destiny HD - Ulisses Spiele Distances Itself from the Game

Gorath

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The Ulisses Medien & Spiel Distribution GmbH, publisher of the German The Dark Eye books, tabletop games and merchandize, sent out a statement regarding the new ROA: Blade of Destiny HD remake. As expected they were not involved at all because the computer game licensor is a different company.

Here's a quick and dirty translation of this complicated legal letter. For 100% precision please refer to the German language original posted further down.

Clarification regarding the computer game "Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny" [HD remake - ed.]

Hereby Ulisses Spiele distances itself explicitly from the remake of the computer game "Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny", [released] 07/30/2013. The exclusive right to grant licenses for computer games based on The Dark Eye, and their approval, is the sole responsibility of the Chromatrix GmbH.

The The Dark Eye editorial panel was at no point in time involved in the game's development process. Neither content nor presentation were known to the publisher [Ulisses - ed.] before the release of the game.
The original PR:

Klarstellung zum Computerspiel „Das Schwarze Auge - Schicksalsklinge“

Hiermit distanziert sich Ulisses Spiele ausdrücklich von der Neuauflage des Computerspiels „Das Schwarze Auge - Schicksalsklinge“ vom 30.07.2013. Das Recht zur Lizenzvergabe von Computerspielen von Das Schwarze Auge und deren Abnahme obliegt alleine der Chromatrix GmbH.

Die Das Schwarze Auge-Redaktion war zu keinem Zeitpunkt in den Entwicklungsprozess des Spiels eingebunden. Weder Inhalt noch Aufmachung waren dem Verlag vor Erscheinen des Spiels bekannt.
Found at GamersGlobal.

More information.
 
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Ouch. After that, I'm sure Chromatrix are currently celebrating an office party ;) .
 
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LOL, this is the first time I see such a thing happening in regards to an RPG license.

Please don't even mention our name in the same article as that good damn awful game.

LOL.
 
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Game has post effects? And they are getting activated again. Wow, didn't know.
 
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Wow, so in Germany the makers of a tabletop game don't have to be involved in order for a computer game of their system to be made?

Now let's see that happen with D&D and WotC.
 
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Oof! I guess we'll see if this has a chilling effect on RPG licensing in general…
 
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Wow, so in Germany the makers of a tabletop game don't have to be involved in order for a computer game of their system to be made?

Now let's see that happen with D&D and WotC.

Well, they were kind of involved. Via Chromatrix (outsourcing FTW). It's just that Chromatrix did a piss-poor job on this one. I'd say it is a bit harsh to crucify Chromatrix like this in a public press release though.

On the other hand it is understandable that Ulisses are very disappointed in Chromatrix. But then again Chromatrix did a really decent job on Drakensang and most other DSA games (like the adventures Satinav/Memoria and the mobile/browser games which are supposed to be pretty good AFAIK) so maybe they would have deserved a more respectful treatment.

Or maybe not... maybe this was a welcome opportunity for Ulisses to kick Chromatrix in the nuts for contributing to Drakensang's and Radon Labs' demise (wishful thinking, I know :biggrin: ).
 
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Yowsa this game must be in a really bad state if there are official statements distancing companies from a product. Never seen this before lol.

I don't have much hope in seeing the rest of the series remade as the first installment sounds like it needs a lot more time.
 
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Well, they were kind of involved. Via Chromatrix (outsourcing FTW). It's just that Chromatrix did a piss-poor job on this one. I'd say it is a bit harsh to crucify Chromatrix like this in a public press release though.

Are Chromatrix and Ulisses related?

Chromatrix will probably get a lot of flak from the other license holders. Marketing the other upcoming DSA games certainly didn't get easier.
 
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Are Chromatrix and Ulisses related?

Yes, I would guess so. As I implied above presumably via the contracts that outsource the DSA video gaming rights to Chromatrix. A contract that Ulisses probably threw in the bin when this horrible remake was released :) .
 
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As far as I know, the license to make TDE games *in general* is held by Chromatrix, and is then further sub-licensed to individual companies.

The *original* license holder, however, is "Significant Fantasy GbR" (or "Significant GbR" in short), this is a tiny company which has only 1 purpose : Holde the *original* TDE rights.

It must've been created at one point in the past, maybe even after the death of Ulrich Kiesow, one of the "founding fathers" of TDE, because as far as I know his female friend then (they were never married as far as I know) is a member of this company.

Ulisses, however, bought I think, the license later.

Edit : It seems that I kind of misunderstood a few things, here's what Wikipedia says about it :

Nach der Insolvenz von Schmidt Spiele im Jahr 1997 wurde das Spiel von Fantasy Productions übernommen, 2001 erschienen die Basisregeln der vierten Edition. 2004 feierte DSA seinen 20. Geburtstag. Nachdem Anfang 2007 die Lizenz für Myranor zu Ulisses Spiele wechselte, wurde im April des gleichen Jahres der Übergang auf das ganze Spielsystem ausgedehnt. Lediglich die Romane werden weiterhin von Fantasy Productions verlegt.

Die Rechte an der Marke „Das Schwarze Auge“ liegen seit 2007 bei der Significant Fantasy GbR.

Im März 2011 wurde die bisher dezentrale, über ganz Deutschland verstreute DSA-Redaktion in Waldems im Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis zusammengefasst, und damit seitens des Verlages eine „zentrale Steuereinheit geschaffen, welche die so genannte Kernredaktion ersetzt“.[13]

Im Mai 2011 verkündete der Verlag Ulisses Spiele im Rahmen eines Workshops auf der RPC, dass sie sämtliche Lizenzen für Veröffentlichungen rund um das Thema Das Schwarze Auge erworben habe und damit die weitere Koordination über Filme und Computerspiele ebenfalls gezielt von jetzt an mitbestimmen könne. [14]

So, that means that Significant holds the (TM) of TDE, and Ulisses holds everything else now - sub-licensing the video games license to Chromatrix.

So, now, Chromatrix is now resposible for sub-licensing the rights to produce video games towards individual companies.

That's how I understood it.
 
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Wow, so in Germany the makers of a tabletop game don't have to be involved in order for a computer game of their system to be made?

Now let's see that happen with D&D and WotC.

TDE is no tabletop game.
Armalion and Schicksalspfade is.
Both are ... I just call them "derivates" of TDE, for the lack of a better word. Spin-offs, so to say.
TDE was never meant to be an table-top game. Only in the very, very, very, very first versions, maybe.
It was always about playing a role - and about dungeon-crawling in the first versions.
 
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Oh, I never new Kiesow died. Sad to hear, even if it's long after the fact :(
 
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The last book of Ulrich Kiesow (1997)

Das zerbrochene Rad

Prolog:
Seht das Rad,
zerbrochen vor der Zeit,
ließ uns zurück in Bitterkeit.
Der Speichen 5 sind ihm geblieben,
ihre Namen sein hier aufgeschrieben.
Sind Haß, Schmerz, Zorn, Not und Wut,
in Bächen fließen Tränen und Blut.
 
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Kiesow apparingly literally died after having finished it.

With Hans-Joachim Alpers having died last year (?), there's only Werner Fuchs left.

And of course those involved in the early making, too. Like Ina Kramer, although she's often not credited as being part of the original "founding team".
 
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I took a short look at the "GamersGlobal" web page - it seems that UIG is the publisher now. http://www.uieg.de/

In the comments there I found a few points :

  • Crafty is seemingly mainly a briwser games maker -> possible not much experience with 3D at all ?
  • The game is in development since … last December ? That's be only 1/2 year ???
  • Could it be that UIG has no experience with Beta-testing at all ? They appear to merely be publishers - no QA department whatsoever ?

A few more points :

- Attic might still be holder of the game code or something like that.
- One commenter writes that the "Collector's Edition" still bears the Attic logo …
- "Fantastic Realms GmbH" is very likely the remainder of what Attic once was - it belongs to one of the Attic bosses.

- Not the whole of Ulisses distances itself from the game - the press release says that it's rather the "Redaktion" distancing themselves from it.

- But this part looks … weird to me :

Weder Inhalt noch Aufmachung waren dem Verlag vor Erscheinen des Spiels bekannt.

I've been there at the RPC. I can't tell from my memory anymore whether Ulisses member were there at the presentation I saw, but on the other hand I just cannot believe that they were really keeping themselves away from the presentation …

And Ulisses did have a booth at the RPC …
 
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Just found an interesting little detail (I've got no way to prove it) :

Attic besteht aber mit Jochen Hamma als Geschäftsführer weiter und vergibt Lizenzen für Neuauflagen wie die Heldenedition oder zuletzt die Nordlandtrilogie HD.

Source : http://www.wiki-aventurica.de/wiki/Attic_Entertainment_Software

This would mean that Attic gave Crafty the license.

But still : At least 1 member of Chromatrix was present at the RPC presentation …
 
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