Elex Story of PB Games

Ergonpandilus

The Preacher
Joined
March 9, 2009
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Gothic 1: "Let's have something original, something german and something we'd like to play ourselves."
(Came out as an unpolised, a raw and yet very original RPG.)

Gothic 2: "Hey, now we know some stuff what to do and don't. Let's get do a sequel and let's put some effort there while G1 is giving a milk. Steady now."
(Came out as a best game with a little bit experience and yet the company being small.)

Gothic 3: "Wow, now we are a big company, let's do a big game and let's show off everyone how great we are. See that Morrowind? We're going to show how we do it in germany!"
(Came out from pride as a way too ambitious game, which gamers had to fix.)

Risen 1: "Guys, guys, guys! We have to start all over again from square one. And this time, make sure it's NOT TOO BIG! Just the basics."
(Came out as a good game with return to old mechanics and redoing the Gothic game. Not very original, but working.)

Risen 2: "You see those pirates movies making a big buck? Let's cut a piece of that juicy cake. The old players got mad? What a heck, we need to evolve."
(Came out as a dissapointed, a dysfunctional game with copy-pasted ideas, but which the players hated. This cow didn't give a milk.)

Risen 3: "Yikes, that was a bad move. Let's dump that pirate stuff, it didn't work and let's put some casual gamers stuff in it to make it a more mainstream."
(Came out as an average game with a little big gothic feeling, but new players didn't quite found it and the old players felt dumbed-down.)

Elex: "The old players hate us, the new players don't want our stuff and we don't even know what to do. Let's put a little bit everything there and see how it cooks up!"
(Came out as a half decent, but trying to hit everything, they hit nothing after all. Totally forgetful game.)

I think it tells a very vivid story why you should find your own star and follow it. Don't try to be what the audiance is, what the other people are or what you wanted to be, but just be yourself and original.

PS. Sorry, if I put this to the wrong section.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
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Location
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Elex:
(Totally forgetful game.)
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Trolling aside, while I agree with some points of the OP, I think the issue of PB is much more deeper than this rant.
I think the root of the problem is that the hardcore cRPG fanbase PB relies on, is quickly declining. Hence, a company whose entire operation relies on this very market, is facing a very tough future.
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
820
I agree with some points of the OP
I don't.
So I'd put it this way:

G1 - let's use the current PC technology to create a world without loadscreens on every cave, voiceover everyone, a new controls scheme, no inventory limit and no bullshit endless respawns but chapter based harder trashmobs
(Came out as plain awsome game)

G2 - let's reuse the world, widen it and improve G1 in every aspect possible
(Came out as nearmasterpiece)

G3 - let's make 10 times bigger world than G1 and 10x more quests and actual content in it and set the openworlds standard because everyone else is still torturing people with endless trashmob respawns
(The publisher rushed the beta version as full release and the unfinished version didn't change the history as it could and should have)

R1 - let's remake G1
(Succeeded in what it was supposed to be)

R2 - we have to accept the publisher's bullshit (smaller world with islands, no magic pirate setting and DLC milk-em idiocy)
(The game was good but for some reason, JDR's words would be, criminally underrated)

R3 - let's add some humor (finally)
(It worked)

Elex - stupifying is mainstream so let's downgrade everything (horrible textures, no hair, no humor)
(Still a good game, sadly could have been much better)
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
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Good effort at telling an overall narrative, if perhaps a little simplified. The post might have been better suited in 'Spud's old Piranha Bytes Poll. By all means go there and vote if you haven't already:

https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27664

Elex is one of the games in my backlog that I've got lined up to finally play this summer. I'm very curious to see what it is like given the variety of viewpoints on it here on the 'Watch.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
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Location
Australia
Seems more or less accurate. Never quite understood how people could delude themselves with Elex to that extent :)

That said, for my part - I prefer Gothic and I quite liked Risen 2.
 
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