The Soulkeeper - An Episodic Open World RPG

The Soulkeeper has been in development for some time, but managed to escape our attention (for as far I can see). The game is an open world action RPG that will be delivered in episodes. What this means is explained in more detail in this interview at OnlySP.

“The main difference between us and other open-world RPGs is that The SoulKeeper is an episodic title. I know that whenever someone in the industry hears the term episodic, they get a bit nervous, thinking, ‘here we go, another cash-grabbing machine’, but that’s not what we mean. We have a model in mind that, I think, will change the way people view episodic content.

“Since it’s such a huge world,” he adds. “I think it’s fair to the players to break it down into smaller pieces. Look at it like a trilogy of movies or a TV series, like The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. A TV series gives creators a lot more time to work-in details around the world and share them with the audience. The same model can be applied to games.”

The idea of a connected series of episodes is woven into every aspect of The SoulKeeper, which HELM say will feature multiple playable characters in a multi-facetted story.

“We have multiple playable characters and each character has their own playable story that’s separate from the others, but at some points they do intertwine,” says Mortakis.

“They also have their own gameplay mechanics. For example, one character could use melee as their primary weapon, whereas another could use stealth or magic. Since we put as much emphasis on story as graphics and gameplay, we felt that the best way to communicate all these experiences to the player was through an episodic format, otherwise I feel like they’d be overwhelmed and overburdened.”

On their facebook page you can find some screenshots. There is a website as well, but that looks remarkably empty. And there is also this pre-alpha trailer:



Thanks Eye.

More information.

Episodic?

So… If FOX decides to cancel Firefly, we might never see the story wrapup, right?

There are some more articels about this game on OnlySP. The most recent one talks about a realease "on the PC sometime during 2016."

Did anyone see the length of an episode? Since I'm used to games that look like Soulkeeper lasting hundreds of hours, I'm not sure how much I'd pay for 5 or 10 hour chunks. $3-7?

Also, one interview talked about going the KS route. Will there be episodic tiers? For $5 you get the first episode, for $20 you get 1-5, etc. Another problem with episodic content, is determining the release date. Is that the first episode? Shouldn't it be when the full game is out instead?

Looking at the screenshots on facebook, it looks like the pictures are from several different engines over the years. It'd be cool if they marked the pictures that are from the current engine only.

It also said that you would be playing more than one main character. Not sure how that would work. Do you create each new character at the beginning of an episode, or is this an adventure game where you play the role of a character that's already been created for you? I prefer rolling my own, but it's not a deal breaker.

For god's sakes people did everyone already forget DX:The Fall?
Where's the second episode?

Leave episodic stuff for TV where one episode is about half a movie time.
I don't think The Soulkeeper's first episode will be half as long as complete TW3.

Originally Posted by joxer
I don't think The Soulkeeper's first episode will be half as long as complete TW3.

That would still make it possible to be 50+ hours long. That's ok for me even for a full priced title.

Yeah, I can see doing this too. I just need some clarification on the facts and prices and such. I don't mind paying for an episodic Skyrim. I had no interest in the Dark Brotherhood or Thieve's Guild lines, so I could have saved some money if those had been DLC or episodic.

A concern with episodic releases is that the net revenue is (on average) going to decline with each episode as more and more players drop out. By the final episode, or even part way through, they may not be getting enough income to keep going. That just begs the question of why a consumer would bother.

Episodic too: Life is Strange was absolutely amazing, played now, when all episodes completed.

Originally Posted by mercy
Episodic too: Life is Strange was absolutely amazing, played now, when all episodes completed.

Was it RPG? Was it openworld?
Lemme add that Dreamfall was also episodic, it's a Kickstarter success but openworld RPG it is not.

Originally Posted by mercy
Episodic too: Life is Strange was absolutely amazing, played now, when all episodes completed.

With all the episodes available, at least you get some continuity with the story. Waiting months for the next episode would probably ruin the experience for me. That's why I don't bother with serialized novels any more.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
That would still make it possible to be 50+ hours long. That's ok for me even for a full priced title.

There is only one kingdom come.

The art director did not play Skyrim,no.

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
The art director did not play Skyrim,no.

At first I thought I was seeing yet another Skyrim mod

Originally Posted by mercy
Episodic too: Life is Strange was absolutely amazing, played now, when all episodes completed.

The fear, of course, is that all episodes will never be complete because not enough people played the earlier content to fund the latter content.

Originally Posted by rjshae
With all the episodes available, at least you get some continuity with the story. Waiting months for the next episode would probably ruin the experience for me. That's why I don't bother with serialized novels any more.

Oddly, I think playing LiS was such a great experience for me in part because of its episodic nature. Wondering, then worrying about what would happen next, talking about it with friends, comparing decisions and trying to guess its mysteries, all while waiting for the next chapter was actually quite intense.

That said, even if those lessons would apply to this effort, I believe its epsodic nature is the least of the Soulkeeper's worries…

I like the episodic format. It would be interesting to see it applied to an open world game.