Interview with Swen Vincke at Gamespot
Interview with Swen Vincke at Gamespot
Interview - posted by Infinitron on Mon 8 September 2014, 15:54:49
Tags: Divinity: Original Sin; Larian Studios; Swen VinckeEver since it became clear back in early July that Divinity: Original Sin was a huge success, the folks at Larian Studios have mostly kept to themselves. Yesterday, Swen Vincke broke that silence with a short interview over at GameSpot. No, there are no updated sales numbers, but he does have a bit to say about the future of Divinity, and of Larian. Here's an excerpt:
Being PC-exclusive was a good thing
Although some games in the Divinity series have made it onto console in the past, Original Sin was developed exclusively with the PC and Mac in mind. Vicke said the omission of a console release lifted a lot of restrictions in the development phase and allowed the team to make alterations on the game "until the very last moment," which would not have been possible for a console release.
"It puts a lot of constraints for you as a developer if you work for console. At the end phase of a project deadlines are very rigid, and you need to go through the procedures at Microsoft or Sony with the dreaded [certification] checks." Vincke said, adding that the costs involved in making a console game were "much higher" than that of developing a PC-only game.
No more Kickstarter please
Divinity: Original Sin's Kickstarter campaign was met with generous support, amassing $944,282 in funding by the end of its run and allowing Larian Studios to self-publish the game.
Vincke was grateful for the support from the Kickstarter community, but hesitant about utilizing such a model again.
"I hate to think what the game would've been if we didn't have Kickstarter… if you asked me before Original Sin was released I would've said yes… I don't think it would be correct to go and fish in the pool of crowdfunding investment again, I think that there's others that could use that investment," he said. However, he expressed a desire to harness community involvement once again in the development process, dubbing the community which the Kickstarter campaign brought as "invaluable."
"I think that is a very great positive for the gameplay experience that results at the end of the day," he said.
Future updates
Vincke laughs when I ask him about where the Divinity series may be going next, but is coy about revealing finer details. "I can't say. There's nothing yet to announce, it will be very calm on the announcement front for a couple of months, as we're preparing our new things," he said.
His comment refers to the two new companions and new skills on their way to the game and end-game balances for the ranger and warrior classes, of course. In addition to this, Vincke mentions that the studio is working on bringing out a "much better, harder, difficulty level" in which all encounters will be different, as well as fine-tuning the game's inventory management.
Regardless, Vincke promises fans that a breadth of new content is still in the works for Original Sin. "There's definitely a lot of stuff coming," he said.
Larian is now looking into doing a console port of Original Sin. Meh...I guess that's all right. Just be careful you don't end up like CD Projekt almost did.Although some games in the Divinity series have made it onto console in the past, Original Sin was developed exclusively with the PC and Mac in mind. Vicke said the omission of a console release lifted a lot of restrictions in the development phase and allowed the team to make alterations on the game "until the very last moment," which would not have been possible for a console release.
"It puts a lot of constraints for you as a developer if you work for console. At the end phase of a project deadlines are very rigid, and you need to go through the procedures at Microsoft or Sony with the dreaded [certification] checks." Vincke said, adding that the costs involved in making a console game were "much higher" than that of developing a PC-only game.
No more Kickstarter please
Divinity: Original Sin's Kickstarter campaign was met with generous support, amassing $944,282 in funding by the end of its run and allowing Larian Studios to self-publish the game.
Vincke was grateful for the support from the Kickstarter community, but hesitant about utilizing such a model again.
"I hate to think what the game would've been if we didn't have Kickstarter… if you asked me before Original Sin was released I would've said yes… I don't think it would be correct to go and fish in the pool of crowdfunding investment again, I think that there's others that could use that investment," he said. However, he expressed a desire to harness community involvement once again in the development process, dubbing the community which the Kickstarter campaign brought as "invaluable."
"I think that is a very great positive for the gameplay experience that results at the end of the day," he said.
Future updates
Vincke laughs when I ask him about where the Divinity series may be going next, but is coy about revealing finer details. "I can't say. There's nothing yet to announce, it will be very calm on the announcement front for a couple of months, as we're preparing our new things," he said.
His comment refers to the two new companions and new skills on their way to the game and end-game balances for the ranger and warrior classes, of course. In addition to this, Vincke mentions that the studio is working on bringing out a "much better, harder, difficulty level" in which all encounters will be different, as well as fine-tuning the game's inventory management.
Regardless, Vincke promises fans that a breadth of new content is still in the works for Original Sin. "There's definitely a lot of stuff coming," he said.
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