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Arx Fatalis Review

Codex Review - posted by Exitium on Fri 20 December 2002, 22:32:48

Tags: Arkane Studios; Arx Fatalis

French based company Arkane Studios was initially funded by 11 people in the month of October of 1999 with an initial investment of a hundred and eighty thousand dollars. Comprising of developers of various talents from EA, Infogrames, and Interplay, Arx Fatalis was their first and project as a team and the most ambitious one that any of them had ever worked on individually. Published by Austrian publishing house JoWood Productions, Arx Fatalis is the fruit of three years of their long nights at the office. Delve into our review of Arx Fatalis to see if their efforts paid off.

Read the full article: Arx Fatalis Review

There are 28 comments on Arx Fatalis Review

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Josh Sawyer - I thought I could organize freedom. How Scandinavian of me.

Editorial - posted by Mistress on Mon 16 December 2002, 22:36:39

Tags: Black Isle Studios; Josh Sawyer

Josh Sawyer of Black Isle Studios, gives us an insight into his thoughts on CRPG design.

"A lot of users can't adequately describe why they like certain games -- or even why they like certain features of games. While it's certainly true that developers can listen too much to users, there's a frightening tendency for developers to respond to this deluge of opinion by simply ignoring the users. I think that the best thing to do is to listen to the users, but really examine the source of their praise and their criticism."​
Thank you Josh!

There are 33 comments on Josh Sawyer - I thought I could organize freedom. How Scandinavian of me.

Prelude of Darkness Spells pt.2 - Gifts of Goddess and Thaumaturgy

Information - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Thu 12 December 2002, 10:07:25

Tags: Mat Williams; Prelude to Darkness; Zero Sum

This is part 2 of the magic system of Prelude to Darkness. This one covers two magic skills, Gifts of Goddess as well as Thaumaturgy. Here's a bit of what Mat Williams wrote about Gifts of Goddess:


The Goddess allows certain folk of River lineage to channel her power. These gifts are granted generally as a result of a specific action. Most gifts are more powerful when used on the self or by touch as the link to the Goddess fades over distance, thus each gift usually has at least two variants one for the self or touch and another at range. -Mat Williams

Thanks to Mat Williams for helping with this article.

There are 0 comments on Prelude of Darkness Spells pt.2 - Gifts of Goddess and Thaumaturgy

Harbinger Interview

Codex Interview - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Wed 11 December 2002, 20:13:50

Tags: Harbinger; Silverback Entertainment

Straight up interview about Harbinger, the Sci-fi, actionish CRPG being made by Silverback. Here's the interest building clip:


4.) Science fiction CRPGs are very rare. Can you tell us why you picked science fiction over traditional fantasy? Do you think the setting will affect the type of people to which CRPGs are typically marketed?

Andy Muir: Honestly, it's because I'm sick to death of traditional fantasy games. I mean, I love them and I play them all, but there's a limit to the number of caves, crypts and cemeteries I can explore before it starts to get old.

I don't think that the Sci-fi people and the fantasy people are necessarily two separate camps. Everyone has their preferences sure, but for the most part, the people that enjoy Star Wars also enjoy the Lord of the Rings so I don't really expect this to be a factor when it comes to sales.​

Thanks, Silverback!

There are 1 comments on Harbinger Interview

Gareth Davies - Treatise on Combat to Pink Floyd

Editorial - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Tue 10 December 2002, 21:29:33

Tags: Gareth Davies; Micro Forte

Gareth Davies, aka Section8, an artist/designer at Micro Forte has well as an instructor at The Academy of Interactive Entertainment, has written up a rather interesting and lengthy summary of the combat systems employed by CRPGs.


No matter what type of Role-Playing Game (RPG) you are playing, you can be 95% sure it involves killing things. Many so called RPGs provide no gameplay beyond hacking away and leaving swaths of dead monsters, sans any material possessions, and others might allow you to avoid combat situations altogether. However regardless of design philosophies, combat usually comprises the core gameplay, and so it's essential that it is well thought out and executed, but more importantly it has to be enjoyable and challenging for the player.​

Thanks heaps, Gareth! I hope you didn't wear out your keyboard on it!

There are 35 comments on Gareth Davies - Treatise on Combat to Pink Floyd

Chris Taylor - Hand of Gosh Darn Good Design

Editorial - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Fri 6 December 2002, 23:22:41

Tags: Black Label Games; Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor, one of the main designers of Fallout and Stonekeep for Interplay, as well as Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring for the GameBoy Advance provides his unique spin on the design of CRPGs.


On my ring finger, you have story itself. RPGs without story are tactical combat and level treadmill games. Those can be interesting games, but not really conducive to creating a great role-playing game. The quality of the story can help determine the quality of the game, especially for RPGs. Planescape Torment would have been a good game without it's wonderful story, but was elevated to a great game by the quality of it's writing, story and dialogue.​

Kudos to you, Chris Taylor! Thanks for the time.

There are 38 comments on Chris Taylor - Hand of Gosh Darn Good Design

Leon Boyarsky - Thoughts on RPG development

Editorial - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Tue 3 December 2002, 19:02:09

Tags: Leonard Boyarsky; Troika Games

Leon Boyarski, Troika Games, offers up an editorial on CRPG development, and how making money is important. Also, why marketing people suck.


When I sat down to write about RPG development, I went through the list of things I like to see in an RPG. Depth of characterization and plot. Reactivity of the world. Believable NPCs. Feeling like you?re playing a ?role?. Then I tried to decide which is the most important in RPG development ? and the answer is none of them.​

Ah, reality. Such a harsh mistress.

There are 95 comments on Leon Boyarsky - Thoughts on RPG development

Divine Divinity Review

Codex Review - posted by Exitium on Sun 1 December 2002, 19:28:17

Tags: Divine Divinity; Larian Studios

With the recent flooding of CRPG releases in the market, Divine Divinity finds itself in steep competition against many other games of the same genre, some of which that have been more received wider press coverage and have garnered a larger fan-base than Divine Divinity, Larian Studios' second effort into the already saturated CRPG market. Divine Divinity, a game with a tautological name as any others you would have noticed was a game plagued by constant delays ever since it was first put into full production in the year 2000 after the cancellation of Larian Studios' previous effort, "The Lady, the Mage & the Knight". How does it compare with all the others?

Read the full article: Divine Divinity Review

There are 9 comments on Divine Divinity Review

Travis Williams Interview - Prelude to Darkness

Codex Interview - posted by Mistress on Fri 29 November 2002, 20:21:25

Tags: Prelude to Darkness; Zero Sum

Interview with Travis Williams, lead artist on Prelude to Darkness.


"1. Could you tell us a little about yourself, your role at Zero-Sum, and your involvement in the development of Prelude to Darkness?

Travis Williams: My background is pretty diverse: I've spent a lot of my professional life in academic research (cognitive psychology), freelance graphic design and illustration, and playing music. My work at Zero Sum represents my first serious foray into the world of video game creation."​

Happy reading!

There are 4 comments on Travis Williams Interview - Prelude to Darkness

Tim Cain - A Christmas Lesson on CRPG Design

Editorial - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Mon 25 November 2002, 22:21:41

Tags: Tim Cain; Troika Games

Our first developer editorial on game design, and who better to start it with than Tim Cain, the man who helped usher in Fallout and Arcanum. Some of this words:


Another lesson that should be obvious: turn-based games are still fun. Despite the plethora of real-time computer games on the market, there is still satisfaction in playing a game in the old-fashioned turn-based method we all grew up with. Some newer games seem to be real-time for no other reason than because real-time is more modern. Why make a real-time D&D computer game, which requires you to ignore or change all of the rules having to do with D&D?s inherently turn-based nature? I am surprised no one has made a real-time chess game. I?ll even give you a good name for it: ?Xtreme Chess? And don?t forget the sticker: ?Now With Phat Lewt?.​

Thank you, Tim Cain.

There are 20 comments on Tim Cain - A Christmas Lesson on CRPG Design

Avernum 3 Review

Codex Review - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Fri 22 November 2002, 21:12:39

Tags: Avernum 3; Spiderweb Software

My review of Avernum 3. Here's a snippet:


Probably the first thing you'll notice when you fire up Avernum 3 is that it's not the most modern CRPG out there. It doesn't have a lot of automation about it. It doesn't have the latest graphics to push your several hundred dollar graphics card. It doesn't have fast paced, passive combat that you spend most of your time watching. It doesn't make the claim that there are 300+ spells. It, frankly, doesn't have a lot of the hooks that modern CRPGs use to sucker you in to buying them.

That's not a bad thing at all, because what it does offer is a challenging and rewarding experience in the tradition of the older CRPGs. If you're looking for an old school CRPG fix, similar to Ultima, Wasteland, or the old Gold Box games, that's what Avernum 3 offers. It's a straight shooting, party based CRPG that involves a lot of quests, a lot of locations to save, or not save, interesting combat, and more.​

Mmmm.. surface-y goodness.

There are 2 comments on Avernum 3 Review

Prelude to Darkness Spells pt.1 - Flame

Information - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Thu 21 November 2002, 01:46:46

Tags: Mat Williams; Prelude to Darkness; Zero Sum

This article covers the Flame set of spells used in Prelude to Darkness. It covers how they work, what equations determine their effects, and so on.

Here's a brief section from Mat Williams.


The general principal is that each spell is a specific pattern of thought which allows the caster to channel the Eternal Flame in some useful manner. By varying the amount of Chaos and Control within the pattern the caster can vary the spell somewhat to different effects. This generaly leads to three possible levels of the spell, the first is the balanced level, the second a more controlled version and the third a more chaotic version. Generally control improves range or duration or allows the avoidance of friend characters at a cost of damage or power and chaos does the opposite, i.e. greater power shorter range, etc... The forth level or blood level is based on using the casters own blood rather than just their energy and is the ultimate in power. -Mat Williams

Happy casting!

There are 2 comments on Prelude to Darkness Spells pt.1 - Flame

Mat Williams interview - Prelude to Darkness

Codex Interview - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Wed 20 November 2002, 00:25:49

Tags: Mat Williams; Prelude to Darkness; Zero Sum

The first interview with Mat Williams, one of the lead designers on Prelude to Darkness.


11.) Skills, particularly combat ones, offer more benefits when they get to certain levels. Can you give us an example of what types of rewards players can expect to see by reaching high skill levels in a combat skill? How about a non-combat skill?

Mat Williams: Non-combat skills primarily give attribute bonuses as they get better. We had a lot of other, more active, bonuses in place for them, but it got to be too much of a testing and balancing headache for us. I'd like to get more bonuses in for them, right now I don't think there's any non-combat bonus which compares to the advanced sword-spin attack. All the advanced combat moves are very useful, even key in the late game, and they're different enough to warrant playing with more than just swords.​

Enjoy!

There are 4 comments on Mat Williams interview - Prelude to Darkness

Prelude of Darkness character system - Backgrounds

Information - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Sat 16 November 2002, 02:54:12

Tags: Prelude to Darkness; Zero Sum

A listing of the backgrounds in Prelude of Darkness, what they require, what they give you.

There are 2 comments on Prelude of Darkness character system - Backgrounds

Jeff Vogel interview

Codex Interview - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Mon 11 November 2002, 21:42:39

Tags: Avernum 3; Spiderweb Software

Just a little more loving of Spiderweb Software. Here's a bit of it:


11.) Timed events play a big part in Avernum 3, such as the razing of towns by monsters if you don't get to their nests in time, and quest situations that only occur after certain dates. Can you explain why Avernum 3 does this? Is making a dynamically changing world more difficult versus the added benefit of demonstrating urgency of situations? Do you feel this worked well for Avernum 3?

It's the thing I love most about the game. I love the size, the depth, the amount of stuff in it. And I love the way you can return to a town and find half of it smashed in.

It was a lot of work. But I think it was just cool.​

And the link to the interview itself.

There are 7 comments on Jeff Vogel interview

Icewind Dale II Review

Codex Review - posted by Exitium on Sat 9 November 2002, 17:53:41

Tags: Black Isle Studios; Icewind Dale 2

Does it succeed as a strong title or does it falter like its predecessor? Read Exitium's unbiased and well-balanced review to find out if Icewind Dale II makes the cut.

Read the full article: Icewind Dale II Review

There are 23 comments on Icewind Dale II Review

NWN Review

Review - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Fri 1 November 2002, 22:26:30

Tags: BioWare; Neverwinter Nights

Saint Proverbius's NWN uncut and scary review, brutal honesty at it's peak. Nothing says fun like telling it as it is about one of the most overrated and overhyped games ever made.

There are 111 comments on NWN Review

Interview with Inon Zur

Interview - posted by Exitium on Wed 30 October 2002, 05:15:24

Tags: Black Isle Studios; Icewind Dale 2

Ian "Exitium" Cheong talks with the man behind the music of Icewind Dale 2, and Baldur's Gate: Throne of Bhaal, Inon Zur.

There are 4 comments on Interview with Inon Zur

Freelancer: An RPG?

Editorial - posted by Deathy on Tue 29 October 2002, 06:34:06

Tags: Microsoft Game Studios

In this editorial, Deathy discusses whether Freelancer should be labelled as an RPG or not.

There are 12 comments on Freelancer: An RPG?

Grandia II Review

Codex Review - posted by Xerophyte on Wed 23 October 2002, 19:12:45

Tags: Game Arts; Grandia II

Undaunted by Calis' screwy code replacing the previous version with another instance of Deathy's Great Quest Article, Xerophyte re-uploads his review. Will the upload be a success? Or will the article once again fall prey to the foul bugs roaming the system?

Stay tuned to find out!

There are 12 comments on Grandia II Review

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