Lord_Potato
Arcane
Since the dawn of the cRPG era it was a genre dominated by Americans (with some Canadian support).
The greatest series of the 80s and early 90s - Ultima (Origin Systems/Looking Glass Studios), Wizardry (Sir-Tech), Might&Magic (New World Computing) - were all created in the USA.
The great RPGs of the second half of 90s and first decade of XXI century were also mostly produced there. Bethesda Softworks, Interplay/Black Isle Studios, Blizzard and Troika were American, while Bioware was Canadian. These studios created almost every RPGs that mattered in this era: the Elder Scrolls 2-3, Fallout 1-2, Planescape: Torment, Diablo 1-2, Baldur's Gate 1-2, Arcanum, Vampire: Masquarade Bloodlines. The studios mentioned earlier also had their impact, Sir-Tech (which moved from USA to Canada) with Wizardry 8 and Jagged Alliance 2, Looking Glass with System Shock 2, New World Computing with Might & Magic 6-7.
However the first decade of the XXI Century was also a time of decline that killed some of those companies/studios (Black Isle Studios, Troika, Sir-Tech, New World Computing), while the others were hit by the Forced De-evolutionary Virus in the form of consoles. Bethesda soiled its reputation (while making lots of money) with Oblivion and Fallout 3, games so simplified that they could appel to the masses, Bioware turned from more complex RPGs to tps hybrids with Mass Effect series and even the flash of hope that was Dragon Age Origins quickly perished with its terrible sequel. Blizzard focused on multiplayer market with WoW, which was considered more lucrative than single player RPGs.
In time of crisis the Central Europeans entered the fray. First it was the Germans from Piranha Bytes with the Gothic series - criminally underappreaciated, but great in its first two installments (and then, tragically, killed by decline in its two final installments). Second were the Polish with Witcher 1, which enjoyed some degree of success in Europe and beyond and placed CD Projekt Red on radars that mattered. However, their time of glory was not yet to come. As for Russians and other nations of the region, there were still dormant. Czechs made some low budget blobbers, while Russians have undertaken numerous and failed efforts to create a good Fallout clone. The games that were created during these efforts might bring memories of the failed Ripley-Alien hybrids from Alien:Ressurection and should definately stay forgotten.
And then came the second decade of the XXI Century. The American and Canadian developpers kept on producing even more simplified ("streamlined") versions of their once great games: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Mass Effect 3. Obsidian and InXile, descendants of Black Isle Studios struggled to survive, but found some space with kickstarters, and while their initial offerings enjoyed some degree of success (Wasteland 2 and Pillars of Eternity 1), the next games did not follow this path. Many great names were tarnished by failed spiritual or not so spiritual successors: Torment (by Tides of Numenera), Ultima: Underworld (by Underworld Ascendant), Bard's Tale (by you know what). Bethesda finally got what it have long deserved - universal hate - with Fallout76. Bioware was forced by EA to bet its life on an uncertain project called Anthem, which will propably end in a similar failure.
For Central Eastern developpers however, it was a time to march against the crumbling empire. CD Projekt Red spearheaded the offensive with Witcher 3, in which they finally mastered the sub-genre of open world action-rpg. The Germans from Piranha Bytes, while licking wounds after the Gothic debacle, managed to stay afloat thanks to Risen series, and then attacked with a new take on their memorable formula: Elex. The Czechs from Warhorse decided to beat Bethesda in its own game and created Kingdom Come : Deliverance, a great first person action RPG that did strive for simplification and did not treat players as idiots. A one man company from Serbia provided the world with the best original Fallout successor so far: Underrail. Finally, the Russian bear awakened. The symptoms of this awakening could be observed for some time already. Talent was obviously there, as proven by fascinating Fallout total conversions: Nevada and Olympus. First, the Russian team called Owlcat Games mastered the RTwP formula with Pathfinder: Kingmaker (while still kept their tradition of publishing games handicapped by bugs). Second, the international team from Latvia, Poland, Ukraine and Russia created another worthy Fallout successor: Atom RPG. Hence, the curse of the Russian made Fallout clones was finally broken.
2015-2018 is a time in which Central-Eastern Europeans rose to take the helm of almost every major sub-genre of cRPGs (except blobbers, here the Japanese rule without a threat). The Americans still have the capital, powerful infrastructure for producing games, may still enjoy better sales numbers due to more money spent on all branches of promotion (including buying favorable reviews).
But it seems that the perimeter wall of the Pelennor Fields has been broken and orks are pooring inside. And this time there are no Riders of Rohan coming to the rescue.
The greatest series of the 80s and early 90s - Ultima (Origin Systems/Looking Glass Studios), Wizardry (Sir-Tech), Might&Magic (New World Computing) - were all created in the USA.
The great RPGs of the second half of 90s and first decade of XXI century were also mostly produced there. Bethesda Softworks, Interplay/Black Isle Studios, Blizzard and Troika were American, while Bioware was Canadian. These studios created almost every RPGs that mattered in this era: the Elder Scrolls 2-3, Fallout 1-2, Planescape: Torment, Diablo 1-2, Baldur's Gate 1-2, Arcanum, Vampire: Masquarade Bloodlines. The studios mentioned earlier also had their impact, Sir-Tech (which moved from USA to Canada) with Wizardry 8 and Jagged Alliance 2, Looking Glass with System Shock 2, New World Computing with Might & Magic 6-7.
However the first decade of the XXI Century was also a time of decline that killed some of those companies/studios (Black Isle Studios, Troika, Sir-Tech, New World Computing), while the others were hit by the Forced De-evolutionary Virus in the form of consoles. Bethesda soiled its reputation (while making lots of money) with Oblivion and Fallout 3, games so simplified that they could appel to the masses, Bioware turned from more complex RPGs to tps hybrids with Mass Effect series and even the flash of hope that was Dragon Age Origins quickly perished with its terrible sequel. Blizzard focused on multiplayer market with WoW, which was considered more lucrative than single player RPGs.
In time of crisis the Central Europeans entered the fray. First it was the Germans from Piranha Bytes with the Gothic series - criminally underappreaciated, but great in its first two installments (and then, tragically, killed by decline in its two final installments). Second were the Polish with Witcher 1, which enjoyed some degree of success in Europe and beyond and placed CD Projekt Red on radars that mattered. However, their time of glory was not yet to come. As for Russians and other nations of the region, there were still dormant. Czechs made some low budget blobbers, while Russians have undertaken numerous and failed efforts to create a good Fallout clone. The games that were created during these efforts might bring memories of the failed Ripley-Alien hybrids from Alien:Ressurection and should definately stay forgotten.
And then came the second decade of the XXI Century. The American and Canadian developpers kept on producing even more simplified ("streamlined") versions of their once great games: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Mass Effect 3. Obsidian and InXile, descendants of Black Isle Studios struggled to survive, but found some space with kickstarters, and while their initial offerings enjoyed some degree of success (Wasteland 2 and Pillars of Eternity 1), the next games did not follow this path. Many great names were tarnished by failed spiritual or not so spiritual successors: Torment (by Tides of Numenera), Ultima: Underworld (by Underworld Ascendant), Bard's Tale (by you know what). Bethesda finally got what it have long deserved - universal hate - with Fallout76. Bioware was forced by EA to bet its life on an uncertain project called Anthem, which will propably end in a similar failure.
For Central Eastern developpers however, it was a time to march against the crumbling empire. CD Projekt Red spearheaded the offensive with Witcher 3, in which they finally mastered the sub-genre of open world action-rpg. The Germans from Piranha Bytes, while licking wounds after the Gothic debacle, managed to stay afloat thanks to Risen series, and then attacked with a new take on their memorable formula: Elex. The Czechs from Warhorse decided to beat Bethesda in its own game and created Kingdom Come : Deliverance, a great first person action RPG that did strive for simplification and did not treat players as idiots. A one man company from Serbia provided the world with the best original Fallout successor so far: Underrail. Finally, the Russian bear awakened. The symptoms of this awakening could be observed for some time already. Talent was obviously there, as proven by fascinating Fallout total conversions: Nevada and Olympus. First, the Russian team called Owlcat Games mastered the RTwP formula with Pathfinder: Kingmaker (while still kept their tradition of publishing games handicapped by bugs). Second, the international team from Latvia, Poland, Ukraine and Russia created another worthy Fallout successor: Atom RPG. Hence, the curse of the Russian made Fallout clones was finally broken.
2015-2018 is a time in which Central-Eastern Europeans rose to take the helm of almost every major sub-genre of cRPGs (except blobbers, here the Japanese rule without a threat). The Americans still have the capital, powerful infrastructure for producing games, may still enjoy better sales numbers due to more money spent on all branches of promotion (including buying favorable reviews).
But it seems that the perimeter wall of the Pelennor Fields has been broken and orks are pooring inside. And this time there are no Riders of Rohan coming to the rescue.
And if by any chance someone did not catch the reference:
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