Interview Why Piranha Bytes Dumped JoWooD

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Piranha Bytes

<p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-05-why-gothic-dev-piranha-dumped-jowood" target="_blank">Eurogamer interviewed</a> Piranha Bytes on the topic of Gothic rights and more.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>JoWooD went on to attempt a fourth Gothic game using developer Spellbound Software. The results were dire: ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale was "a dry spreadsheet" of ideas that "neither mentally or materially" rewarded players - 4/10.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Piranha Bytes threw together Risen, which fared only slightly better, earning 6/10 on PC and 4/10 on console.<br /><br />"For us it seemed to be a win-win situation," said Hoge of the impact of ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale, "because we knew we would get the brand back.<br /><br />"Currently, JoWooD has no more rights on developing any further Gothic titles, so the rights are back - they will be back I think next year. I don't have the contract here. Very soon the contract runs out and we will get the rights back. And we knew that from the start.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As an aside, <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-05-why-risen-2-will-be-better-interview" target="_blank">Risen 2 will be better</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The project Risen 2 is by far the most expensive project that we've done. I can't elaborate on that, sorry.</p>
<p>We've put much more effort into the animation by using motion capture. Also, the structure of the game: in Risen 1 we had quite an imbalance in the game chapters; as the game went on there was less and less to do, and at the end you had to run through a couple of dungeons. This gave you the feeling that the game became more boring.</p>
<p>What we're doing in Risen 2 is mix it all up: the dungeons will not be at the end of the game but at several points in the game.</p>
<p>We have a completely different travelling system. We've split the world into several islands and coastal regions, so you still have an open world, which you can explore freely, but we can force the player to solve some missions before we allow him to travel to another island. Thus we can ensure the player knows certain things when he arrives.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com/?rwsiteid=1#17222">RPGWatch</a></p>

 

[Darth Roxor]

Gothic 3 scored only 8/10 because developer JoWooD "forced" the game's release when it was "not ready", developer Piranha Bytes has revealed to Eurogamer.

Only?

ONLY?

ONLY??!?!!?!?



This is the key to understanding gaming journalism.

 

[curry]

Gothic 3 scored only 8/10 because developer JoWooD "forced" the game's release when it was "not ready", developer Piranha Bytes has revealed to Eurogamer.

Only?

ONLY?

ONLY??!?!!?!?



This is the key to understanding gaming journalism.

That's not bullshit though. G3 would have been awesome if it hadn't been released prematurely.

 

[sea]

I have a serious problem with how this article is written. The article calls Risen "thrown-together", with the only basis for it being that Eurogamer themselves gave it a low score, even though many other reviews praised Risen as being one of the best open-world CRPGs made in a long while. They're trying to frame it as a case of a developer being down, but not out, I think, but they're only actually doing that by really obviously manipulating the context and adding a good deal of slant to the entire story. This could have been a simple story on Piranha Bytes and their comment that they still own Gothic, and plan to make a new one in the future, but instead it just comes off as forced and existing mostly to promote the opinions of Eurogamer, not the facts of the situation.

Speaking of, I used to like Eurogamer. They seemed pretty sane as far as large publications in the game review business go, and were usually pretty fair, but this last year or two they've become really derpy, lumping massive amounts of praise on games that don't deserve it and inflating their pieces with bloated opinion content and hyperbole. Even Digital Foundry, which was kind of informative for a while when console games had major differences across platforms, has turned into a soapbox for the guy whose job is to count pixels and measure framerate. I'm not sure if it's pathetic, insulting, or just sort of sad.

 

[Raapys]

Not sure I like the sound of Risen 2 being PB's most expensive project to date.

 

[villain of the story]

Speaking of, I used to like Eurogamer. They seemed pretty sane as far as large publications in the game review business go, and were usually pretty fair.

If you've stuck with us this long and not simply rushed out to buy it (which we suggest you do before the weekend is out), then you should have the distinct impression that it's the kind of must-have game that has Game of the Year contender written all over it. There's so much we haven't even talked about, that's the crazy thing, 3000 words in. The prospect of things like Vampire hunting (or, even being a vampire) is just the stuff of gaming legend, or being the ultimate warrior or assassin for hire. Frankly, there's way too much stuff to talk about in the confines of a review - it's one of those games you've got to experience for yourself.

Oblivion is a staggeringly ambitious game that successfully unites some of the best elements of RPG, adventure and action games and fuses them into a relentlessly immersive and intoxicating whole. If the irresistibly picturesque visuals don't draw you in, then the ability to engage in a massive, unique and above all hugely entertaining adventure ought to tip the balance for anyone doubting how good this game could be. If ever a game was worth the full asking price, Oblivion is it - to miss out on it would be tantamount to a dereliction of duty.

10/10

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_oblivion_x360

The game is great. And I’m not gonna let a bad story line take away from the fact that the game is still fun, and there’s always the hope of an expansion pack coming around to improve the story. Even still the game is like I said, a great game, near perfection, but not perfect. Its still fun to play and there’s tons of stuff to do, even though I was disappointed with some aspects, I got exactly, and more, than what I wanted in every other category. Its not the best game I’ve ever played in my life, I don’t think I could ever give that to just one game, every game is different and better than other games in different things. But it sure is one of the greatest games ever, and true born classic, a titan of the gaming world. Its name will be for ever up there with, Half Life, Doom, Everquest, Warcraft, Age of Empires, Diablo and all the other greats.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/egrr_1220_65086

Oh, how horribly they have declined since 2006. Indeed.

 

[trojan pony]

It's a bit unfair to quote a reader review as an example for a whole site being derp. That would be like taking Volly's posts as representative of the codex. First quote made your point adequately.

 

[villain of the story]

I hadn't noticed that the second was a reader review. Still, even though it is possibly the most significant sample, it's just a single one but I objected because Eurogamer has been putting out shitty reviews as far as I've known. Naturally, Oblivion is the best example as one of the ultimate moron indicators.

 

[ortucis]

Eurogamer reviewed the console version and labelled it as PC version with low score. There was a huge backlash in comments and then they FINALLY (after weeks) replaced the review with PC version. But to not look like retards, they kept the score low on PC release as well.

They do this with other PC reviews as well. Eurogamer is more interested in posting witty one-liners under screenshots than providing a good platform specific review.

 

[J_J_M]

I get all giddy inside, like a kid waiting for Christmas when I think of Piranha Bytes making a real Gothic 4. Risen 2 is a good substitute for it, but suddenly there is more light ahead.

 

[CorpseZeb]

="Darth Roxor"

Gothic 3 scored only 8/10...

Only?

ONLY?

This is the key to understanding gaming journalism.

But of course, less then 8 might hurts someone feelings, y'know. And we don't want that, do we?

Now, its very nice being unable to misjudge any game, safely sails from 8/10 to 10/10 into port called “you just can't be wrong, never”.

Full spectrum scale? “So big. So angry. So dead”.

 

[sea]

Oh, how horribly they have declined since 2006. Indeed.

As a mainstream publication they've always more or less had their balls in a vice and have been more concerned with building up hype and jumping on trends than providing quality coverage. Still, I've found them significantly better than the other big magazines (IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, etc.) in the past, and some of their editorials are alright, albeit on an infrequent basis. I'm not saying they're great, but the standards for mainstream gaming magazines are pretty low, and I've definitely noticed a decline more and more over the last few years.

 

[Severian Silk]

Glad to see they got the rights back as Gothic is an awesome series!

 

[SCO]

Why the fuck do you care about gaming "magazines"?

I haven't picked one of them since 2001. Fuck their shit.

 

[deuxhero]

Then why does your comment appear in the prestigious RPGCodex magazine?

 

[curry]

Then why does your comment appear in the prestigious RPGCodex magazine?

Speaking of which, is RPG Codex reviews in Metacritic yet?

 

[Needles]

This gave you the feeling that the game became more boring.

Note the phrasing. The game didn't actually become more boring - because they ran out of content - you just had the feeling that it did.

 

[Shannow]

I have a serious problem with how this article is written. The article calls Risen "thrown-together", with the only basis for it being that Eurogamer themselves gave it a low score, even though many other reviews praised Risen as being one of the best open-world CRPGs made in a long while. They're trying to frame it as a case of a developer being down, but not out, I think, but they're only actually doing that by really obviously manipulating the context and adding a good deal of slant to the entire story. This could have been a simple story on Piranha Bytes and their comment that they still own Gothic, and plan to make a new one in the future, but instead it just comes off as forced and existing mostly to promote the opinions of Eurogamer, not the facts of the situation.

Not sure I like the comment about Risen 2 being the most expensive, either. PB are pretty much my favourite devs but they're certainly not "consistent" or "dependable". Wouldn't want PB to crash and burn because Risen 2 ends up being a mixture of Dungeon Lords and Daatoo... (And at least engine-wise that is a possibility with PB :/)

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Gothic 3 turned me off the franchise to be honest. There were some decent moments in the game, and it could have been excellent, but it wasn't, and the ending wraps up The Gothic Goatee Guy's adventures anyway.

Risen is the way forward, with the new, clean shaven guy and his British accent. And his new alcohol addiction.

 

[Kraszu]

Gothic 3 turned me off the franchise to be honest. There were some decent moments in the game, and it could have been excellent, but it wasn't, and the ending wraps up The Gothic Goatee Guy's adventures anyway.

It is possibly the best Gothic game with community patch 1.74, all of the Gothic games are close in they quality with different strengths, and weakness imo.

 

[Volourn]

"Speaking of which, is RPG Codex reviews in Metacritic yet?"

Codex reviews don't give ratings.

 

[mr.doo]

villain of the story: Oblivion got great reviews in almost every well known publication. Are you trying to say that every one of them are bad or declining because they gave oblivion a high score ? :/

In a more serious note, I enjoyed the first risen, what I've heard so far about risen 2 sounds interesting so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Murk]

I have a serious problem with how this article is written. The article calls Risen "thrown-together", with the only basis for it being that Eurogamer themselves gave it a low score, even though many other reviews praised Risen as being one of the best open-world CRPGs made in a long while. They're trying to frame it as a case of a developer being down, but not out, I think, but they're only actually doing that by really obviously manipulating the context and adding a good deal of slant to the entire story. This could have been a simple story on Piranha Bytes and their comment that they still own Gothic, and plan to make a new one in the future, but instead it just comes off as forced and existing mostly to promote the opinions of Eurogamer, not the facts of the situation.

Well put.

 

[Claw]

Gothic 3 scored only 8/10 because developer JoWooD "forced" the game's release when it was "not ready", developer Piranha Bytes has revealed to Eurogamer.

Only?

ONLY?

ONLY??!?!!?!?



This is the key to understanding gaming journalism.

The really sad part is that they gave Gothic 3 a higher score than Risen. Gothic 3 showed alot of promise, but was a broken game. Risen was disappointing in some ways, but a solid, polished game.

 

[Forest Dweller]

I always find it amusing how so many people complain about the end-game of Risen, as if it's some new decline. Welcome to the Gothic series.