ELEX Pre-Release Thread

[vonAchdorf]

.

That's probably the least flashy and most German game development documentary (which should basically serve as an ad) I have seen. Even "down to earth" seems to be an mild description.

 

[toro]

What do you mean by using the adjective "German"?

 

[vonAchdorf]

What do you mean by using the adjective "German"?

Just a collection of things - there is no "drama" in the presentation, he starts the video rambling not totally coherent about what cannot be done and about the limitations. They describe their office as "Einfamilienhaus" (single family home) and it actually looks like one. They sit in plastic garden chairs. They awkwardly introduce themselves (if kwans do something like that, they are for more self-assured in general) and so on.

 

[Trodat]

Yeah, it was a good video. No bullshit style.

 

[Eirikur]

Low energy @PiranhaBytes abandoned their failed Risen series but aren't done disappointing their fans. Weak!

 

[Metro]

I'm sure it'll be worth checking out... for $5 on sale.

 

[Alex]

i want to believe

actually no i dont want to believe

if i believe i'll end up disappointed

so uh

yeah i'll just continue sitting here

Come on, you know you are going to play through the whole game, even if only so you can review it.

 

[adddeed]

Is this Risen with guns?

 

[Junmarko]

11:50 - Dude has a copy of Gothic 3 on his desk. They must be using it as a reference for world design, which was it's only strength. Let's hope they don't take anything else from it.

 

[Darth Roxor]

i want to believe

actually no i dont want to believe

if i believe i'll end up disappointed

so uh

yeah i'll just continue sitting here

Come on, you know you are going to play through the whole game, even if only so you can review it.

yes

 

[ERYFKRAD]

i want to believe

actually no i dont want to believe

if i believe i'll end up disappointed

so uh

yeah i'll just continue sitting here

Come on, you know you are going to play through the whole game, even if only so you can review it.

yes

I salute you, especially since no one reads your reviews, particularly the Risen ones.

But damn, I wanna believe too.

 

[toro]

What do you mean by using the adjective "German"?

Just a collection of things - there is no "drama" in the presentation, he starts the video rambling not totally coherent about what cannot be done and about the limitations. They describe their office as "Einfamilienhaus" (single family home) and it actually looks like one. They sit in plastic garden chairs. They awkwardly introduce themselves (if kwans do something like that, they are for more self-assured in general) and so on.

Whatever you say. I have no problem with the presentation.

On the other hand, there are a few things which stood out for me:

1) There is no unique vision behind the game. It's design by committee. He even admits that they are mixing different things without a clue: medieval gothic with a little bit of sci-fi and a little bit of post-apocalyptic and a little bit of something else. This is not a proper design philosophy.

Bottom line: nobody in that company knows what they are trying to achieve. Wiki cannot replace a unique vision.

2) He manages to link the game vision to a dead-line (!?). He sounds like he doesn't give a fuck about the end product as long as they create something within the original budget. The dead-line thing is parroted by almost all guys from his team.

It seems like their main concern is not to lose funding instead of making a great game.

3) All the bullshit about great communication looks like amateurs hour. In fact, a developer/animator/scripter should not decide for themselves what they have to do. Usually craftsmen tend to go berserk with perfection but that's not the problem in this case.

Craftsmen should only be concerned with their craft. Not thinking about dead-lines or making decision about what should be in the game or not. Those decisions should be ultimately made by the project manager (with the help of assigned creative directors).

4) They are outsourcing animations. Well, this at least explains the garbage animations from their games.

5) No gameplay. I know the documentary was about Piranha Bytes but ffs please show some gameplay about your new game that you will release in the next months. It's not like they are producing something special anymore.

Yeah, I admit I'm biased. I want to see these imbeciles burn. I don't hate them for being German or for producing sub-par games.

I hate them because they are leeches feeding on the reputation of Gothic and Gothic 2 games. By this point it's fairly clear that they don't have the skills to wear the mantle of the original PB.

The fair thing to do for them would be to change their company name and go straight to the recycle bin of game development. Nothing of value would be lost.

 

[vortex]

Will Elex have melee and shooter mechanics implemented ?

 

[Junmarko]

By this point it's fairly clear that they don't have the skills to wear the mantle of the original PB.

Besides Bjorn Pankratz, who at PB is actually part of the original team?

 

[toro]

By this point it's fairly clear that they don't have the skills to wear the mantle of the original PB.

Besides Bjorn Pankratz, who at PB is actually part of the original team?

At least another tester. He was in the interview.

 

[Morgoth]

I got the impression that PB got very very tired.

Danke, Merkel.

 

[Junmarko]

At least another tester. He was in the interview.

Ah I see. A bit worrying

Yeah I pretty much agree with everything you've said above, the focus on their deadline above all else doesn't make me optimistic. Just set your standards really low and you won't be disappointed I guess haha.

Fuck, at least it's not Risen 4...

 

[Gnidrologist]

You gonna get xenial.

He's pollack. Hes gonna get annexed.

 

[Eirikur]

By this point it's fairly clear that they don't have the skills to wear the mantle of the original PB.

Besides Bjorn Pankratz, who at PB is actually part of the original team?

Looking through the names of current employees, I recognize these ones (aside from Pankratz):

• Sascha Henrichs
• Michael Rüve
• Philipp Krause
• Stefan Kalveram
• Mattias Filler
• Horst Dworczak

I think they were all involved in Gothic 2, at least.

 

[Starwars]

That guy with the long hair...

 

[Junmarko]

I wonder if they'll bring back this great voice actor.

 

[vonAchdorf]

What do you mean by using the adjective "German"?

Just a collection of things - there is no "drama" in the presentation, he starts the video rambling not totally coherent about what cannot be done and about the limitations. They describe their office as "Einfamilienhaus" (single family home) and it actually looks like one. They sit in plastic garden chairs. They awkwardly introduce themselves (if kwans do something like that, they are for more self-assured in general) and so on.

Whatever you say. I have no problem with the presentation.

On the other hand, there are a few things which stood out for me:

1) There is no unique vision behind the game. It's design by committee. He even admits that they are mixing different things without a clue: medieval gothic with a little bit of sci-fi and a little bit of post-apocalyptic and a little bit of something else. This is not a proper design philosophy.

Bottom line: nobody in that company knows what they are trying to achieve. Wiki cannot replace a unique vision.

2) He manages to link the game vision to a dead-line (!?). He sounds like he doesn't give a fuck about the end product as long as they create something within the original budget. The dead-line thing is parroted by almost all guys from his team.

It seems like their main concern is not to lose funding instead of making a great game.

3) All the bullshit about great communication looks like amateurs hour. In fact, a developer/animator/scripter should not decide for themselves what they have to do. Usually craftsmen tend to go berserk with perfection but that's not the problem in this case.

Craftsmen should only be concerned with their craft. Not thinking about dead-lines or making decision about what should be in the game or not. Those decisions should be ultimately made by the project manager (with the help of assigned creative directors).

4) They are outsourcing animations. Well, this at least explains the garbage animations from their games.

5) No gameplay. I know the documentary was about Piranha Bytes but ffs please show some gameplay about your new game that you will release in the next months. It's not like they are producing something special anymore.

Yeah, I admit I'm biased. I want to see these imbeciles burn. I don't hate them for being German or for producing sub-par games.

I hate them because they are leeches feeding on the reputation of Gothic and Gothic 2 games. By this point it's fairly clear that they don't have the skills to wear the mantle of the original PB.

The fair thing to do for them would be to change their company name and go straight to the recycle bin of game development. Nothing of value would be lost.

Yes, that's what I meant. He starts speaking about his / their vision and you don't really get what his vision is other than "making a game on time and in budget". Normally a developer would first enthuse about his unique ideas and what makes the game special (an American would of course add that's the best game they've ever made), and maybe then add a little reality check given budget constraints to tone down the expectation, but if not even the developers come across as hyped for their game, why should I be.

 

[HoboForEternity]

I wonder if they'll bring back this great voice actor.

i like how he dance before death

 

[ERYFKRAD]

i like how he dance before death

Ah, the joys of ragdolling.

Also I didn't know people played this in first person.

 

[cherry blossom]

I get the impression that If only these people scaled back and focused on a more indie-style game (less focus on modern visuals and presentation, more on game mechanics and content) than the epic bombastic style they've been stuck with, they might be able to put out something good.