George Ziets opening a new RPG studio - Digimancy Entertainment

[Roguey]

So the team is completely remote huh

Would be interesting to see how that would turn out, project-wise. Video game development have been infamous to be less than reliable management wise (missed deadline, crunch/excessive overtime, still shipping with questionable quality and bugs even after all of those).

Remote working is certainly not going to help with that I think? Especially when you are going full production after getting the funding.

George Ziets's Dead State. And like Dead State, it's a game that isn't delivering what the writer's fanbase expects from him.

 

[Infinitron]

G Ziets What do you have to say for yourself

 

[undecaf]

Something HoMM/Disciples -esque, perhaps?

Real-time combat gameplay experience is a plus

 

[Harthwain]

Finding out it was a strategy-RPG already made me lose interest, real-time just punctuates it.

"Strategy-RPG"? Where the intel on the strategy part comes from? It only says "hybrid" and "real-time combat", which could mean an action-RPG.

could be really slow real-time ya never know

Real-time with pause isn't off the table either yet.

 

[Riddler]

I mean, games like cultist simulator are real time too. There are a lot of ways to implement a real time system.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

So long the game is good then the game is good, real-time or not.

Spellforce 3 is RPG RTS hybrid and is a great game.

 

[Roguey]

"Strategy-RPG"? Where the intel on the strategy part comes from? It only says "hybrid" and "real-time combat", which could mean an action-RPG.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ncy-entertainment.130360/page-25#post-6821745
"rpg-strategy hybrid"

 

[Quillon]

Finding out it was a strategy-RPG already made me lose interest, real-time just punctuates it.

Didn't you lose interest in Deadfire cos it got rid of strategic features?

 

[Harthwain]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ncy-entertainment.130360/page-25#post-6821745
"rpg-strategy hybrid"

I see. Thanks.

I am not crossing it out yet though. They may go literally for RTS with RPG elements, but "real-time combat gameplay" is very broad description. Kingmaker has both the "strategic layer" and "real-time" combat (with pause). And I am expecting them to come up with something more RPG-heavy than Warcraft 3.

 

[Roguey]

Didn't you lose interest in Deadfire cos it got rid of strategic features?

I like strategic elements, yes. Never could get into any kind of strategy game though.

 

[G Ziets]

I think he's making what he envisioned for BG3 (I think he mentioned something similar in one of his MattChats). Wish him the best in chasing his dream, but not all that interested personally.

I'm not allowed to say much about the new project yet, and we're only a couple weeks into our first phase of work. (It's been a lot of fun to build a team from scratch and get back to making games with some old friends.) However, I *can* say that we're not making anything WotC- or D&D-related, and the game has no connection to my BG3 pitch from a while back.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I think he's making what he envisioned for BG3 (I think he mentioned something similar in one of his MattChats). Wish him the best in chasing his dream, but not all that interested personally.

I'm not allowed to say much about the new project yet, and we're only a couple weeks into our first phase of work. (It's been a lot of fun to build a team from scratch and get back to making games with some old friends.) However, I *can* say that we're not making anything WotC- or D&D-related, and the game has no connection to my BG3 pitch from a while back.

Excited to see whatever you put out. Any chance it has any connection to the King of Dragon Pass clone in the Fallout setting you spitballed about a few years ago?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

On LOTRO, I designed some quests and zones, including the human / hobbit newbie area, wrote a lot of dialogue, and developed the main story on Shadows of Angmar (though I left to take a job at Obsidian before the game shipped, and I suspect the story evolved further after I left).

Recently played LOTRO and The Shire was perfect, exactly as imagined when reading about it.
If you were responsible for that then

 

[Wunderbar]

Damn i wish LOTRO wasn't O.

 

[luj1]

Spellforce 3 is RPG RTS hybrid and is a great game.

Literally no reason whatsoever to ever play Spellforce. Back in the day it was an inferior third-rate franchise, much like the Divinity games or Risen. It was just something you pick up when there was an utter drought of RPGs (very rare) and play for one afternoon.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Spellforce 3 is RPG RTS hybrid and is a great game.

Literally no reason whatsoever to ever play Spellforce. Back in the day it was an inferior third-rate franchise, much like the Divinity games or Risen. It was just something you pick up when there was an utter drought of RPGs (very rare) and play for one afternoon.

Shrug. It is a better game in my opinion than Divinity OS event hough Divinity OS is a muh turn based RPG.

I won't be debating here as I've done it in other threads but TB doesn't make a game good. Overall game design is.

 

[deuxhero]

So the team is completely remote huh

Would be interesting to see how that would turn out, project-wise. Video game development have been infamous to be less than reliable management wise (missed deadline, crunch/excessive overtime, still shipping with questionable quality and bugs even after all of those).

Remote working is certainly not going to help with that I think? Especially when you are going full production after getting the funding.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of software industry is looking into remote working with wuhan flu shutdowns. Whoever is publishing it likely doesn't have a choice: It's either remote work or no new games.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

So the team is completely remote huh

Would be interesting to see how that would turn out, project-wise. Video game development have been infamous to be less than reliable management wise (missed deadline, crunch/excessive overtime, still shipping with questionable quality and bugs even after all of those).

Remote working is certainly not going to help with that I think? Especially when you are going full production after getting the funding.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of software industry is looking into remote working with wuhan flu shutdowns. Whoever is publishing it likely doesn't have a choice: It's either remote work or no new games.

I mean yeah with Covid we really don't have much of a choice and software devs is probably the one sector that is mostly digital anyway.

I am really asking the question in long term sense because from the description it would seem that Digimancy is a remote-only studio regardless of the existence of Covid. Like, next year after Covid relatively died down due to vaccine or whatever (and a lot of countries are already opening up even today), would having remote-only studio works? Considering that even with strict "normal" game development condition game developments isn't really know for being spotless, project-wise.

 

[ksaun]

So the team is completely remote huh

Would be interesting to see how that would turn out, project-wise. Video game development have been infamous to be less than reliable management wise (missed deadline, crunch/excessive overtime, still shipping with questionable quality and bugs even after all of those).

Remote working is certainly not going to help with that I think? Especially when you are going full production after getting the funding.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of software industry is looking into remote working with wuhan flu shutdowns. Whoever is publishing it likely doesn't have a choice: It's either remote work or no new games.

I mean yeah with Covid we really don't have much of a choice and software devs is probably the one sector that is mostly digital anyway.

I am really asking the question in long term sense because from the description it would seem that Digimancy is a remote-only studio regardless of the existence of Covid. Like, next year after Covid relatively died down due to vaccine or whatever (and a lot of countries are already opening up even today), would having remote-only studio works? Considering that even with strict "normal" game development condition game developments isn't really know for being spotless, project-wise.

Digimancy Entertainment's decision to be a completely remote development studio predates the known existence of covid-19. (And we deny the salacious rumors that Digimancy genetically engineered the virus to increase our ability to win a development deal. (I knew that organic chemistry class I took, the one that included a SATURDAY lecture, would prove useful someday!))

To get ahead of any false expectations, though I see others have already helped us with this (thanks, guys!): Digimancy's first game will certainly be considered an abject failure by the hive mind that is RPG Codex. No one who would post here, present company included, is sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate the fine craftsmanship of such talented developers. But we look forward to reading the debates over which way we most failed true RPG fans.

 

[Ninjerk]

So the team is completely remote huh

Would be interesting to see how that would turn out, project-wise. Video game development have been infamous to be less than reliable management wise (missed deadline, crunch/excessive overtime, still shipping with questionable quality and bugs even after all of those).

Remote working is certainly not going to help with that I think? Especially when you are going full production after getting the funding.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of software industry is looking into remote working with wuhan flu shutdowns. Whoever is publishing it likely doesn't have a choice: It's either remote work or no new games.

I mean yeah with Covid we really don't have much of a choice and software devs is probably the one sector that is mostly digital anyway.

I am really asking the question in long term sense because from the description it would seem that Digimancy is a remote-only studio regardless of the existence of Covid. Like, next year after Covid relatively died down due to vaccine or whatever (and a lot of countries are already opening up even today), would having remote-only studio works? Considering that even with strict "normal" game development condition game developments isn't really know for being spotless, project-wise.

Digimancy Entertainment's decision to be a completely remote development studio predates the known existence of covid-19. (And we deny the salacious rumors that Digimancy genetically engineered the virus to increase our ability to win a development deal. (I knew that organic chemistry class I took, the one that included a SATURDAY lecture, would prove useful someday!))

To get ahead of any false expectations, though I see others have already helped us with this (thanks, guys!): Digimancy's first game will certainly be considered an abject failure by the hive mind that is RPG Codex. No one who would post here, present company included, is sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate the fine craftsmanship of such talented developers. But we look forward to reading the debates over which way we most failed true RPG fans.

We're sharpening our knives as we speak.

 

[vortex]

Please let it be RTwP with strategic elements keeping liluralism intact.

Also B. Mitsoda is available for hire.

 

[The_Mask]

Also B. Mitsoda is available for hire.

Technically so is Avellone.

But we look forward to reading the debates over which way we most failed true RPG fans.

Your blatant flattery will get you nowhere.

Spoiler

Aw shucks, go on...

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

Digimancy Entertainment's decision to be a completely remote development studio predates the known existence of covid-19. (And we deny the salacious rumors that Digimancy genetically engineered the virus to increase our ability to win a development deal. (I knew that organic chemistry class I took, the one that included a SATURDAY lecture, would prove useful someday!))

To get ahead of any false expectations, though I see others have already helped us with this (thanks, guys!): Digimancy's first game will certainly be considered an abject failure by the hive mind that is RPG Codex. No one who would post here, present company included, is sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate the fine craftsmanship of such talented developers. But we look forward to reading the debates over which way we most failed true RPG fans.

That cracked me up! And, it's great to hear you've joined Digimancy.

 

[guestposting]

Fuck, Saunders has the heart of a shitposter. I imagine Olga Moskvina does, too, since she worked on Disco.

Didn’t Paradox’s former CEO say something about wanting to make strategy-RPG hybrids a couple years ago? Seems like something that would be in their wheelhouse.

 

[Bulo]

Invest more points into the Leadership tree to command a greater number of troops across the battlefield and unlock additional useful formations