ELEX: New Sci-Fi-RPG by Piranha Bytes

[Googolplex]

Mike Hoge, co-founder of Piranha Bytes and director of Gothic left the company before they started to develop Risen 3. He took some out time. But now he will make his own game, a first person Sci-Fi-RPG. Piranha Bytes who created Risen 3 are now rebranded to "Piranha Bytes Red", a splitted co-company. And they are actually in hard work to create a new project specificially aimed to the Gothic fans.

So we will get two new games from Piranha Bytes in future. But note it is just too early to talk about details.


Mike Hoge has a little problem. He likes to take enough time, which should not be such a simple thing as a game developer from the German SMEs. As the co-founder of the studio Piranha Bytes for his debut album "Gothic" a medieval prison colony with hierarchies and stockpiling designed, it was different. The end of the nineties, when the game was born, he had this time. And good luck in the market environment, but that is another matter. He thus succeeded somewhat in many respects, not even necessarily brand new, but something of their own, the animated content and still beloved. In "Risen" time was short, both the first and second part. On the third he was not involved. When he went into production in 2012, he retired.

"I made a lot of partying and a bit odd jobs, so that at least Coal comes in," he says, "and otherwise: taken a break - after 17 years you can use the good". Few would disagree with him there. Something else came across this resting phase again: time. Therefore, to design his new game, simply block to lose only mistaken ideas to ponder whether they are feasible or not, without coercion and schedule.

"I had until now not be bothered to take care of the packaging," he says, referring everything from the naked game content Divergent, "not even the name". Hoge is still a partner at Piranha Bytes. The famous studio in mid-August ended the Risen trilogy depends now a sub-label: Piranha Bytes Red ("We really had only experienced under the name of CD Projekt ..."). With two of his old colleagues he sits in a small new office. For two and a half months, the production of a prototype running.

A code name already exists: Spacetime. A destination also: the space. Hoge like to see the game in a genre neither reduced nor too specific expectations aroused. In Fancyspeak modern game development, he calls it a "Space Explorer". No less than the all leaves room for speculation, what eventually will mean in detail, except stop outside to experience very much hope the most exciting stories.

His vision one day become a reality, one should fly ships and explore, get off this ship and explore planets drive, engage in dialogue, perhaps explore. The flies and journeying on foot in about the same ratio. And all this in the first-person perspective, because "otherwise the game would not work." How So? "That would explain now too early," says Hoge. Hoge know where the boundaries should run. "We do not have hundreds of planets to explore and have to really keep under," he says. "You do not be able to land anywhere."

A ship and a crew stationed on it are nothing you do not at least since Star Trek: Bridge Commander knows. What is so special about this approach? How open this approach sounds, at least if Hoge talks about it. Here you can get as a captain in command of an ever-growing team in the hand. Some of the women and men are obviously ambience details and lose themselves in their Kleinklein accruing daily work on board. Important are the bridge officers and that for which hiring them. Each dominates anything particularly well, what influences the quality of the actions performed. The ship is the secret star of the game and continued to expand over time. So you can either go in depth or in width, much as half may or little really good?

"We do not want to do like in Mass Effect, where the fly is a cutscene or a loading screen," he says. "The ship is something like the character you will upgrade and improved." If the indicated infinity has a, then Secrets: foreign cultures and technologies to discover, can explore, perhaps must annex in advance by ... wherever. And so from a "Space Explorer" fast an RPG, depending on where to put his personal focus for this type of game. Explore and have the feeling that there exists a "Far-Out" and there is not only a few levels, but a universe with secrets, history - has just someone in mind?

In any case Hoge plans that you explore using an arbitrary two-party strangers, get a feel for the size of the universe, fights, babbles and saves, what is there to save out there. Switch between the officers and control them? Every time. Levels? They do not. "Suppose Dragon Age. Most of the time you play a character, then you switch back someday for elves, who is now 16 levels went up," jokes Hoge. "So fast car distribution and on." In his play one gathers specialists around, all contributing their part to experience the great history in the background.

Stories and history, yes, there is. And strange alien races, with whom you can communicate more or less successful. Depending on whom you sent forth for the talks in the first row. If you want to talk and do not shoot the same. Hoges game wants the ship much more at the heart than in fancy cutscenes. An imaginary example without guarantee, to experience it in exactly this form in the game: "Suppose a mission sends you to rescue some of scattered miners," says Hoge, "as one looks for in advance of the people, which are suitable for not necessarily the battle droids. "

Which is similar to the game here now?

"No idea, I have not seen so far this composition," he says. "Will there now not say too much about it."

Well, you can fly from the outset in all directions and the limits of the possible sets out the expansion of the vessel ... Fallout? We squint and make Fallout, the first one?

"Yes, I think the direction is down quite well."

Fallout is a role-playing game.

"Call it what you want."

Let's call it just like that. Role playing games often have dialogues. "There we want to get away from question ... answer ... question ... answer," promises Hoge, "otherwise you might as well just start the conversation and run the whole automatic".

So far the game is little more than a delineated vision. Planned are about three years of development time. "Let's say you hit another ship and speak with the captain. Then, of course, does not tell the you that he has lost his socks," says Hoge. "It can also happen that the time for a trade is not enough, because he continues to be fast." Also understands that rather than general direction, as can run things.

The game should be one that is pure play on cinematic staging, to the planet's surface to explore everything for you from the ship and can be run manually anyway. "Imagine that you take a city of Gothic, climb and fly through space so," says Hoge, and it sounds at first too cool to not write here.

There we have it again: Gothic. A game that went back in the right places and in his environment was for many years more advanced than much of what made great international teams at that time. Gothic is Germany, game art, a milestone so corny and cheesy that sounds. Mike Hoge and his colleagues had time for it - and luck. Maybe you can repeat this "impact" or at least comes close, who knows.

But what if this does not work? What if Gothic Hoge remains greatest success, his magnum opus, a stroke of luck, unassailable, unrepeatable? "You never know how people pick up a game," he says, "but I'm definitely willing to try it again."


Update 02.07.2015
While Hoge and his team are working on Spacetime, Piranha Bytes Red (creators of Risen 3) finally announced their next project. First artwork of their new Space-RPG leaked and official name: ELEX

http://www.elexgame.com


Update 31.07.2015
GameStar preview Video:

[CarnivorousJelly]

We need a "Googol Recommends" thread to keep these all organized. That way people with the same taste in movies/games can discuss all the awesomeness and find other things that they might like.

Also why do I feel like I read this exact same post about a month ago?

[Traggey]

I kind of agree there, you do this so frequently that you might aswell keep it to one post in order to avoid clogging the forum.

[Googolplex]

I think not. This is just a normal topic of interesting news for everyone. Nothing specific like the thread about Gothic series.

I can probably update the thread with first artworks, screenshots or information about both new games in the future. And I think everyone who's interested to play good RPGs would like that.

Hoge and the rest of the company are great talents and I'm sure his/their game will be an other jewel of the genre.

[Darkfire]

I still think they should remake G1&2 with new graphics, new quests, updated gameplay and expanded maps. Correct some bugs and fill in the holes (like the arena in the first game).
I am happy for new games though

[Slanderous]

I still think they should remake G1&2 with new graphics, new quests, updated gameplay and expanded maps. Correct some bugs and fill in the holes (like the arena in the first game).
I am happy for new games though

You must be really brave, since you mentioned something about G1 bugs under Googolplex's thread

[Googolplex]

You must be really brave, since you mentioned something about G1 bugs under Googolplex's thread

I still don't understand what's wrong with the arena and I also don't notice other bugs or "unfinished" things.

[Darkfire]

Well, the game crashes for no reasons from time to time, and if you have no luck the inventory is totally fucked up (there are no item thumbnails). I've seen these bugs countless times on few computers, so they DO exist
The arena was supposed to have battles in it, despite those 3 guys. You can figure it out of what NPCs say in dialogue. There are also a few empty, pointless caves (I actually regret that there was nothin in there).

PS. Despite everything that makes Gothic hard to play, this game still is the best, I beat it 4 times and it still inspires me in terms of atmosphere. I love the music, and I can play a few tracks on guitar. And I quote texts from this game a lot with my friends. Cheers

[Googolplex]

Well, the crashes and inventory thumbnails are not really "bugs". Rather it has to do with incompatibilities when using new hardware and OS releases. But there are fixes to avoid most of this issues. Have you checked this thread?
https://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-22545.html

But I still don't understand what you mean with the arena. There are fights!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lScEVn1ryF4

And the caves, I think there mustn't be unique items in there all the time.

[Darkfire]

Gonna have a look later. As I said, I didn't care about the bugs, I found my own solutions to them, and the game was too awesome to abandon it simply becasue of these

Ps. Sorry for off-topic !