Risen 2: Dark Waters Q&A
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GS: We were told at the March Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that Risen 2 is intended to be a "full-fledged pirate role-playing game." For the team at Piranha Bytes, what's needed to make a full-fledged pirate RPG?
DO: Wow--where to begin? Let's start with the general scope (aka, the recipe), and then we'll talk about the building blocks (aka, the ingredients). What's generally needed to create any good RPG is an immersive gameworld with interesting characters who offer the player a convincing backdrop for the gameplay to happen in. What makes it "piratey"? First of all, the architecture has to reflect the culture of pirates, so everything you see in the game has to fit the period we want to convey to the player and the lifestyle of pirates. Pirates don't rely on civil engineers to build their houses, so everything looks a bit improvised and chaotic.
Secondly, you must have a language and tone throughout the game which fits the setting. The pirates in Risen 2 live in a dark and gritty world, so living like a pirate also means talking like a pirate. Thirdly, the weaponry we give to the player matches the setting as well: muskets, rapiers, sabres, pistols, bombs, powder kegs, coconuts, and parrots. Yes, you read that right--you can launch your very own parrot at people to annoy them, and knock them unconscious with coconuts. And last but not least, you can craft your own weapons and booze from the items you collect during your adventures.
GS: We were told in March that Risen 2 will take place across numerous islands, rather than on a single landmass, and that there would be some as-yet undisclosed means of transporting your pirate hero and his companions to and from different islands. Is it safe to assume that this method of transportation might be some sort of ship, perhaps of the pirate variety, as it were? If Risen 2 were, in fact, to have a "pirate's ship," if you will, what other purposes would it serve? Customizable housing? A quest hub? A crafting hub?
DO: Yes, you will be able to command your very own ship in Risen 2! The decision to make the ship the central means of transport in the game was based on the feedback from the fans. In Risen 1, even key characters dropped in and out of the storyline, and the players felt a bit isolated--they wanted a sense of ongoing companionship. For this reason, the ship in Risen 2 will not only get you from point A to point B, but will function as a hub for your companions where the player can talk to and get quests from them. So it helps to add the flavor of a party in an RPG without the hassle to the player of having to manage multiple characters all the time.
