Gothic 3
Gothic 3 provides a living world where the players can freely choose the way they want to play; whether exploring the world and enjoying its rich and enchanted atmosphere or following a darker path, and even ultimately destroying it. Every choice and action the player makes will directly echo and affect the world of Gothic, creating a life-like environment and allowing for complex character interaction. No two games will ever be alike.
Format: PC
Release 13 Oct 2006
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Deep Silver
Players: 1
PEGI Rating: NUL
Gothic III Q&A; [ Feature ]
Piranha Byte are hoping its third time lucky for Gothic in the UK and N America...
Author: Derek dela Fuente | Date Added: 26/10/2005
If you read through a list of most wanted games, especially throughout Europe, there is one name constantly appearing. It’s not one of those blockbuster games but one that is a growing brand that has a fanatical fan base, especially in Germany, one that is a sleeper, slow grower, in Europe.Gothic, RPG, may be on it’s third instalment but there are plenty of surprises in store as Derek dela Fuente found out when he spoke with both Stefan Berger, Brand Manager for Gothic 3, and Kai Rosenkranz, from the development team Piranha Byte’s, who is the in-house composer and sound designer. In addition to his main area of responsibility, he's also in charge of visual effects, 2D graphics and the official website.
Would it be fair to say that in terms of sales and expectations so far Gothic has not fared as well as you’d hoped, particularly outside of Germany? The UK and USA market are ones you wish to crack so how will this be achieved with Gothic 3?
Kai: In contrast to the German market, the Gothic series could admittedly not grow beyond the ‚sleeper hit’ status in the UK/US. When Gothic 2 hit stores in the USA, it was already more than one year old and could hardly compete with visually impressive state-of-the-art-titles. Due to the poor marketing and the significant trouble we had with our distribution partners, only a small group of players knew the game existed at all, whereas in Germany we have a loyal and devoted fan community. They enthusiastically spread the word about the game and thus make up for the little marketing budget. Even though the Gothic series is still not exactly widely known and popular in the US/UK, the international fan community keeps growing. We support this development as much as we can. Gothic compilations such as the ‚Collectors edition’ (which contains all the previous Gothic products) will be available worldwide before the third part's release. Apart from that, the mere product quality will rise considerably and thus enable the game to compete with the international market.
For those not particularly au-fait with Gothic can you bring us up to date with the aspirations and inspirations for the series, along with some of the fundamental changes and new ideas for Gothic 3?
Kai: From the very beginning, it was our goal to establish a unique and fresh game world. We focused on our very own vision rather than rehashing stereotypes and clichées. But still we cannot fully steer clear of indirect influence, particularly from pen-and-paper-RPGs and fantasy movies. For Gothic 3 we tried to maintain the original look-and-feel and at the same time add some innovative features where it makes sense. For those game players who are familiar with the predecessors, the third part will feel like home, but with some fresh and appropriate changes. One of the most significant alterations will be the reinvented combat/skills-system. We have overhauled the original approach and replaced the handful of skills from Gothic 2 with a huge amount of mini-talents. While the game players could do nothing but increase the numerical value of their skill up to 100% back then, they will now be able to form their very own talents by combining their preferred mini-talents.
Please tell us about the Piranha Bytes team, what they have worked on before and what do you feel the team have to bring to the RPG genre?
Stefan: Until yet Piranha Bytes made Gothic 1, Gothic 2 and the Gothic 2 Add On ‚Night of the Raven’. Piranha Bytes was founded in the year 1998. The office of Piranha Bytes is in a small house (not an office… it’s a real one-family-house) in Essen, Germany. With the Gothic series the team is developing a huge game with a believable world. So during the game the NPCs will hear stories from you (do you work together with the Orcs, are you a friend of person xyz…). Then they will decide if they want to work / speak with you or not… So when you kill some guys from the militia you will get problems with them during the whole game (in other RPG games they will forget the happenings). Also they will speak with other characters about you. So when they speak in a good way about you it may help you…
What makes the Gothic world unique and compelling and can you give the backdrop story to the game and how pivotal throughout the game the story is?
Stefan Story: Gothic 1 and 2 played on the island around the city Khorinis. Mankind is at war with the Orcs. On the island around Khorinis there are a lot of ore mines which are needed for the war against the Orcs. Without them victory is impossible. At the end of the 2nd part you see the hero going on the ship back to the mainland. In the intro of Gothic 3 you will see the ship shortly before the arrival on the mainland. You see burning cities and humans which are running away from the Orcs. Then you know: The Orc army has won the war against humankind. Humans are now slaves of the Orcs…
page: 1 of 3
Comments on Gothic 3
Anonymous
- 2006-10-13 18:24:44GamerScore:
0super:))
Anonymous
- 2006-10-16 21:41:16GamerScore:
0Just brought Gothic 3, and I'm hugely impressed. I love the combat system, maybe I'm weird but killing 5 - 10 orcs a time using different slashs with my sword (can't use one of the big pole-arm like things the orcs have just yet) based on what way I move around is the best thing I have ever experenced with a game. I was also expecting it to be a annoying / tricky game to get the hang of, its far from that. I am an Elderscrolls fan, but Gothic 3 to me is alot more fun than Oblivion.
Anonymous
- 2006-10-17 21:35:40GamerScore:
0is coll but cost
Anonymous
- 2006-11-04 10:37:32GamerScore:
0buggy sooo buggy! this games unfinished!
Anonymous
- 2006-11-07 19:17:13GamerScore:
0how can I find time display in game?
Anonymous
- 2006-11-10 19:48:25GamerScore:
0play gothic 2 + addon night of the raven, gothic 3 cant even reach gothic 1
thats the truth