Seven Dragon Saga - Cross-Game Import/Export

[Couchpotato]

Tactical Simulations Interactive announced a new system called the "Gateway" that will allow players to transfer different characters across different RPGs.

TSI Partners with RPG Developers in Cross-Game Character Import/Export Initiative

RPG players will be able to transfer characters between RPGs via Tactical Simulations Interactive's "Gateway" initiative - First games include Shadowrun:Hong Kong and Torment: Tides of Numenera

March 2, 2015 - Los Angeles - Tactical Simulations Interactive (TSI) today unveiled "Gateway" – a system that allows players to transfer their favorite characters across supported RPGs. The initiative will be rolled out in TSI’s debut title, Seven Dragon Saga – an original fantasy RPG for PC, Mac and Linux, based upon an original pen and paper role-playing system designed by former Strategic Simulations Interactive (SSI) alumni Keith Brors and David Shelley. Developers inXile and Harebrained Schemes have also announced support for Gateway, with more set to sign on in the coming months.

With Gateway, TSI is inviting RPG developers to take part in an initiative that hearkens back to the days of classic RPGs like The Bard’s Tale, Ultima and Wizardry - a time when players could fully transfer their characters and parties into different games, without having to create them from scratch for each game.

"Gateway goes beyond being an import/export feature - it represents a development philosophy that I enthusiastically endorse. By proposing and developing a data standard for game characters, TSI is establishing a stepping stone for independent CRPG developers to collaborate and share content and expertise. It is very much in the spirit of crowd funding and independent game development. As a fan of SSI's titles, I'm thrilled at their return through Seven Dragon Saga and am excited they are spearheading this initiative through Gateway,” said Kevin Saunders, Project Director, Torment: Tides of Numenera - inXile.

"I think there are a lot of gamers out there who've put a lot of time and effort into building their RPG characters and would love Gateway's export so they can continue their relationship," said Mitch Gitelman, Co-Founder, Studio Manager - Harebrained Schemes.

“We are really excited about the initial reaction to Gateway from the development community and, as gamers ourselves, we love the idea of carrying across our characters and adventuring parties into different RPGs," said David Shelley, Producer/Lead Designer, Seven Dragon Saga. "From a technical standpoint, we are proposing an independent app that avoids any issues with an existing game's user interface and makes it a quick process for developers to add to their games."

More information.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Neat idea, and I support the development of neat ideas. It is, however, a neat Idea I would likely never use. I think I'd just make a character specific to your game and a new one specific to each game I play. Importing within a seres, such as going from BG1 to BG2, I would do...and have done in the past. That is fine and makes narrative sense. This, for me, does not. Besides, character creation is one kf the things I enjoy most in RPGs.

That said, this game is probably the one I'm looking forward to the most currently. Long wait, though. They haven't even done their Kickstarter yet, have they? My second most anticipated, Serpent in the Staglands, shouldn't be so lomg.

 

[rjshae]

I have to be a little skeptical about the capabilities of such a tool because RPGs can have significantly different stats for a character. Trying to translate between BG and Skyrim characters, for example, may not work very well. Does the tool try to estimate your Skyrim skills based on your class level and type? What about going the other way?

 

[TomRon]

Coll idea but...why? I can't very well have the same characters in Shadowrun and PoE, that would just be weird... Between a game and it's sequel, sure. But that's already a common enough feature, I see no reason to transfer between totally different games.