ELEX - Interview @ Gamingbolt

HiddenX

The Elder Spy
Staff Member
Original Sin Donor
Original Sin 2 Donor
Joined
October 18, 2006
Messages
19,710
Location
Germany
Farflame spotted this ELEX-interview at Gamingbolt:

ELEX Interview: Of Jetpacks and Magic

<h4 class="excerpt">The makers of Gothic and Risen discuss their upcoming new IP.

[/h4]
It’s not easy creating a new action RPG IP, especially one in a new universe that combines science fiction with fantasy. The challenge is especially interesting for Piranha Bytes, the developer of ELEX which is better known for its work on the Gothic and Risen series. What separates ELEX from those other franchises and how does it compare to today’s standard for open world action RPG action?

GamingBolt spoke lead game designer and studio head Björn Pankratz along with story writer and game designer Jennifer Pankratz to find out more about ELEX.

With two established properties in Gothic and Risen, what motivated you to go down a different route and create a brand new IP?


We’ve been developing open-world fantasy RPGs for the last 20 years, and so we felt that there’s time for something new. But on the other hand, we love to create fantasy games with a lot of freedom in a simulated, living game world, so we thought we should stick to that, but approach it from a new angle. So, we were looking for something that has more stark contrasts, and gives us more gameplay possibilities, without being stale at the same time, and so we ended up with our science-fantasy setting.

This new setting allows us to add so many more new gameplay features, like hacking or the jetpack. Especially the jetpack, which also is a symbol for the freedom we want to give the players in our game world – moving through the game world without boundaries. And with THQ Nordic we finally found a publisher that also believed in the concept, and voilà – ELEX was born.

How do the various factions in the game affect the player’s experience? Are there are special abilities to be gained and side missions to unlock by aligning with these factions?

Each faction on Magalan – the world our game is set in – has its own history and a distinct way of life. Of course, they’ve also got their own armors, ranks, weapons, skills and side missions, but what really counts is their view on the future of Magalan, and how they want to shape it.

Picking one of the factions is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the game, and your choice will change how other NPCs in the world see you and react to you, and that will also alter your storyline. Besides that, we also added a new moral system to the game that includes many moral choices that also change the behavior of crew members and other NPCs.
[...]
More information.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
19,710
Location
Germany
Wow, the world is bigger than that of Gothic 3? That's a fairly impressive size, especially considering the usual PB content density. Could be either good or bad, depending on whether or not they nail it. It does sound very, very interesting though.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,578
Location
Bergen
Yep… this game for me is a small Pandora's Box. Could become awesome or awful.
 
Joined
May 6, 2013
Messages
4,950
Location
Germany
I'm still not sure how this sci-fi vs fantasy thing will work. If its something like Arcanum with technology replacing magic it could work very well. If on the other hand its spears vs plasma blasters I just don't see going primitive a popular choice other than maybe on a second on third playthrough.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
194
I'm still not sure how this sci-fi vs fantasy thing will work. If its something like Arcanum with technology replacing magic it could work very well. If on the other hand its spears vs plasma blasters I just don't see going primitive a popular choice other than maybe on a second on third playthrough.

We'll have to wait and see. Nethergate comes to mind a bit. Romans vs. Celts. Romans were excellently trained warriors, while Celts used magic. Obviously you'd think magic would beat might, but it depends on the game and how it's implemented. Maybe the plasma blasters are unreliable in some way, or spears are somehow magically-infused. Will be interesting to see how they handle that.
 
I think the choise is also linked to how you want to shape that world.

One of these factions (Bersekers) wants to preserve the nature and get back to more simple way of life. They are using elex to restore that planet (Maglan) more to it's orginal state (=make Maglan green again ;)). So they are replacing technology with elex based magic. In the screenshots bersekers seem to be using traditional weaponry & armor. Likely they also enchant their gear with their magic.

The other faction (clerics) is no holding back. These guys are constantly searching new ways to push society forward. I belive they're trying to restore this post apocalyptic society to it's former glory. So they are using elex to fuel their scietific and technological research. They also deploy mechs and have all kinds of energy based weapons. They're also a religious faction.

And the third joinable faction is the outlaws. According to elex website, they wander through the lands, always looking for new gear or weapons… And even stealing the resources of other factions when needed. They use elex to make drugs which increase their mental and physical abilities. They don't seem to be following any ideology like the other 2 factions.

Read more about the factions: https://worldofelex.de/en/game/regions-and-factions
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
2,468
PB will have a very tough challenge here. In a year with Horizon and RDR II, Elex looks very outdated in comparison.
Either the writing or depth in it's mechanics will need to be better than anything they've done so far, to impress reviewers/audience. Size is the last thing they should be pushing.
Otherwise this could be last game we see from them ( given the reception with their last two games).
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
3,898
Location
Croatia
Unfortunately Elex won't be a day one purchase for me. I think I have bit burnt out by PB's formula these days.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2009
Messages
4,425
Location
UK
PB will have a very tough challenge here. In a year with Horizon and RDR II, Elex looks very outdated in comparison.
Either the writing or depth in it's mechanics will need to be better than anything they've done so far, to impress reviewers/audience. Size is the last thing they should be pushing.
Otherwise this could be last game we see from them ( given the reception with their last two games).

Why would size be a bad thing? That's a unique selling point. A huge open-world RPG, bigger than Skyrim! No reason not to try that, given that their games are probably not going to be big mainstream hits anyway.
 
Why would size be a bad thing? That's a unique selling point.

Size not just in square miles, but in everything. Dialogue, Characters, quests, playstyles, etc…for such a small studio, they'll likely spread themselves too thin and end up with a very unrefined result.
Their current state is partly the result of not realizing they are no longer up to par in man power of technology to produce modern titles of this size, yet they keep aiming even bigger.
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
3,898
Location
Croatia
Size not just in square miles, but in everything. Dialogue, Characters, quests, playstyles, etc…for such a small studio, they'll likely spread themselves too thin and end up with a very unrefined result.
Their current state is partly the result of not realizing they are no longer up to par in man power of technology to produce modern titles of this size, yet they keep aiming even bigger.

Hmm? If they felt they couldn't make it good and the game was going to be spread too thin I doubt they would still go forward with it. Obviously they have some sort of confidence they can pull it off.

I haven't played Risen 3 yet but the first 2 were fine RPGs. We'll see how this one turns out. I have faith they will deliver a quality RPG again.
 
They explicitly mention in the interview that they are also focusing on density, not just world size.

I enjoyed G3 for what is it and the scale of the varied world and traversing it was an attraction for me.

ELEX is the only RPG after TToN that I am looking forward to this year, and hope to hear soon about the release date (they said summer 2017 in the interview).
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
2,815
Location
United Kingdom
Size not just in square miles, but in everything. Dialogue, Characters, quests, playstyles, etc…for such a small studio, they'll likely spread themselves too thin and end up with a very unrefined result.

Agreed. I think there will be a lot of small loot and hidden stuff so the exploration could be ok, but I dont think that such small studio is able to fully realize world 1,5 x bigger than G3. They already had problems to finish properly G3. I dont say it will be bad game but we can expect a lot of simple or average quests too (like in R3 and R3 has much smaller game world).
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
1,515
Location
Ferdok in Aventuria (Europe)
Haven't played Risen 3 yet, but (without spoilers, please) what was wrong with the quests in that game? Risen 1 & 2 were very good RPGs to me. What they lacked in WOW Factor they made up for in good old-fashioned RPG gameplay, IMO. Although Risen actually hit me with major WOW Factor, it being my first foray into Piranha Bytes RPGs and RPGs of that style in general. Let's just say it was akin to a spiritual awakening, realizing that these types of RPGs exist and I never knew much about them. :D

I still think if PB was in way over their heads they wouldn't even attempt this game. Maybe they have a plan that will result in a good game?
 
Agreed. I think there will be a lot of small loot and hidden stuff so the exploration could be ok, but I dont think that such small studio is able to fully realize world 1,5 x bigger than G3. They already had problems to finish properly G3. I dont say it will be bad game but we can expect a lot of simple or average quests too (like in R3 and R3 has much smaller game world).

Risen 3 doesn't have a much smaller game world though. R3 is actually pretty damn big. Also, G3 was a long time ago, and I'm confident that PB has learned from their mistakes.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,017
Location
Florida, US
Haven't played Risen 3 yet, but (without spoilers, please) what was wrong with the quests in that game? Risen 1 & 2 were very good RPGs to me. What they lacked in WOW Factor they made up for in good old-fashioned RPG gameplay, IMO. Although Risen actually hit me with major WOW Factor, it being my first foray into Piranha Bytes RPGs and RPGs of that style in general. Let's just say it was akin to a spiritual awakening, realizing that these types of RPGs exist and I never knew much about them. :D

I still think if PB was in way over their heads they wouldn't even attempt this game. Maybe they have a plan that will result in a good game?

Reeelax Fluent, take a deep breath. You don't need to write a mini novel every time someone disagrees on your design of your best game made ever! ;)
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
3,898
Location
Croatia
Actually the mini novel was about me and when I discovered PB RPGs for the first time. ;)
 
Back
Top Bottom