Introduction

Piranha Bytes fantasy RPG Gothic 3 may just have been released in Europe, but US audiences have a little longer wait to get access to the highly anticipated game. FiringSquad got a chance to chat with the game's US executive producer Blaine Christine of Aspyr Media to find out more about the game and their plans for it.

FiringSquad: First, when the development team decided to start work on Gothic 3, what were their main goals?

Blaine Christine: Well, that’s an easy question for the most part. Obviously their goal was to create the greatest single player role playing game possible and the greatest Gothic game ever. A large part of this for Piranha Bytes (the developer) was making sure they kept their fans happy and corrected criticisms of the first two games to improve on the series. The Gothic team takes this game very seriously and works very hard to be on the cutting edge of RPG gameplay (as anyone who has played the previous games in the series can attest to). There are many vast improvements in Gothic 3 from the previous installment including an all-new graphics engine, a completely revamped combat system, and a much-larger streaming world where gameplay is not interrupted by loading screens. All of these items were top priorities in development, but there are tons of smaller improvements that fans will love in addition to the major revisions mentioned here.

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the game's storyline and how it relates to previous games in the series?

Blaine Christine: The developers did a great job of creating a very exciting new scenario for Gothic 3 while maintaining ties to the previous games in the series. All of the old favorite characters will be there again: Diego, Milten, Lester, and Xardas, among others. As always, the challenge with creating a sequel is making a game that welcomes new players, but does not alienate members of your audience that are fans from previous games. Both of the previous games took place on the island of Khorinis, so the biggest change in the story is the fact that for the first time the player is shown the mainland of Myrtana. As you arrive on the mainland with some friends from the past, you discover that the humans have been overrun by large bands of Orcs and your first decision will be what part you will take in the ongoing conflict. This decision will dramatically affect your gameplay experience and ultimately determine the outcome of the game!

FiringSquad: What will Gothic 3's player characters be like?

Blaine Christine: Gothic 3 focuses on one player character, the Nameless Hero, who is the same character that has been seen throughout the Gothic series. The player has the ability to tailor the Hero to whatever style of gameplay they desire. With the open-class system that Gothic 3 uses, the player gains learning points each time they level up which can be spent in any way they desire. If the player wants to focus purely on a combat-oriented character, they can spend points increasing their strength and sword wielding skillset. If they prefer to create a magic-user, it is easy to find trainers to increase your mana and spellcasting abilities. Naturally, you can also mix and match these skillsets and there are many other skills including thievery, alchemy, hunting, and many more. So ultimately the type of character you create will be much different than another person playing through the game – no two characters will be the same.

FiringSquad: How will the RPG features be used in Gothic 3?

Blaine Christine: As far as character development is concerned, see the previous question. In terms of other RPG conventions, you can expect a very robust quest system with a vast array of side quests in addition to the main questlines for the three primary factions in the game. Another hallmark of the Gothic series is their robust AI system which tracks the daily routines of each NPC to create a realistic environment for the player to interact with. One good example of this system is seen when you kill an NPC in the world (killing is a choice – human and orc characters are only knocked unconscious from combat damage unless you deliver a killing blow). If I kill a particular NPC, that character is tied to other characters and factions in the world, so when I wander into another town the friends of that character may try to attack me because they are aware of my deed and other members of that character’s faction (orcs, for example) will be more inclined to dislike me as well. Other stand-out features include: item crafting, full day/night cycles, and reputation based on faction/location. To sum up, pretty much any feature you would expect out of a top quality single player RPG will be included in Gothic 3.