rpgvaultarchive.ign.com 09/1999 13-25.09.1999 Week of September 12, 1999 Monday, September 13 Alternative Gothic Music We all know about in-game mini-games, but how about an in-game mini-concert? According to press information received this morning, Gothic will include just this feature: GOTHIC featuring IN EXTREMO The alternative music act IN EXTREMO will appear within the 3D Action Role-Playing Game Gothic with an unplugged live version of the song "Herr Mannelig". The band including their costumes and instruments have already been screen captured in Oberhausen (GERMANY) for implementation in the game. The results and a short "making of " will be soon published on the official GOTHIC web site www.gothicthegame.com. This live concert within the game GOTHIC presents once again an outstanding and unique gaming feature. The agreement deal between the publisher EGMONT INTERACTIVE, the game developer PIRANHA BYTES and the UNIVERSAL music company MERCURY RECORDS has been finalised at this years POPKOM in Cologne (GERMANY). IN EXTREMO currently on European Tour until November, have just released their new album "VEREHRT UND ANGESPIEN". It entered the album charts at No.10. The highlight of the new album is a cover version of Sister Of Mercy's "This Corrosion! Mr. Eldritch can relax, lean back and listen due to the fact that IN EXTREMO's version has even raised the fascination of this song and that it fits perfectly into the rest of the programme. It's not only darker, heavier and more threatening than the original, but surprisingly enough it's also more up-to-date. In addition to IN EXTREMO`s appearance within the game there is already a soundtrack compilation and a party tour for GOTHIC planned, in co-operation with VIELKLANG. GOTHIC will be released in March 2000. For more and detailed information take a regular look at: www.gothicthegame.com More information about IN EXTREMO can be found at: www.mecuryrecords.de Gothic is being developed by Germany's Piranha Bytes and will be published in Europe by Egmont Interactive. At last report, North American publishing arrangements were not yet in place. To learn more about Gothic, check the official site and our comprehensive Gothic interview with four members of the development team at the end of June. And if you have questions or comments, you can post them on our VN Gothic Board. Week of September 19, 1999 Saturday, September 25 Gothic Infobits Team member Tom Putzki paid another visit to our VN Gothic Board this morning, leaving these infobits about his 3D real-time fantasy RPG: the demon world: Sorry, not yet, but it will become very important for you to cross this world at the end of the game - and survive psionics: Psionic attachks are based on the power of one's mind. You can practice your mind power, take some sort of potion to increase this power - but be careful, drinking these potions won't be without consequences. a North American publisher: Our German publisher Egmont works together with the American agent OCTAGON, they are looking for an US deal. Good luck to them ;-) Gothic is in development at the German studio Piranha Bytes. It is expected to release next year. Monday, September 27 Gothic Preview At CGO A preview of Gothic has appeared tonight at Computer Games Online. Here's an excerpt: The player will choose from the usual assortment of warriors, thieves, and magic users. NPCs and monsters aren't merely set dressing or props—they'll live their own lives, socialize, and most importantly, communicate. Kill that opposing gang member if you must, but allow a witness to escape and be prepared to show up on more than one NPC's most wanted list. The combination of character types and the cascading effects a player's actions have on the world should ensure that the game will not play the same way twice. Gothic will have a completely visual, 3rd person, 3D interface. Gone are the numbers, a staple of RPGs from time immemorial. Instead, increased skills will be visually apparent. Unskilled fireballs may have all the power of a single candle, while a master fireball produces an immense conflagration. Would-be swordsmen will progress from a lumbering hack to a fluid swashbuckler. There is no character creation process; the character will develop as the player chooses, not within artificial constraints and certainly not defined by a spreadsheet. "The player has a constant eye on his character and knows at a glance which armor, weapons and skills he has, without having to rummage through all sorts of menu screens and numbers," Putzki says. "It is important for us to give the player optical feedback, not just meaningless numbers." Gothic is a 3D real-time RPG with a third-person perspective. If you have your own questions for the development team at Piranha Bytes, be sure to let them know about it at our VN Gothic Board.