Fans of computer role-playing games are probably perfectly familiar with the Divinity series. Belgian studio Larian released the first game in this universe in the distant 2002. And in 2014, the light was incredibly cool Divinity: Original Sin, a direct sequel which will be released very soon. We just could not miss the chance to talk with the founder of the studio and the development manager Sven Winke. We bring to your attention an interview with him.
Hi-News.ru: You founded your studio in 1997. Do you remember how you decided on such an important and responsible step?
Sven Winke: As long as I can remember, I always created video games. It seems like years since 12. I remember how I came to the exhibition ECTS (European Computer Trade Show - author's note), a kind of analogue of E3, it was only held in Europe in the 90s. There I first showed the prototype of my game The Lady, the Mage and the Knight to someone from Atari, and they agreed to publish it. So I got my first money, which I opened my own studio. But then Atari suddenly stopped releasing games, and my subordinates were already working hard on the development. Therefore, we decided to make a completely new game - the strategy of LED Wars. This project was issued by the American company Ionos in 1998. So it all started.
Hi-News.ru: What is the simplest and most difficult thing in the development of video games from your point of view?
Sven Winke: The most difficult thing is to finish the game development. It takes a lot of time and energy from developers. The simplest thing is to create a prototype for the future game.
Hi-News.ru: The events of all games of the Divinity series take place in the Rivellon universe. Would you like to make an RPG for an entirely new universe?
Sven Winke: Yes. We really want this. But for the time being I can not share with you any details. Now we are focused on completing our current project - Divinity: Original Sin 2. And after the final version of the project goes on sale, we will decide what to do next. There is always a lot of ideas in the air.
Hi-News.ru: Will Divinity: Original Sin 2 send references for fans of the first part, Easter eggs, which will be clear only to those who carefully passed the previous game?
Sven Winke: There will be, and there will be a lot of them! In fact, they are already in the game, which is available on Steam (Divinity: Original Sin 2 from September 15, 2016 is available under the program Early Access - author's note), just not many players notice them.
Hi-News.ru: And one more question, continuing the theme of the previous one: will the Divinity: Original Sin 2 story be understood by those people who have never played the first part? How strong is the relationship between the two games in general?
Sven Winke: The players who did not play the first game will understand the second plot exactly. Those who played prequel, will always recognize familiar characters and other details. New players we will represent and explain all this anew. In general, the game will be connected not only with Divinity: Original Sin, but also with our other games, the action of which takes place in this universe. If you have not played these games - for you all this will be a novelty, and you simply will not know the detailed background.
Hi-News.ru: In the development of Divinity: Original Sin 2, Chris Avellon (creator of Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale and other famous games - author's comment) participated. Do you plan to cooperate with him in the future? And how did his involvement in the project affect the game?
Sven Winke: I really hope that we can work with him again. As for his influence on our game, Chris is especially good at the so-called Player Agency. This term indicates how much the player has control over his characters, and also how much his decisions influence the game world. It is very important that the player understands what consequences will entail his actions. Chris constantly reminded us of this, pointed out what needs to be changed and at what moments the decision should remain exclusively for the player. He is very good at this.
Hi-News.ru: Divinity: Original Sin first appeared on Windows, but on other platforms the game was ported with great delays. Can you say whether this time the macOS- and Linux-versions of the game will go out simultaneously with Windows? Are there any plans for the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, and if so, how long do we have to wait for their release?
Sven Winke: No, it's not. Simultaneously, release to all computer operating systems is not exactly worth waiting for. The same can be said about console versions. We made important conclusions from our previous mistakes. Now Larian is a company that first completely completes the game, and only after that begins to engage in porting it to other platforms. It was a big mistake on our part to start porting the previous game in parallel with the development. This created a lot of problems and misunderstandings not only among the players, but also inside the studio. So now first the game, and then its versions for other platforms.
Hi-News.ru: This question is very interesting for your Russian fans. In Divinity: Original Sin was a beautiful Russian localization, which, however, also came out with some delay. Will Russian localization be available for the second part from the day of the release of the game?
Sven Winke: Yes, Russian localization in our game will be absolutely certain. This time we will try so not to delay it. Now a lot more people work on Russian localization, rather than last time. So we will try to release Russian localization even at the stage of Early Access, but this is just our plans. And plans have a feature to crumble under the influence of various factors. And yet we will try very hard.
Hi-News.ru: In Divinity: Original Sin 2, you have added the choice of the character's race, accordingly, there appeared unique skills for each of the races. Do not plan to add unique skills and bonuses or penalties not only for races, but for each gender, and even different physiques. For example, a fragile flexible girl will be better as a thief, while a large and strong man will be better as a knight.
Sven Winke: When creating characters in our game there are so-called tags, including those describing the gender of the character. These tags are associated with changes in the structure of the dialogues and generally in the dialog system. But here on the combat system your gender identity will not influence.
Hi-News.ru: What achievement are you particularly proud of in the game Divinity: Original Sin 2?
Sven Winke: What, this game generally works (laughs)? Seriously, when all these intertwined systems begin to work - this is a huge achievement. Especially when you understand that the game functions on a narrative level, and that it takes into account all decisions made by the player. When you play it, at any given moment you see only a small part of its surface, but in fact it's just huge. Therefore, the fact that it works - really impresses you.
Hi-News.ru: During the Kickstarter campaign, you promised even more support for mods. Would you like to create something of the Neverwinter Vault level in the future? What would some players be able to spread their modes and developments for Divinity in free access, and other players based on these developments could create something new, perhaps even full-fledged new games. Neverwinter Nights is still alive and popular thanks to the community, maybe Divinity can be perpetuated in this way?
Sven Winke: We will try to reach this level. You see, our game is incredibly complex and big. But we carefully worked out this component of it, so that the fashion can now be created much easier than it was realized before. We have a mode of Game Master Mode, which is sure to appeal to many players. Also, the editor will be included in the game, in which we, in fact, developed the game. Larian will strongly support its users in creating mods. At the moment, however, we plan to support mods exclusively on the PC. The console is a real minefield with huge terms of certification of patches and updates, so it's almost impossible to implement a mod system on consoles.
Hi-News.ru: Is there such a thing that you have long dreamed of implementing in your games, but you still can not do it?
Sven Winke: Yes, but I can not tell you what exactly this thing is (laughs).
Hi-News.ru: What games do you consider your most favorite? What games have had a big impact on your life?
Sven Winke: I can definitely say that this is Ultima VII and Fallout 2. These two games influenced me the most. To my favorite games I would like to include, for example, the Civilization series. I also like Strike Commander - a very old game. Heroes of Might and Magic 3 can also be listed here. Of the strategies, I can recall that I spent a lot of time playing Imperialism and StarCraft games. How difficult it is to make up your personal top, because you immediately remember so many wonderful games. Recently, I confess to you honestly, nothing bothers me. Now I have very high expectations for Civilization 6.
Hi-News.ru: Well, finally, this is the question. We know that you are very nice to our country and even opened a branch of your studio in St. Petersburg. What do you like most about Russia and Russian people?
Sven Winke: You will be surprised, but my two best friends are Russian. One of them lives in Moscow, and the second one lives in Yekaterinburg. We really like to get together with them and play various board games. Sometimes, when we are working in the same city, we tell our wives that we go on business, and we rent a room in the hotel and play there in completely stupid board games. We even have a grand plan: to play board games on each of the continents of the world. Also you probably remember that the composer of our previous game was the Russian musician Kirill Pokrovsky (keyboardist of the groups "Aria" and "Master" - author's note), who, unfortunately, left this world last year. So I can say that Russian people are very close to me for a variety of reasons.
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