Divinity: Original Sin
is an isometric role-playing game that pays homage to the fantasy RPGs
of old while still offering something new to veterans of the genre. Its
turn-based formula with a deep and complex combat system has found
success in a genre that is becoming increasingly action-oriented.
But
why did developer Larian Studios decide to take the route it did with
Original Sin, and what challenges did it face in doing so? I spoke with
founder and CEO Swen Vicke to find out.
Being PC-exclusive was a good thing
Although
some games in the Divinity series have made it onto console in the
past, Original Sin was developed exclusively with the PC and Mac in
mind. Vicke said the omission of a console release lifted a lot of
restrictions in the development phase and allowed the team to make
alterations on the game "until the very last moment," which would not
have been possible for a console release.
"It
puts a lot of constraints for you as a developer if you work for
console. At the end phase of a project deadlines are very rigid, and you
need to go through the procedures at Microsoft or Sony with the dreaded
[certification] checks." Vincke said, adding that the costs involved in
making a console game were "much higher" than that of developing a
PC-only game.
PS4 and Xbox One possibilities
That being said, Vincke did not entirely rule out the possibility of an Original Sin console release in the future.
"We
always wanted to have a great experience on the TV screen, so we'll
definitely explore it," he said. But such experiments rely on how well
Original Sin's controls translate on the gamepad, and whether they
provide a satisfying co-operative experience on one screen.
"You've
got the Steam box coming, you've got the Xbox [One], you've got the
PlayStation [4], and there's players who like playing on the screen with
their PC. Obviously with the co-op experience it doesn't take a genius
to see that if you manage to make it work well, to share the experience
on one screen will be great," he said.
Should
such experiments succeed, Vincke says the chance of the game being
released on current-generation consoles is "very likely."
No more Kickstarter please

Divinity:
Original Sin's Kickstarter campaign was met with generous support,
amassing $944,282 in funding by the end of its run and allowing Larian
Studios to self-publish the game.
Vincke was grateful for the support from the Kickstarter community, but hesitant about utilizing such a model again.
"I
hate to think what the game would've been if we didn't have
Kickstarter… if you asked me before Original Sin was released I would've
said yes… I don't think it would be correct to go and fish in the pool
of crowdfunding investment again, I think that there's others that could
use that investment," he said. However, he expressed a desire to
harness community involvement once again in the development process,
dubbing the community which the Kickstarter campaign brought as
"invaluable."
"I think that is a very great positive for the gameplay experience that results at the end of the day," he said.
Mod toolkit = Diablo?!
Community
involvement in Divinity: Original Sin extends to game mods, with the
game including a full set mod tools upon launch. For Vincke, supporting
user-generated content was a given.
"It was
clear the moment that we were going to ship a version of our multiplayer
RPG, that we were going to include the tools that we used to create
it…everything we've done in Original Sin was literally made with [these
tools]," he said. Larian Studios intends to continue supporting the mod
community by regularly updating the tool, and Vincke himself expressed
surprise at some of the content that has surfaced online. In particular,
he cites a remake of the first Diablo game using the Original Sin toolkit.
"I
never expected that was going to be one of the first things to come out
of it. But in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense storywise," he said.
However, he remains wary that harnessing the potential of the tools
requires a degree of dedication.
"You need to
commit yourself significantly… you can't make an RPG in a couple of days
in the evenings. I hope that from that we will see some guys that get
bitten by it and start making some really great RPG content"
Future updates
Vincke laughs
when I ask him about where the Divinity series may be going next, but is
coy about revealing finer details. "I can't say. There's nothing yet to
announce, it will be very calm on the announcement front for a couple
of months, as we're preparing our new things," he said.
His
comment refers to the two new companions and new skills on their way to
the game and end-game balances for the ranger and warrior classes, of
course. In addition to this, Vincke mentions that the studio is working
on bringing out a "much better, harder, difficulty level" in which all
encounters will be different, as well as fine-tuning the game's
inventory management.
Regardless, Vincke promises fans that a breadth of new content is still in the works for Original Sin.
"There's
definitely a lot of stuff coming," he said. These updates, coupled with
the support of user-generated content, would hopefully mean that we
have yet to see some of the best content the game has to offer. And with
spin-off game Divinity: Dragon Commander
featuring a jetpack-wearing dragon and talking underwear already
present in Original Sin, developer Larian Studios shows that no subject
is off-limits. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review.
Posted from:http://www.gamespot.com/articles/divinity-original-sin-a-big-success-future-project/1100-6422120/