Recently Larian Studios ( Divinity: Original Sin 2 ) announced a significant expansion of the studio in St. Petersburg. We could not lose sight of such an event, and therefore met with Sven Vink, the head of the company, and found out from him about plans for the future, about the role of the St. Petersburg studio in the development of the Original Sin 2 and much more.
About the new studio
-The main topic today is your studio in St. Petersburg. The team will help in the work on Divinity: Original Sin 2 or will create other games?
Sven Vinka: Both. For a couple of years we worked with the team on outsourcing. Then the office in the city on the Neva became a full -fledged branch of Larian.Petersburg, although it was not a full -cycle studio. All this time, the team has been responsible for quality control, design and spelling of the script. Now we want to gather a team from artists, designers and everyone who needs to create a game. The St. Petersburg team is working closely with our other students – in Belgium, Canada and Ireland. Now they are working on the completion of Divinity: Original Sin 2, but then switch to the development of a new project.
-It turns out that the new team already has some kind of story?
Sven Vinka: Right. We started working with the guys two years ago: they helped us transfer the Original Sin to PS4, Xbox One, Mac and Linux. Now the St. Petersburg team is working on the world of the second part.
► In Divinity: Original Sin 2, you can play for anyone – even for a combat elf, even for a gnome that has bargained in magic.
-Why did you choose St. Petersburg?
Sven Vinka: Well, in Belgium, we have a specific problem: the country is very expensive in terms of salary. Therefore, at some point we decided to expand, otherwise we could not compete with our "older brothers" in the market. Then we began to look for options. In St. Petersburg, we found an excellent team. Of course, Petersburg is also not the cheapest place on Earth, but still cheaper than Belgium. In addition, the team turned out to be truly wonderful. It has many talented people who adore role -playing games.
– The St. Petersburg team will participate in the work on translation and localization?
Sven Vinka: No, she will not deal with translations. We have a separate team for this, and it is already working with might and main. Experienced guys are curling over Russian localization, so everything will be fine, I hope. Of course, I will probably not say, because I myself can’t evaluate the result. But the local guys, no doubt, will tell us whether it will turn out well or not.
– And what about your other branches? How you deal with such a difficult task as connecting all this into one large company?
Sven Vinka: We have a horizontal structure in which everyone is cooperates depending on what they do. We call it "functional groups". There is, for example, the author and screenwriter working together on some situation in the game. And it turned out that the character of the game was ambushed. In this case, the author needs to prescribe a story, and the scriptwriter adapt it. Then they need to discuss everything with the creative director, and he will help to enter the story in the game world. Perhaps you will even have to talk with a team in special effects and a programmer who will make everything in their power.
So our employees have been working for many years. We have many tools that help developers to communicate online, and we are constantly improving these tools. If we didn’t have such methods for communication, by the way, we could not come up with the “Master of the Game” regime (Game Master) in due time.
► What to say, the new game Larian Studios looks very modern!
About Divinity: Original Sin 2
– You mentioned the mode of the "master of the game". What is this?
Sven Vinka: This mode allows you to play a desktop role -playing game using a playing engine in a multiplayer. Thus, you become a “master of the game” and you can turn the story for a certain group of players as you want. But so far we have not shown these achievements to anyone.
– It sounds cool! Players will be able to come up with stories themselves?
Sven Vinka: Yes, like that. Creating this mode was the main goal of our campaign on Kickstarter, so we decided to do something truly outstanding. But I can't tell more yet.
– Then tell us how the development is going on. The process of creating a game using crowdfunding differs from your previous experience? And why do we see how more and more well -known developers go to crowdfunding platforms?
Sven Vinka: Ha! These are two different questions. For us, crowdfunding is an opportunity to understand what the players want and get feedback from them. Now working through crowdfunding sites is easier. I think that we coped well with the previous game, and now players are rewarding us, helping in the development of the second part of Original Sin. The last time they took a chance and received in return what they wanted. And when we reached Kickstarter again, many players were ready to support us, including for past merits.
In our case, "early access" played a significant role in our case. We read a lot of reviews from the players who paid for the game before it was completely completed. And it helped us all! We received the right support, and the players were able to explain to us what game they want to see.
From my point of view, it's very cool. I know that the feedback could be negative, but everything went well for us, and I hope that we will save everything in the same spirit.
► important point: Original Sin knows very well that blood is also a liquid. Therefore, by injuring the enemy, you can hit a pool of blood with an electric discharge – the damage will be higher.
– That is, working through crowdfunding is easier than through the publisher?
Sven Vinka: Let's look at what story the publishers in the gaming industry. They are not necessarily interested in creating an excellent game, they want to make money. And how do they do it? Create many games. Among these games there will probably be good. But publishers will tell you that each of their game is the best of all that they did. The truth is that they just want to make more. This is their work.
And the developer is an idealist. He wants to make a cool game. Sometimes he doesn’t succeed, but he still wants to do cool. So all the tools that allow the developer to become closer to his audience is good, I think. The fewer intermediaries, the better, right? We live in a time when there is digital distribution that facilitates the sale of games. So, if you ask me if I want to put an intermediary among myself and the audience, my answer will be quite obvious.
– By the way, about communication and feedback after “early access”: how the players took the project, what, maybe, complained about?
Sven Vinka: Mostly positively perceived, as it seems to me. There was a lot of criticism about those things that are not yet quite ready, or things that need to be pulled, and we are working on this. But now the reviews in Steam are overwhelmed by the most positive, and this is very cool. However, we know that the work is not over yet. Players believe that we are moving in the right direction, and we ourselves consider it the same.
– You correct errors on the go, right in the version for "early access"? Or the players will see all the changes already in the full version of the game?
Sven Vinka: Correct on the go, of course! We try different things, release additions – soon a patch with a number of significant changes will be released. He will correct precisely the problems that we learned from the players. The same thing we did when we worked on the first Original Sin.
– Players help to rule the balance?
Sven Vinka: Yes, but not only. We can even change the story if we see that the lion's share of the players does not accept it. Fans constantly throw us new ideas. And when they can be implemented in the game, we are happy to do this. In the end, people who paid for “early access” have every right to get a high -quality game, and we try to match.
About other role -playing games and future Larian
– And what about future projects? Maybe you are hinting?
Sven Vinka: After Original Sin 2, we will take care of … role -playing game. And then make another role -playing game. Yes, I think that for some time we will create role-playing games (laughs).
-science fiction, fantasy or something else?
Sven Vinka: My mouth is on the castle (laughs). Even a few liters of vodka will not make me speak (laughs). No, I can't, I can't.
– What a pity! Let's talk then … about role -playing games. In your opinion, in recent years, the genre has changed? And if so, in which direction?
Sven Vinka: A question with a catch! Some elements of the genre have not yet completely revealed themselves, and this is one of the directions of our work. We focused on something from what has already gone out of fashion. Well, maybe it didn’t work out, but publishers do not want to invest in it money. In the late 1990s, games like Ultima 7 or 8 , But no one else wants to do such. I really liked these things, and I would like to do something similar, but with a multiplayer.
– Like Ultima Online?
Sven Vinka: Yes, but not really. Rather, transfer the experience of board role -playing games on the screen. Here's what the Original Sin and Original Sin 2 are trying to do. Perhaps we were the only ones who tried to revive such games two years ago. Maybe someone would have done it before, but the risk was great. Therefore, action appeared with role -playing elements and became very popular. And then role -playing games in the open world appeared, and they found their audience. I am very glad that in all this there was a place for step -by -step rooks: in my modest opinion, they should develop the genre.
► Really the huge brown crocodiles did not recognize the hero of their brother?
– That is, you want to return to that "golden" era?
Sven Vinka: Yes, but "in the new jacket". Our games are the evolution of the very gaming process that forced your brain to work, made you think about how to use all available game mechanics in one situation or another. After all, when you overcome difficulties with your mind, it brings a sense of satisfaction, https://sister-site.org/galaxy-spins/ makes you be proud of yourself. This contrasts greatly with those games where you almost do not need to look at the screen – just press the buttons to advance further.
– Click X to win.
Sven Vinka: Exactly! And I do not like this type of gameplay. Many people like to play like that, by pressing X, but I don’t. I like to think during the game. For example, one of my favorite board games – Axis and Allies. This is a truly complicated and confusing strategy. I also love chess. However, I will not refuse from the party to the "monopoly" either (laughs).
– What happens, both Original Sin 2, and all your future games are for hardcore players?
Sven Vinka: I don't think so. It seems to me that hardcore is a term that is often used incorrectly. I don't know if you heard about the game "Zombicide" (Cooperative board game on the topic of zombie apocalypse). This is a very smart game. It is perfectly made and worked out in detail, but you could call it hardcore? Maybe they could, but in reality it is not at all like that. I can put any of my acquaintance to play the "zombicide" and he will like it. The main thing is to help figure out and "try" the game.
– Probably the same with chess: the rules are very simple, but the game itself is incredibly deep.
Sven Vinka: Exactly! Learning is easy, but managing is difficult. So on Original Sin, I don't look at the hardcore game. Maybe she seems like that, but my nine -year -old son happily plays her, although he is not a hardcore player. He just likes that the world of the game reacts to its actions. This is great, however, when the game can praise you for certain actions? And reward for the study of the world.
About music
– For Russian players, one of the reasons to fall in love with Original Sin was the music of composer Kirill Pokrovsky. Do you plan to work with other Russian musicians?
Sven Vinka: We work with the composer Borislav Slavov, a follower of Cyril. Borislav was the audio director of the studio Crytek , And before that he wrote music for Knights of Honor. So, he is a composer, and he has a team with which he is recorded. However, he is from Bulgaria, not from Russia.
Borislav writes music, putting his individuality into it, and at the same time respects Cyril's legacy. In addition, Borislav is an expert on “adaptive” music.
– That is, he seems to be adapted to the script and the game itself?
Sven Vinka: Yes. In fact, this is a huge amount of work, but Borislav is hellishly good. And he has many ideas that we are happy to realize in the game. I think that players will impress the work done by Borislav.
► Kirill Pokrovsky worked with Larian almost from the very beginning. In June last year, he died.
About the Russian market
– And what about different markets? They are comparable in size? I mean – the European market, American and Russian.
Sven Vinka: In general, Russia is our second largest market. Only the United States. In third place – Germany, if I'm not mistaken. The profit, of course, differs due to the fall of the ruble-the prices in Russia are much lower. But if you focus on the number of players, then in Russia there are a lot of them.
– That is, you have many fans here?
Sven Vinka: Yes, we always had many fans in Russia. Russian players, as practice shows, is very fond of role -playing games. Exactly what we do (laughs). A considerable share of all the reviews that we receive come from Russia.
– In St. Petersburg at the State Institute of Cinema and Television there is a faculty that prepares gear. You do not plan to cooperate with them, maybe it will be possible to strengthen the team of "young talents"?
Sven Vinka: We have not yet communicated with them, but perhaps we should do it. Because in every country where there is our studio, we cooperate with local universities; A particularly successful story was in Belgium with a school of digital arts and entertainment. So we will make contact with them, I suppose.
► When everything around blazing, it’s hard to fight. But fire can be extinguished with water jacket or ordinary barrel of water.
-Many scientific, fantastic and fantasy conventions are also held in Russia, especially in recent years. You have special plans for such events-to organize your stand or something like that?
Sven Vinka: Yes, we are increasingly doing this. Started with the PAX show in the United States and now we will attend each of their events. In Russia, we were on Gamere and Comic Con Russia. We were also on FACTS. This is such a Comic Con for the Benelux countries. But we cannot be everywhere. However, such events are a great opportunity to expand the audience. Therefore, we try to visit conventions and exhibitions.
– Thank you very much for such an interesting conversation!