Publishers weekly open road media11/20/2023 ![]() ![]() If you want to know why I loved Ultima VII so much, it’s because it scored high on Universe and Motivation, gave me sufficient illusion of Freedom and I at least remember some of its villains.Īside from Ultima VII, another game with a pretty high FUME score is Fallout 2, but most RPGs out there, in Vincke’s opinion, are a far cry from what he wants to see in the genre, especially in terms of freedom. I haven’t encountered a single game which scores high on all fronts, but I did enjoy many games that score moderately well in at least one aspect, so any game that combines two or even three components of FUME is in my opinion already a pretty successful RPG. According to Vincke, anything that lowers the FUME potential of the studio’s games - no matter how well that particular mechanic has proven itself - should ideally be eliminated. This doesn’t mean that all RPGs should be rated on this scale, but it does give you a glimpse into Larian’s approach to assessing the quality of its designs and concepts. E - the quality of Enemies against which the player can develop their character.M - Motivation that is given to the player to develop their character.U - Universe in which the player develops their character.F - Freedom of character development available.Years later, Vincke came up with his own scale to evaluate the likelihood of him falling in love with an RPG called FUME: The team had nothing - no industry knowledge, no funding - except for the vision of what a truly great game in the genre should look like. Swen Vincke during Larian’s early days (Source: Gameumentary) Even when he started Larian back in 1996, with no background and only a couple of friends on board, the ambition to create his own ultimate role-playing experience was already there. So reward for exploration and systematic interaction are the two main things that Vincke has always wanted to implement in his games. ![]() I loved it, and it has heavily defined how I think RPGs should be made because I want to get that same feeling from our own games. I picked that up from that game and said that this is one of the games that rewards exploration so much through systemic interaction with the world, because you have to put your little crates next to one another and climb on top of it to get through things, and there were secrets everywhere. It was just a sheer sense of reward for exploration. However, one fact cannot be denied: this particular RPG and the series as a whole inspired so many creators - from Raphael Colantonio ( Arx Fatalis, Prey, Weird West) to Todd Howard ( The Elder Scrolls, Fallout 3-4) - that it is now basically your favorite developer’s favorite game.įor instance, here is how Vincke recently described what made Ultima VII so special and how it influenced his approach to game development: In fact, he talked about the game so much in different interviews (and is still being asked about it) that this became sort of a meme in the community. Vincke’s obsession with Ultima VII is no secret. But before we get into the financial challenges the company has faced on its way to success, it is worth saying a few words about Ultima VII: The Black Gate, the legendary RPG from Richard Garriott and Origins Systems that shaped Larian and its founder Swen Vincke. We won’t dive deep into the creative journey of Larian Studios, as there are plenty of great articles written about it. Ultima VII, Larian’s origins, and the FUME scale ![]()
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