Meta:Tempting Players Back: The Two Worlds Interview

This Interview was posted to the website gameinformer.com by Game Informer Online on April 3, 2008.

Questions and Answers

When Two Worlds was released last August, it created a buzz from gamers looking for another large, open-world RPG. That initial interest was quickly replaced with a backlash, as players encountered myriad bugs, strange player models and dialogue that was odd, to say the least. That response hasn't stopped the team from working on a sequel to the game, though. Rather than simply adding a few new weapons and a new setting and calling it good, however, the developers say they're taking criticism to heart and examing where things went wrong before. We talked with James Seaman, managing director of Topware Interactive, about Two Worlds: The Temptation to get his take on player feedback, customization and much more.

Game Informer: In the announcement for the Temptation, Melanie Mroz said that Reality Pump is taking player comments to heart. There’s no way around the fact that players were pretty brutal (and vocal) about Two Worlds—how did that response affect the team, and what kinds of things did those negative reactions inspire you to address in the sequel?

James Seaman: We’ll be the first to admit that our biggest problem with the original Two Worlds is that we were overly ambitious. We created a huge world with highly varied environments, allowed for a ton of character and equipment customization, and we had online play. It was definitely no small feat to simply complete the game!

In hindsight, we should have narrowed our goals at least a little to create a more cohesive experience for players, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with The Temptation. We very specifically outlined what the game could and couldn’t realistically have before we got to work on the game. Our goal this time around is quality over quantity. That’s not to say The Temptation won’t be a huge game – it will be – but we’re not going to decide to add features months before release. We have a very clear vision this time, and we’re heading for it.

Sure, the reactions from the press and the gaming public stung, but if anything it provided us with great feedback on what worked and what didn’t. We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to create a sequel to a game that is very near to our hearts, and we’re going to do our best to correct what people didn’t like, and keep the aspects of the game that got a positive reception.

Game Informer: Two Worlds invited comparisons to Oblivion right from the start, though they’re two entirely different games. How do you suppose those comparisons affected player reaction?

James Seaman: Oblivion was such a huge game, that it was inevitable that any open-world role playing game released after it would be compared, just like any open world action game where the main character drives cars and fires guns will be compared to Grand Theft Auto. Two Worlds came out about a year and a half after Oblivion, at a time when people were looking and hoping for a spiritual successor to Elder Scrolls. The comparisons helped in garnering attention for Two Worlds, but it hurt us in the fact that it was impossible for us to meet the public’s expectations. Two Worlds and Oblivion are pretty much different in every aspect other than overarching broad strokes. Since we weren’t Oblivion 2 – which is what people were looking for – I think reactions to Two Worlds were much harsher than is actually fair.

Game Informer: Can you talk a little bit about the updates to the combat system? What’s being improved? Players will be able to manually block attacks now, right?

James Seaman: Correct, blocking will be something the player actively participates in this time. Also, we’re making disarming more visually apparent. If you disarm an opponent, you’ll see the weapon fly out of their hands and fall to the ground, but I should add that you can be disarmed as well. We’re also going to completely rework mounted combat with improved animations and hit detection.

Game Informer: Will players be able to have more customization with the characters in the Temptation? Can they play as women?

James Seaman: There will be a lot more character customization in Two Worlds: The Temptation. The face generation software we’re using is vastly improved, which is going to allow for more variety not only for players, but also people they’ll meet in the world. There will also be more choices in race, but players will still only be able to be a male protagonist. Like the original, it’s more of a story concern than anything else.

Game Informer: Will players be able to import their existing characters into the Temptation?

James Seaman: Afraid not. All the new features we’re adding would make it impossible for characters from the original game to be imported.

Game Informer: Two Worlds has attracted a fairly large cult following. People seem to really enjoy the silly stuff like the gratuitous use of “forsooth” and “verily” and the oddball items and weapons names. Are you going to try to keep those elements in the sequel, or will you be taking a more serious tone?

James Seaman: The script and voice overs in the original were completely done by us, and I’m proud of what we accomplished considering that none of us had any professional experience in the area. That having been said, though, we’ve also realized that we need to bring in professionals to bring the game up to the quality we want. So this time around, the game’s script is going through a lot more passes and rewrites, and the voice recordings are going to be done by a well known studio that’s worked on some very prominent titles.

Game Informer: Will the same actor be voicing the hero character in the sequel? He was such an amazing jerk, and it was fun to hear all of his little comments.

James Seaman: It will be a different main character, so it will be a different voice. We are hoping to keep at least a little of the attitude for the new protagonist. Like you said, some of the things he would say were priceless.

Game Informer: Will the alchemy and weapon-stacking systems be left alone for the most part, or will those be tweaked in the sequel?

James Seaman: Those are two aspects of the original that almost everyone liked, so we’ll be making some minor improvements that will streamline the process and make the results of your labor a bit more predictable. Other than that, though, I guess you could say they’re being largely left alone.

Game Informer: We know that the new locations in Temptation include jungles and savannahs—and we spied some dinosaurs. Will the bears be returning, too?

James Seaman: It wouldn’t be Two Worlds without the bears. Or as we like to call them, the creatures that put low level adventurers in their place.

Game Informer: Finally, was the team aware that the word “taint” has a secondary meaning in American English slang?

James Seaman: Haha, many were aware of the double entendre associated with taint, but none of us expected gamers to take that term and run with it like they did. Explaining it to those on the team that didn’t know about its secondary meaning made for some interesting staff e-mails, that’s for sure.