Meta:What went wrong and how things will be put right with The Temptation...

This Q&A was posted to the website oxm.co.uk by Ryan King on April 22, 2008.

Questions and Answers

It's fair to say that Two Worlds didn't get the best reception when it finally hit the shelves.

With an average rating of 50%, which matches the 5/10 score we gave it, a lot of criticism was thrown at Two Worlds - it wasn't polished, the graphics were awful, the dialogue was bad and it just wasn't that much fun. In the aftermath of Oblivion, Two Worlds just didn't have the confidence to step out of its shadow.

So we asked the developer, Reality Pump, what went wrong with Two Worlds and how they plan to fix it with the sequel, Two Worlds: The Temptation...

OXM: With Two Worlds being released to mixed reviews, what is the main issue Reality Pump will be looking to address with The Temptation?

Reality Pump: Two Worlds was not only the first role-playing game we created as a company, but also our first console game, so we've learned a lot in the process. The main lesson we learned is to be more realistic with our goals. With the original idea, we were all so excited to be working on an RPG, that we tried to fit in every idea we had, even the ones that came late in the process.

Ultimately, this hurt the end product in that it had parts that were underdeveloped. With The Temptation, we clearly delineated the game's components at the start, and we're sticking to this target so the end result will be a more finely polished game.

OXM: Why do you think Two Worlds had such a mixed reception from reviewers?

Reality Pump: I can't say for sure, but I suspect that it was unfairly compared to Oblivion. It's understandable since Elder Scrolls was so good it basically set the standard. We were the next open world role-playing game to be released after it, so I think everyone expected it to be Oblivion part 2, when the reality is Two Worlds has more differences than similarities to Oblivion.

OXM: What can you tell us about the storyline for Two Worlds: The Temptation?

Reality Pump: The story takes place shortly after the events portrayed in the first game, and in some ways your character is dealing with the changes to the world that have occurred. I still want to remain vague on the story for now, but I will say that eventually your character learns that there was some unfinished business from the first game. Also, the storyline in The Temptation will have a much darker tone.

OXM: One improvement listed in the announcement was "improved voiceovers" - what will change with the voiceovers?

Reality Pump: We did all the scripting and voiceover recording ourselves for the original Two Worlds, which I'm proud we accomplished but the end results show that it's not exactly our forte. So we're hiring professionals for The Temptation. The game's script is being written by someone that's worked on plenty of game dialogue in the past, and is getting many more passes and edits so it will read much better.

As for the voiceovers, we're hiring a very high profile recording studio to hire the actors and lay the tracks. We'll reveal who these teams are soon enough, but suffice to say that the games they've done in the past are very well known.

OXM: Another example of a listed improvement is "more intricate missions" - can you give us an example of a new mission and how it works?

Reality Pump: Though I can't give you a specific example yet, I can tell you that we're trying to stray from the 'go here and do this' kind of mission structure. Quests will involve multiple options that run independently from one another.

So you don't have to talk to person A to get the next mission prompt from person B. We figure since both person A and person B know about the quest you can talk to either to get started, but you may have to talk to both to get all the information, or even play them against each other.

This structure allows us to set up things like murder mysteries, and allows players to make more 'evil' and 'good' choices.

OXM: The Temptation was originally planned as an expansion, so at what point did it seem to make more sense as a sequel?

Reality Pump: Pretty early on. We had the game planned out and had decided that we were going to use a new engine when we realized we were essentially creating a new game that would be as large as the first Two Worlds.

It just made more sense to make The Temptation a sequel rather than an expansion.

OXM: Will The Temptation take place in the same world that Two Worlds did?

Reality Pump: Absolutely. The Temptation will actually expand upon the world of Antaloor presented in the original Two Worlds. We're expanding the world to the east, beyond the Drak'ar Desert, and introducing the cities and cultures that lie beyond.

OXM: With the graphics engine being overhauled for The Temptation, what visual improvements can Two World fans look forward to?

Reality Pump: For PC players, the visuals will see a slight upgrade from the original but running a lot smoother without any of the hiccups that a lot of users experienced.

Xbox 360 users will see a huge improvement, and will see something closer to what PC players experience.

OXM: Will the interface be overhauled so it's more intuitive for 360 owners to use?

Reality Pump: The Xbox 360 is actually our lead platform with The Temptation this time around. We're completely going back to the drawing board for the controls and menu interface to make it much more fluid and controller friendly.

OXM: What improvement in The Temptation do you think will surprise fans the most?

Reality Pump: How much the game has changed for the better. I know people always say that the sequel is going to be better than the original, but The Temptation is truly leaps and bounds above the first. It's better in every aspect, and we know that many reading this have their doubts. All I can say is give us a chance to prove it.