Hi's and Howdy's to all!
Today I was browsing the Steam store and came across a title that caught my eye... No prizes for guessing what it was, but for those of you who can't it was by all means Divinity - Original Sin.
After quickly parousing the Store Page, reading a user review (SunsetAmythist - bravo!) watching a trailer video and reading a little bit about the features it was immediately added to my wishlist!
But on closing the page and remembering how much fun has been drained from the RPG genre (Everquest Next, Neverwinter, ESO and all TES since Daggerfall I'm looking at YOU!) Depth has eternally been sacrificed for good looks... apparently, that is... until now! I've digressed, my point was a quick run to the bank to throw a couple bob on my Credit Card and shortly after I was the slightly regretful owner of Original Sin!
I say slightly regretful because I'm ever the sucker for a good user review that ticks all the boxes, but then I came back home downloaded and started my first game!
Jumping straight in initially I was thinking to myself I'd done it again, been suckered in by a glowing user review. Sure, there aren't a great range of skills, character customisation options seem limited so I leave them at default, and all in all not terribly taken with the initial feel.
And then I did something... not much, just a simple routine chat with my single player duo. I've earned a what now? Romantic for one and another for the other? That is new! So I played on some more...
And I started to fall in love. The old fallout battle mechanics that I loved, an environment that could be manipulated. Not ridiculously so that so much focus went into that that other aspects suffered, but just enough to have me constantly looking and keeping me on my toes. A depth to the few conversations that I have had... absolutely fell in love.
And then I had another conversation regarding a somewhat contraversial exchange between NPC's... and what now? A philosophical discussion that makes sense and leads to something Very...VERY new!
At this point I decided to take a time out from ruining this remarkable game by not knowing what the hell I was doing and I did something I have not done since Civilization II first came out... I decided to RTFM before I did anything else!
And so I start reading, from the start, and read a truly remarkable Foreward that I can only say moved me so deeply that I followed that link at the end, signed up and started... apparently dribbling nonsense instead of my true intention.
Until now I've not been familiar with Larian Studios, honestly I never even knew you guys existed. I remember seeing your studio's older games being released during a time that the Computer RPG genre had me jaded... I was quite certain that the entirety of Roleplaying games had gone the personally abhorrent direction of World of Warcraft. Gone were the days I would ever find enjoyment in this medium again.
Divinity - Original Sin and that most remarkable opening to the game manual by Swen has brought a new hope into the heavy heart of an old gamer. The passion, love and pride he has for the title, roleplaying and his crew in my eyes are in their own right Divine, and this game shows it by bringing new inspiration (not just gimmicks) to a platform that so desperately needed it.
On top of all of that you have brought back something remarkable to the scene, something that has not had such freedom and playability to groups since Neverwinter Nights... your Development kit. Something no RPG should ever be without!
You have my sincerest and most heartfelt thanks for being a team of fans looking to do justice to the game, the genre and yourselves and not just making a pretty mess for the masses to line your pockets.
Not only is your game cheaper, more fun and more true to its roots than any other I've seen released lately, it also is in my eyes groundbreaking (party mechanics) and potentially infinitely replayable! Not just yay... I've max levelled... I'll spend the next 10 years of my life grinding out the new gimmicks the dev's have released.
If I would ask anything of you, it would be this. Don't release another title like this one. Work on this one. Instead of making better looking games make graphical and engine updates for this. Make adventures, advanced levels, depth and grandeur, expand this! Make Original Sin a game people will still be buying in 10 years time!
Baldurs Gate died because it fell behind.
Everquest died because they (sold to sony and) stopped improving it and instead divided one game into many.
Neverwinter Nights dies for the same reasons then became an abomination of a game in an MMORPG
And to me LOTRO died when their expansions stopped developing it's own beauty and started to clone others with changes and tricks.
DDO Online... Blech!
Although WOW doesn't even deserve a mention, I will only to say that it's always been insulting garbage.
Why do I include MMO's? Simply because this is a party based game that allows players from everywhere meet and run around together. Sure, you're not all in the same world instance, but then again... only DAoC truly embraced that concept.
Keep this little beauty alive forever, for the true Roleplayers
I am sorry for the longwinded and mostly off track post, but I get passionate about how RPG's once were beautiful, and it's nice to see some of that beauty restored after more than a decade.... possibly two. I could ramble on about it forever...
