Two Worlds 2 – Interview

Reality Pump are a stubborn bunch. Not content with the average open-world RPG that was Two Worlds, they’re willing to give their original IP a second chance. Some gamers may already be rolling their eyes, but we appreciate their courage to right a gaming wrong, and so we then caught up with the game’s publisher, Topware Interactive, to learn more.

The original Two Worlds was disappointing, so do you feel you have to win back some gamers?

We’re well aware that there were concerns surrounding the first game, and we have made no effort to make excuses for its shortcomings. What we did was to take all the criticisms and feedback from the original, and use it as a launching point when we set out to make the sequel. We took special care in identifying the things we did well and that players enjoyed, as well as the areas we needed to improve that caused the game to suffer, and are excited to bring players back into the totally revamped world of Antaloor.

The dialogue was one of the biggest complaints of the original, so how has this been improved?

Dialogue definitely took a unique approach and provided for a few laughs, but for the second game we brought in a team of North American writers who have been involved with the game’s scripting from the very beginning, and are working hand-in-hand with our voice acting studios to ensure the game makes the jump across the Atlantic Ocean seamlessly.

What lessons has Reality Pump learnt after the original game?

We could literally do an entire interview about all the things we’ve learned between the development of the original Two Worlds and now, but I think more than anything, it was very clearly identifying the goals for the game early on and sticking to them.

From constructing a new game engine to bringing in focus groups to provide feedback on what we were doing well and where we could improve, Two Worlds II is really the franchise’s opportunity for redemption, and one we have not taken lightly.

Multiplayer was bolted onto Two Worlds post release but what are the advantages of including it right away?

Multiplayer has been a central point in the development of the game as a whole, and keeping it in mind throughout the development process has allowed us to create an experience that feels like a natural element of the game, as opposed to simply an additional feature.

What can you do with the new GRACE engine that you couldn’t do before?

Simply put everything! The GRACE engine is considerably more powerful than its predecessor, allowing us to really bulk up on environmental textures with actual depth, breathtaking lighting effects and dazzling particle effects that bring the world to life without sacrificing stability or performance. It’s very powerful indeed.

How many hours worth of gameplay are we talking about?

The main storyline will take players roughly 25 hours to complete, with an additional 15-20 hours of side-questing and exploring. There’s an entirely separate online co-op campaign, as well as PvP and the highly anticipated Village mode.

The original Two Worlds ended on quite a cliffhanger. How will you fill in gamers who haven’t played it?

We made note of the fact that many players would be visiting the world of Antaloor for the first time in Two Worlds II, so we made sure to incorporate dialogue early on that will bring newcomers up to speed quickly.

One of the biggest problems with open-world fantasy role-playing games is populating the game world. What makes Two Worlds II worth exploring?

Well, for starters there’s over 200 NPCs to interact with, a plethora of side quests, hidden areas, thousands of enemies and mini-bosses, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

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