Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Longest Journey - Dreamfall: Ragnar's Epic Saga Masterpiece



April Dreams

MASTERWORKS IN GAME DESIGN SERIES

All Images included in this article copyright(c)Funcom, all game titles and content remain copyrighted and all rights reserved (R)(TM) and all products and publications in any current and future media remain the sole property of Funcom. (c).2000 - 2007 .

In 2000, Funcom released to the world what is assuredly one of the lasting masterpieces of CGI game design and literature, The Longest Journey, which was followed by a sequel in 2007, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Both are based on a story plot line by Ragnar Tornquist, a genius of storytelling and a masterful game designer. It is hard to imagine what artistry and creative vision was gathered to produce two such wonderful games, each having some of the finest elements of current technology and story telling and game play available at their repective times of release.



April begins to learn of the two worlds, Stark and Arcadia


The saga tells of April Ryan's life and adventures in two linked worlds set in a future universe, Stark, science based and modern and a place of vast urban cities, teeming masses, technology rampant and triumphant, the world dominated by the Wire and interconnected in both high tech advantage and vulnerability: and the other world, Arcadia, magical, and spiritual, filled with myth, and mythos, natural beauty, and medevil towns, sailing ships, talking creatures and wonders of all kinds.



April being drawn into a link between Stark and Arcadia....



April's Everyday life in Stark



Her Friends are very much part of the story, april and Charlie in the Fringe Bar



April's Studio at Art School

In the two games people can and do travel between the worlds, with unforseen and remarkable consequences, there are great issues at stake, Balance, Order, Chaos and change in both worlds involving shifts and new techonology and invasions both real and spiritual. Ragnar has given us story figures, heroines and heros equal to the task of carrying these stories.

Both games are fully voiced and the dialogues are one of the wonders and the great treasures of both games, in this hasty and illiterate age, one can marvel and revel in a deep story line, character development, plots and sub plots and wonderful people and creature we get to know and love, hate or fear, and enjoy, above all enjoy.

I played The Longest Journey years before the advent of Dreamfall, and fell in love with its lush and luscious screen images, the beauties of the colours and worlds and the wonders of being able to move with and follow the characters in a 2D-3D mixture, of pre rendered backgrounds, but with wonderful ambient lighting,full sound effects, excellent animations and fully movable characters, really 2 and a half D, and the scale allowed one to feel you were in a vast landscape, and fully involved in the story.



The Beauty of Arcadia, Paradise Lost

April Ryan, the heroine is a vivacious, and highly individual person, an artist, in a bewildering modernistic world that is being driven mad by its power and the angst of the lost souls trapped in high tech prisons of affluence that are slowly killing their dreams and souls.



The Cities of Stark




April Exploring Marcuria, a city in Arcadia




Roper Klack's Castle in Arcadia

She falls into the other world due to her dreams, she is a link between the worlds and both worlds voice their need and pain through her, and she begins a quest for meaning and understanding and to help that takes her on voyages in both worlds and into wonders you will marvel at with her. She meets and works with and against a marvelous array of characters, beings, entities, healers, seers, villans and saviours...and you will not know what will happen any more than she does.



April Learns of the Spirtual History of Aracadia and of the Balance....



Chaos Threatens the Balance



A Mysterious Lady "tells" the story....which continues with.....




Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Part 2



April in Marcuria 10 years later

Dreamfall is the second of three planned stories, though Ragnar is not telling us yet when the third will come, or what form it will take, some word is that it may be episodic. The saga unfolds in Dreamfall ten years later, April has changed, aged and grown in a different path from the April we knew. But we enter the second game through Zoe, a fully new and differnt and also engaging character, this time she is in full 3D, and you can move comopletely freely through the Stark and Arcadia, the two worlds, and enjoy completely realized scenes, speak with and interact with other chracters, do things, move them, and effect changes, and your game play has many choices that will change the story path of the game.



Zoe's Home in future Casablanca



Future Stark is ruled by giant corporations and science still



Arcadia remains different but has its own troubles

There have been vast changes in the 10 years between The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, the super powerful world of Stark experienced a Fall of the net, and everything stopped, space flight is no longer possible it seems and the entire world civilization almost fell. There are hints that it was tied to events in Arcadia, but with the unfolding story, we never really know entirely what is happening. In Arcadia, two invasions have affected Marcuria, first a horde of nomads and then a high tech matriachy modeled on a fundimentalist Caliphate has "liberated" Marchuria, but plans to impose it's own religious oligarchy, and is opposed by rebels including April. Zoe moves between the worlds and thru a world of dreams that is revealed through some of the other characters from the first story......for through this land of dreams some can both travel and affect both worlds, indeed the dreams of each world can threaten the other if the Balance is lost.



The Ruling Dictators of the Conquerer of Arcadia



A traveller from Stark to Arcadia taking the Path of Dreams



A Guardian in the Place of Dreams....

A word of warning, PLEASE reset the x and y axis of the movment defaults, the default settings will drive you nuts, as they did me for some months before I figured it out. they set the exactly opposite of our natural movment pattern, it is a standard ASWD 3D movment pattern but they set it so that if you moved your mouse to the left you went right and if you pushed up you went down. I have no idea why they did this, but many including me were totally frustrated by this, so once you do this you will quickly pick up the controls. There is also some fighting and some stealth sequences where you need to sneak to get by some villans and mosnters, these are a bit touchy but the game itself is far worth the effort, it is beautifully rendered, some of the most beautiful scene setting I have ever seen in any of my game research.



April and Zoe are both remarkable and very different


Zoe is another character of strong will and depth, and she indeed meets April later in the game and they work together and then apart, both retain their own unique personalities.



Zoe moves in both worlds



Zoe in Arcadia

The deep issues of the first game remain and have indeed become more intense and serious, for the worlds both have moved deeper in to the Divide, the crisis that involves the Balance of Order and Chaos that affects all worlds and cultures, and that Ragnar has evoked with great ethos, and skill in both games. I will not spoil the story for any person who enjoys CGI games MUST play both, I insist. You will not regret it, as I will always look to both of these games for the best in game design of their respective publications. Ragnar has proven that story telling and adventure remain key ares for game excellence and there is much we can learn and share in such game literature.



The Old Harbour in Marcuria






April in the place of dreams............



Special Thanks

Special thanks to Karla Munger for help with the screenshots. A further note, both games play on XP, but for The Longest Journey 1 to play well please be sure to get the DVD version with the latest file sets.

Credits

The Longest Journey (2000)

Producer Ragnar Tørnquist
Lead Designers Didrik Tollefsen, Ragnar Tørnquist
Written By Ragnar Tørnquist
Art Director Didrik Tollefsen
Lead Programmer Morten Lode
Programmers Johan Braanen, Rune Espeseth, Jan-Ove Haaland, Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Morten Lode, Audun Tørnquist
Laidback Staff Johan Braanen, Jan-Ove Haaland, Morten Lode
Installer and Launcher Rune Espeseth, Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Audun Tørnquist
3D Studio Plug‑Ins Johan Braanen, Kurt Skauen
Translation Tool Rune Espeseth, Morten Lode
Randy Martin Amor, Kurt Skauen, Jesper Hansen, Tore Lode, Jørgen Tvedt, Frank Andrew Stevensen, Fabian Gonzalez, Andreas Bromirski, Lasse Staff Jensen
Sandy Karol Slanina
Character Animation Toolkit Jesper Hansen, Kurt Skauen
Background Artists Tom Gjerde, Karsten Hammer Hansen, Dennis Hansen, Kjetil Hjeldnes, Øyvind Jernskau, David Michaelczyk, Christian Morgan Enger, Vebjørn Strømmen, Didrik Tollefsen
Character Artists Christian Morgan Enger, Iwan Peter Scheer
Facial Animations Anders Finér
Character Animation Renate Andersen, Lars-Petter Anfinsen, Iwan Peter Scheer
Full‑Motion Video Sequences Renate Andersen, Kjetil Hjeldnes, Øyvind Jernskau, Christian Morgan Enger, Amanda Ronai, Iwan Peter Scheer, Rune Spaans, Didrik Tollefsen, Thorolf Tønjum
Audio Director Bjørn Arve Lagim
Music Composed and Performed By Bjørn Arve Lagim
Sound Design Tor Linløkken
Additional Music Tor Linløkken, Morten Sørlie, Didrik Tollefsen
Speech Editing and Processing Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Tor Linløkken, Morten Sørlie
Additional Design Gaute Godager, Øyvind Jernskau, Henning Solberg
Voice Director Ragnar Tørnquist
Casting Coordinator Synove Lund
Recording Engineer Frank Kulaga
Quality Assurance Manager Henning Solberg
Quality Assurance Steve Reberg, Henning Solberg, Mikael Svenson, Darren Thompson, Alf Yngve
Localization Coordinator Nils Hakon Nordberg
President André Backen
Vice President of Production Gaute Espeland
Marketing Ulf Kristiansen, Marit Lund, Tomas Schreiner
Box Design and Web-Site Tommy Svensson
Manual Design Geir Haugen
Manual Written By Ragnar Tørnquist
Motion Capture Actors Gry Stordahl, Didrik Tollefsen
Special Thanks To Tommy Strand, The Anarchy team, Everybody at Robert Martone Recording Studio in New York
Cast Louis Aguirre (as Cortez and Adrian), Mark Anthony Henry (as Charlie), Madison Arnold (as Frank Minnelli - Stanley - Stickman Willow and Old Sailor), Andrea Bowen (as Young April and Alatien Child), Ralph Byers (as Roper Klacks - Brian Westhouse and Jacob McAllen), Andrew Donnelly (as Burns Flipper and Lorhan), Mary Elaine Monty (as Front Desk Sergeant - The Gribbler and April's Mom), Peter Fernandez (as Minstrum Yerin - Elder Banda - Stickman Wick and Old Alatien Man), Ron Foster (as The Wood Spirit - Tobias Grenset and The Ancient Dragon), Ron Gallop (as Zack Lee - Captured Banda - Stickman Wood and Thin Repairman), Stephanie Garry (as FACT Voice - Colonial Representative and Mickey), Sarah Hamilton (as April Ryan), Cordis Heard (as Innkeeper and Reporter), John Henry Cox (as Freddie Melon - Captain Nebevay - April's Father and Cop), Francesca Longrigg (as Fiona and Tun Luiec), Regina Lund (as April Ryan - Swedish version), Jeff Meller (as Dark People's Emissary - Abnaxus and Maps Merchant), Kevin Merritt (as Gordon and Male Visitor), Julia Murney (as Emma - Young Alatien Woman and Female Visitor), Nicole Orth-Pallavicini (as The White Dragon and The Maerum Queen), Roger Raines (as Crow - Actor Cop and Vanguard Receptionist), Bernard Ramstead (as Tobias Grensret - Norwegian version), Frank Rivers (as Father Raul - Q'aman - Alatien Castle Watch and Vanguard Agent), Finn Schau (as Cortez - Norwegian version), Helen Stenborg (as Old Woman and Alatien Teller), Synnøve Svabø (as April Ryan - Norwegian version), Torsten Wahlund (as Jacob McAllen - Norwegian version), Victor Warren (as Fat Repairman - Lost Banda and Cups Handler)
Production Anthony J. Bond Jr.
Artwork and Design Nicolas Croc, Paul Flewitt, Phil Goldfinch, Jamie Young
Head of QA, Customer Services and IT Mike Holton
Lead Tester Iain Riches
Dutch Localization (R&P Electronic Media)
Project Manager Robert de Wit, Leo Bloem
Marketing Manager Peter de Wit
Coordination Lilian Hogenstijn
Manager NL Adaption Mark Reimerink
Test Manager Guido Combee
Testers R&P Testteam
Cast Bram Bart (Crow - Thin Mechanic - Vanguard Receptionist and Actor), Bram Biesterveld (Male Guest - Freddie Melon and Lorhan), Chilly Dartell (Maerum Queen and White Dragon), Christa Lips (Female Guest - Young April - Alatien Child - Tun Luiec and Fiona), Corrie van de Linden (Innkeeper and Front Desk Sergeant), Dik Riemstra (Stanley and Frank Minnelli), Eric van Sauers (Charlie), Fred Meijer (Wick - Brian Westhouse - Ben-bandu - Young Mole and Roper Klacks), Hero Muller (Dark People's Emissary - April's Father - Adrian and Abnaxus), Huub Dikstaal (Merchant - Artist - Bandu-uta - Captured Mole - Fat Mechanic - Warren - Zack - Spacestation Guard and Vanguard Agent), Jan-Anne Drenth (Old Dragon - Tobias and The Wood Spirit), Jan Elbertse (Captain Nebevay - Homosexual Agent and Willow), Jon van Eerd (Burns Flipper and Alatien Guard), Just Meijer (Alatien Castle Guard and Gordon Halloway), Koos van der Knaap (Cortez), Lucie de Lange (Emma - Young Alatien Woman - Miss Alvane and Old April Ryan), Luk van Mello (Old Alatien Man - Minstrum Yerin and Elder Mole), Marlies Somers (April Ryan), Marloes van de Heuvel (April's Mother and The Gribbler), Mimi Kok (Old Alatien Woman), Reindert van der Naalt (Merchant - Cards Salesman - Umber Ianos and Woody), Rob van Meeberg (Agent at the Lift), Ruud Drupsteen (Q'aman - Guard and Raul), Tanneke Hartzuiker (Reporter - FACT Computers - Colonial Receptionist and Mickey), Wilbert Gieske (Jacob McAllen and Agent on Grendel Avenue)
German Localization (Egmont)
Project Lead Andrea Schweitzer
Marketing Director Frank Delbrügge
Product Manager Julia Legner
Manual Hans Hohmann, Eva Hoogh
Localization Eva Hoogh, Günther Klose
Lecturer Ulrike Keller
Voice Recording Thomas Weicheler
Special Thanks To Hardy Hoogh, Robby M. Mikusch
Cast Sven Bluhm (as Guard), Katja Brügger (as Innkeeper and Front Desk Sergeant), Marc Degener (as Lorhan), Till Demtröder (as Zack Lee - Vanguard Receptionist - Cups Handler and The Keeper), Klaus Dittmann (as Stanley), Kerstin Draeger (as Fiona), Sascha Draeger (as Charlie and Captured Banda), Eckhard Dux (as Willow and Woody), Marion Elskes (as Emma), Sabine Falkenberg (as Mickey and Reporter), Gerhard Garbers (as Umber Ianos and Actor Cop), Ben Hecker (as The Wood Spirit), Martin Heckmann (as Tobias Grensret and Alatien Castle Watch), Marion von Stengel (as FACT Voice and Female Visitor), Klaus-Peter Kaehler (as Fat Repairman), Ingeborg Kallweit (as Ancient Dragon), Wolfgang Kaven (as April's Dad), Joachim Kertzel (as Brian Westhouse and Q'aman), Stephanie Kindermann (as April Ryan), Michaela Kreißler (as Gribbler), Henry König (Lift Cop), Nicolas König (as Gordon and Thin Repairman), Carola Lentzer (as April's Mom), Gabriele Libbach (as The White Dragon and Tun Luiec), Holger Mahlich (as Father Raul and Vanguard Agent), Leonard Mahlich (as Warren), Robert Missler (as Crow - Young Banda and Male Guest), Dietmar Mues (as Jacob McAllen), Sylvie Nogler (as Colonial Shopkeeper and Young Alatien Woman), Hans Petsch (as Old Alatien), Heidi Schaffrath (as The Maerum Queen), Rainer Schmitt (as Captain Nebevay - Map Merchant and Cop), Erik Schäffler (as Burns Flipper and Alatien Guard), Achim Schülke (as Roper Klacks - Minstrum Yerin and Stickman Wick), Horst Stark (as Cortez - Policeman and Guard), Ruben Weichler (as Alatien Child), Thomas Weicheler (as Marcus), Peter Weiß (as Abnaxus and Elder Banda), Verena Wiet (as Old Woman and Old Alatien Woman)
Swedish Actors
April Ryan Regina Lund
Cortez Leif Stålhammer
Q'aman / Stanley / Frank Minnelli / Alatisk slottsvakt Steve Kratz
Jacob McAllen / Karthandlaren / Gammal alatisk man Torsten Wahlund
Minstrum Yerin / Bandaernas ålderman / Umber Ianos Sture Ström
Emma / Ne'ema / Kvinnlig gäst / Reporter Madeleine Elfstrand
April som barn / Sa'ena Elvira Roos
Gordon Halloway / Wick / Manlig gäst Jan Waldekranz
Burns Flipper / Agent Woody Erik Donell
Kapten Nebevay / Homosexuell polis / Willow Anders Ahlbom
Kråkan / Smal reparatör / Alatiervakten Isam / De främsta-receptionist Dick Eriksson
Lady Alvane / Marianernas drottning / Den vita draken / Gammal alatisk kvinna Iréne Lindh
Mörkerfolkets sändebud / Pappa, Vakt / Hisspolis Thomas Roos
Charlie, Koppdribblaren / Bandu-uta / Skådispolis Figge Norling
Brian Westhouse / Den uråldriga draken / Freddie Melon / Tjock reparatör Fredrik Dolk
Warren Leo Hallerstam
Mamma / FACT-röst / Benrime Salmin / Kolonisatörernas representant Denize Karabuda
Abnaxus / Lorhan / Fader Raul Niklas Falk
Tobias / Trädanden Stephan Karlsén
Zack / Ben-bandu / Adrian Ivan Petersson
Mickey / Gribblaren / Polis-receptionist Rachel Mohlin
Tun Luiec / Fiona My Holmsten
2 CD & DVD re-releases
Additional Programming Enno Rehling
Additional Quality Assurance Christoffer Bjørnsti, Nina Louise Sund

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2007)

Game Director Ragnar Tørnquist
Project Manager Øivind Scharning
Art Director Christer Sveen
Lead Designers Jarl Schjerverud, Henning Solberg
Designers Aleksander Grøndal, Dag Scheve, Torbjørn Sitre (Tobben)
Written By Ragnar Tørnquist, Dag Scheve
Lead Artist Kjetil Hjeldnes
Concept Artists Christer Sveen, Didrik Tollefsen, Gavin Whelan, Sigbjørn Galaen (Siggy), Vebjørn Strømmen
Scene Artists Richard Cawte, Øyvind Jernskau, Dan Cormick, Lee Symes, Mats Tveita, Markus Schille, Pekka Järventaus, Sonia Tyndale
Character Artists Vebjørn Strømmen, Robert Kist
Animators Eigil Jarl Halse, Frode Thorkildsen, Ingvild Oppedal Olsen Ashurst, Maria Skau, Morten Øverlie, Tibor Nagy, Trygve Bjellvåg, William Olsen-Ashurst
Additional Artists Razvan Vacar, Waqas Zia Chaudhry, Thomas Sundfær
Lead Programmers Morten Lode, Christian Tellefsen, Enno Rehling
Programmers Arnleif Mydland, Jorn Jensen, Jørn Are Sjulsen, Knut Johannessen, Morten Brenna, Morten Hustveit, Morten Lied Johansen, Tommy Strand
Audio Director Morten Sørlie
Lead Sound Designer Simon Poole
Music Leon Willett
Additional Music Even Johansen (Universal Publishing), Ingvild Hasund, Morten Sørlie, Octavacat, Simon Poole
Voice Director Ragnar Tørnquist (English version)
Casting and Recording Coordinator Dag Scheve
Additional Dialogue Editing Lee Walker
Assistant Project Manager Anita Dalsrud
CEO Trond Arne Aas
QA Manager Ørjan Mathis Tvedt
Assistant QA Manager Scott Junior
Technical Lead Michael Søvik
QA Testers Anthony Strickland, Brad Berrier, Christoffer Bjørnsti, Dax Hock, Eirik Munthe, Glen Swan, Joseph Levinski, Nina Louise Sund, Rune Valle
Sales, Marketing and Management
Director of Operations Ole Schreiner
Sales & Marketing Director Ove Forseth
Sales & Marketing Annette De Freitas, Terri Perkins
PR and Product Director Jørgen Tharaldsen
Community Manager Craig Morrison
VP Business Development Nicolay Fr. D. Nickelsen
Business Controller Jan Inge Torgersen
CFO Martin Hoff
Special Thanks to Johan Tengå, Vivi Christensen, Geoffrey Higgins, Brian Lee, Funcom US Customer service team
Motion Capture Performers Bjørn-Erik Hytt, Thea Danielsen Fjørtoft, Vilde Jansen
Production Babies Ingvild Mydland, Maren Mary Ashurst
English Voices
Voice Actors Ellie Conrad Leigh (Zoë Castillo), Sarah Hamilton (April Ryan), Gavin O'Connor (Kian), Ralph Byers (Brian Westhouse/Roper Klacks), Jo Dow (Peats/Warden Murron/Dark People), Kwesi Ameayaw (Chawan), Matthew Keenan (Brynn), Mary Healy (Olivia DeMarco), Daryl Alan Reed (Charlie), Jack Angel (Wonkers the Watilla), Wes Parker (The Chinaman), Brian Bloom (Marcus Crozier/The Guardian/Kenji), André Sogliuzzo (Blind Bob), Hadeel Alwash (Na'ane), Anna Savva (Kara/WATI Computer Voice), Iris Quinn (Helena Chang), Michael FitzGerald (Reza Temiz), Patrick FitzSymons (Gabriel Castillo/Spice Merchant), Victor Burke (Damien Cavanaugh), Vanessa Jones (Jama Mbaye), Roger Raines (Crow), Julia Murney (Emma de Vrijer/Dr. Park/Yuriko), Håvard Bakke (Ivar), Alan Stanford (The Vagabond/The Captain), Paul Tylak (Interrogator), Marcus Lamb (Museum Guard), Maryke Hendrickse, Cordis Heard (Benrime Salmin), Ruth McCabe (Crazy Clara), Garrett Lombard (Vamon/Dagdam), David Goodall (Garmon Koumas), Dougie Wallace (Ary Kinryn), Nadine Shenton (Fringe Hostess), Len Firth (Vinnie), Deirdre Donnelly (Minstrum Magda/Obaasan), Louis Gregg (Hiro), Roger Gregg (Elwyn/Male Scientist), Georgia Pearce (Faith), Jenny Maher (The White Dragon/Abya of the Six/Karen), Jade Yourell (Yona of the Six/Sister Sahya/Female Scientist), Doireann Ni Chorrigain (Child Ena/Riko), Hilary Cahill (Maha of the Six/Sela), Javier Fernandez (Manny Chavez)
Additional Voices Susan Zelouf, Pat Kinevane, Annie Ryan, Joe Rooney, Peter Ferris, Ingerborg Raustøl, Petronella Barker, Lena Meieran, Jan Erik Madsen, Anders Ribu, Franklin Adjaye, Susan Winder, Yuke Sun, Kuo Guo, Sirui Ren
Virtuous China Art Team
Character Modellers Wu Yan Wei, Sui Bo, Xu Kun Peng, Xie Hai Tian, Zhang Yu Ya
Level and Object Modellers Sui Bo, Xie Hai Tian, Li Zheng
CEO Gilles Langourieux
Art Director Cheng Yu
Production Director Pan Feng
Recording, Sound Production and Casting
Casting Director for Blindlight Dawn Hershey (C.S.A.)
For Nordubb Morten Karlstad
VO Producer for Blindlight Alexandra Dorris
Voice Director for Blindlight Michael Hack
For Moynihan Russel Studios Paul Lynch
Recording, Sound Production and Casting Airwavesound, Sound Hound Studios
For Voiceover.uk Gary Churcher
For Voicebank.ie Geraldine O'Shea, Katie Molony
For Abe's Audio Abe Udy
For Skyline Studios Luke Hatfield
Recording, Sound Production and Casting (For Nordubb)
Recording and Editing Morten Karlstad
Editing Harald Lindebrekke, Terje Sæther, Ketil Høgseth, Bård Farbu, Morten Lange
Norwegian Voices
Voice Actors Ingeborg Raustøl (Zoe Castillo), Petronella Barker (April Ryan), Ove Christian Owe (Kian), Trond Brænne (Brian Westhouse / Roper Klacks), Nicolai Cleve Broch (Damien Kavanagh), Janne Formoe (Olivia DeMarco), Dagfinn Lyngbø (Marcus / Blinde Bob), Håvard Bakke (Vokteren / Kenji / Vinnie), Nils Vogt (Gabriel Castillo), Samsaya Sampda Sharma (Jama Mbaye), Christian Borge (Benrime Salmin), Mari Maurstad (Helena Chang), Tone Ræstad (Riko), Ida Lind (Minstrum Magda), Katrine Blomstrand (Emma / Sahya / Diane / Maha / Carlita), Unn V. Hol (Gærne Clara / Lucia), Silje Stang (WATI Computer Voice), Marika Enstad (Na'ane/Vitenskapskvinne), Silje Færavåg (Den Hvite Dragen/Abya/Yuriko), Sigrid Huun (Kara/Dr. Park), Benedikte Kruse (Sela/WATI Resepsjonist), Julie Gundersen (Faith), Christoffer Staib (Reza), Anders Bye (Charlie), Sigmund Sæverud (Peats/Garmon Koumas), Magnus Nielsen (Kinamannen), Tommy Karlsen (Ary/Vagabond/Mørkefolk), Hans Rønningen (Crow), Espen Sandvik (Forhørsleder/Kapiteinen/Elwyn/Vitenskapsmann), Steinar Taarn Sande (Murron/Krydderselger), Jon Erling Wevling (Vamon/Dieter/Dagdam), Erik Skøld (Brynn), Ivar Nørve (Wonkers), Øyvind Borgemoen Lyse (Chawan), Jeppe Westerby (Hiro)
Additional Voices Cathrine Bang, Inger Teien, Susanne Paalgard, Klara Døving, Inger Gundersen, Jorunn Thorsheim, Stein Stølen, Anders Reiremo, Hallvard Lydvo, Morten Lange, Erik Schjerven, Geir Morstad, Yuke Sun, Kuo Guo, Sirui Ren, Preben Olram, Helge Winter Larsen, Trond Teigen, Simen Sand
Translation Odd Espen Jensen, Tom Amund Hoff
Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive Rob Noble, Paul Benjamin, David Pain, Chris Matlub, Haydon Farrar, David Cleaveley
Studio Jayshree Mistry, Nicole Smith, Andrew Philp
Micro Application
President Philippe Olivier
Production Director Rémy Poirson
Product Manager François Logeais
Producer Xavier Laisney
Press Relation Sandrine Loegel
Localization Lead Maïté Léon
Localization La Marque Rose
QA Sébastien Aubre, Franck Feuillade, Absolute Quality
Special Thanks Nicolas Gaborieau, Manuel Mas, Julien Dominique, Frédéric Didier, Grégory Jégo, François-Xavier Lair, Caroline Richard
Aspyr Studios
Producer Blaine Christine
Production Coordinator Chance Copeland
Senior Project Manager Kelly Bates
Project Coordinator Patrick Rogers
Lead QA Analyst Dustan Coleman
Assistant QA Lead Analyst/TCR Specialist Andy Cook
QA Analysts Nick Hubble, Amy Lynn, Jon Savinelli, Ty Myrick, Shyla Spurlock, Ryan Stocks, Clement Young, Matthew Claunch
Compatibility Lab Tech Jessie Boyer
Technical Support Jason McClure, Jennifer Becker, Samuel Francisco Morris, Joe Rinaldi, Clint Parker, Haley Lumpkin
Director of Development Glenda Adams
Development Manager Mark Krenek
Director of Production James Hudson
Director of Marketing Leah Heck
Marketing Manager Amity Ponsetti
Technical Marketing Assistant Nestor Hernandez
Creative Program Director Zach Rener
Public Relations Susan Lusty, Lori Mezoff
Marketing Art Director Tyler Schmitt
Graphic Designers Greg Althoff, Devin Cox
Director of QA Tim Attuquayefio
Director of Technical Support Tim Attuquayefio
Quality Assurance Supervisor Matt Scates
Technical Support/Compatibility Lab Manager Andy Brazell
Special Thanks Tim Fuller, Jennifer Becker, Claudia Gauthier, Aaron Whitesell


MASTERWORK REVIEW -GOTHIC III
JoWooD Productions
JoWooD Continues a Remarkable 3D Total World Game Series

All Gothic III images, text, sound and music (c) JoWooD Group All rights reserved


Among the modern developments of 3D Worlds is one of the most detailed and immersive, that of the series developed by the German company JoWooD, the Gothic Series I, II, and III with a sequel in the series underway, IV. These games have evolved into a fantastically detailed world that has dynamic weather, tiime of day changes, and a vast game world of almost mythic proportions, I think it is perhaps not as well known as some such worlds such as Oblivion but equal to any modern world created for CGI gaming in quality and beauty.

You arrive as part of a progression of story, and must travel thru and learn to understand a complex world with many races and areas. You visit at your own choice, a series of sub worlds of alpine woods and mountains, desert a la Arabia of fantasy fame, and must travel thru a vast array of towns, cities, villages, caves and deal with what you find there.



You as You in Gothic III

I found Gothic to be very beautiful as a world and the detail simply stunning. The in game main character that you control has full voice and options for a vast array of skills and abilities which you must master to advance in the game.



Incredibly detailed World of Gothic III


I can only give a glimpse but what a wonderful one it is, of this amazing world and will continue this review soon.



Arabian Gothic

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