How did I miss this? Gothic 4 is coming out.
That’s a computer game for anyone not in the know.
Why is this relevant on a blog about writing? Well, it probably isn’t, however the Gothic Series has been, by and large, and exceptionally well done take on a fantasy world. The story begins with a nameless hero who gets dumped into a prison colony surrounded by magical barriers. There are three groups within this prison colony and the player gets to choose who to trust and help. Did I mention that the mages that created the prison barrier are trapped inside? Did I also mention the prison colony has runes of ancient magic scattered about, a legendary dark mage lives within the area, orcs infest the land intent on the destruction of all humans, and, amogst all this, the layer character is hounded by the various monsters, gangs, and beasts of the area. Well, glad I did then.
I’ll save the rest of the plot for the dedicated player, but the nameless hero manages to free the mages and prisoners from the colony. His adventure in the next game follows his attempt to leave the island of the prison colony. This involves a number of other adventures, but more importantly, begins to dabble with the story of the dark wizard whose initial support of the nameless hero becomes questionable.
The third adventure, within the main kingdom, has the nameless hero finally resolve the orc human conflict, one way or another. All of the characters met along the way show up for the grand finale and peace or war falls on the world.
Fairly standard fare, by and large, by the world is realized with a great deal of creativity and originality. The low magic world of studious mages, varied cultures, and consequence is done with a great deal of artistry. The prison camp is oppressive and gloomy. The jungle followers have combined the best aztec mysticism with a ‘Kurtzian’ creepiness. The war between the prison camps is as petty and violent as any prison brawl. As the story expands it manages to preserve the details. The second installment has the trianing camp for the red wizards. They perform chores in the morning, growing herbs, and listening to readings. The minutae was impressive, the sort of details that fleshed out the visually, the same way a side comment or colour text does so in a written world. More than once I’ve used computer worlds as inspiration.
Needtheless to say, I’m pleased that a fourth installment is coming, alhtough it’s from a different developer and the third installment ended fairly conclusively. For anyone curious, a trailer can be found here.
