Godfall Interview – Story, Setting, Loot, and More
As the first ever game to be officially confirmed for the PS5, Godfall has been something that many have had their eye on for nearly a year now. Its self-dubbed looter-slasher premise, high fantasy setting, and melee-focused combat has looked intriguing in all that we've seen of the game so far, and Counterplay Games will be hoping that their first AAA game lives up to the hype they have been drumming up for it.
Recently, we got a chance to send across a few of our questions about the game to its developer to get a better idea of what players can expect from it when it launches not long from now. You can read our interview with senior technical producer Dick Heyne below.
"With Godfall being a new IP, we couldn't take anything for granted when it came to world building and storytelling. The world of Aperion is completely new to players. If narrative and storytelling didn't play a central role in development, we knew we'd run the risk of creating a world that felt hollow."
Godfall sees a pretty significant leap from Counterplay Games' previous title, Duelyst, as a full-blown AAA action-RPG. How was the processing of transitioning between two very different productions?
It was for sure challenging, but a very rewarding experience. I remember the early days of Godfall, three or four years ago, when we were a much smaller operation. Half the team worked out of a humble little office, the other half were scattered across the world. Our team size was roughly around 15 to 20.
The team was very eager to try something new and embraced the challenge from day one.
We tried to set ourselves up to be ready to scale up when the time came. This was probably our greatest production challenge. Godfall is just significantly more complex than what we've worked on in the past. We spent a lot of time making sure we were focusing our energy on features and initiatives that actually resulted in a more positive experience for the player.
While the transition was a significant one, the entire team really rose to the occasion and pulled off what a lot of outsiders told us was impossible.
Narrative and storytelling don't usually take centre stage in loot-driven RPGs- what is Godfall's approach to this?
With Godfall being a new IP, we couldn't take anything for granted when it came to world building and storytelling. The world of Aperion is completely new to players. If narrative and storytelling didn't play a central role in development, we knew we'd run the risk of creating a world that felt hollow.
We didn't feel as though this would result in a meaningful looting experience. Who cares if you look like a badass if you aren't invested in your character or the world they exist in?
Beyond the campaign, we wanted to make sure there was a rich world that players could continue to sink their teeth into even after they defeat Macros and the credits roll. We worked hard to create an expansive codex filled with rich pieces of Aperion's history, enemy intel, and other tidbits of lore.
Since Valorian knights express themselves through combat, we also made sure that every weapon had its own story/ lore attached to it.
All of these pieces tied together create a one-of-a-kind universe, and we can't wait to watch players explore and uncover the mysterious history of Aperion.
"My hope is that our players will feel their way is the ideal way to play Godfall, and they have absolute agency to decide what their way is."
Godfall does allow players to play through it solo, but given how important co-op seems to be, would you say that's the ideal way of playing the game?
I'm hesitant to say "ideal" because I think that discourages players who might want to play solo. I think the ideal way to play Godfall is whatever the player finds the most fun.
Personally, I love playing co-op. I find that my clears are a bit faster and it is always a blast theory crafting synergies with whomever I'm playing with. We'll look at each other's builds, try to identify any gaps we might have, and tune/ tinker until we feel like we have everything we need to dominate the battlefield.
That said, sometimes I want to move through a mission/ level at my own pace. Solo is great for that.
My hope is that our players will feel their way is the ideal way to play Godfall, and they have absolute agency to decide what their way is.
Godfall is, of course, an RPG, and one that focuses is on loot-driven progression, which in turn means that players will have certain expectations from the game, in terms of, say, how all pieces of gear look, or what utility they will have. Can you tell us about what players should expect to see from Godfall in that area?
Sure. Godfall has over 120 weapons. Beyond that, you have a plethora of augments, trinkets, banners, and lifestones that will ultimately all play a crucial role in the build you land on.
Players can expect a lot of visual variety between our weapons. We really wanted to cover a wide range of looks and feels to ensure that no matter what the player's preference was, they would find weapons that visually resonated with them.
Similarly, the utility provided by your loot is incredibly varied. The central idea is that loot can enhance the tools the player has (Soulshatter, Breach Damage, etc.). But some loot can also add tools to the player arsenal. Some gear will mark enemies with various debuffs, including the Mark of Lifetap which will heal any allies who attack that marked enemy. The player can also enhance themselves with unique blessings with certain pieces of loot, providing them temporary buffs in the heat of combat.
We don't want to completely lift the veil, but needless to say, Godfall's loot is a robust playground filled with possibility.
Godfall has what looks to be a very rich high fantasy setting. What can players expect from the game in terms of things such as lore and world-building?
I mostly covered this above. Players can expect a rich world with diverse environments as they ascended the Skybreaker Monolith.
Players can also look forward to our rich cast of characters. With over 70 unique enemies, Macros has plenty of pawns at his disposal.
"Players can expect a lot of visual variety between our weapons. We really wanted to cover a wide range of looks and feels to ensure that no matter what the player's preference was, they would find weapons that visually resonated with them."
What are your plans for Godfall's post-launch support? Is that something you've planned for at this stage?
It is something we have for sure planned for, the Ascended Edition of Godfall comes with the first expansion of the game.
Planning for the future of a new IP is interesting because of course you have to have a game plan. But we also want to stay vigilant and make sure that our future efforts are reactive to community/ player feedback.
Lastly, what is the one feature that you are most excited about the game?
I'm personally very excited for Dreamstone mode. This is one of the endgame loops we've talked about in past interviews. It was a blast creating a mini-rogue-like experience within Godfall.
Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition is Out Now on Nintendo Switch
Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition is out today on Nintendo Switch, bringing its dino park management simulator to audiences on the go. The Complete Edition includes the base game itself (of course), on top of all the expansions – Secrets of Dr. Wu, Claire's Sanctuary, and Return to Jurassic Park – as well as all four Dinosaur Packs and the Raptor Squad Skin Collection. Check out its launch trailer below.
Jurassic World Evolution will be making some cutbacks on the Switch, of course. For instance, the game will allow a maximum of 100 dinosaurs in a park at a time (which is still a lot). Meanwhile, touch screen controls are not supported.
Jurassic World Evolution is also available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In our review of the game, we called it "the dinosaur management game we've been dreaming of for years, but never quite believed we'd ever get the chance to play". You can read our full review through here.
Mass Effect Trilogy's Cast is Reuniting Later This Week for A "Special" Livestream Event
We've been hearing about a rumoured remastered collection of the original Mass Effect trilogy for a number of months running now, but EA have not yet officially announced the same. Originally due out in October as per leaks, the remastered trilogy was supposedly pushed back to 2021. That said, it's possible that EA might be preparing to finally make the announcement.
BioWare celebrates N7 Day, a day they dedicate to the Mass Effect series, every year on November 7, and they will be doing that once more this year. However, as per voice actor Mark Meer, who voiced the male Commander Shepard in the trilogy, the livestream that's going to be held for 2020's N7 Day is going to be a "special event". Meer will be joined by various voice actors from the Mass Effect trilogy, as well as some developers from BioWare. The event will take place this Saturday at 11 AM Pacific Time.
Of course, there's no guarantees that this means what we think it means, but given all the rumours and leaks that have been going around recently, we can't help but connect the dots.
Recently, the remastered trilogy, supposedly called Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, was rated in Korea.
We'll know soon enough whether that long-awaited announcement is finally coming, so stay tuned for more updates.
I'll be joining my #masseffect cast mates @jhaletweets @RaphaelSbarge @missalihillis @courtenaytaylor @blumspew @kimberlydbrooks @AlixWiltonRegan @wlsalyers @MrDCDouglas plus devs @KarinWeekes @PatrickWeekes for a special #N7Day event Sat 11/7 @ 11AM PST! Stay tuned for the link! pic.twitter.com/ziISB0lJed
— Mark Meer (@Mark_Meer) October 30, 2020
The Witcher 3's Fast Travel Load Times on Xbox Series X Are Almost Instantaneous
Significantly shorter load times is one of the things that next-gen consoles have been emphasizing more than most other stuff in the lead up to their launches this month, and that's something that older games will benefit from as well, thanks to backward compatibility features.
For instance, there's The Witcher 3. If you've played the game, you would remember that it was plagued by long and frequent load times, especially when you fast travelled. That, it seems, is an issue that's been completely removed on next-gen consoles.
As YouTuber rubhen925 demonstrates in a recently uploaded video (spotted by Wccftech), The Witcher 3's fast travel load times on the Xbox Series X are almost non-existent. The video's description clarifies that this is, of course, the Xbox One version of the game running on an Xbox Series X, so we can only imagine how much better these improvements will be in the dedicated optimized version.
Take a look below. The video is timestamped, so just hit play.
The Witcher 3 is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Though it will be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S from day one, its dedicated next-gen version won't launch until 2021.
Call Of Duty Warzone Will Reportedly Not Shift Engines With Black Ops Cold War Integration
Next week will see Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the return to the popular subseries inside the storied franchise's history. Alongside it will also be Warzone, continuing to run as a free-to-play mode that has proven to be quite popular. The two are set to be integrated together in some form in December, though how that will go is unclear at this time. One way it won't however is an engine switch.
If you didn't know, the engines that run on Warzone and Cold War are different. Warzone uses the engine introduced with 2019's Modern Warfare, whereas Cold War uses a revamped version of Treyarch's own engine they began using in Black Ops 3. This made many wonder exactly what would happen with the two entities integrating and whether that meant Warzone would see a major rehaul. A verified Art Lead at Activision posted on the gaming forum ResetERA to assume people that was not the case. So, that's that.
It does still raise the question about how exactly the two will "integrate." We know that there will things like cross progression and guns from Black Ops will be brought in, and that could be the extent of it. We'll just have to wait until December to see how it shakes out. Call of Duty Warzone is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be available November 13th on those platforms as well as PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
CD Projekt's Stock Has Tumbled 25% In Two Months Alongside Cyberpunk 2077 Delay
It is almost hard to believe, but at one point in time Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most hotly anticipated titles of 2020, was set to release in April. It was pushed back to November 19th, a date that seemed very firm, until another surprise delay hit the game. There's now a lot of uncertainty about whether the game will actually make 2020 at this point, and that, among other things, has seen the stock of CD Projekt take a downturn.
As reported by GamesIndustry, the stock for the company has fallen a stark 25% over the last two months. The primarily reason probably was because of the unexpected delay of Cyberpunk, but as pointed out, it's been one a downturn since before that occurred. While it can be somewhat difficult to pinpoint why stocks take sharp drops, as GameIndustry outlines, when the investor meeting was held to announce the delay, the questions fielded were not just about the delay but also work conditions at CD Projekt RED, the developer/publisher arm of the company working on Cyberpunk 2077. There's been continuous stories about crunch at the studio, so it's not outside the realm of possibility this also had an impact.
Cyberpunk 2077 is now set to release on December 10th. Reportedly, the game largely runs fine on PC and next gen systems, and the crux of the issue is with current gen hardware.
The Medium Has Been Refused Classification In Australia
Even though we are on the verge of a new console generation launch, there are relatively few next generation exclusive experiences. Understandably, most publishers have opted to go a cross-gen route and recent on current systems as well as Sony and Microsoft's new machines. One game that is next gen only, however, is The Medium. It's the next game from Bloober Team with strong influences from older survival horror titles as well as a unique dual world gameplay gimmick. It does seem, however, the game has gotten into a tad bit of trouble down under.
As reported by Kotaku, apparently the game has been refused a rating classification in Australia. That means, as of now, the game cannot be sold in the country legally. There is no specifics as to why. The Medium is a horror title that's trailers have hinted at violence against children, or child-like entities such as the one in the banner image above, and Australia has been known to be pretty strict about certain things. However, as Kotaku also points out, it could be something more technical and not related to the contents of the game, as it's not unheard of for small developers to mess up their application forms, so it could be something as simple as that, which should be a relatively easy fix. Bloober Team was asked for comment and said they were working on the issue.
For the rest of the world, The Medium will release December 10th for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
Resident Evil Village Supports Ray-Tracing, PS5's DualSense and Tempest 3D Audio
Quite a bit has been revealed about Resident Evil Village since its initial announcement, including some of the story set-up and how it could potentially release for current-gen platforms. Thanks to the game's PlayStation.com page being updated though, we can confirm that it will support ray-tracing along with 4K. It will also benefit from faster loading times thanks to the PS5's solid-state drive (though this will apply to Xbox Series X/S as well).
The PS5's DualSense will be supported, allowing for the adaptive triggers to simulate "the weight and pull of weapon triggers." Furthermore, haptic feedback will "simulate the feeling of firing a real gun," most likely in terms of recoil. Tempest 3D AudioTech is also supported with compatible headphones and should serve to amplify the terror all the more.
Resident Evil Village is currently slated to release in 2021 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Rumors state it to be the longest title utilizing RE Engine till date. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months, especially with events like The Game Awards 2020 still to come.
Starfield Reveal is "Going to be a While" – Todd Howard
Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 director Todd Howard recently reiterated that the former would be a single-player experience (though the company doesn't rule out doing another multiplayer game in the future). However, the same question keeps coming up – when will they be properly revealed? In the same interview with Develop:Brighton Digital 2020, Howard said it's "going to be a while" for Starfield at least.
Howard's reasoning is fairly simple – along with all the challenges of development (including how assets, demos and trailers take time away from the actual game), he doesn't want to "string players along." Instead, an approach similar to Fallout 4's reveal – which had a fairly big demo before launching several months later – is cited as being more preferable. In the meantime though, we're going to have to wait.
Starfield doesn't have any specific release platforms either, though the acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda by Microsoft does point to some kind of exclusivity down the line. Howard did note that the Creation Engine would be seeing a major overhaul for Starfield with AI, rendering, animation and so on seeing huge leaps forward. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months (or even years).
Starfield – No Multiplayer, Creation Engine Changes, and More Revealed
Several new details for Bethesda's Starfield were revealed by director Todd Howard in at Develop:Brighton Digital 2020. Not much is known about the space-faring role-playing title, which is Bethesda's newest IP in years and years, but Howard did confirm that it was single-player only. No multiplayer to be found here.
Furthermore, the development team is using procedural generation to create worlds in both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. You shouldn't expect real-time world generation in-game – Howard spoke about how the team likes to touch things up with hand-crafting if procedural generated lands aren't working. But with its upcoming titles, Bethesda is pushing procedural generation "much further" than it has before.
Howard has spoke before about how the Creation Engine has been overhauled for Starfield. In this interview, he specified that the rendering, animation, procedural generation, AI and pathing and much more have seen fairly big overhauls. It should be interesting to see the results, especially if this is indeed a bigger jump for the engine than that of Morrowind to Oblivion.
Starfield doesn't currently have a release window or specified platforms, though Microsoft has been hinting about it – and other Bethesda titles – being exclusive to Xbox consoles in the future.