| Gothic (computer Game) |
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Information AboutGothic (computer Game) |
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The games place a special focus on the interactivity of the environment. For example, while anyone hunting wild animals can gather raw meat (an item that heals damage and can be sold) from them, this can be turned into fried meat (a much more effective curative) by making use of a stove or frying pan. Similarly, most of the activities other characters can be seen doing (playing musical instruments, stirring soup pots, etc.) can be done by the main character as well, though this rarely has a specific use in-game. The Gothic games also have an unusual combat system which emphasises carefully timed combinations of strikes. The default control scheme in Gothic was disliked by many because of its almost exclusive use of the numeric pad (or arrow keys) of the keyboard and the necessity of holding down an action key and pressing movement keys to perform actions. However, the use of the alternative keyboard setting in conjunction with the mouse resulted in a more normal control scheme. In Gothic II the control system was revised to allow actions to take place with a single mouse click. Both Gothic and Gothic 2 (its direct sequel) were received with moderate-to-high reviews in the US, but were overshadowed in sales by games made by more familiar firms receiving better marketing. The lack of polish the games showed (in terms of their drab color range, somewhat outdated graphics at the time of first release in the US, which was far behind the original German release, and a host of minor bugs) also diminished its sales. Despite this, the considerable gameplay (30+ hours per game), replayability (through following a different faction's path through the game), and highly detailed world helped maintain a small but intensely loyal fan base. STORY OF GOTHIC 1 Many years ago, in a faraway country, there was a land called Myrtana. It was a thriving kingdom. Year after year, the granaries were full and the mines gave good copper, iron, and ore. No one wanted or needed. The priests of the gods had great power and influence, and the gods were keen to the people. The greatest god was Innos, god of Sun and Law. He was revered as the first and highest, and his priests were the Fire Mages. The priests of the god Adanos, who held the scales between good and evil, were the mages of the Circle of Water. There were no priests to serve Beliar, God of Death, for his might was pure darkness. The blooming cities were also centers of knowledge where magic, astronomy, and geography were studied. But joy and peace were soon replaced by want and mistrust. So it happened that neighboring empires became jealous from want of Myrtanas's treasures; none more than Varant. Armies of knights gathered on the hills of the Empire and ships made of dark woods were seen on the horizon with raised and frightening standards of war. The armies of Myrtana were summoned to protect what was their homeland. It was war. The King's Armada sank ship after ship, but suffered great losses. On land, the first battles were easily won, but then both sides altered victories. Despite the many battles won by Myrtana, the Knights of Varant took land. Myrtana believed the war would be short, but skirmish after skirmish, battle after battle, it stretched over many moons. Many wished to make names for themselves, to earn fortunes at war, or just protect their homeland; so ended their life on the battlefield. By thousands they came, and by thousands they died. King Rhotbar did not only try to protect the borders of the kingdom, but with his men he fought to reconquer villages and counties deep in his country. What he could not reconquer, he destroyed. The war had already lasted more than four seasons. Yet the strategic science of him and his generals, and the alliance of army and magic allowed him, on a fine spring morning, to stand in front of the doors of the Varant capital. As if they woke up from a dream, the people of Varant saw the army camping in front of their city and quickly surrendered. The doors were opened, the weapons sheathed, and King Rhotbar and his knights rode into town as true victors. The city was not plundered, the people not made prisoners. The King executed the leader of Varant, then appointed a regent and a council, who were to rule the Empire from now on, and returned to Myrtana. He had won the war, but the price was high. Many men, sons, fathers and brothers had given their life for the Empire. Furthermore, the supplies were low and winter was near. In many places there was hunger and distress. During this winter, weakened by his wounds of war, King Rhotbar died. His son, Rothbar II, accessed the throne without ceremony. He summoned his priests, his advisors and his sages. Together, they developed plans to bring back the Empire to the state of prosperity that his father once knew. Although the dreadful winter was over, another danger lurked upon the kingdom. Orcish hordes from the North crossed the border and plundered hamlets and manors. The king once again sent his armies to the border. Countless battles took once more many lives. It was just a short combat with no clear victor, but King Rhotbar knew that the Orcs had become strong enough to wage a war against Myrtana. Still, his own army was weak, diminished and poorly equipped. In order to craft new weapons, he needed ore. The situation was bad overall, and worse in the mining cities. Thieves and deserters ran galore and many prisoners had fled from the mines. The city of Khorinis, one of the main suppliers of ore, was too important for the King not to act. For, in the mines of Khorinis, the prisoners extracted a special, rare kind of ore - magical ore. This ore, if rightly melted, could make a blade indestructible, with an edge so sharp that no armor could resist it. The King called the twelve most powerful Mages of the empire, six from the circle of Water, and six from the circle of Fire. He ordered them to create a magical barrier around the mining city of Khorinis, in order to prevent the prisoners from escaping, a barrier which could allow living creatures to enter, but not escape. Together, the twelve mages started writing a magical formula to invoke the barrier. As the formula was completed, with the help of five magical focus stones, which they laid in a ritual pattern, they united their magical strength and spoke the words of power. The skies were torn asunder, and in deafening sounds of thunder, it was there. The barrier stood there as a huge dome over the land, covering a gigantic area - much bigger as planned. The confused mages soon found out that they too were trapped within the barrier. The prisoners killed the guards, who were trapped with them by the magical dome. The mages and the prisoners did not join force, as the mages feared their weapons, and the prisoners quickly understood that without the mages, they did not stand a chance of escaping this magical jail. In the watchtowers gathered the prisoners, and at their head was Gomez, leader of the resistance. The joy of victory was soon replaced with concern for food and survival. The prisoners knew that for goods and wares they depended heavily on the outside world, and the King needed magic ore, as well. So they came up with a plan to satisfy both parties. The King would provide supplies of food and other goods, so the prisoners could survive, in exchange for the magic ore the king needed in the war against the orcs. However, not all of the prisoners were interested in working for the king. One of them was Lee. He left the town and many followed him. They founded a new camp, next to another mine, which came to be known as the New Camp. The Water Mages joined his side as well. They were looking for a solution to destroy the barrier, and for their magical research they needed the ore of Lee's mine. Their goal was to use it to find a way out. The Fire Mages stayed with Gomez in the Old Camp. The installments paid by the Empire guaranteed the survival of the prisoners. Gomez enlisted the strongest of them as his personal guard, and soon he ruled a small empire. Although all were prisoners, while some were toiling in the mine, Gomez was asking for more and more in exchange for the ore, and soon good wine, fine food, magical books, and even women slaves abounded in his Castle. After many moons, a man in the colony began to tell others about his visions of freedom. He called himself Y'Berion, the Illuminated. His words were deep and persuasive, and he attracted many followers, with which he retreated into the Swamps to found his own camp. Soon there were rumors of strange powers, magic and summonings that were even unknown to the mages. And this swamp camp did flourish. They lived from the culture of Swampweed, which smoke was coveted, for a smoke of the herb gave the men pleasant dreams, and possibly enlightenment through being given a vision by their god, the Sleeper. They traded Swampweed with the Old Camp and soon they lived pleasantly, though still rather meagerly. The Empire recovered slowly from the wounds of the past. Wheat grew in the fields and new trade routes were opened. Only the Barrier reminded of a time of war. And then came the orcs. Like a storm raging over the land, they stroke the armies of the king and killed every man who tried to resist them. So Rothbar II readied his troops once more for war and every available man was sent to the border. In these times anyone who committed a crime, no matter how small, was sent to the Colony of Khorinis. The fire of the smithies burned day and night and the hammers of the artisans were constantly beating. Another man will be judged guilty today and sent to the mine. You are this man. Just another prisoner who will work for the rest of his life in the barrier. So they think anyway... THE WORLD OF GOTHIC Gothic 1 takes place inside a penal colony on the island of Khorinis and Gothic 2 takes place partly in the mine valley known from the prequel and the town of Khorinis, adding lush forests and several beautiful farms. In Gothic 1 the prison colony is surrounded by a magical barrier to keep the prisoners inside. Somehow the barrier expanded too much, swallowing more land than was expected and thus trapping a group of mages inside. There are three camps: The Swamp Camp where weed harvesting acolytes pray for the Sleeper, sort of a reincarnation or important leader in the forces of Beliar . The Swamp Camp plays an important role in the game, because of the vicinity of the Orcs and most of the main quests take place there. The Old Camp, originally the only camp in the colony, is governed by the ore barons that control the ore trade with the king. The king, who is hard pressed defending his land against invading Orcs must trade the highly valuable metal with the penal colony in order to stand a chance against his enemies, making the ore barons the richest and most powerful leaders in the colony. Inside the Old Camp is a small group of fire mages who pray to their god Innos , the creator of all. The Old Camp has one ore mine called The Old Mine, because it is the biggest and oldest of the mines. The New Camp consists of prisoners who got tired of the complacency shown by the ore barons. Some of them have become mercenaries, other provide food for the camp by maintaining rice fields; they help themselves instead of trading ore with the outside world. Inside the New Camp, a group of water mages, who pray to the god Adanos , the god of balance, made this place their headquarter. They are researching means to get free and believe that blowing the barrier to pieces with the power of the magical ore will bring them freedom. The player can choose which camp to join but the quests get increasingly linear and the distinctions between the different factions wane in the latter parts of the game. In Gothic 2, the barrier has fallen and escaped prisoners have been flooding through the pass to Khorinis, endangering the city that has the same name as the island it stands on: Khorinis. The nameless hero has been saved by Xardas the Necromancer from the ruins of the Sleeper. Barely alive, he must gather his strength and defeat the dragons. The colony was left without workers, forcing the king to send an expedition into the mine-valley known from Gothic 1 to get the ore. The valley is overrun by Orcs who took over the lands after the humans left and are besieging the paladins in the Old Camp. The Old Camp has been burned down by dragons and orcs and only the inner castle remains. A large wall has been erected to the west side of the valley, making the Swamp Camp inaccessible. The New Camp has been abandoned also and is covered in snow for some strange reason. GAMES
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