Xicat Interactive Press Release October 24, 2001

Xicat Interactive introduces Gothic Platform: PC CD ROM Genre: Fantasy RPG Anticipated Release: 26/11/2001 Number of Players: One Retail: £29.99 Developer: Piranha Bytes Barcode: 5060023 731133

In Dark Troubled Times A Man Will Rise up to Change The Face of an Empire

The Game When you enter the world of Gothic you must prepare to be consumed by a landscape unlike any you will have encountered before and when you take on the challenge of Gothic you must be prepared to face your ultimate quest. Against the backdrop of a landscape savaged by war, the King of the human territories must find enough ore to forge weapons for his army to use in defence against the Orc Hordes. The King’s mines are set in a large magical sphere and are worked by prisoners captured from across the kingdom. And it is into this sphere that you are thrown, charged with the task of delivering a letter – a letter that might just mark the turning point in the war against the Orcs. According to Steve Brown, Xi cat’s Director of European Sales, ‘This is probably one of the most anticipated releases in the genre of RPG, the title has been in development for 4 years and has achieved excellent sales at its German launch back in March of this year. I am sure that we will see equal success for the title throughout Europe and the USA’.

Game Play The Gothic world is constantly changing and evolving: events will occur that can alter the relationships between several groups of characters. NPCs are fully rounded with their own daily habits and relationships: they get up, work, go to bed, chat with each other and so on. More significantly, monsters cooperate with each other and are able to figure things out; they have individual perception. Some can be lured with food or noise, some will run away from bright light. Some can only hear or detect movement.

Michael Hoge, Chief Designer at Piranha Bytes warns, ‘Every monster has his own strengths and weaknesses, which are there to find. Whoever dares to blunder into every fight chopping his way through monsters ten to the dozen, will soon find the tables turned – on himself!’

It is the attention to detail that has been lavished upon the individual which has helped to create such a convincing social structure and has resulted in Gothic being brought so effectively to life.

Stefan Nyul warns, ‘The inhabitants will reprove you if you do something wrong and help you if you help them. But they also have enemies, that think differently. What you do matters, it makes a difference to the inhabitants and to life as you know it.........’.

Throughout the game you will encounter many different riddles – the solving of which will enable you to locate more powerful weapons or better equipment. It is possible, however, to still progress through the game solving only the simpler riddles.

Alex Bruggemann, Production Manager at Piranha Bytes comments, ‘We have taken great care to make the game control as easy as possible – you won’t have to keep a constant eye on a mass of character statistics. After all, it’s much more fun to concentrate on the story and the world around you without being thrown of course by a few numbers’.

Graphics and effects Each character has the ability, with the correct training, to improve particular skills as the game progresses: training with the master of the sword, for example, will result in a character displaying noticeably more skilled swordsmanship. It is so much more satisfying to witness the effect of the skills you have learnt when they are visible in your character as oppose to a meaningless number rating, improving say, from 8 to 10. These ‘optical’ improvements are for the whole range of skills included in Gothic. The two different classes of magic (which are absolutely independent from each other) work along the same lines.

Features · Self intuitive game play · Communication with over 250 NPCs · NPCs have the ability to act upon recorded information · Extensive soundtrack and re-playable story lines

About Xicat Xicat Interactive is a worldwide leader in the interactive entertainment software industry. The profitable company is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, USA, with offices in London, England and Zurich, Switzerland, the company publishes award-winning computer and video games for the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation® 2 game console, Nintendo® 64, Nintendo® Game Boy® Color, Sega® Dreamcast’, and personal computer platforms. Visit their Web site at www.xicat.com

Press Contact: Ruth Chaloner on 01223 701451 or email [email protected]

Source:

Pressrelease Xicat Interactive

Gothic

War has waged across the kingdom of Myrtana,
orcish hordes invaded human territory and the king
of the land needs a lot of ore to forge enough weapons
for his army to stand against this threat.
Whoever breaks the law in these darkest of times is
sentenced to serve in the giant penal-colony of Khorinis,
mining the so much needed ore.

The whole area is surrounded by a magical barrier,
a sphere of two kilometers diameter, sealing off the
penal colony from the outside world.
The barrier can be passed from the outside in- but once
inside, nobody can escape.

You are thrown into this prison innocently and in order
to survive, you have to learn to fight and dominate
opposing forces until you can finally escape.

Features:

-Action oriented Roleplaying game -3rd person view **-tightly woven stroy with lots of

different quests and riddles -Weapons, gear and talent are instantly

visible on the character -intelligent monsters that cooperate

with each other -HUGE indoor- and outdoor-worlds! -Simple keyboard controlling -amazing amount of detail: music

changes cues with the changing

landscape and events**

Source:

Back of the Cover - Windows (Worldwide)

*Es herrscht Krieg im Königreich der Menschen. Von Norden her fallen Scharen von Orks in das Land ein. Um die Kampfkraft der knöiglichen Armee zu erhalten, sind die Schmiede des Reiches unentwegt damit beschäftigt, neue Waffen anzufertigen. Diejenigen, die in dieser Zeit das Gesetz brechen, trifft ein hartes Los: Sie werden zu Zwangsarbeiten in der Strafkolonie verurteilt, wo sie tief aus der Erde das ERZ fördern, das für die Herstellung von Waffen benötigt wird.

Das gesamte Gebiet ist von einer magischen Barriere umschlossen; einer Sphäre von zweitausend Meter Durchmesser, die das Gefängnis wie eine Kuppel umspannt. Von außen kann die Barriere problemlos passiert werden; aber kein lebendiges Wesen kann aus ihr entkommen.

Unschuldig wist du in dieses Gefängnis geworfen uns mußt dich dort gegenüber feindlichen Kreaturen behaupten. Für dich gibt es ab sofort nur noch ein Ziel: Zu überleben, um dann irgendwann zu entfliehen.

Features * Aktionsorientiertes Rollenspiel * 3rd Person View * Dichte Story mit vielen verschiedenen Aufträgen und Rätseln * Waffen, Ausrüstung und Talente sind am Spielercharakter sofort sichtbar * Intelligente Monster, die untereinander kooperieren * Riesige In- und Outdoor Welten * Einfache Bedienung mit wenigen Tasten * Detailreichtum: wechselnde Musikeffekte unterstreichen die verschiedenen Locations*

Source:

Back of Jewel Case - Budget release (Germany)

In dark, troubled times, a man will rise up to change the fate of an empire.

That man, is you.

Embark on a timeless adventure in Gothic, a brilliantly woven action-RPG of epic proportions. In the dark land of Myrtana, a rebellious insurrection has begun, isolating the people in an un-penetrable barrier. Meanwhile, the armies of evil are mounting in the neighboring lands, ready to take the kingdom by storm. You are the one warrior who can unite the land again, and save Myrtana from total destruction.

Features

• 3D Action-Adventure RPG with over 100 hours of exciting gameplay.
• Epic, non-linear storyline with multiple endings and limitless gameplay possibilities.
• Living, breathing game world: People and creatures go to work, eat, sleep, and have distinct memories!
• Classless character system lets you play as any type of player, from a powerful warrior to a cunning wizard, or gain skills from any set!
• Hundreds of weapons, spells, items and artifacts to equip and use.
• Winner of countless awards and acclaims.

Source:

Back of Box - Windows (US)

Весь мир - театр, а люди в нём - актёры? Только не здесь! Здесь мир - тюрьма, и люди в нём - заключённые. И именно отсюда берёт своё начало великая легенда.

Всё началось с войны с орками, для победы в которой людям была нужна руда. Её добывали заключённые, у которых отняли будущее: жестокий король приказал магам навечно закрыть их на рудниках под волшебным куполом. Живым существам дорога сквозь него была открыта лишь в одном направлении - внутрь. Приказ был выполнен, но из-за роковой ошибки купол накрыл слишком большую территорию: в тюрьму превратилась целая страна.

Под этим куполом суждено оказаться и вам. За что... А разве это важно? Ведь вы никогда не вернётесь в мир свободных. По крайней мере, так думают ваши судьи. Мы же думаем, что вам выпал шанс стать героем удивительных приключений. Героем великой легенды!

Особенности игры

• приключенческая ролевая игра с небывалой свободой действий открывает путь в средневековую вселенную, пронизанную магией;
• лагеря разбойников и башни магов сменяют огромные пещеры, подзмелья и логова чудовищ;
• нелинейный сюжет и более 200 превосходно озвученных персонажей вдыхают жизнь в каждое мгновение игры;
• один из самых удачных искусственных интеллектов в истории жанра (AI) создает реалистичную атмосферу взаимодействия с окружающим миром;
• приобретаемые навыки и характеристики немедленно находят свое визуальное воплощение в главном персонаже, избавляя от бесконечных цифр и статистики;
• графический движок обеспечивает высочайшее качество графики и спецэфектов, анимацию мимики и высокую детализацию людей и сказочных существ.

Source:

http://games.1c.ru/gothic/

Über dieses Spiel

Im Königreich von Myrtana herrscht Krieg. Horden von Orks sind in das Gebiet der Menschen eingefallen und der König des Landes benötigt eine Unmenge an Erz, um genügend Waffen zu schmieden, damit seine Armee dieser Bedrohung standhalten kann. Jeder der sich nicht nach dem Gesetz hält, wird in diesen dunklen Zeiten in die riesige Strafkolonie von Khorinis geschickt, um dort das so nötige Erz abzubauen. Die gesamte Gegend, die als "Die Kolonie" bezeichnet wird, wird von einer magischen Grenze umgeben; einem Bereich mit einem Durchmesser von zwei Kilometern, der die Strafkolonie vom Rest der Welt komplett abschottet. Die Grenze kann von außen nach innen überquert werden, aber wer einmal drin ist kann nie wieder entkommen. Die Grenze wurde aber zu einem zweischneidigen Schwert, denn die Gefangenen haben dadurch eine Möglichkeit zur Revolte gesehen. Die Kolonie wurde nun in drei feindliche Gruppen eingeteilt, und der König war gezwungen, für sein Erz einen Handel einzugehen und nicht nur einfach darauf Anspruch zu erheben. Sie werden über die Grenze mitten in dieses Gefängnis geworfen. Sie stehen mit dem Rücken zur Wand, müssen versuchen zu überleben und unbeständige Allianzen eingehen bis Sie am Ende entkommen können.

Eigenschaften beinhalten:

• Eines der größten RPGs mit über 100 Stunden an Spielvergnügen
• Eine Vielzahl an Waffen und Zaubersprüchen stehen Ihnen zur Verfügung
• Eine lebendige Welt in der Leute zur Arbeit gehen, schlafen, essen und ums Überleben kämpfen

Source:

store.steampowered.com (German)