The dwarves (computer game)
| The dwarfs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | King Art | ||
| Publisher | THQ Nordic | ||
| composer | Benny Oschmann | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
December 1, 2016 | ||
| platform | Windows , Linux , Mac OS , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 | ||
| Game engine | Unity engine | ||
| genre | Computer role playing game | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Keyboard & mouse , game controller | ||
| medium | Download | ||
| language | German English | ||
| Age rating |
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Die Zwerge is a computer role-playing game by the Bremen developer King Art based on the book novel series of the same name by Markus Heitz . It recreates the events of the first book and puts the player in the role of the dwarf orphan Tungdil, who, together with a group of adventurers, has to protect the saved land from the threat of dark forces. The game was partially funded by a crowdfunding campaign and was released on December 1, 2016 for Windows , Linux , Mac OS , Xbox One and PlayStation 4 .
action
The plot of the game corresponds to the story of the first novel. The dwarf Tungdil grew up as a foundling with humans and has no knowledge of his people. His foster father is the Magus Lot-Ionan, who sends him on an errand to one of his former students. He begins to travel to the Safe Land, a region shielded from the outside world by mountain ranges, in which dwarves, humans and elves could live in relative security and peace for a long time. But this security is now threatened by hordes of orcs and the Albae, the evil relatives of the elves. Only the magi of the human kingdoms have been able to use their skills to save the kingdoms from ruin. However, the demon Nôd'onn is about to break the last defenses of the safe land. During his journey, Tungil gets deeper and deeper into the web of intrigues that Nôd'onn designed for the subjugation of the free peoples, and has to prevent this plan from working.
Gameplay
In the campaign by Die Zwerge , the focus is on traveling with a group of heroes through the game world and epic mass battles between this small group of heroes and hordes of enemies that are far superior in numbers. The real-time battles are action-packed, but require a tactical approach due to the number of opponents. The player can therefore interrupt the game at any time in order to give instructions to his hero characters. Since only four people from the fifteen-strong hero pool can take part in the fights, the player has to coordinate the use and skills of his characters. His behavior on the overland journey also plays a role in this, in which the group of heroes on a world map - similar to the computer game The Black Eye: The Blade of Fate and its successor - moves the group from place to place. Smaller side tasks for the inhabitants of the protected land loosen up the big battles of the framework and give the player certain freedom of choice. This allows stronger bonds to be established between Tungdil and his companions, which increase their efficiency in combat.
With a later update, three more game modes were added. In the Horde mode, the group of heroes faces ever stronger waves of opponents and tries to survive as long as possible. In the hunt mode orcs must be hunted with backpacks and any resistance removed. In the Time Trials mode, the opposing troops must be defeated as quickly as possible. For achievements there are points with which new heroes can be unlocked. Your own successes can be compared with those of other players on leaderboards.
development
| role | speaker |
|---|---|
| teller | Erich Rauker |
| Tungdil | Torben Liebrecht |
| Boëndal | Gerald Paradise |
| Boindil | Karl Schulz |
| Sinthoras | Johannes Steck |
| Nudin / Nôd'onn | Johannes Steck |
| Rodario | Johannes Steck |
| Giselbart | Jürgen Kluckert |
| Lot-Ionan | Kaspar Eichel |
| Frala | Gundi Eberhard |
| Glandallin | Horst lamp |
| Andôkai | Arianne Borbach |
| Gandogar | Oliver Stritzel |
| Gundrabur | Peter Groeger |
| Balendilín | Freimut Götsch |
| Bislipur | Gordon Piedesack |
| Bavragor | Andreas Wilde |
| Goïmgar | Stefan Krause |
| Narmora | Tanya Kahana |
| Furgas | Bernd Egger |
| Balyndis | Ranja Bonalana |
| Xamtys | Anke Reitzenstein |
| Giralda | Christiane Marx |
| Gerald | Marco Rosenberg |
| Jolosin | David Riedel |
| Tilogorn | Urs invoice |
The contact between author Markus Heitz and King Art came about through King Art employee Lukas Zach, who developed the official board game for the book series in his spare time. When the author mentioned to Zach that he could also imagine a computer game for his book series, Zach made the contact. Heitz gave the developer a free hand and supported the work mainly as a consultant. As a bonus to the game, he also designed a new companion character that wasn't in the book. The developers were inspired by film scenes from the Battle of Helm's Deep from The Lord of the Rings , in which a small group of heroes battles a huge army. Based on this, King Art developed his “physics-based crowd combat system”.
The work on the software implementation became known in July 2015. For the funding after Battle Worlds: Kronos and The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, King Art relied on a crowdfunding campaign via the online platform Kickstarter for the third time . King Art had provided a large part of the budget itself and for the first time was involved in financing its games on a larger scale. Completion was thus secured beforehand. However, the studio sought financial support from interested fans in order to implement all the desired features. The campaign started on September 1, 2015 with a funding goal of $ 260,000. By the end of the campaign in early October, a little more than 335,000 US dollars were raised, which allowed the production volume to be increased again slightly.
Development work on the first version was completed in September 2016, but the release was postponed to December 1. The reasons for this included a delay in the console manufacturer's approval process and the work on further bug fixes for a patch on the release date. This so-called day-one patch fixed major performance problems, especially on the consoles. In January 2017, the performance of the program was improved with another patch. An update released in March 2017 added the three new game modes Horde, Hunt and Time Trials and the difficulty level "very easy".
The soundtrack was composed by Benny Oschmann and recorded in parts with The Budapest Art Orchestra and Budapest Art Choir under the direction of Dany Dinyes and Petery Peytsik. In addition, the German metal band Blind Guardian could be won as supporters, who recorded the song Children of the Smith for the game , which can be heard in the credits and was also released as a music video. There is also a side mission as an Easter Egg in which the band appears in the dilapidated Wackenstein amphitheater. Contact to the band was made through Heitz.
reception
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The ratings of the game were mixed. On Metacritic , the game received an average rating of 61% for Windows, similarly for Xbox One (58%) and PS4 (60%).
“The audio enjoyment in Die Zwerge is in a class of its own. If you were to cut all the dialogues and texts of the game together, the result would be a good audio book. But I would have expected more from the actual role play. Of course, it is difficult to break away from a fixed story and to create space for your own stories and content. In some places the King Art Games succeeds, but overall it's not enough. "
"The story, the narrative, the characters and the world map were successful, if only it weren't for the chaotic and error-prone battles ...
The console versions suffer more from technical problems than the PC version."
According to Creative Director in January Theysen the game reached after only one month, the break-even point .
Web links
- The dwarves at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d The dwarfs in the PC test & review video: Well-told adventure with weaknesses in gameplay . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ a b The Dwarfs - Free update brings three new game modes - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ a b Ulrich Wimmeroth: The dwarfs: From fantasy epic to role-playing game. In: Red Bull. December 9, 2016, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ King Art: Implementation of the fantasy book series Die Zwerge planned - Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ a b Heads of the games industry: Interview Jan Theysen from KING Art. Accessed on October 14, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Die Zwerge: Kickstarter campaign started in order to be able to incorporate all planned features into the tactical role-playing game - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ King Art: The dwarves storm Kickstarter - Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ The Dwarves - Kickstarter finished, a stretch goal reached - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ Die Zwerge - RPG is finished, release will be postponed anyway - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ Die Zwerge: Probably not playable on Xbox One without Day One patch; Djerun in the trailer - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ The Dwarves - Performance Patch makes the Dwarves legs - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on October 13, 2018]).
- ↑ Die Zwerge: This is how the orchestral soundtrack came about - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ Die Zwerge & Blind Guardian - Music video "Children of the Smith" from the dwarf soundtrack - GameStar. Retrieved on October 13, 2018 (German).
- ↑ a b The Dwarves for PC Reviews. In: Metacritic . Retrieved July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ a b The Dwarves for PlayStation 4 Reviews. In: Metacritic . Retrieved July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ a b The Dwarves for Xbox One Reviews. In: Metacritic . Retrieved July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d Marcel Kleffmann: Die Zwerge - Test, role-playing game, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. In: 4Players . December 9, 2016, accessed July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c Linda Schult: Die Zwerge: RPG in the test. In: Computer Bild . December 9, 2016, accessed July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Sascha Penzhorn: The dwarfs in the test - little heroes, big stories. In: GameStar . November 28, 2016, accessed July 2, 2019 .
- ^ A b Leif Johnson: The Dwarves Review. In: IGN . December 1, 2016, accessed July 2, 2019 .
- ^ Ian Birnbaum: The Dwarves review. In: PC Gamer . December 19, 2016, accessed July 2, 2019 .