Mama Robotnik
Member
There was an event a good few weeks ago now that I wanted to write a thread about. It was one of the most surreal experiences Ive ever had as a gamer. This is a bit different to my normal threads, it might be a bit too LiveJournal like for some tastes. Personal recollections are not my usual writing style, so it might come across as a bit clumsy. There's also a disclaimer at the end too.
The Context
The Legacy of Kain series had been dead since the release of 2003s Defiance. During the franchises peak (1998-2002), there was an online community of thousands of gamers discussing the intricacies of every line of dialogue. We hacked the games, created our own save files, discovered masses of cut content, and pieced together abandoned plot points. Artists and musicians produced some fantastic fan works, amateur swordsmiths forged their own versions of the Soul Reaver sword, and the clan symbols littered throughout the games inspired banners and tattoos. It was a fun time.
As the years passed by, this community faded as gamers naturally moved on. A few dedicated fans kept records of the story and behind-the-scenes discoveries long-lived websites such as TheLostWorlds, Dark Chronicle, Legacy of Kain Wiki, The Ancients Den, and others kept updating. I had occasional contact with many of these dedicated fans over the decade. We were happy that Amy Hennig (Soul Reaver) found new fame at Naughty Dog, and saddened as Denis Dyack (Blood Omen) rose and fell. The discoveries of the cancelled The Dark Prophecy and Dead Sun, and the seemingly-unsubstantiated rumours of a Soul Reaver Remake, were interesting but disheartening. Companies were bought and sold, and the Legacy of Kain series seemed to be a dead IP in the vaults of Square Enix. There were rumours of a multiplayer game of some sorts, which seemed very unusual.
The Invitation
We get to Summer 2013, and something bloody strange happened.
I received an ambiguous email from a very pleasant Square Enix representative, asking if Id like to be involved in something. Given that I had only recently exposed the cancellation of Dead Sun I was somewhat surprised at the gesture. I replied that Id like to know what they had planned.
The explanation was given: Square Enix wanted to host the first ever Legacy of Kain fan event at their London studios. They were deadly serious about this. Dont live in the UK? No problem, well pay for your flight and hotel. Dont live in London? No worries, well sort out a train. They were very, very eager to do this, and had invited the webmasters of the remaining major Legacy of Kain websites along with myself.
They told us by email that theyd been working on Nosgoth which indeed was a multiplayer game, and wanted to use this event to present their game to us. It was a really intriguing prospect: a chance to play a game before its completion, to attend a game studio, and most excitedly, to meet international LOK fans who I had interacted with online for the last ten years and never expected to actually meet in person.... for free. Id have been mad not to accept.
I spent a few weeks speculating. Would this UK branch of Square Enix actually know anything about the series? What if I turn up and its awkward, particularly with my expose on Dead Sun? What if the new game is terrible, what would I say?
The Evening Before
Time eventually passed and the weekend arrived. I got the train down to London and accepted my reservation at a hotel near to the Square Enix Wimbledon studio. The invited Legacy of Kain fans a group of approximately fifteen people, had agreed to meet for the first time ever in the evening, down in the hotel lobby.
I didnt have any life experience to prepare me for this. Fifteen so people, who have never met each other in person, from vastly different backgrounds. Would we get along?
It was surreal, we clicked immediately. On a long table in the hotel restaurant, we chatted for hours about our love for the Kain games. Almost everyone favoured either Soul Reaver 1 or Blood Omen 1. Everyone mocked Blood Omen 2 mercilessly (Did Kain have Brain Damage in that game, serious question?). We chatted about our concerns about the multiplayer game we were about to see. It was quite strange that, for a series so centered around blood, killing and time-travel revenge, the fans were some of the nicest and most approachable people Ive ever met. I spent a fantastic evening with them.
The Day
The morning came, and it was time to visit Square Enix. We were welcomed at the entrance of the Wimbledon studio, and led through some very nice looking offices. The walls had a lot of artwork for upcoming games, the new FF and Kingdom Hearts, and a wall dedicated to the new Thief. There was a life-sized statue of Lara Croft, and some development Xboxes near one of the biggest TVs Ive ever seen. We were led into a large room with massive banners, our first look at the artwork for Nosgoth.
Square Enixs community manager George Kelion (aka Monkeythumbz) introduced himself, and the Nosgoth team a company called Psyonix. There was a ten-computer LAN setup in place, loads of snacks and drinks, seats and a presentation screen. Everyone got a drink and mingled for about twenty minutes, and we settled down for a presentation.
We watched an introduction trailer (which I think was very similar, if not identical, to the one which was eventually released a few weeks ago). We were invited to ask questions, and it became quite quickly apparent that they knew their series lore. I began to form an impression: the team had been commissioned by Square Enix to make a free to play multiplayer Legacy of Kain game. The team took this non-negotiable concept, and aimed to weave it into the existing mythos as devoutly as they could. They had researched obscure tidbits of background story only present in early releases of the SR1 instruction manual, and had established an entire faction on a very obscure Blood Omen character. Theyd used some of the concepts that never made it into some of the games. They talked of the themes of the series, and how they had enjoyed looking through all the games to find a place where the story of their multiplayer war could fit in.
Their enthusiasm was somewhat infectious. The most important thing would be, of course, if the game was actually going to be any good. A structure was established. Wed be split into teams, and would play some matches against one another. Winners would go through to a final match to win a prize.
The Game
Finally, I had the chance to play the game. Nosgoth is a third-person deathmatch game of sorts, set in the era between Soul Reavers intro sequence, and the resurrection of Raziel. Each round consists of two matches: in the first match Team A play the vampires, and Team B play the humans, and vice versa in the second match. Both sides goal is to kill each other, as you might expect from the genre. If you are interested, I can describe the experience of playing each side:
Humans: My favourite faction. Humans come in (so far) three classes, and all use projectile weapons. They have supers such as spawning walls of flames, or binding vampires in launched manacles. They have comparatively little health compared to their vampire counterparts, but can recharge their health at multiple healing sites within each level. The best strategy we seemed to work out, was to keep the humans together, and move round as a team picking off overconfident vampires from a distance.
Vampires: Tough units who make up for their lack of projectiles with brute force. They have far more exotic abilities than the humans stealth, flight, running up walls to name a few. They have a lot of health, but can only regain lost points by drinking blood out of human corpses. This leads to an interesting dynamic in which vampires race to the same corpse, creating tension in the overpowered team that contrasts the harmony of the human faction.
We only played rounds in two environments, and I developed a fondness for two units in particular: The Sisters of Anacrothe A cult of pyromancers who can turn the environment into fields of vampire-burning fire; and the Turelim a brute force vampire unit that charges into battle with its human-crushing bulk. I started seeing hints at deeper strategies, such as vampires pouncing out on humans near the human healing sites, and humans keeping watch on corpses, and taking down vampires who tried to feed on the blood within.
Despite little experience with the genre, our team won. I definitely had fun with it.
As the day drew to a close, we were given the chance to give some direct feedback to the developers. Some things they couldnt tell us, but a repeated point was that they hoped the free to play model of the game would allow considerable expansion if it was successful. I cant remember all the raised points, but a recurring concern from the fans was the need for more visual imagery that echoed the rest of the series: more familiar locations, vampire clan symbols, etc. A really good point raised by a fellow fan was for the inclusion of female vampires in the ranks. Unfortunately at this point I had a train to catch, and had to leave a short time before all the other attendees.
It was a remarkable weekend, and probably my most surreal experience as a gamer. As much fun as it was to visit a development studio, and play a genuine work-in-progress game, my most memorable moments were meeting fellow fans from all over the world for the first time, all paid for by Square. The Legacy of Kain fans are awesome people.
The Feedback
In the weeks that followed, Square Enix sent out feedback forms and asked for our individual input. It made me think about the game, and put into words what I would like to see in the final product. Away from the shock of just being at their studio, the excitement faded and I had a chance to cement my impressions.
First of all, its a fun game. When the last round ended, I was ready to play further. I felt that there were nuances to some of the classes I was only just beginning to uncover.
Is it a Legacy of Kain game though? I think its on its way to being. At the visit to the studio, I saw a passion from the development team for the story of the series. I want to see more of this passion. In my written feedback, I expressed a wish to see more story, in whatever form fits into their multiplayer model. How about unlockable story chunks that tell tales of Nosgoths war tied to Steam achievements, or lore linked to lost artifacts found in the field of combat? How about statues and murals telling us biased and romanticised events of recent past a recurring lore mechanic in the previous games to give the world more depth? How about gradual changes to the appearance of high-level vampires, showing transitionary stages between their human origins and their eventual bestial devolved appearances in Soul Reaver?
I told Square Enix that I hoped to see more character classes, and more familiar environments. I also hope hope hope that the Free to Play model doesnt lean towards pay to win. I hope there are more combat modes, and more imaginative super abilities. I feel they have a good start to build on here. I want more abilities, more classes, and more depth to the fiction of the war. Having met the team, I am optimistic that this is achievable.
The Conclusion
My desire for a single-player Legacy of Kain is paramount, especially after an absurd amount of false starts (and these cancelled games are just the ones I know about!). I wanted Kain II, Dark Prophecy and Dead Sun, and still hope for a vast single-player epic in my favourite game universe starring a certain time-travelling vampire. Nosgoth is not that game, but it is something else of note: an enjoyable and quite different game that will be free, looks good so far, plays smoothly for something that is still work-in-progress, and shows us a different era that (in my view) settles in quite well with the pre-existing lore. I want another single-player game, but I want to play Nosgoth too.
The Disclosure
I think this bit is really important for transparency. Square Enix paid approx £35 for me to get the train to London and back, and approx £98 for my hotel room overnight. They provided snacks, a goody bag with miscellaneous Nosgoth paraphernalia (mouse mats, t-shirts, etc). They also held a tournament which my team won, and we were each given a sealed Kain action figure from the Soul Reaver release line as a prize, not sure how much it is worth. In no way did I (or anyone else who attended as far as I am aware) agree to write anything regarding the game, and at no point did Square Enix try to coerce or encourage any positive article or posts. I originally intended to post this thread ages ago but other commitments (holiday abroad and a poorly cat) have kept me mostly offline.
Thanks for reading.
The Context
The Legacy of Kain series had been dead since the release of 2003s Defiance. During the franchises peak (1998-2002), there was an online community of thousands of gamers discussing the intricacies of every line of dialogue. We hacked the games, created our own save files, discovered masses of cut content, and pieced together abandoned plot points. Artists and musicians produced some fantastic fan works, amateur swordsmiths forged their own versions of the Soul Reaver sword, and the clan symbols littered throughout the games inspired banners and tattoos. It was a fun time.
As the years passed by, this community faded as gamers naturally moved on. A few dedicated fans kept records of the story and behind-the-scenes discoveries long-lived websites such as TheLostWorlds, Dark Chronicle, Legacy of Kain Wiki, The Ancients Den, and others kept updating. I had occasional contact with many of these dedicated fans over the decade. We were happy that Amy Hennig (Soul Reaver) found new fame at Naughty Dog, and saddened as Denis Dyack (Blood Omen) rose and fell. The discoveries of the cancelled The Dark Prophecy and Dead Sun, and the seemingly-unsubstantiated rumours of a Soul Reaver Remake, were interesting but disheartening. Companies were bought and sold, and the Legacy of Kain series seemed to be a dead IP in the vaults of Square Enix. There were rumours of a multiplayer game of some sorts, which seemed very unusual.
The Invitation
We get to Summer 2013, and something bloody strange happened.
I received an ambiguous email from a very pleasant Square Enix representative, asking if Id like to be involved in something. Given that I had only recently exposed the cancellation of Dead Sun I was somewhat surprised at the gesture. I replied that Id like to know what they had planned.
The explanation was given: Square Enix wanted to host the first ever Legacy of Kain fan event at their London studios. They were deadly serious about this. Dont live in the UK? No problem, well pay for your flight and hotel. Dont live in London? No worries, well sort out a train. They were very, very eager to do this, and had invited the webmasters of the remaining major Legacy of Kain websites along with myself.
They told us by email that theyd been working on Nosgoth which indeed was a multiplayer game, and wanted to use this event to present their game to us. It was a really intriguing prospect: a chance to play a game before its completion, to attend a game studio, and most excitedly, to meet international LOK fans who I had interacted with online for the last ten years and never expected to actually meet in person.... for free. Id have been mad not to accept.
I spent a few weeks speculating. Would this UK branch of Square Enix actually know anything about the series? What if I turn up and its awkward, particularly with my expose on Dead Sun? What if the new game is terrible, what would I say?
The Evening Before
Time eventually passed and the weekend arrived. I got the train down to London and accepted my reservation at a hotel near to the Square Enix Wimbledon studio. The invited Legacy of Kain fans a group of approximately fifteen people, had agreed to meet for the first time ever in the evening, down in the hotel lobby.
I didnt have any life experience to prepare me for this. Fifteen so people, who have never met each other in person, from vastly different backgrounds. Would we get along?
It was surreal, we clicked immediately. On a long table in the hotel restaurant, we chatted for hours about our love for the Kain games. Almost everyone favoured either Soul Reaver 1 or Blood Omen 1. Everyone mocked Blood Omen 2 mercilessly (Did Kain have Brain Damage in that game, serious question?). We chatted about our concerns about the multiplayer game we were about to see. It was quite strange that, for a series so centered around blood, killing and time-travel revenge, the fans were some of the nicest and most approachable people Ive ever met. I spent a fantastic evening with them.
The Day
The morning came, and it was time to visit Square Enix. We were welcomed at the entrance of the Wimbledon studio, and led through some very nice looking offices. The walls had a lot of artwork for upcoming games, the new FF and Kingdom Hearts, and a wall dedicated to the new Thief. There was a life-sized statue of Lara Croft, and some development Xboxes near one of the biggest TVs Ive ever seen. We were led into a large room with massive banners, our first look at the artwork for Nosgoth.
Square Enixs community manager George Kelion (aka Monkeythumbz) introduced himself, and the Nosgoth team a company called Psyonix. There was a ten-computer LAN setup in place, loads of snacks and drinks, seats and a presentation screen. Everyone got a drink and mingled for about twenty minutes, and we settled down for a presentation.
We watched an introduction trailer (which I think was very similar, if not identical, to the one which was eventually released a few weeks ago). We were invited to ask questions, and it became quite quickly apparent that they knew their series lore. I began to form an impression: the team had been commissioned by Square Enix to make a free to play multiplayer Legacy of Kain game. The team took this non-negotiable concept, and aimed to weave it into the existing mythos as devoutly as they could. They had researched obscure tidbits of background story only present in early releases of the SR1 instruction manual, and had established an entire faction on a very obscure Blood Omen character. Theyd used some of the concepts that never made it into some of the games. They talked of the themes of the series, and how they had enjoyed looking through all the games to find a place where the story of their multiplayer war could fit in.
Their enthusiasm was somewhat infectious. The most important thing would be, of course, if the game was actually going to be any good. A structure was established. Wed be split into teams, and would play some matches against one another. Winners would go through to a final match to win a prize.
The Game
Finally, I had the chance to play the game. Nosgoth is a third-person deathmatch game of sorts, set in the era between Soul Reavers intro sequence, and the resurrection of Raziel. Each round consists of two matches: in the first match Team A play the vampires, and Team B play the humans, and vice versa in the second match. Both sides goal is to kill each other, as you might expect from the genre. If you are interested, I can describe the experience of playing each side:
Humans: My favourite faction. Humans come in (so far) three classes, and all use projectile weapons. They have supers such as spawning walls of flames, or binding vampires in launched manacles. They have comparatively little health compared to their vampire counterparts, but can recharge their health at multiple healing sites within each level. The best strategy we seemed to work out, was to keep the humans together, and move round as a team picking off overconfident vampires from a distance.
Vampires: Tough units who make up for their lack of projectiles with brute force. They have far more exotic abilities than the humans stealth, flight, running up walls to name a few. They have a lot of health, but can only regain lost points by drinking blood out of human corpses. This leads to an interesting dynamic in which vampires race to the same corpse, creating tension in the overpowered team that contrasts the harmony of the human faction.
We only played rounds in two environments, and I developed a fondness for two units in particular: The Sisters of Anacrothe A cult of pyromancers who can turn the environment into fields of vampire-burning fire; and the Turelim a brute force vampire unit that charges into battle with its human-crushing bulk. I started seeing hints at deeper strategies, such as vampires pouncing out on humans near the human healing sites, and humans keeping watch on corpses, and taking down vampires who tried to feed on the blood within.
Despite little experience with the genre, our team won. I definitely had fun with it.
As the day drew to a close, we were given the chance to give some direct feedback to the developers. Some things they couldnt tell us, but a repeated point was that they hoped the free to play model of the game would allow considerable expansion if it was successful. I cant remember all the raised points, but a recurring concern from the fans was the need for more visual imagery that echoed the rest of the series: more familiar locations, vampire clan symbols, etc. A really good point raised by a fellow fan was for the inclusion of female vampires in the ranks. Unfortunately at this point I had a train to catch, and had to leave a short time before all the other attendees.
It was a remarkable weekend, and probably my most surreal experience as a gamer. As much fun as it was to visit a development studio, and play a genuine work-in-progress game, my most memorable moments were meeting fellow fans from all over the world for the first time, all paid for by Square. The Legacy of Kain fans are awesome people.
The Feedback
In the weeks that followed, Square Enix sent out feedback forms and asked for our individual input. It made me think about the game, and put into words what I would like to see in the final product. Away from the shock of just being at their studio, the excitement faded and I had a chance to cement my impressions.
First of all, its a fun game. When the last round ended, I was ready to play further. I felt that there were nuances to some of the classes I was only just beginning to uncover.
Is it a Legacy of Kain game though? I think its on its way to being. At the visit to the studio, I saw a passion from the development team for the story of the series. I want to see more of this passion. In my written feedback, I expressed a wish to see more story, in whatever form fits into their multiplayer model. How about unlockable story chunks that tell tales of Nosgoths war tied to Steam achievements, or lore linked to lost artifacts found in the field of combat? How about statues and murals telling us biased and romanticised events of recent past a recurring lore mechanic in the previous games to give the world more depth? How about gradual changes to the appearance of high-level vampires, showing transitionary stages between their human origins and their eventual bestial devolved appearances in Soul Reaver?
I told Square Enix that I hoped to see more character classes, and more familiar environments. I also hope hope hope that the Free to Play model doesnt lean towards pay to win. I hope there are more combat modes, and more imaginative super abilities. I feel they have a good start to build on here. I want more abilities, more classes, and more depth to the fiction of the war. Having met the team, I am optimistic that this is achievable.
The Conclusion
My desire for a single-player Legacy of Kain is paramount, especially after an absurd amount of false starts (and these cancelled games are just the ones I know about!). I wanted Kain II, Dark Prophecy and Dead Sun, and still hope for a vast single-player epic in my favourite game universe starring a certain time-travelling vampire. Nosgoth is not that game, but it is something else of note: an enjoyable and quite different game that will be free, looks good so far, plays smoothly for something that is still work-in-progress, and shows us a different era that (in my view) settles in quite well with the pre-existing lore. I want another single-player game, but I want to play Nosgoth too.
The Disclosure
I think this bit is really important for transparency. Square Enix paid approx £35 for me to get the train to London and back, and approx £98 for my hotel room overnight. They provided snacks, a goody bag with miscellaneous Nosgoth paraphernalia (mouse mats, t-shirts, etc). They also held a tournament which my team won, and we were each given a sealed Kain action figure from the Soul Reaver release line as a prize, not sure how much it is worth. In no way did I (or anyone else who attended as far as I am aware) agree to write anything regarding the game, and at no point did Square Enix try to coerce or encourage any positive article or posts. I originally intended to post this thread ages ago but other commitments (holiday abroad and a poorly cat) have kept me mostly offline.
Thanks for reading.