RPGVault has conducted an interview with Project Director Bernd Beyreuther to catch up on Drakensang.

Jonric: How significant will the story element be, and what are you doing to make this part of Drakensang stand out?

Bernd Beyreuther: Drakenang's story is one of its key elements. This game is no rush-through action hack and slay. The story has been the cornerstone since the start of the whole development process; you can even describe the game as story-driven.

Players will experience an epic story with unique characters. There were six original The Dark Eye authors who created the Drakensang story, dialogues and more than 80 unique characters that, of course, also got unique looks. In-game cutscenes support the story, which develops very intensely when you talk to other characters. We had a very special eye for all these characters that the player can take into his party. We are convinced they will easily find a way into the player's heart.

Jonric: How significant will the dialogues and other interactions with characters be within the overall gameplay?

Bernd Beyreuther: Dialogues are definitely another key element of Drakensang and its gameplay. They are mandatory for solving quests; we could even say they are the story's motor.

We expanded the classical multiple choice dialogue system to make it more dynamic. Dialogue skills like beguiling or convincing will mean conversations never run the same. It is important for the player to get immersed into the story, to engage in dialogues; otherwise, he won't be able to complete various quests, or even get them.

Link: Drakensang interview on RPGVault.

The biggest foreseeable problem for this game is the same problem any German product faces: localization. It is worrying that developer Radon Labs hasn't shown any active interest in the English-speaking market so far. On the other hand, their publisher Anaconda is a pretty large publishing house with a not-bad reputation in international publishing (they recently published Legend: Hand of God). In this RPG-starved time, it's time for a lot of RPG players to stretch their necks and watch the European market. However, Drakensang doesn't seem to be offering much beyond its great setting and RPG system, taking a somewhat uninspired approach towards combat and dialogue. This game is clearly one to watch, but without a clear impression of dialogue or quests I can't really endorse it blindly. Will it live up to the originals in writing and plot at least? If it does, this might end-up a must-have for RPG fans. If it disappoints in that area, it's not really offering much to please anyone, though it might still be something you might want to try in this time of few RPGs.