Swen Vincke is the bossman at Larian, they of the Divinity games and now ambitious Dragon Commander, and he’s taking his studio in a bold new direction: free of the publisher contract, they are going to develop and publish the game themselves. Vincke talks about this strategy – and few other issues like the real reason people said the PC was “dead” – in this wide-ranging and fascinating interview.
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Posts Tagged ‘Dragon Commander’
Flying High
Interview: Dragon Commander Commander
By Jim Rossignol on January 26th, 2012.
Larian: Retail Important To Indie PC Studios
By Jim Rossignol on January 25th, 2012.
In an interview to be published tomorrow on RPS, Larian boss Swen Vincke argues that digital delivery should not necessarily be seen as the dominant channel for PC games distribution, and argues that retail could be valuable for self-publishing studios such as his: “Nowadays people are all talking about the indie revolution and the power of digital distribution, but retail has always been the powerbase of publishers and remains very important as a sales channel. It is still the dominant sales channel, in fact.”
When asked whether retail was still an option for self-publishing on PC he replied: “Of course it is! We did a deal in Germany with a local distributor for the last Divinity game and we sold more than 100,000 units in Germany alone. Convert that into revenue. That’s quite a lot of revenue.” Larian are intending to self-fund and publish Dragon Commander, after having moved toward self-publishing their previous games and taking more revenue than they would have done with a straight up publisher deal. More tomorrow!
The Jet Set: Dragon Commander Videos
By Adam Smith on September 5th, 2011.
If dragons with jetpacks and skeleton princesses are your favourite things, Dragon Commander is being created specifically for you. It’s not often such niche tastes are accounted for, so count yourself very lucky indeed. Alec was pleasantly surprised during his encounter with Larian Studios’ RPG, strategy, dragon-action hybrid at Gamescom a couple of weeks ago and now a developer walkthrough has found its way online in video form. It’s the same section of the game that Alec saw so there’s nothing explicitly new here, but it’s good to realise the article wasn’t the product of a fever-dream. The world map truly is reminiscent of Small World and there really is a skeleton princess wearing fruit wedged into a corset in order to crudely simulate the fully-fleshed female form. It’s in two parts and is well worth a watch, if only for the nonchalant way in which the jetpack is introduced.
"The one where you marry a skeleton"
Diviner Divinity: Dragon Commander Preview
By Alec Meer on August 24th, 2011.
If I hadn’t spent an hour playing Saint’s Row: The Third, Larian Studios’ Dragon Commander would comfortably be the oddest game I saw at Gamescom. It’s not odd through and through, however – in fact it’s a focused, ambitious and visually gorgeous brew of roleplaying, strategy and aerial combat, with all manner of batshit silliness peppered about its surface.
It’s already found some notoriety due to the decision to feature a dragon fitted with a jetpack. Smiles Farhang Namdar, lead game designer, “that caused a lot of comments on your site!” It is, however, a decision I am 100% behind. It looks great, it justifies the roaring speed that dragon is capable of, and it makes Dragon Commander instantly distinctive, not rote fantasy. There’s so much more going on than improbable dragon mobility aids, however.
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Divinity II Devs Declare Dragon Commander
By John Walker on August 11th, 2011.
Divinity II devs, Larian Studios, have announced their next game. Continuing their fondness for winged lizards, this time it’s all about “massive dragon combat” in Dragon Commander. A turn-based strategy-cum-RPG, it’s of course set in the Divinity universe – although within what they’re calling an “Art Nouveau/Steampunk world” – and they’re promising it will “break new ground”. You can see the first video of it below.
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