Gloranthan Computer Game

[Darius West]

There is literally only one company who could do a Gloranthan game and get it right, and Chaosium has already had dealings with them.  That would be Bethesda Softworks who do Elder Scrolls (which has major Gloranthan overtones), and Fallout etc.  In the past they did Call of C'thulhu; Dark Corners of the Earth.  With all the new source material available in Guide to Glorantha and all the amazing source material and adventures already out there, isn't it time that Glorantha finally landed the epic sandbox treatment?  I know King of Dragon Pass has experienced a new lease of life on mobile phones.  What are the chances of this happening?  Don't get me wrong, I love paper and pencil RPGs, but this would bring Glorantha to the general public and give it the attention it deserves.  Then all you precious hipster jerks can be all "I was into Glorantha before everyone knew about it" and lament how a new generation is discovering what you have devoted so many hours to making so cool.

[Pentallion]

Well, my grand master plan of winning the lottery so I can afford to make a computer game based in Pavis doesn't seem to be on schedule....

[David Scott]

David Dunham's Six Ages

with Robin Laws and Art by Jan Pospisill and many others.

http://sixages.com

https://twitter.com/sixages

Interview with David:

http://www.glorantha.com/tales-of-mythic-adventure-podcast-episode-5-season-1/

 

[Roko Joko]

There was an adventure game concept that got part way through licensing / pre-development 5 or 10 years ago.  Not much was announced about it.  Games are expensive.

Shout out to Age of Glorantha http://aow2.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=781 for wargaming in Dragon Pass.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Roko Joko

[Noita]

4 hours ago, Pentallion said:

Well, my grand master plan of winning the lottery so I can afford to make a computer game based in Pavis doesn't seem to be on schedule....

It would be my number 1 lottery project too.

[Yelm's Light]

Not for nothin', but you'd think he could've spent just a teensy bit more time on the website.  As far as advertising goes, Twitter isn't going to get the job done.

[g33k]

On 10/18/2016 at 8:43 AM, David Scott said:

David Dunham's Six Ages

with Robin Laws and Art by Jan Pospisill and many others.

http://sixages.com

https://twitter.com/sixages

Interview with David:

http://www.glorantha.com/tales-of-mythic-adventure-podcast-episode-5-season-1/

 

That looks really interesting... and I think not what the OP was asking for:  it seems like "KoDP 2" really.

If I understand correctly, the OP was looking for less a strategic / turn-based / cultural game ,  and more of an action+adventure / first-person / immersive-POV game (citing Elder Scrolls series & CoC:DCotE).

[Pentallion]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the computer games planned are great games - and not at all what the OP was asking for.  I'd love an Oblivion type computer game set in Pavis or Glorantha.  Which is not to say I don't play KoDP to death, it's just to say I'd love the other type of game to death too.

[Yelm's Light]

4 hours ago, g33k said:

That looks really interesting... and I think not what the OP was asking for:  it seems like "KoDP 2" really.

If I understand correctly, the OP was looking for less a strategic / turn-based / cultural game ,  and more of an action+adventure / first-person / immersive-POV game (citing Elder Scrolls series & CoC:DCotE).

I'd love to see it happen, but something like that would require an entire development team, which means a good-sized studio would have to get involved.  Unfortunately, I can hear the suits now:  not enough demand.

[Nick J.]

I don't think Bethesda would get the tone right. Don't get me wrong they make very pretty hiking simulators, but I suspect the game would be about as wide as the ocean and shallow as mud puddle -- they might get the visuals right and a grand sense of scale, but the actual themes and philosophical underpinnings? I dunno?

Maybe Bethesda fifteen years ago, when they were making Morrowind could pull it off?

[g33k]

Wow.  "pretty hiking simulators," really?

I take it you don't care for "Elder Scrolls"...  or CoC:DCotE .

[Pentallion]

2 hours ago, Nick J. said:

I don't think Bethesda would get the tone right. Don't get me wrong they make very pretty hiking simulators, but I suspect the game would be about as wide as the ocean and shallow as mud puddle -- they might get the visuals right and a grand sense of scale, but the actual themes and philosophical underpinnings? I dunno?

Maybe Bethesda fifteen years ago, when they were making Morrowind could pull it off?

That's funny, cuz when you said "pretty hiking simulators" I immediately thought of Morrowind.  Now Oblivion would be perfect.  Even a Baldur's Gate style would be okay.  Better yet, one that allowed the player to jump from POV to iso as they desired.  And if they started small, say New Pavis, Big Rubble and the Zola Fel  from Bulford to Corflu and no further west than Horn Gate, no further east than Vulture's Country, that would be a great start and leave plenty of room for depth.

[Nick J.]

49 minutes ago, g33k said:

Wow.  "pretty hiking simulators," really?

I take it you don't care for "Elder Scrolls"...  or CoC:DCotE .

Yes. "Really." It's just an opinion. I thought Morrowind was pretty good (no quest markers, being forced to actually read to hunt for clues about what to do next, etc.), I thought Oblivion was very banal, but pretty (Skyrim too). CoC:DCotE was good, but it wasn't made by the same team that did the ES games. In reality with the turnover that happens over the years, I suspect very, very few people who worked on Morrowind or CoC are still with the company. Judging by the latest iteration of Fallout, I think Bethsoft is embracing a much different RPG aesthetic than I care for.

I'm not sure what developer I would entrust a Glorantha or Runequest game to in the big-budget, AAA, first-person space. Maybe Obsidian?

 

[g33k]

3 hours ago, Nick J. said:

I'm not sure what developer I would entrust a Glorantha or Runequest game to in the big-budget, AAA, first-person space. Maybe Obsidian?

I think the story-author (or story-team) would be the most significant part of this, rather than the dev/code team.  That would be what's most-telling on the issues you raise...

 

[Noita]

As long as it had nothing to do with Argrath i would be happy.

Something were i could have a whole party and more RQ than HQ.

[g33k]

I just went and looked at how Bethesda's CoC fared in the market... dismal flop, actually -- drove Dev-Team "Headfirst Productions" to bankruptcy.  That probably makes Glorantha a longer-shot...

 

[Zit]

Assassin's Creed in Pavis, or a Gloranthan MMORPG.

[Darius West]

I could also be persuaded that CD Projekt Red could do a good Glorantha.  The Witcher series has been great.

[Noita]

Skyrim's budget was 80 million+.

[Pentallion]

7 hours ago, Iskallor said:

Skyrim's budget was 80 million+.

Well, my master plan requires I win a huge lottery....

[Darius West]

I am very surprised that Dark Corners of the Earth did so badly.  I am not surprised by the budget for Skyrim however, and 80+ million is hard to raise.  I believe Ken Rolston has a lot to do with Bethesda and was instrumental in much of the Elder Scrolls btw.

Actually there is an alternative...

You see, the creation engine for Skyrim is now public access, and it has the terrain features required to build a pretty good Dragon Pass...

Of course the magic would need considerable reworking to fit in with RQ, but the system is percentages and the perk per level does make for interesting characters.

This would mean creating quite a few new critters of course, but there is no reason why a group of like minded Gloranthaphiles couldn't combine forces to build Dragon Pass as a Skyrim mod.  Obviously it would require some organization, a central hub where things were uploaded to, an agreement to program with a view to integrating new material, a checklist of things that need doing that will be LONG, and some brave soul who will volunteer to be King of Dragon Pass... i.e. provide oversight, direction, veto, and creative direction.

Think of me as the blind seer, coming to tell the clan that it is time to form a tribe by performing the Making of the Storm Tribe Hero Quest.

[Darius West]

The problems with the Skyrim magic system when compared to Glorantha are pretty obvious.  Basically Elder Scrolls magic is sorcery by RQ standards, and not standard RQ sorcery.  The mana system is fine in that it translates to Magic points in a straightforwards way, but mana potions are not really a standard in Glorantha so they would have to be far more rare, if they exist at all, instead there would have to be alternative systems for spirit combat worked into the game and of course crystals and fetishes instead of the Elder Scrolls Soul Trap system which is like RQ but is NOT RQ.  

Obviously the deities would have to become more front and central.  At the moment "The Nine" basically provide minor stat buffs, and the Daedra Lords are basically a bunch of magically powerful fetishistic perverts who want you to do silly quest  things in return for their special unique magic items, many of which aren't actually all that flash.

There would probably need to be cult skill trees that focused on providing advantages for specific skills and abilities and Rune Spells that trigger like racial abilities, basically once a day, or require a certain amount of prayer and devotional activity to refresh.

Skyrim has decently Sartarite architecture, but a few more rude huts would be good.  The various clans would of course all have their Tulas, and that would require some research to get a sense of what they would look like.  King of Dragon Pass tells us all about temples and fortifications, but is doesn't tell us about animal pens, farm steads and halls, and how they vary from clan to clan.  I imagine that the most diverse of these will be in Far Point where the steads have spiked roofs to stop Giant Stomp, and also lake steads that are like crannogs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crannog.

My own personal bitch with Elder Scrolls is the flippant lip service it pays to mounted combat.  Yes you can get on a horse, and eventually they let you fight from horseback, though you can only swing a weapon on one side of the mount, and no matter how hard you are hit you remain mounted until you die, or until your horse dies.  As I am a devotee of "Mount and Blade" (which still doesn't allow you to be dismounted by a hard blow), I know it can be done better.  Speaking of which, if Skyrim Dragon Pass seems implausible, perhaps Mount and Blade Pent/Prax/Wastes might be a better alternative?  Wow, imagine doing the wire frames for Rhinos, Ostriches etc, lol.

[Mankcam]

Mount And Blade Prax would be alot of fun!