Over the past 7 years, more than 200 recordings of early versions of Gothic have appeared on the Alpha Researcher channel. These have presented publicly unknown mechanics, objects, animations, textures, sounds, etc. that are included in both the Gothic Alpha and Sequel versions. There is a ton of material to watch.
I interviewed the author of the channel. We find out from it why there is so much of this early content. What other material is in demand. And what content has been implemented in the Gothic Remake.
Interview
1. How it happened, that you started to research the previous versions of Gothic? Getting as many informations as possible was an aim itself, or did you need it to another aim?
I started to research the early versions of the game because I was genuinely interested in the large number of incomplete content I found. I stumbled upon them even during my first playthrough, literally at every turn. Incomplete storylines, the lack of side quests from the chapter 2 onwards, and of course the highly visible areas of the game world where the use of scissors was too obvious.
Even during the first playthrough I fell in love with the game – the interesting setting, the lively world and the possibility of extensive interaction with it played its role. So my fascination with the game was the catalyst for me to start digging deep into the issue of cut. What did I do to get to the bottom of why this game is so underdeveloped? Well, at first I just banally used a search site and started googling the infos I needed: from the possibility of joining the guild of ore barons to why the level design in some places was so suspiciously broken.
And in the process of this search and happened something unprecedented, which I did not expect at all – I came across early trailers and screenshots of old versions, which literally made my jaw drop 🙂 . Locations, monsters, NPCs, and just the design of the environment objects differed from the vanilla version just like heaven from earth.
Perhaps even as radical as if you try to compare Gothic 1 with Gothic 3. Such drastic changes in all areas of game design fuelled my interest in learning the game literally to the max (which also contributed to my desire to study modding and do it for a while). So it was at this point that I realised that the answers to all my questions could only be found there – in the early versions of the game. In Gothic Alpha – its demos, docs and other materials…
2. On Gothic Archive site, on which we can find the most informations about the previous versions of Gothic, or on another sites, you can read mainly about the versions like 0.56c, 0.64b, 0.94k, 1.00b and the most often about 1.12f, i.e. Sequel.
Why just those versions are so interesting? By numering convention we can deduce, that there were a lot of more of them.
Absolutely all early versions of the game are interesting. And yes, there were definitely more of them, because for some exhibitions other demo versions were developed – for example, there was still alpha 0.81f for E3 20002. Or for example the demo for ECTS 1999 and 20003 (0.66x and 0.92j respectively). But unfortunately we don’t know yet if the CDs with these versions have survived to our days and if someone owns them with whom it is possible to have co-operation.
The reason for the interest in these particular versions you see on the list is that they are the only versions that most fans know about right now. I am deeply convinced that there are many more versions that can generate even more interest than, say, alpha 0.94. What is absolutely certain is that each version is interesting and unique in its own way. But, of course, it can be determined that versions 0.70 – 0.90 are the most desirable and interesting.
Because these versions were developed during the most turbulent stages of game development, when the developers were literally rushing from one idea to another, trying to decide what would better fit their vision. Such stages of development always contribute to the creation of additional content from which something will later be chosen.
There were many iterations4 of levels, were implemented interesting technical solutions (for example in terms of interface, dialog system and HUD5), which also evolved and improved over time. There were also some things that were removed permanently, quite a long time before release. For example, a lot of cutscenes made by Marco Rademacher6 can be mentioned in this context. There were definitely unique scenes realised there, which would have greatly improved the atmosphere of the game as a whole…
Looking at all this, all these early iterations, the cut material, is a very interesting thing to watch. And as you can see the current trend of all gaming communities looking for early versions of their favourite games only highlights this more.
3. You make a research of the previous versions of Gothic 1. Will you research Gothic 2 as well? There are a bit materials about Gothic 2 Pre-Alpha on Gothic Archive; some of them appeared also because of 20th anniversary of Gothic II.
But there are significantly less materials than in case of Gothic 1. For example there is not – at least I didn’t find – the informations about the previous versions of Gothic 2, or press demos. It looks like, that the history of creating of Gothic 2 is a lot of less interesting for Gothic fans.
I like Gothic 2 much less. But out of curiosity, I still did a little research on its early content. First of all, because I wanted to check it for sequel stuff that was partially transferred into it. (I posted a video of it on YouTube. It’s partly outdated by now, but there’s still enough information there to give you a general idea of Gothic 2’s development path.)
It’s worth saying and emphasising that the early versions of Gothic 2 had less content on “curiosities”. This is because the developers:
(1) became more experienced game designers, learnt to optimise their work
(2) used the engine and content from the first game
(3) had 11 months to create this game (!).
These three factors led to a generally predictable result. Also, don’t forget that during G2’s development period, JoWood came in and with his bureaucracy and dictatorship determined the course and haste of the development process. That’s why there were no special changes, as in the case of the first Gothic, and could not happen in principle. (With Gothic 3 the situation is different, because the changes in the whole game industry required the game to comply with the advanced technologies).
As for existence of the G2 early versions. They were too, and at some point there were at least versions 1.08h (test parts of the world), 1.11c, 1.16g (version for E3 2002), ~1.20 press version. Whether anyone still has them is unknown to me or anyone I know. How will the public react to the discovery of an early version of Gothic 2?
Given that there are obviously more Gothic 2 fans out there, I think this will cause a bit more of a noice than the alpha version of the first Gothic, but certainly if you consider the earliest versions from the first half of 2002, when there was more content from the sequel. Such versions I myself would be interested in exploring, but honestly I find it hard to believe we’ll get them after what happened.
4. Publishing Gothic Sequel is named as “a leak”. So it is described as published against someone will. Despit this, THQ Nordic didn’t lead to remove it from Internet. What consequences had the publication of Gothic Sequel, besides that anybody can play it?
We can’t judge the consequences, as we are unable to see the full picture – to know what happened behind the scenes among those involved in development and ones who has rights after the leak.
As far as I know there was no legal action, because it would probably have been traced back to the German fans of the game, but there were consequences of a different kind – I suspect there were some mental issue, at least for the former developers, who were obviously stressed, wondering if they would now be held to any accountability.
Those who have leaked early versions in recent years certainly don’t care deeply about the fate of those who made their favourite game. (Btw, interesting fact – as we now know, the leakers were really only concerned with compensating their own egos, but not real desire make gothic fans happy and satisfied… So by this toxic leak, these little “judges of justice” was only able to alleviate theirs own pathetic conditions)
With other side… It is worth noting that interest in Gothic Sequel was quite strong among the community. This is not one, not two, not three, not ten or even a hundred people. People interested in this cancelled project was much more. So it’s probably a good thing that a lot of people managed to quench their curiosity.
As for the leaked early versions of Gothic 1, I’m disappointed that no one has been able to do anything interesting or worthwhile with them so far. (I mean that there are still no announcing full-fledged projects aimed at the restoring a particular game stage) Although some individuals have assured me literally with foaming at the mouth that they can use them in a “very clever and intelligent way”. For now, they probably can’t even say exactly what they mean by that xD.
5. I see, that you published the last video on the your channel a one year ago. Do you have still some plans about Gothic Alpha researching, or did you deduce everything and first you need more content to move forward?
I still have an interest in the early versions. When they are available and IF they can be publicly announced, I plan to record another batch of videos with their features. There are definitely versions that can rekindle my interest with renewed vigour. Especially the version that had all those cutscenes by Marco Rademacher in it. (Probably 0.92j)
At the moment, I have nothing else to do because I have extracted as much as I can from the available material. So, for now, I’ve changed my priorities and fully focused on my personal life – my work and my relationship with my girlfriend. Also I moved to a major city where basically restarted my life – earning good money and saving up for my own place. So I’m doing great – things are finally picking up and it’s a joy to be here.
Because of this, although I haven’t thrown the game out of my heart, there is less Gothic in my life…
6. So I am glad that you find a time for the interview. For those who don’t know – the our interviewee published over 200 videos about cutted content, so you have a lot to watch.
In the previous question, you wrote that 0.70 – 0.90 versions were developed during the most turbulent periods of development. How did you discovered that, and could you describe what is known about the changes, which took place in that time?
Regarding the meaningfulness of versions 0.70-0.90, their value was determined by indirect evidence.
How determined it was:
(1) Composition of developers and active funding by the parent company – more people involved, more support and as a consequence of the result (devs could safely experiment, due to sufficient funding and credibility)
(2) The concept of the game was clearly developed in mid-1999, followed by the technical realisation, which was outstanding for this period
(3) The presence of promo material – videos and screenshots, from which we can see that there are things there that will surprise us
(4) The devs’ diaries, their changelogs where it is perfectly traceable what and when was added or removed from the game.
In general, by these signs we realised that the versions from the second half of 1999 to the middle of 2000 are the most interesting. Theoretically storing in their data even something radically unpredictable. So it’s not just about the cutscenes mentioned several times above, but also about undiscovered locations. Because it’s quite possible that one of the 0.7x versions may still contain the Demon World location, which should have been a separate zen7 due to its design.
7. Are you interested in Gothic Remake by Alkimia? It is an occassion to fulfill the old ideas of the original Gothic creators. Did you notice, whether the developers already implemented some cutted content in this remake? We could see some videos and graphics, hear some sounds.
I’m interested in it, but not following it too actively because of what I already said in my answer to question 5. I like that the developers had the guts to add some cut content. (Since not everyone agrees it’s worth doing, especially Gothic 2 fans) In the Nyras demo I saw an abandoned mine – that’s a good sign. Hopefully it will also be available in the main story.
But what I would most like to see is the underground orc city. Introducing it into the game would be a really cool move on their part. And reasonable, because due to this level it will be possible to significantly stretch the time of passing the game, realising there the stories connected with orc culture, access to the Orc temple and other similar threads. I hope the developers realise that this location 100% deserves a place in the remake. Let’s believe that it will be added. If not immediately with the game release, then at least in some patch or DLC.
As for the mechanics, we can praise the developers, because they improved swimming and introduced rock climbing, which was planned for the Orpheus9 stage.
But I think more could have been added, because there should have been a lot of other features.
What else could be introduced:
- Throwing items to distract monsters and regular NPCs
- alpha skills (especially to steals mode)
- alpha spells
Regarding plot, I can’t say anything about, but afaik the devs strictly adhere to the established canons of the trilogy, so we can’t expect any global changes. The maximum that we will see is some quests that do not affect anything particularly inspired by ideas from the design documents.
SUMMARY
The starting point for Alpha Researcher’s quest was the question of why Gothic was so underdeveloped. He found the answer in its early versions, which are still missing – the most interesting versions are from around 0.70 to 0.90. During this period, the team expanded, as well as having funding secured, which allowed for experimentation. These versions may even include the Demon World, as well as cut-scenes.
Phantom95 also noted that rock climbing has been implemented in Gothic Remake, something that was already planned for the Orpheus stage.
Another enthusiast will even tell us about the early versions of Arcania. He will be Flatczer – a modder from Ukraine, who is also working on the Nemesis project.
- Source: Gothic Archive [Access at: 14.11.2024] ↩︎
- Electronic Entertainment Expo was an annual trade event for the video game industry, Wikipedia [Access at: 11.11.2024] ↩︎
- European Computer Trade Show was an annual trade show for the European video game industry, Wikipedia [Access at: 11.11.2024]. ↩︎
- Iteration is the repetition of a process in order to generate a (possibly unbounded) sequence of outcomes, Wikipedia [Access at: 11.11.2024]. ↩︎
- In video gaming, the HUD (heads-up display) or status bar is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game’s user interface, Wikipedia [Access at: 11.11.2024] ↩︎
- He also composed the music for Gothic Sequel (source: Gothic Archive, section “Music” [Access at: 14.11.2024]) ↩︎
- “Zen” i.e. a world in Gothic. ↩︎
- Source: Gothic Archive [Access at: 14.11.2024]. ↩︎
- This stage has already been discussed by Psimek and Flosha. ↩︎
