NEWS
Dreamfall Chapters goes episodic; trailer for first episode released
A few days ago, Red Thread Games announced that Dreamfall Chapters will be released episodically.
Dreamfall Chapters was originally conceived as an episodic title published by Funcom, hence its initial title. The game was re-imagined in 2012 as a single release, but now Red Thread Games has decided to release the game episodically after all.
"The creative process is unpredictable," stated creative director Ragnar Tørnquist, "and the story we’re telling has turned out to be bigger and more ambitious than first envisioned. We’re not on track to meet the release date we estimated a year and a half ago, and we've had to take a long, hard look at our schedule and budget. After much internal debate and careful consideration, we’ve decided to return to the episodic format. ... The amount of work that goes into every chapter of every book is enormous, and we do not want to compromise on the quality of our game and our story."
Tørnquist also added, "Since the story was designed for episodes, in-game time already passes between each book — sometimes weeks, sometimes months — and the story won’t feel any more fragmented than originally intended. Each book also has its own, self-contained arc, with a beginning, middle and end."
Five episodes, called Books, are planned. Book One: Reborn will be released this fall for PC, Mac, and Linux. Tørnquist also stated that Kickstarter and PayPal backers will receive all five episodes free of charge as they're released. Everyone else will be able to purchase a season pass via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store.
To coincide with this news, Red Thread Games released the trailer for Reborn earlier today:
Swanky.
Dreamfall Chapters is a sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, which was a sequel to The Longest Journey. The cult adventure game series is primarily set in two worlds--the futuristic world of Stark, and the magical world of Arcadia. Dreamfall introduced a mysterious third world, which (if the trailer is indication) will also be a part of Dreamfall Chapters. Dreamfall was released back in 2006, but ended on a cliffhanger--one that players are still keen to see resolved eight years later. It's gratifying to know that we'll finally see a continuation of the series this autumn.