Interview with Tim Krause-Murroni Interviewer: Tim Krause-Murroni, Director Communications Daedalic Language: From: 23.02.2018 Interview with Tim Krause-Murroni
Poki's new adventure will not be a classic 2D point-and-click title and will be created in Munich. So much is happening at adventure developer and publisher Daedalic . We talked to Tim Krause-Murroni , Director Communications at the Hamburg-based game company, about the studio's future projects.

Adventure-Treff: Hello Tim! At the Munich studio, Poki's new game is being created that moves away from the classic adventure genre. What does that mean for other adventure projects in the house?

Tim Krause-Murroni: Hello Hans! First of all, I would like to basically clarify something or put it into perspective, because we always get questions about it: The generic term Adventure has many sub-genres. The statement that we would not do adventure games anymore is just not right. Sure, when you think of this genre in connection with Daedalic, 2D point & click comes to mind immediately. But adventure games can also have other manifestations and / or use other game mechanics. Adventures will remain part of Daedalic in the future as well - they will probably only be different.

In this sense, there is no "change of strategy". Daedalic's strategy is still to make artificially good games that are visual, narrative-strong, and that one notes that someone put heart and soul into this work. What is new is that we open ourselves to other genres and thus expand our spectrum. So nothing goes away, it's something more. However, the Daedalic strategy also means that we as a company have to function economically. And that does not mean it's just enough to raise money for salaries and running costs, but we always want to put money into our hands to invest in new games, locations and people. Therefore, something always has to hang in the end and unfortunately this is unfortunately almost impossible to achieve with our old parade discipline alone.

We are in the special situation of developing and marketing games at the same time. Therefore, we know both sides very well and can assess the market situation, our competitive environment and the potential of games relatively well. It would be negligent for us not to react to developments in the market, because we want to continue to be successful and therefore in the future there will be not only Adventures from Daedalic, but also genres that will find a much larger customer base in the foreseeable future.

A.-T .: What about The Devil's Men? Since nothing has been heard for so long and the strategic direction changes, it must be assumed that it will be canceled?

Tim: I initially described the starting situation. What does that mean for a title like The Devil's Men? Before the long explanation comes: The title is currently no longer working and it is not foreseeable that we continue to pursue the project. How does such a decision come about? Kevin, after working very hard on The Devil's Men, joined the The Pillars of Earth team. There was simply a high demand on all levels, the project was very extensive and as a first common game with Bastei-Lübbe it simply had a certain priority. After completing the work on The Pillars of the Earth, there were internal conversations about how The Devil's Men continues.

Nearly two years had passed and The Devil's Men continued to be the next potential Daedalic hit in our community as well as in the community. As far as the quality of the game and the work done up to that point is concerned, nobody would say anything else until today. The fact that people still have the game in their heads today and ask for it says it all. But we are now in a situation where we have to look at the figures behind such a title much more than before. The great artwork, the fascinating story or the captivating dialogues are no longer a guarantee for commercial success. And only against this background, we decided in the end to (not) continue to work on the game. That sounds hard and that's tough especially for the entire team that had done a fantastic job there. But on Steam, for example, there are over 7,000 games a year now, and you just have to realize that the way the market works now forces a company like Daedalic to be so hard.

A.-T .: What about State of Mind?

Tim: The situation is different at State of Mind. The game is on the home stretch and comes on all platforms in the summer, including the Switch. Since this is our first release on the new Nintendo console, we took some more time. There is always a learning curve on a new platform and we want to deliver a perfect product. State of Mind is a very good example of evolution that we consider necessary. Typical Daedalic: The game is based on a world class story by Martin Ganteföhr. Narrative, the title is extremely strong. There are typical elements like dialogues - but everything is repackaged. The game is 3D, it has a very unique look and it is technologically up to date.

In addition, the game deals with a totally topical issue: The question of whether virtual reality or artificial intelligence enrich our lives, when they become a threat and how they will influence our decisions in the future. Transhumanism is an exciting topic that interests many people and we are making a game - I hope that contributes to its success.

Of course, we are still working on the game but the release trailer will be released in parallel, there will soon be new screenshots, etc.

AT: Are there any other (small) details about Pokis game, especially in terms of genre and gameplay?

Tim: Sorry, I really can not comment on that. We're talking about a title that definitely will not be published this year, so we're in production early on. But what I want to say at the point: No matter if 2D, 3D, Point & Click, Hit & Run or whatever. A poki game is a poki game and I am very sure that regardless of format, every fan will get their money's worth, look forward to poki's new game and in the end be the conclusion of the vast majority of them: get it right.

AT: Thanks a lot for the information and good luck with your projects!

Tim : Very much.

The interview was conducted by Hans Pieper

Thanks, Ana! These are indeed very sad things to hear...

But I did not quite understand what Google Translate told me. Maybe someone with the knowledge of German could clarify please?
As I understood, 'State of Mind' will be released this summer, and as for "The Devil's Men" - it is somewhat unclear if it is still going to be released at all?

It is not foreseeable that we continue to pursue the project.