Can a Camel be the Roach? Interview with Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord Dev

Table of Contents

• Can a Camel be the Roach? Interview with Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord Dev
• Camels, cities and story
• What about the spin-offs?

What about the spin-offs?

Are there any odds for new installments of the spin-offs such as With Fire & Sword?

At the moment, there is no specific decision on this, but anything is possible.

END OF SICH

A standalone, commercial mod With Fire and Sword was originally created by Ukrainian Sich Studio. Unfortunately, at the moment, their Facebook page is inactive, as is the official website. It seems that the company has ceased to exist. This fact significantly reduces the chances of With Fire and Sword 2.

Do you draw inspiration from historical reconstructions?

Definitely. We have lots of ideas and solutions from there, we know a lot of people who are keen on this topic, as well as historians who offer some additional feedback.

Does the Bannerlord team play the game with add-ons or prefers the original release?

Of course, sometimes we play with mods. Many of our team members are former modders – for example, our lead scriptwriter and some other people. It's something we value a lot and try to use it to our benefit.

Why was a game like Mount & Blade developed in Turkey?

Well, it didn't have to be created there at all. But we feel comfortable while developing in Turkey. The game raised a lot of interest, because this is not the first country that comes to mind when you think about gaming industry. Nevertheless, it offers young and ambitious staff. Many programmers in Turkey were interested in working with us because they wanted to start a career in this industry, so we could easily find a lot of talented employees. Currently, we have a great international team, but there are still a lot of Turks in it. The fact that we are from Turkey, has certainly influenced some of the elements – for example, how much effort and detail we have put into mounts and horses. In our country, traditional horse sports are still practiced here and there, and we are not just talking about racing. We watch them and start to imagine what a medieval battle could look like.

PUREBRED HORSE

In Bannerlord, each of six factions will breed their own race of horses. Game devs were inspired by reality, and each of the available mounts will have its advantages and disadvantages.

Epic Games Store. Yeah, no, maybe?

We want to be able to connect with players in as many places as possible. Our previous game was released via Steam and GOG, as well as on consoles – we want to release this one for the same platforms. Epic Games Store? Sure, why not.

Did you have offers from some bigger publishers who wanted to release another Mount & Blade?

Of course, but since we now have a lot of experience with independent distribution, so we want to release our new game ourselves. However, there are quite a few expenses that we will not be able to cover ourselves. For example, self-release of the game in China is virtually impossible...

You're referring to a recent partnership with NetEase, aren't you? Does this mean that there will be additional items in the game for players in China?

Not necessarily... I mean, this is definitely an option for the future, but not for the sake of working with NetEase. It's just a historical game, and the history of China plays an important role in the history of the world, so we can add such elements. As for the partnership with NetEase — it's going well, we hope we'll be able to release the game in China, and we're excited about it. This is a huge market, and this partnership will make our game much more affordable for millions of Chinese players. There also will be physical distribution, which we will also have to deal with somehow.