I'm from Risen Island - Polish Risen Fansite, we did inteview with Björn Pankratz.
Orginal English ver.
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1. Where the idea comes on that name?
Björn Pankratz: The name comes from all the temples that have risen from the ground on the
island. Maybe you’ve seen one of those temples in the trailer from last
year.
2. Where do you have ideas on story of Risen from?
Björn Pankratz: We take our inspiration from many sources – movies, TV series, books and
even other games. We can’t really name one specific source for the story
of Risen, since it developed in our heads over the last years, while we
were making our previous game. It’s a mix of ideas from a bunch of
different people, and when the project starts it's distilled into one big
consistent story. And this time it’s really epic. J
3. Could you tell us just a bit of your secrets about: the number of
towns, guilds and monsters or maybe type of monsters?
Björn Pankratz: We’ve got 3 different factions. The Inquisitor’s army is definitely the
strongest faction in Risen. The Inquisitor has taken over the command over
the island the game is taking place, and has sent all inhabitants into a
small coastal town where they live partially on the streets. He enforces a
curfew for all but his followers, and everyone who is caught outside is
taken prisoner and impressed into becoming a soldier for the Inquisition.
A group of mighty mages from that Island try to help the inhabitants, but
the Inquisitor has also taken the monastery as his headquarter.
And there’s a small group of outlaws lead by the shady “Don” who don’t
conform to the Inquisitor’s new rules. They hide near a deserted ruin in
the swamp and continue their temple raids from there.
Monster-wise we tried to create a set of monsters that have not been seen
in other games before. One of them for example is the Ashbeast. Ashbeasts
owe their name to their gray pelt and the fact that, as a rule, they live
in caves and rocky gorges near volcanoes. They live underground and are
blind, but have an excellent sense of smell. They are very dangerous for
people, who are found on their menu. Ashbeasts are creatures of the
underworld and generally do not leave their caves. However, with the
displacement of the temple ruins to the surface, they have become alarmed
and can now also be found on the surface.
4. For what kind of people is Risen?
Björn Pankratz: We are definitely going to deliver a game that fans of our old games will
love, but of course we also would like to invite new players into our
world. So it’s for all people who love atmospheric fantasy role-playing
games, and especially for those who are looking for a game standing out
from the dwarves and elves settings seen so often.
5. Could you tell us a bit more about of history in game?
Björn Pankratz: We don’t want to give away too much, but here’s what we can tell so far:
The gods have left the world. Humanity has freed itself from their powers.
But with that happening suddenly temples started to rise out of the
ground, and devastating magical storms started that no one knows where
they come from. The Inquisition is trying to find out where those storms
come from, and so they go to an island that hasn’t been devastated yet,
and try to find out why they’ve been spared so far. And that is the island
the game takes place on.
6. Do like in Gothic, in Risen will be equipment with out of end?
Björn Pankratz: Arrows and bolts are limited, but everything else is there to last.
7. Do in game we will see erotic scenes?
Björn Pankratz: Maybe, maybe not. J Let us surprise you.
8. Do game really will be finish on 100% in this year like yours publisher says?
Björn Pankratz: We can play the game from the beginning to the end since beginning of this
year, so we have a long time to bugfix and polish the game. We want to
deliver a bug-free experience this time, this is what we owe our fans.
9. Do in game will be polytheism or monotheism?
Björn Pankratz: The gods have left the world, so it doesn’t matter anymore. J
10. Do in game we can find easter eggs?
Björn Pankratz: They wouldn’t be easter eggs if we tell you now, would they?
11. Could you give us the probably requirement of game?
Björn Pankratz: We’ll announce this shortly.
12. Should we expect any updates in the next few weeks?
Björn Pankratz: We try to release new materials every couple of weeks to keep our fans
up-to-date. So: Yes.
I have a few more questions but not about Risen:
1. What are your plans for the future?
Björn Pankratz: Making RPGs is still the supreme discpline for us. Even shooters and other
genres introduced more and more features and elements from RPGs over the
years. Making RPGs is a very challenging task, and we like that. Of course
we can think of other genres, but we’ve been happy with our genre choices
in the last years. Let’s see what the future brings. J
2. What do you think about Arcania a Gothic Tale?
Björn Pankratz: We wish the developers good luck for their game. We don’t know really more
about the game than you guys do through the press.
3. How is the atmosphere in the studio?
Björn Pankratz: The development of Risen has been a lot less stressful than the
development of Gothic 3, so everybody is happy and very curious how you
guys will like the game.
4. Are you happy with your achievements?
Björn Pankratz: Absolutely. Risen looks and plays how we always envisioned a role-playing
game should play.
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Greetings World of Risen
Our Website
Link to interview in our forum
.
Our Don, Don-Esteban, should be sweeten up. 
In italian it means "sir" or "mister", but in english it is a common name.
... the combat is like swinging a moist towel at a cactus.
