the official website. As the webmaster he does his best to be in close touch with the Gothic community. In his free time, he frequently goes to movie theatres or alternatively makes plans about how to save the world. Certainly a fruitless enterprise, but a pleasant compensation for squatting behind a monitor and working on games all day long.

3D Festival: With an impressive first run of Gothic 1, where does the story continue from there?

Kai Rosenkranz: The world of Gothic I was surrounded by a magic dome, the so-called “barrier”. At the end of the game, the player fought against the Sleeper, an ancient and wicked creature who has, during his slumber, radiated the energy needed to maintain the barrier for so many years. When the player defeatedthe Sleeper in the end, you could see the creature being soaked into some portal. Through the disappearance of the magic energy, the barrier collapsed.

The story of Gothic II starts at that exact moment. The breakdown of the barrier caused an earthquake, and the temple that formed the setting for the prequel’s showdown caved in. The player tried to escape, but was trapped by falling rocks. While he was buried inside the temple, the people outside started to realize that the prison colony was no longer a prison without the barrier. Many of them escaped into the surrounding countryside as the king’s former slaves got out of hand.

Some weeks later, the player was rescued by his old friend Xardas, who successfully got our hero on his feet again.

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