Larian
Encyclopedia
Larian Studios is a Belgian
game developer which was founded in 1996 by Swen Vincke who derived its name from his dog, Pilar. It currently focuses on developing Computer Role-Playing and educational games, apart from LEDWars which is a hardcore strategy game and a number of casino games.
Larian's first project was called The Lady, the Mage and the Knight (LMK). However, they were unable to gain the recognition of any publishers as none believed they were capable of creating a game. In order to rectify this and to prove them wrong, LEDWars (a strategy game) was developed within 5 months and published by Ionos in 1997. As a result, LMK soon evolved into a collaborative project between Larian Studios and Attic Entertainment Software
. Due to various problems between the two development studios and its publisher, the project was abandoned in 1999.
In 2002, Larian completed work on Divinity: Sword of Lies
which was then published under the name Divine Divinity
by CDV. In 2004, Beyond Divinity
, expansion to Divine Divinity
was published under 2 editions: the standard version by Ubisoft Entertainment GmbH and the deluxe version by MediaMix Benelux which contained Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and a novella by Rhianna Pratchett
called "Son of Chaos".
In the same year (2004), KetnetKick (an educational and the first PC2TV game ever created) was developed for Ketnet and released by Transposia.. In 2006, Beyond Divinity was re-released under Gold Games 9 by Ubisoft Entertainment SA which was a set of 10 games on 6 DVDs.
In March 2008, Adventure Rock
, an online virtual world was completed and released. This was later followed by the release of KetnetKick 2 in Oct 2008 by VRT, the national broadcaster in Belgium. In March 2009, GulliLand was published by Jeunesse TV, a French national broadcasting channel. In January 2010, Larian released Divinity 2 : Ego Draconis - the sequel to Divine Divinity - to the US market on Xbox 360
and Windows simultaneously, after releases in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Benelux. Larian is currently in production of Divinity 2 : Flames Of Vengeance, the highly anticipated expansion pack, and is expected to build a Gold Deluxe version that holds all Divinity 2 episodes later in the year.
Right now Larian is working on Dragon Commander which will be released in 2012.
Divinity series:
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
game developer which was founded in 1996 by Swen Vincke who derived its name from his dog, Pilar. It currently focuses on developing Computer Role-Playing and educational games, apart from LEDWars which is a hardcore strategy game and a number of casino games.
Larian's first project was called The Lady, the Mage and the Knight (LMK). However, they were unable to gain the recognition of any publishers as none believed they were capable of creating a game. In order to rectify this and to prove them wrong, LEDWars (a strategy game) was developed within 5 months and published by Ionos in 1997. As a result, LMK soon evolved into a collaborative project between Larian Studios and Attic Entertainment Software
Attic Entertainment Software
The Attic Entertainment Software GmbH was a German computer game developer and publisher that was founded September 1990 by Hans-Jürgen Brändle, Jochen Hamma and Guido Henkel in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg...
. Due to various problems between the two development studios and its publisher, the project was abandoned in 1999.
In 2002, Larian completed work on Divinity: Sword of Lies
Divine Divinity
Divine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios, released in 2002. It has a spin-off, Beyond Divinity, and a sequel, Divinity II: Ego Draconis. The game was re-released in 2004 along with Beyond Divinity as a part of Beyond Divinity: Deluxe...
which was then published under the name Divine Divinity
Divine Divinity
Divine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios, released in 2002. It has a spin-off, Beyond Divinity, and a sequel, Divinity II: Ego Draconis. The game was re-released in 2004 along with Beyond Divinity as a part of Beyond Divinity: Deluxe...
by CDV. In 2004, Beyond Divinity
Beyond Divinity
Beyond Divinity is a computer role-playing game which followed up on Divine Divinity created by Larian Studios and published in 2004. The game was met with mixed reviews by critics....
, expansion to Divine Divinity
Divine Divinity
Divine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios, released in 2002. It has a spin-off, Beyond Divinity, and a sequel, Divinity II: Ego Draconis. The game was re-released in 2004 along with Beyond Divinity as a part of Beyond Divinity: Deluxe...
was published under 2 editions: the standard version by Ubisoft Entertainment GmbH and the deluxe version by MediaMix Benelux which contained Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and a novella by Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett is a freelance computer games scriptwriter, narrative designer and former journalist...
called "Son of Chaos".
In the same year (2004), KetnetKick (an educational and the first PC2TV game ever created) was developed for Ketnet and released by Transposia.. In 2006, Beyond Divinity was re-released under Gold Games 9 by Ubisoft Entertainment SA which was a set of 10 games on 6 DVDs.
In March 2008, Adventure Rock
Adventure Rock
-Gameplay:Adventure Rock consists of a large virtual world which players explore using customised avatars. They are accompanied by Cody, a floating robot who guides and helps the player....
, an online virtual world was completed and released. This was later followed by the release of KetnetKick 2 in Oct 2008 by VRT, the national broadcaster in Belgium. In March 2009, GulliLand was published by Jeunesse TV, a French national broadcasting channel. In January 2010, Larian released Divinity 2 : Ego Draconis - the sequel to Divine Divinity - to the US market on Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Windows simultaneously, after releases in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Benelux. Larian is currently in production of Divinity 2 : Flames Of Vengeance, the highly anticipated expansion pack, and is expected to build a Gold Deluxe version that holds all Divinity 2 episodes later in the year.
Right now Larian is working on Dragon Commander which will be released in 2012.
Games developed
- LED Wars
- The Lady, the Mage and the Knight (a collaborative effort with Attic Entertainment SoftwareAttic Entertainment SoftwareThe Attic Entertainment Software GmbH was a German computer game developer and publisher that was founded September 1990 by Hans-Jürgen Brändle, Jochen Hamma and Guido Henkel in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg...
) - Ketnet Kick
- Adventure RockAdventure Rock-Gameplay:Adventure Rock consists of a large virtual world which players explore using customised avatars. They are accompanied by Cody, a floating robot who guides and helps the player....
- Ketnet Kick 2
- GulliLand
Divinity series:
- Divine DivinityDivine DivinityDivine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios, released in 2002. It has a spin-off, Beyond Divinity, and a sequel, Divinity II: Ego Draconis. The game was re-released in 2004 along with Beyond Divinity as a part of Beyond Divinity: Deluxe...
- Beyond DivinityBeyond DivinityBeyond Divinity is a computer role-playing game which followed up on Divine Divinity created by Larian Studios and published in 2004. The game was met with mixed reviews by critics....
- Divinity II: Ego Draconis
- Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance
- Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
- Dragon Commander
External links
- Larian Studios at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Video Game Developers in Belgium