§ NEWS § en provenance de Warhammer Alliance

Erik Mogensen intervient sur le forum de Warhammer Alliance

Original

Citation :

Hi all,
It seems this thread has gotten slightly derailed, but I've been meaning to stick my head up to say hello for some time and this seems like a good place to do it still!

Erik Mogensen from Games Workshop here. My job is to make sure that everything in the game looks like, feels like, *is* Warhammer. Paul Barnett works at Mythic day-to-day to accomplish the same thing, while I'm here in the UK at GW Headquarters. I wanted everyone to know that Mythic aren't working in isolation here, and there are a number of key people at GW helping out on a daily basis. We love Warhammer far too much to let just anyone make an MMO. We trust Mythic completely, and we're here at every step of the way, helping them to make this not only a great game, but a great representation of the Warhammer World.

Dwarf mounts? We're not announcing anything about them yet, but if they're in the game you can be sure GW not only approved them but was also probably involved in creating them. Never heard of a Dwarf Runepriest before? That doesn't mean someone has spelled 'Runesmith' wrong - maybe you're seeing a new side of the Dwarfs GW has never revealed before. The career system? We love it. Combat system - it isn't the tabletop rules or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but a great MMORPG mechanic...which is exactly what it should be.

The Warhammer World is a big place, and we've only ever been able to scratch the surface in terms of showing you all it has to offer. WAR is going to show you things you never dreamed of, and some of it may not be quite how you thought it would be. I can promise you though, that it *is* how GW wants it to be. WAR is an authentic Warhammer experience, 100%.

If it isn't, I'm going to be in *big* trouble!
__________________
Erik Mogensen
Licensing Manager - Games Workshop

Traduction
Bonjour à tous,

Erik Mogensen de Gamesworkshop. Mon travail est de m’assurer que l’ensemble du jeu ressemble et respecte Warhammer. Paul Barnett travaille chaque jour chez Mythic pour accomplir le même travail, pendant que je suis ici au R.U, au siège social de GW.
Je voulais que chacun sache que Mythic ne travail pas seul, et un grand nombres de personnes importantes de GW travaillent avec eux quotidiennement. Nous aimons trop warhammer pour laisser n'importe qui en faire un MMO. Nous faisons complètement confiance à Mythic, et nous sommes présent à chaque étape de la construction, pour les aider à faire non seulement un grand jeu, mais aussi une brillante représentation du monde de Warhammer.

Des montures pour les nains ? nous n'avons encore rien annoncé à leur sujet, mais s'ils sont présent en jeu, vous pouvez être sur que GW les a non seulement approuvé, mais aura été probablement impliqué dans le processus de création. Vous n'avez jamais entendu parler d'un prêtre des runes Nain ? Cela ne signifie pas que quelqu'un qui l'orthographie "Forgeur de Runes" soit dans l'erreur, peut être que vous voyez un aspect des Nains que GW n'avait encore jamais révélé jusque là. Le système de carrière ? nous l'adorons. le système de combat n'est pas une transposition des règles du jeu de plateau ou du jeu de rôle mais un superbe mécanisme de MMORPG, et c'est exactement ce qu'il devrait être.

Le monde de Warhammer est un endroit immense, nous n'avons jamais été en mesure de vous montrer tout ce qu'il peut offrir. WAR va vous montrer des choses que vous ne pouviez jusqu'alors voir qu'en rêve, et une partie d'entre elles ne pourra pas être comme vous l'imaginiez. Je peux néanmoins vous promettre une chose, ce sera exactement comme GW veut que ce soit. War est à 100 % une authentique expérience Warhammer.

Si il ne l'était pas, j'aurais alors de graves ennuis!

Erik Mogensen
Licensing Manager - Games Workshop

Interview de Erik Mogensen of Games Workshop sur le site Warhammer Alliance

Citation :

Erik, tell us a bit about yourself, what is your job at Games Workshop? Could you give us an example of what a normal day at work is like for you?

Well, my title is 'Licensing Manager' which probably doesn't tell you much! Essentially, my role is to manage many aspects of Games Workshop's relationships with our interactive licensees (Mythic Entertainment, THQ, and Namco Bandai Games). I'm involved in development, marketing, PR - you name it and I probably have my hands in it somehow. In general terms, my job is to make sure that the games our licensees make are true our universes. Formally, that means Mythic submits just about everything they do to me for approval. I don't do this in isolation though ? there are a lot of key people at GW that I consult with to make sure Mythic get the best feedback possible.

I can honestly say there is no such thing as a 'typical' day! Usually, I get into the office shortly after 9:00am (I'm not really a morning person, so maybe more like 9:30?) and the first thing I do is check my email. Because I'm in the UK and 5 hours ahead of Mythic there's usually a few emails from them waiting for me to read. Just the other day I had one from Lance Robertson, the Producer containing 5 design documents that needed reading and comments. 4 of them I approved without any changes needed (which is the way it normally works with Mythic because they're so good!), and 1 of them I needed a second opinion on so I forwarded it to Alan Merrett our Intellectual Property Manager for a second opinion. Think of Alan as 'The guy who carries Warhammer around in his head'. If I don't know something (which I'm afraid *does* happen from time to time), he will. Mythic are doing things with the Warhammer World that we've never had to think about before, so it's important I make sure Alan is comfortable with the decisions we're making. As it happens, the 5th document was also perfectly good to go as it was. No surprise, but I like to be thorough.

That same day I also worked with our art department to get a DVD containing all the finished art for our new edition of Warhammer. I forwarded this to Greg Grimsby, which he then used to inspire the rest of the art team as they design various aspects of the game - so the lucky artists at Mythic already know what the 7th Edition Warhammer book looks like! I also received the layout of Mythic's E3 booth which I needed to approve (well, the art they are using to decorate it needed approving, not the actual floor plan!).

Some days I don't do any work on WAR, some weeks I do nothing but work on WAR. I'm here as a resource for Mythic to draw upon when they need GW input, so I often simply react to their needs. Bear in mind I do all this for THQ and Namco Bandai as well and you can see that sometimes things get *very* busy...

People unfamiliar with Games Workshop or Warhammer tell us that Warhammer looks a lot like Warcraft. Help us school the uneducated. When did the Orcs, Dwarf's, Elves, and Humans of the Warhammer World come into existence? Has the Warhammer style really changes all that much since its initial creation so many years ago?

Fantasy worlds are always going to bear some similarity to one another. Orcs, Elves, Giants, Dragons, magic, undead... I could go on and on, and they are all features of the fantasy genre in general. However, within those confines there is huge room for differences too. Once you look past those superficial elements it's plain to see how unlike any other the Warhammer World is. Warhammer has been around and we've been defining its look and feel for nearly 25 years now. We're very confident that Warhammer is a very special and very unique fantasy setting.

When the initial idea comes to create a new product what are the main considerations for Games Workshop when creating a new license based on the Warhammer game?

We have to feel like it's a type of product that suits the Warhammer IP. For example, it's pretty easy to see that an MMO set in the Warhammer World could work, and could rock. Black Orc pillow cases on the other hand... A bit more of a stretch and not something we're likely to be interested in. Another factor is money, of course. Any prospective licensee needs to provide us with a comprehensive business plan and needs to convince us they can deliver a certain amount of financial success. By far the most important factor however, is that we need to 'click' with the licensee. That might sound weird, but we really only want to work with people that share our love of our worlds and we see working with them as more than just a commercial exercise. Sometimes when I'm with the guys from Mythic it feels like we actually work for the same company - now that's a perfect licensing partner.

With so many fans of both Warhammer and Warhammer 40k would you someday like to see a 40k MMO?

Of course we'd like to consider it. Who doesn't want to play a Space Marine?! However, we've got quite a lot on our plates at the moment so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

After the success of Dawn of War and the upcoming Mark of Chaos, along with WAR, is it safe to say that Games Workshop is embracing computer gaming more ever before? What do you believe has encouraged this growth?

We've always embraced computer gaming... Perhaps the world is just embracing computer games set in our worlds more than before? The thing is, for a company like GW with great IP but no expertise in making computer games, the key to success in this market is finding strong partners. Given what I already said about what we look for in a partner that can be extremely hard to do. We've been very picky, and as a result have ended up with 3 very strong like-minded interactive partners. The quality of all the games you mentioned is testament to that.

When you ask a Warhammer fan what excites them about Warhammer, odds are you get varied responses. What excites you about the Warhammer property? What makes it perfect for an MMO?

I think the very fact that you get so many responses shows just how robust the Warhammer IP is. For me, I like the quirkiness. I like how the Empire at first glance looks like Renaissance Europe... Or is it slightly Medieval... But wait - is that a Steam Tank I see driving down the street? Warhammer uses familiar archetypes and settings to give you something to relate to, then sucker-punches you with the most unexpected over-the-top fantastical elements that you have to see to believe. I also love the insidious and pervasive nature of Chaos, and how it interacts with every aspect of the Warhammer World in some way. Don't even get me started on my beloved Dark Elves...

Warhammer is perfect for an MMO because it has had almost 25 years of development work put into it. It's a living, breathing, fascinating world already. This MMO is giving us a chance to show our fans things we've never been able to before.

How did the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning game come into existence? Why was Mythic Entertainment chosen to develop this title? What were those first initial conversations with Mythic Entertainment like?
Well, to make a long story short - we've known Mythic (particularly President and CEO Mark Jacobs) for some time. When the first Warhammer Online game was cancelled we started talking to Mythic about whether we could work together. After lots of talking and negotiating, a deal was done. We chose Mythic because we like them, we trust them, they love and understand Warhammer, and they have a proven ability to make great MMOs. How could we say no?

With regards to certain locales, careers in the game which haven't been documented in any other Warhammer material to date, would you consider the opportunity to create these environments more of a benefit or a hindrance because of the lack of solid information?

It's one of the most exciting parts of the process! In some cases, we know what these things look and act like already, we've just never depicted them before. In the cases where we truly are creating concepts from scratch, we have loads of reference to draw upon... Not to mention *many* extremely clever and creative people both at GW and Mythic working on it.

How do you respond those who claim Mythic Entertainment is not following the Warhammer IP closely enough in WAR? What is Games Workshop doing to ensure we get plenty of tasty Warhammer goodness in WAR?

This is one of the hardest questions to answer, because 'following the Warhammer IP' is such an elusive concept. Are we talking about making an MMO that looks and feels like our miniatures? Some people want that, because that's what Warhammer is to them. To others, they think our dark and gritty art style is the 'real' Warhammer and want an MMO that looks like that. To us, Warhammer is a living, breathing world. There are many immutable facts about it that have been set over Warhammer's many incarnations. However, there are many different stylistic possibilities in terms of how that world is depicted, and they can all co-exist. What I can tell you is that Games Workshop is 100% supportive of the artistic direction Mythic is taking, and we *are* involved in every key creative decision that is made about WAR. We really do approve everything that's going into this game. This isn't an MMO based on our tabletop wargame, or our comics, or our novels, or our collectible card game, it's an MMO set in the World which also provides the setting for all of those. WAR is *the* authentic Warhammer MMO experience. We can't expect every Warhammer fan to be happy with every single decision we make, but please believe that this is a shared MMO vision between GW and Mythic.

Based on your experience playing other games and while working on this project, what aspect of WAR are you most excited about? What will makes WAR a success?

Maybe I'm a simple creature, but the honest truth is that what excites me most about this game is that for the first time in more than 15 years of being a Warhammer fan, I can walk around in and interact with the Warhammer World. I'm going to be able to join the cause and actually help Malekith make the High Elves pay for their treachery!

WAR's success depends on it not only making excellent use of the Warhammer IP, but also being a well-designed and executed MMO that will stand out among the competition. Both of those goals need to be accomplished in equal measure, and I really think Mythic are going to deliver.

What are your thoughts on bringing the new and different story lines and alliances created in WAR into other Warhammer products? Is there any chance of seeing an Age of Reckoning tabletop game?

Oooh... Dare I be glib? There already is one, it's called 'Warhammer'! I doubt you'll see a tabletop game solely dedicated to WAR, but I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if certain elements and themes find their way into the existing tabletop game. We don't design anything in our licensed computer games specifically with this in mind, however.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Yes. Thanks for sticking with me this long. Seriously though, you've only seen the tip of the WAR iceberg. You just wait...

Je me colle à la traduction

trop fort t'es trop cool et valeureux

Il n'y a pas de quoi Dame Shanaar c'est un plaisir que de vous apporter le savoir.

Merci. T'es royal !