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 | | Sujet: § NEWS § en provenance du site The Warband Mar 9 Mai - 15:52 | |
| Interview de Steve Perkins trouvé sur The Warband en provenance de Gamona.dePartie 1 - Citation :
- If there is a MMORPG that will be the next large thing, then it will probably be Warhammer Online (W.A.R). The game is currently being produced by Mythic Entertainment, and scheduled for release sometime in 2007. Does the name of the developer sound familiar? It should, the company are already veterans of the MMORPG market, being successful with Dark Age of Camelot for more than four years. The reason for such a long success is perhaps related to their great RvR system.
RvR (Realm vs. Realm), which was initially introduced by Mythic Entertainment, is an alternative to the standard PvP already set in most MMORPGS.
This Warhammer Online game is the second to be created, with the failure of Climax’s version, many players may not be too adamant with the changes that were made. We in a detailed discussion with Steve Perkins, Director of marketing with Mythic Entertainment, what went into the development of the background, the detail of gameplay and discuss other different important questions. Due to our many questions, we divided the interview into two parts.
Many players do not know the Warhammer universe yet, can you explain about what goes on in it?
Steve Perkins: The Warhammer Universe appears at first sight like a well-known fantasy universe: There are familiar races such as Orcs, Dwarfs, Elves, and naturally humans. But it is a much darker world then many other fantasy universes present. It is a world in which constant conflict prevails. And we addressed the Warhammer universe in such a way, a fantasy world where there is a constant battle between everyone, which is a perfect scenario for an MMO. It is also not an established finite world, where there are no few heroes, and there is no actual good or bad side. No one knows how it will end.
In a game like LOTR, the good side wins because Frodo throws the ring into the lava and everyone is lucky because of it. In Warhammer, these heroes do not exist, and none follow remotely to this example. The type of conflict that occurs in Warhammer is perfectly fit for what Mythic has to offer in gameplay; RvR combat.
Don’t you have a fear that players will feel the gameplay is worn out, since many fantasy games such as World of Warcraft have been so popular?
Steve Perkins: The fact is, there is a reason why so many people enjoy fantasy games. It is a familiar environment with well-known characters. It is the reason why Lord of the Rings was so successful, or also why the World of Warcraft series has many common elements in it. When people thing of Fantasy, then they are used to the fact of seeing Orcs, Dwarfs, and Elves. When game developers try to attempt to go beyond those elements and try to create their own worlds, those elements still exist in some ways. In reference to Warhammer, which by the way has existed for nearly 25 years, Orcs were not green before the game emerges. If one watches a film or reads books of a fantasy nature, Orcs are represented in a brown or other dark tone.
Only after Warhammer was created is when Orcs became naturally green in skin tone. The Warcraft series has existed for roughly 10-12 years, and their universe contains many elements of Warhammers.
Why did Mythic decide complete this project, after it had already been dumped by Climax?
Steve Perkins: Now, we are not continuing this project, yet nor are we beginning it. Climax and Games Workshop (Games Workshop owns the Warhammer Universe) had to produce an MMO together. Both companies cooperated very closely, but it led to no result, so that is where the work stopped. Mark Jacobs had already known Games Workshop for years before this project. He has known them even before they were developing MUD games.
They also knew Paul Barnett, who is now one of our Game Design Managers, who had formerly worked at GW. Paul also worked on the Climax team, and despite the arguments between the two companies, GW always appreciated him. Once we were given the chance to work on the project, we agreed right away. But what we are making is somewhat completely different than what climax was making.
Games Workshop did offer us what Climax had already developed, but we declined. Instead we developed a game straight from the bottom to the top, using our tools and our technology.
What are the main elements of gameplay?
Steve Perkins: At the heart of gameplay can seem like the mental-successor to Dark Age of Camelot, but is in no way a sequel to the game. It is already not the same gameplay as Dark Age of Camelot, but nevertheless we will still look at DAoC and see what was fun, and what made people still play it after four years. We are convinced that the core success of the game relies in the Realm vs. Realm system (RvR). With the knowledge that we gained from that success, it is only natural that we form a similar system in W.A.R. Most other games are focused on the PvE part, but then after the launch of the game realize ‘Oh, we need more PvP and we must integrate it into the game’. With us, the PvP system permits the integration of PvE elements, so that PvP is equal with the other systems in the game.
In a common game now, you will start the game and it usually consists of ‘Hey, I stated a quest and now must kill seven lizards for their heads, and when I return it I will gain 12 copper’. With W.A.R, the games begin with you in an Orc camp that has just been attacked by a group of Dwarfs. Even though the Dwarfs are NPC characters, it is kept within the context of PvP battles. In addition, it will be possible for anyone in the beginning to participate in PvP battles, no matter what your level is.
That sounds interesting. Please, tell us what races and classes will be in the game. How in detail will they look?
Steve Perkins: There are no female Orcs in the Warhammer Universe, so to make up for the loss, goblins were included as a secondary choice. Then there is the Dwarf Army, the High Elves, The Dark Elves, The Empire, and Chaos. These six armies are divided into two realms, in which they are connected by loose alliances in each case. On one side stands The Empires, the High Elves, and the Dwarfs. They will represent the realm of ‘Order’. On the other side are the Dark Elves, the Greenskins, and Chaos, which will represent the ‘Armies of Destruction’. Those will be the two realms of play.
The play is however deviled into three large battlegrounds. Depending on which race one selects, decides also which of the three battlegrounds is the starting point for the player. The three battlegrounds will consist of the Orcs vs. the Dwarfs, the High Elves vs. the Dark Elves, and the Empire vs. Chaos. If a player begins as a Dwarf, then he will fight in the beginning against Orcs. Each of these battles is to be regarded as independent fights in the larger, more complex battle.
We want the user to notice that right from the beginning they are involved in the battle immediately. We want to make the world seem like an uncertain place, and one must constantly be alert everywhere, whether they are fighting PvP or PvR to always remember that there are other armies that want to attack you.
Is it planned to integrate other armies into the game? With only six races included, some fans might be felt left out. How do Skaven and Bretonnia look?
Steve Perkins: Many of the other races will first be presented in the form of NPCs. We wanted to integrate the first races into the game, which are the standard signs of the Warhammer World, and are familiar to most people. We know that there are other races in the Warhammer World that many fans would like to see in the game, but they will not be available for play at the initial launch En cours de traduction |
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