Dusktreaders Interview with Erik Hyrkas
Posted March 6th, 2006 by Awenyddion
By Nicole "Awenyddion" Hamlett
I recently had the chance to ask Erik Hyrkas a few questions about Granite Games' new upcoming MMORPG Dusktreaders. I hadn't heard much about the game but what I found out while doing research was enough to make me do a double take. Dusktreaders is a gothic MMO that revolves around the strife between humans, vampires and lycanthropes. Who are the humans? The players are. What makes this game different from the others that are on the off the launching pad? Read more to find out.
Hi Erik, can you please introduce yourself.
My name is Erik Hyrkas. I am one of the owners of Granite Games and the lead designer for the Dusktreaders project.
What made you decide to create an MMO rather than a standard single player RPG?
All of the Granite Games staff are passionate MMO players. I don’t think it would have even crossed our mind to make a single player game. Since the days of MUD, I believe all of us have been making or playing online multiplayer games.
You have a gothic world revolving around vampires and werewolves. Is there a possibility that at some point the players will be "turned"?
Actually, yes. Although, not permanently and you lose control of yourself while either a vampire or werewolf. Players facing down such foes as vampires or werewolves who are unfortunate enough to be bitten may be temporarily turned into a vampire or werewolf. They are cured if the one who bit them is destroyed or if that player is killed. If bitten, you have about 30 seconds to drink an antidote. Alchemists can make antidotes, if you bring the right ingredients.
You cannot be a free-willed vampire or werewolf.
Will players be able to choose any other race than human for their character? What made you decide on that route?
Characters can only be human, though players can chose a body style, clothing, and complexion that suites them. Most gear you find has no impact on the look of your character, allowing players to define the look they like (or redefine it later) and not have to worry about finding the appropriate items.
We decided to have only humans because it made sense for the storyline. Having non-human races like dwarves and elves is very much a concept in the Fantasy and Sci-fi genres, but made little sense in the Gothic genre. Early on, while still defining the game, we debated for nearly a month on whether to allow players to be lycanthropes and undead, but in the end we agreed that a Player verses Environment game would be best served if everybody was good – and hence everybody would be human.
Right now, so many games rely on the "Carrot in front of the horse" time sink tactic to keep players online. It looks like you've gone a different route. Can you explain your reasoning?
I believe many players (I don’t know if I could say “most”) prefer to play in short bursts – maybe 30 minutes or so and then have the option of hopping off. I don’t believe players like feeling that they need to set aside their whole evening or whole day just to play the game. Being able to make reasonable accomplishments in the 30 minutes before you drive to work in the morning or the 30 minutes before bed at night makes the game more accessible to a larger audience.
Certainly, there will be the ability to play for hours on end, but players shouldn’t feel forced to. It’s their option.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there is no carrot though. I think all games originating from the RPG tradition have some form of carrot. Many people play MMORPGs for no other reason than to design and develop their character the way they see fit. Making plans on how they will tailor their character is fun for them. I wouldn’t deny those people their fun, since I’m one of them.
Dusktreaders has done away with the massive hundred man raids. You state in your FAQ that you want players to have a more intimate experience with the gameplay. Does this eliminate the ability for guilds to go hunting en masse?
There are no “raid groups.” I suppose, a guild could walk around together, hang out, and do some damage to the resident bad guys – but it won’t be very productive for advancement purposes and there are no game features to support raids.
You cannot bring more than one group into instanced mission and quest areas. Combat is “locked”, so people outside of your group cannot help in any fashion.
You mentioned in an earlier interview that combat is fast paced. There are toggle buttons but you need to pay attention to timing. Would you consider your system twitch based combat or merely tactical?
I am strongly of the opinion that Dusktreaders is not a “twitch” game. Combat is very tactical and strategic. Recently, I had given the following example:
A concrete example of skill would be an encounter that had special rules around the AI that the players might have to experience the encounter multiple times to really understand how to win. Maybe the first time they engage the encounter they realize the person responsible for holding aggro can't seem to do it successfully and the healers are getting punished. The next time they try, they realize that the people who wait to engage seem to get attacked first. On their final try, realizing that the aggro rules are inverted, the tank does not attack or take action while everybody else attempts to generate aggro. Once figured out, the encounter is easy. However, since the rules of engagement are unique, it poses a tremendous challenge to the players. This is just a simple example. Each encounter for a group should be designed so that it makes the players decipher what strategy might work. Maybe the players will derive a strategy that nobody else has thought of to best the encounter. That's the way it should be in my eyes.
Players must think on their feet and make an effort to figure out how to win. Nothing should be taken for granted. To me, Dusktreaders is a success if people are thinking about how to solve a particular encounter while they are at work the next day.
In some games, you have to buy recipes or spells, others you automatically gain the skill as you level. How will you handle skill increases?
Most skills will be given automatically. We have considered offering a handful of skills through quests, but this isn’t implemented yet.
You tailor your skills through enhancements that must be found through adventuring or obtained from other players.
What would you consider to be the "one" trait that sets you apart from other MMOs today?
Dusktreaders requires skill. Like chess, poker, or sudoku each time you play should make you more skilled than you were before. Some people will innately be better players, and some will learn faster than others. In the end though, we hope to restore pride and bring back respect to the highest levels. Many games value time invested over skill and though we think time invested is important, we would like skill to be more valued.
The six man groups, the encounter designs, and the advancement system – all designed to one end: bring skill to MMORPGs.
What can we look forward to seeing from Dusktreader in the immediate future?
In the immediate future, you can look for more screenshots of characters.
In the immediate future you can look for a screenshot on Ten Ton Hammer as well. They've got all kinds of super secret development going on right now that just makes me excited thinking about it. Could Dusktreaders be the advent of a whole new MMO gaming experience? Only time will tell.
Genre: Horror
Status: In Development
Release Date: TBA
Fee: Mix F2P/P2P
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