Interviews

GnH Preview at PC Game News

"Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising" looks to be the first MMOG where the gods get involved with your character as a matter of routine. That is, more than there former deistic role of making certain NPCs avoid talking to you like you're the smelly, pimple-faced kid at the back of the school bus that likes to show off his collection of supposedly stolen junk.

One of the big points in the E3 demo was the various ways in which a character can be “leveled up.” One of the most interesting was earning favor with the gods. How can players earn the favor of the gods? And what can cause them to lose that favor?

Stieg: The gods are notoriously capricious and demand things of the player fairly regularly—if the player calls upon the gods too often those gods will become irritated with him; to please the gods the player must perform quests or render tribute at temples.

More Q&A about the very unique, upcoming MMOG Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising" at PC Game News.

Features, Interviews

Fri, Sep 02, 2005

Ethec
Chronicles of Spellborn Q&A at MMORPG.com

You say Spellborn, I think maternity cost savings.

MMORPG.com interviews Barry Hoffman of "The Chronicles of Spellborn," one of the newest fantasy MMORPGs to join the in-development parade. What's conspicuously missing: what, besides a different backstory and no death penalty, makes Spellborn different from the other 50 quality fantasy MMOGs on the market. Hmph.

MMORPG.com: Many references have been made to "puzzles" which "unlock" doors in the game. Are you talking about puzzles along the lines of the Myst series? Could you elaborate on what we can expect of these "puzzles"?
Barry Hoffman:

Our subtitle already says it all: ‘What lies hidden must be found’. It is not so much about physical puzzles, but exploring mysteries, lore and background. Solving the riddle what has happened in the past and you will see the present world in a different manner as parts of the world get more meaning for the player. And by knowing history the player understands what to do next or gets access to new parts of the world.

We envision our world not as the biggest world to explore in miles of walking, but more in what is to be found out about the world.

There will be much interlinking in the game through time and space for both individual and groups.

See the rest of the Chronicles of Spellborn Q&A at MMORPG.com!

Features, Interviews

Thu, Sep 01, 2005

Ethec
SWG Q&A at SWGVault

A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. And from a coming revamp.

SWGVault sits down for an interview with LucasArts producer Julio Torres for a Q&A session that reads like a cry for help. "Help us Julio... you're out only hope!" Okay, enough with the Star Wars quotes, sorry about that.

We realize that the Jedi system in SWG as a whole needs to be re-evaluated, so we are currently discussing options to address this. Our goal is to make the next implementation resonate to the needs of the game and the Jedi players. To do this, we really need to give it design time and play time, the exact date of when we can release a great FRS system. It’s not set yet, but we are currently working on it to get out to the public as soon as possible.

What other changes are the SWG devs planning to include in future updates? Read the rest of the Star Wars Galaxies developer Q&A at SWGVault.

Features, Interviews

Wed, Aug 31, 2005

Ethec
Dev Interviewed About WoW's Future

4 million subscribers just can't be all wrong...
Shawn Carnes, Blizzard Game Developer, speaks to subscriber retention and sheds light on Blizzard's vision for World of Warcraft. Apparently, the new trend is toward MMOG localization rather than content expansion. But can WoW continue to please its current 9-monthers without an expansion for another whole year while adapting the game for the Koreans? After all, a year in gamer years is like a century. Also, will Korea have a new race modeled after Vin Diesel?

"Grimwell: With WoW as a clear success, an expansion is a no-brainer to follow up on the success. What are the plans for this?

Shawn: An expansion is planned, not in 2005, possibly in late 2006 barring unforeseen chaos. Work is already going on for the expansion, and it's going good. What to look for? Blizzard is good at polishing what we do well. The WoW expansion will be like other game expansions in that there will be new characters, items, spells, etc. but it will have the Blizzard twist. "

Read the World of Warcraft Interview at GamerGod, then hone your WoW talents (no pun intended) at wow.tentonhammer.com!

Features, Interviews

Tue, Aug 30, 2005

Ethec
Shadowbane Interview at CorpNews

All PvP. All the time.
CorpNews has posted a Shadowbane interfeaturing Sean Dahlberg and focusing on the new Loreplay server. I got friggin' ganked just trying to post this Shadowbane story... and then the 12-year old taunts me and says:

" Wolfpack Studios recently announced the opening of a loreplay server for their MMOG Shadowbane, a first for the Austin, TX development house. Many of us have played Shadowbane in the past and are well familiar with it's virtues and shortcomings. In this Q&A, we posed a few questions to Sean "Ashen Temper" Dahlberg about the new server, Shadowbane's growth over the years, and the general state of gameplay today. "

You can read the entire Shadowbane Interview at CorpNews.

Features, Interviews

Tue, Aug 30, 2005

Boomjack
Asheron's Call 2 Interview

It's dead Jim.
MMORPG.com has an interview discussing the demise of Asheron's Call 2, featuring Jonathan Hanna, the director of community releations. We felt that Keanu Reeves would know better than anyone what it feels like to be part of a sequel that fails, unfortunately, he would not return our calls. We are confident he would have said this, if only he would have...said this:

" In the wake of Turbine announcing Asheron's Call 2 is coming to an end, Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna, the Director of Community Relations for Turbine, took some time to sit down and answer a few questions, exclusive on MMORPG.com. Below we find out what, if anything, is in store, why it happened and more. "

You can read the entire Asheron's Call 2 Interview at MMORPG.com

Features, Interviews

Tue, Aug 30, 2005

Boomjack
Boomtown Sports AA Interviews in "Rush Hour 4"

Rush Hour, sans Chris Tucker & Jackie Chan
The last installment of this Auto Assault interview series focuses on why the release date was pushed to 2006, PvP action, backstory, and what AA has to offer in the way of high-end content.

" Can we have a few words on the recent news that Auto Assault has decided to extend the beta, and the improvements they are working towards?

Scott Brown: We evaluated the state of the current game after rushing to get LOTS of content into the game and realized it was not ready for prime time. So we are taking some time to go through every inch of the games content now and making sure it is fun, looks great, and brings a new experience to the game. Specifically, this also gives us more time to get class balances right and make sure PvP is everything we want it to be for the initial release. It is giving us an opportunity that we are all very excited about, and lets us make Auto Assault the best game it can be. "

Beat the traffic! Visit Auto Assault's Rush Hour 4 at Boomtown tout de suite!

Features, Interviews

Sat, Aug 27, 2005

Ethec
DDO Q&A#4 at MMORPG.com

More Q&As than a DnD Player's Handbook has Mountain Dew stains!

As you read this interview with DDO Community Manager Victor Wachter- probing the decision to choose Eberron as a setting and sorting out what will make DDO compelling and unique in the genre- you just might be able to hear player's handbook pages turning and dice clattering deep in the background.

MMORPG.com: Will alignment play a factor in DDO? Can I, for example, choose to play a Chaotic Evil character, or is the game for good guys only?

Victor Wachter: Alignment is not embedded within the game systems, but these circumstances are presented within the quests and dungeons. Eberron itself is a setting where alignment is fluid, and so players may need to make choices that stretch the boundaries of their alignments. While alignment choices won’t limit a player’s options within the game, they will have an impact on how some NPC’s react toward their character.

More Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach Q&As at MMORPG.com.

Features, Interviews

Sat, Aug 27, 2005

Ethec
1up.com Q&A on Warhammer Online

Orcs with rocket launcers!

Excitement's growing ever since Mythic wrested the online remake of the long-famed tabletop gamer's delight Warhammer from cancellation at the hands of Climax. Since the game is still deep in the conceptual phase, producer Lande Robertson could only chat on the pre-production basics:

CGW: Which Warhammer license will you be using--the 40K universe or classic Warhammer?

Robertson: This MMORPG title will be based on all Games Workshop products relating to the classic Warhammer fantasy world. The creative people at Games Workshop have produced a wealth of great material, and this provides us with a solid foundation for the game. The depth of cool background information, the inspired designs of the races and their weapons of war, and the interesting dynamics of the warring factions make this property a pleasure to work on.

Get hammered with the rest of the Warhammer Online Q&A at 1up.com.

Features, Interviews

Sat, Aug 27, 2005

Ethec
The WoW Factor - Interview at CVG
WoW is Wow.
CVG has posted a World of Warcraft interview featuring Shane Dabiri and discussing the "WoW Factor". Tom Cruise confused WoW for War of the Worlds and demanded his own interview. When asked about his relationship with Katie Holmes he replied:

"Last evening we caught our pet cat playing World of Warcraft. As the most evil character in the game - Night Elf Rogue - he was fairing okay at level five although was getting a little confused when we kept telling him we'd assigned auto-run to the pause key (they're ALL paws keys to a cat see - geddit?). But it's testament to the massive, wide-spread penetration (yes, in our increasing effort to get slightly more risqué, we actually said 'PENETRATION') that Blizzard's MMORPG has achieved, with player numbers rocketing into the stratosphere. "

You can read the entire World of Warcraft Interview at CVG.
Related Links:
- TenTonHammer World of Warcraft Community
- Other World of Warcraft News
Features, Interviews

Fri, Aug 26, 2005

Boomjack

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