Ten Ton Hammer: 
Now that Spellborn has a fairly solid release date in mind, can you
describe what the most difficult part of the entire MMOG development
process has been for your team?

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The release date for
Spellborn is set for sometime in the autumn of 2008.

Deslandes:
To be honest, I’d say that sticking exactly to the project
planning was the hardest for us. TCoS has been delayed quite some times
already, so I guess it’s no real surprise for you to read
that. We really want Spellborn to be fun and all our efforts are put
into making sure everything plays as smooth and best as possible and
also, as we intended. Nothing which we’re not 100% happy with
will be in-game. So, yes, our pace might not be the one of the cheetah,
but at least we make sure the game is fun. We wouldn’t expect
players to have fun if we don’t have fun ourselves first.



Strangely enough, another most difficult part of the development
process has been channelling all the ideas we came up with and trying
to fit them in the planning. When we develop Spellborn, there is always
a great and brilliant idea which spawns in someone’s mind,
but sometimes, no matter how awesome this idea is, it would cost too
much time. It can be frustrating to put some concepts in this
“ideas for later” box, but it’s never
forgotten.



Ten Ton Hammer:
Conversely, what was the most enjoyable aspect of the whole journey?
What was really fun and entertaining?



Deslandes:
These moments of fun and entertainment are numerous, but for sure,
seeing a feature play fine, seeing a new building in the game, even a
critter performing some scripted action; all these things that you take
for granted when playing, have all been created from scratch, and every
single time it was an awesome moment to share. It’s really
like seeing something coming to life. The hard work, countless hours of
work, suddenly transform into a game, into a smile on
everyone’s face and this is by far the most enjoyable and
rewarding moments of the development process.



Playing the Beta with the current testers and grouping with them for
some quests is also a great moment of enjoyment.



Ten Ton Hammer: The
development of Spellborn has been a long, long road, and it’s
safe to say that everyone will be happy when the game is released. What
sort of impact do you believe Spellborn will have on the MMOG
marketplace? How do you think players will respond to this unique game?



Deslandes: I
believe Spellborn will bring lots of innovation to the current MMOG
market. There are no other MMOGs with 100% real-time manual targeting
combat system, and even though it is quite different from what you are
used to the very first time you play it, it eventually becomes so
natural and intuitive, that it’ll be hard to go back to the
standard auto-attack pattern. The idea we had behind this combat system
is “easy to learn, hard to master”. I think players
will feel challenged by the innovative features we implemented and will
feel really rewarded when they master them. I mean, it feels so good to
defeat an opponent in PvP because you know it’s because of
your skills (both classes and player skills) that you won, and not
because of random critical hits, or other dodged or resisted attacks.
The players are truly in full control and I really believe
it’s a feature they will be delighted to experience in an
MMORPG as innovative as Spellborn.



Ten Ton Hammer: Speaking
of the rest of the MMOG market, what sort of unique features set
Spellborn apart from the rest of the crowd? What should players expect
when they finally enter your world?



Deslandes:
As I already hinted in the previous answers, the real time
manual-targeting combat system with reticule and the dress to impress
features are really unique and set Spellborn apart from the crowded MMO
market. We also have a deep and unique Lore which players will
experience during their quests to level up. Some quest chains will even
take them to the discovery of hidden foes and intrigues that could very
well jeopardize the stability of the world. In terms of graphics, The
Chronicles of Spellborn offers a fresh take on the world and level
design. Everything looks organic as it has been shaped by nature for
hundreds of years. The universe showcases grandiose sceneries and
sounds with lots of life. The AI of Spellborn is advanced and features
a predator-prey system. That means that critters and fauna will
“interact” with eachother, even though interact
could also include “eat”. Hostile NPCs can adapt
their combat patterns and skills to these of the players, creating even
more challenge during these encounters.

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The AI in Spellborn
runs on a predator - prey system.

I could go on for hours about all the different things players can
expect upon setting foot in The Chronicles of Spellborn world, but
there’s one thing for sure Spellborn is about, and
it’s the fun. We are developing Spellborn because, as gamers
ourselves, we want to play something different, something that we
wouldn’t see in any other games, and something that is free
from the restrictions and limitations present in other titles. All the
design and concepts are based on this goal and to check how we made it,
then you’ll have to see it for yourselves!



Ten Ton Hammer: Finally,
is there anything else you’d like to tell the Ten Ton Hammer
readers and Spellborn community members?    



Deslandes: I
think most of the people in our Community and the Ten Ton Hammer
readers are anticipating the announcement of the US Publisher. Securing
such a partner is a great and reliable sign of potential and success
for a MMOG. So far, talks are going really fine, and it
shouldn’t be too long before the news is broken. It will be a
great surprise, for this partner is definitely a major actor of the
games industry. So stay tuned on www.tcos.com for it may happen quite
soon. I won’t lose a second announcing it to you guys!



To conclude, thanks to the Ten Ton Hammer crew for their continuous
support and for this Q&A! We’ll meet again!