Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Exploding Into the Future: An Auto Assault Q&A with Project Lead Hermann Peterscheck

It's been sour timers for the folks behind the self-proclaimed "most destructive MMO ever" - Auto Assault. While reviewers lambasted the game (mostly for age-old niggles that can be found in any other MMORPG, including that one- I can't remember the name, honest - that has a subscriber base of over 6 million), it soon became obvious that Auto Assault's biggest problem was neither the faux physics jumping behavior in the first-person city perspective nor an arduous crafting system. Put succinctly by Hermann Peterscheck, Auto Assault Project Lead, below: "Nobody's playing because nobody's playing."

Why the MMO market, proportedly as obsessed with destruction and "face melting" as it is, in reality, hooked on orcs and elves, didn't initially take to Auto Assault's brand of online carnage is anyone's guess. Though (fanboy pallor aside) this is one clone-spurning MMO we at Ten Ton Hammer especially wanted to see take off, the past is in the past. We're not here to put nails in coffins or eulogize NetDevil's strong continuing efforts, and Hermann was kind enough to talk to us about Auto Assault's future.

"Peterscheck - 'What we see over and over again in reviews are comments such as "the missions are boring and repetitive" or "the game has so much potential" which are generally comments that revolve around the same problem which is, the game is not what people expect it to be. As a developer it's very easy to get defensive about this and shrug it off as people "playing the game wrong" or rationalizing "but all other mmps just have kill, collect, deliver" and so on. This attitude may make you feel better but it doesn't change the fact that customers are complaining about it, and if they are complaining they are right. What we did is take a lot of time and conversation both internally, with customers, and with our publisher to decode what this means. One of things I think is a big issue is that we are a car game but do not emphasize enough the fact that you are in a car. Where are the races? Where are the crazy jump and stunt tracks?'"

Get clicking and head over to Auto Assault Ten Ton Hammer to read the rest of this interview!