The creativity doesn't end when a game gets released, and the gamers
within Mythic Entertainment's world aren't without their own creative
notions either. As is common in any MMOG, Warhammer players are
creating their own fantasy moments within the game and acting them out
in their own ways. Being a developer, Paul Barnett has up-close access
to these creative moments, and we wondered what a few of his favorite
moments have been since the release of the game.



"The court of law that was taking place in front of the gallows in
Altdorf struck me as utterly beautiful," Paul said. "And people putting
on plays; I find that endlessly fascinating. People are pretending to
play a fantasy guy who is pretending to be an actor who is pretending
to act another role. That's four keyboard inputs away from your normal
brain."

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Paul loves
seeing players go out of their way to roleplay scenes in WAR.

Being a former roleplayer, I can't help but smile at Paul's love of
these moments. I remember creating my own moments within game's like
EverQuest, EverQuest II and World of Warcraft, and I look forward to
the day when I stumble upon a roleplaying scene in WAR.



Finally, at the end of our discussion about the creative scenes in WAR,
Paul went on one of his trademark tangents and - as ever curious
journalists - we let Paul say his piece. Like a moth to the flame, Paul
was drawn to talk a bit more about roleplaying and what kind of players
participate as the various races in the game. Before you read the rest
of the interview, just know that most of the staffers at Ten Ton Hammer
play as Greenskins except me; I play a Chaos Marauder....



"I have to give a hearty "Well done!" to people that play Dwarfs," Paul
said. "I have a very simple theory about the people that play Dwarfs.
Dwarfs are generally played by people who have come to terms with who
they are. Most of the people I've met who like Dwarfs basically look
like Dwarfs. Where as people that play Witch Elves don't look like
Witch Elves. There's more of a reality mask with the Dwarfs. These
folks go "I'm short. I'm bearded. I like beer. I think I'm going to be
a Dwarf."



"And then they get into the game and have this dense gravitational
field around them that draws people in," Paul continued. "They're very
enjoyable and I'm very impressed with the Dwarfs. They have - by far -
always excelled in the roleplay department, followed closely by the
Greenskins."



"The Greenskins are great because the people that play them have worked
out that life is very complicated, taxes exist, they're probably going
to die, their children are going to give them grief, and they're never
going to have enough money. They're drawn to Greenskins because the
Greenskin solution is simplicity itself. You don't have to do much
thinking, you're always happy, you know what you're going to do, and
there are good gags."



"People that play Greenskins are liberated, because they don't need to
worry about what it means to be in the Empire, or what it means to
serve under a king. They basically say "Shuddup. Kill that. Drink beer.
WAAGH." There's a purity to it."



"The people that play Chaos are typically two types of people: those
who realize that the world is a corrupt unjust place and they want to
play Chaos so they can be cruel and strange, or they're people who are
just indulging their dark side and trying to do it with as many
tentacles as possible. They're quite nice people, but you can't really
think of them like Dwarfs because then they'd have tentacles and extra
eyes and that sort of thing."



"I don't think people that play as Elves look like Elves either,
because then I'd have to hunt them all down and kill them because
they're too perfect. And if you did look like a Dark Elf or High Elf,
you wouldn't be playing our game, you'd be walking around asking people
to look at you because you're so beautiful."



With that, Paul had to take his leave and the Ten Ton Hammer staff was
left laughing until tears flowed down our faces. Our thanks again go
out to Paul for taking the time to discuss a bit of his thoughts on the
social make-up of his game and sharing parts of his experiences with us.



Until next time, make sure you stay tuned to WAR and Ten Ton Hammer!