by Chris Noll on Feb 23, 2010
Yesterday's announcement
that Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
would indeed be seeing completion brought much excitement to the MMOG
community. Ten Ton Hammer caught up to Heatwave Interactive's Tim
Schubert, Producer of Gods & Heroes to find out more about the
acquisition.
Ten Ton Hammer:
style="font-style: italic;">Gods and Heroes was originally
imagined as a subscription-driven game. In light of how the market has
become more open to other business models (e.g. microtransactions), are
you still comfortable with that approach?
style="font-weight: bold;">
Tim: We have experience with a
broad range of revenue models at Heatwave and were considering them
all. Our goal is to find a model that is not just profitable, but
is also appealing to our potential customers. We really want
players to feel like they are getting a good bang for the buck.
Ten Ton Hammer: Some might consider
three and a half years a lifetime in terms of how game graphics have
evolved. Do you feel that Gods and
Heroes graphics compare favorably with MMORPGs that have just
entered the market?
Tim: Cutting edge graphics are
something of a double edged sword. On one hand they look great on
magazine covers and high end machines, on the other hand, they can
limit your potential audience. The amazing thing is that even
though the Gods & Heroes
engine is a little old, the game still looks great. The game was
winning awards for its quality aesthetics back in the day and the
quality of that craftsmanship hasnt faded much over time. After
we modernize the game engine a bit and unleash our art staff on it
itll look even better and will rival its competitors.
Ten Ton Hammer: Other games, such as
DDO and The Lord of the Rings Online
and most recently Mytheon,
have seized upon the cornerstone gameplay concept of
style="font-style: italic;">Gods and Heroes as it was
originally imagined: the minion system. Will minions still play a heady
role in the combat? Do you have a few other tricks up your sleeve to
bring GnH back to the cutting edge of game development?
style="font-weight: bold;">
Tim: It is true that minion
mechanics have become more common over the years, but I think
style="font-style: italic;">Gods & Heroes takes them
farther. Deciding how to best leverage the core mechanics of the
game and evolve them is one of our primary concerns at the
moment. I cant go into details yet, but we are working on some
really cool ideas that will ensure Gods
& Heroes serves up an MMO experience players havent seen
before.