Mythic and WAR Learn from Camelot

An Interview with Lance
Robertson, Producer for Warhammer: Age of Reckoning

By Cody
“Micajah” Bye


There are few games these days that I’ve not had an
opportunity to see, play, or demo. As I travel about the country,
attending conferences and press events, one game has been able to
consistently slip past me. Whether I was attending a different
interview or simply did not attend a particular conference, Warhammer:
Age of Reckoning has been consistently on my “high
status” list but continued to slip through my grasp. As a fan
of fantasy MMOGs, Warhammer Online – even in its earliest,
pre-Mythic version – was very high on my list of game to
expect great things from. Yet I hadn’t been able to view the
game in a face-to-screen scenario.

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Jeff (left), Garrett (right), and Lance Robertson
(back) preparing for the video interview.

My attendance at the San Diego Comic-Con has changed all that,
and I can safely say that I was thoroughly impressed with what EA
Mythic had on display at the convention. Upon arriving at the official
preview night (which turned out to be little more than a glorified
“stand in line for the latest toy” event), we
pushed through the already expansive crowd and made our way to the
booth that EA Mythic had erected in the fairly inconspicuous position
near the back of the hall. Unlike most conferences, Comic-Con has a
variety of venues that attract people and video games are only a small
part of that whole equation. Even Blizzard had a small booth compared
to the comic book industry leaders like Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse.

Arriving at the Mythic booth, I immediately planted myself in
front of a Warhammer terminal and went to work. The character that I
selected (out of the Greenskin, Dwarf, Empire, and Chaos races) was a
first level Goblin Squig Herder. I proceed through a variety of initial
quests, ranging from the destruction of the impeding dwarves to the
killing of thirty “annoying squigs”. The dark humor
inherent to the Warhammer universe was more than apparent in everything
that my Squig Herder did. My special attacks were called
“Plink” (an attack with my bow) and
“Stabbity” (a lunge with my spear) while I actively
summoned a squig to function as my pet.  

As I progressed through these quests, Lance Robertson saw me
wandering around the countryside and came to assist me. He pointed out
some terrific entry level quests, like slinging mud on a dwarven statue
and killing dwarves that had been stuffed in barrels (some thanks to
Murgash the Choppa). Eventually, Lance and I were pulled away from the
computer monitor so he could produce the Comic-Con 2007 Warhammer
Online video that Garrett Fuller participated in and Jeff Woleslagle
edited. After you finish with this article make sure you check out the
video; it’s terrific. Eventually, Garrett finished his
questions and I got my chance to really get in depth with Lance.

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Many Dark Age of Camelot veterans hope to experience
improved
versions of the RvR playstyles we learned to love in Mythic's first
game.

While I had just finished up my first official visit through
the Warhammer: Age of Reckoning entry levels, I have long been familiar
with the game and the notoriety of their stellar development studio.
More than a little interested in the correlation between Dark Age of
Camelot and WAR, when I was presented with my own opportunity to pry
the exquisite details Lance had inside his vast mind.

For many of us who were once Dark Age of Camelot junkies,
we’ve been incredibly anxious to play through
Mythic’s latest creation. We all love realm versus realm
combat, but I wanted to go beyond RvR combat when discussing some of
the elements that Mythic brought from DAoC to WAR. When I proposed this
question to Lance here’s what he had to say:

“One of the main things we learned about in Dark Age
was character class balancing and the speed of combat. For instance, we
know how long combat should be in an open arena compared to an eight
versus eight area. We have a lot of experience now, and I think the
fans are going to be pleasantly surprised with some of the subtle
changes we’ve made to some of the concepts we first came up
with in DAoC.”


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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