Salem, the upcoming MMO from Paradox Interactive, has gained more and more attention in recent weeks. Perhaps because a fair amount of this attention has been of the "Wait, what is this game about?" variety, Creative Director Bjorn Johannessen sat down with Rock, Paper, Shotgun to talk Salem.
Bjorn describes the game as "a similar premise" to Wurm Online, in that everything in the world is player-made with the exception of natural objects. It's not just a bland Wurm-clone, however. The world of Salem is a little darker, with a harsh justice system, witchcraft, and otherworldly creatures like Hide-Behinds -- creepy predators that hide behind things as they stalk you.
Bjorn explains part of the justice system, discussing what happens when a player kills another (or commits any crime, for that matter): "He leaves a little scent behind, called the Stench of Crime, a kind of clue. Those clues can be used to track the crime; I get up this little window here, where I can choose to track the perpetrator, the claim of the perpetrator, or the item that was stolen. [...] And if the crime is serious enough [...] I can also use this clue to summon the character into the game, if he is offline."
There's much more, so head to Rock, Paper, Shotgun for the full interview!
Reader Comments (7)
Posted: Oct 12th 2011 10:33AM nimzy said
Why describe it as a Wurm Online clone when the game they're making is basically Haven and Hearth 2.0? I guess going to the third dimension makes it derivative, I guess.
Posted: Oct 12th 2011 11:14AM Wispur said
I hope they used the "real" version of the Hodag, not the jacked up version that the book described. The book says that Hodags ate porcupines, that's BS, everyone know that Hodags ate only White Bulldogs. And a spade at the end of it's nose? where did that come from? O.o
Posted: Oct 12th 2011 11:26AM kaelidancer said
Wow - if they do everything they've outlined in that article, Salem is going to be incredible.
Posted: Oct 12th 2011 12:18PM (Unverified) said
@(Unverified)
Hey man, if you can't do the time...
Hey man, if you can't do the time...
Posted: Oct 12th 2011 7:44PM Callagan said
@(Unverified)
Well, if it works like Haven and Hearth (and it will), you have to actually train skills to steal, murder, etc, as well as have the intent to actually kill someone or steal something or break something. Like the unverified above you said, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Or, you know, join a town that can protect you from the crazy Russian menace.
Well, if it works like Haven and Hearth (and it will), you have to actually train skills to steal, murder, etc, as well as have the intent to actually kill someone or steal something or break something. Like the unverified above you said, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Or, you know, join a town that can protect you from the crazy Russian menace.
Posted: Oct 13th 2011 12:47AM Yukon Sam said
I think this game is headed straight to perma-niche territory.
But I must say, if you're going to have open or semi-open PvP and/or theft, being able to pull a criminal's character into the game at any time and administer a spanking may be the single best concept yet in approximating the impossible dream of player justice.
So I hope it works for them, even though I've no desire to play.
But I must say, if you're going to have open or semi-open PvP and/or theft, being able to pull a criminal's character into the game at any time and administer a spanking may be the single best concept yet in approximating the impossible dream of player justice.
So I hope it works for them, even though I've no desire to play.








