Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Massively Exclusive: Joel Bylos talks The Secret World's endgame (and a bunch of other stuff)]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/massively-exclusive-joel-bylos-talks-the-secret-worlds-endgame/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/massively-exclusive-joel-bylos-talks-the-secret-worlds-endgame/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/massively-exclusive-joel-bylos-talks-the-secret-worlds-endgame/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Funcom is ramping up the publicity for The Secret World this week, and Massively's getting in on the action via an exclusive interview with lead content designer Joel Bylos.

Earlier we told you how TSW's devs are hard at work putting a supernatural (and conspiratorial) twist on some of the world's most well-known cities, and we recently sat down with Bylos to talk about everything from using Google Maps to navigate Funcom's version of New York, to the nature of the term "open world," to the use of random game objects by the player.

Bylos also has some interesting things to say about The Secret World's sandbox elements and its endgame, and you'll find all that and more after the cut.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Joel Bylos talks The Secret World's endgame (and a bunch of other stuff)

MassivelyMassively Exclusive: Joel Bylos talks The Secret World's endgame (and a bunch of other stuff) originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funcom has released a new dev blog focused on The Secret World, and today's entry is penned by lead content designer Joel Bylos. Much like with yesterday's video teaser, the focus is on the game's environments, and in particular, its localization in the real world.

Bylos, who also served as a content designer on Funcom's Age of Conan expansion before moving to The Secret World, says that the game aims to capture the essence of the modern era while adding a supernatural and conspiratorial twist to places you think you know. "Above ground, New York looks just like the New York you have visited in real life. If you really wanted to, you could find the exact same area depicted in the game on Google Maps. But beneath the streets sprawls the corporate-industrial juggernaut of the Illuminati, known only as the Labyrinth," Bylos explains.

The dev blog goes on to mention the game's mission system as another tool for grounding the narrative in reality. Whether you're burning zombies, performing an exorcism with a vacuum cleaner, or chasing ghosts with mirrors, The Secret World looks to use the mundane as a window into the fantastic. Check out the game's official website for the full dev blog.

MassivelyFuncom building a bridge between the real and the fantastic in The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, you may have heard: Funcom is taking famous myths, urban legends, pop culture, history and even things like the Rota Fortunae and blending it all into a game called The Secret World. We sat down with lead designer Martin Brusgaar and creative director Ragnar Tornquist at PAX 2009 to discuss the game and a few of its many secrets.

The Secret World has a vibe unlike any other MMO or really game currently out there. Its premise is simple -- all the legends, myths and more are true. Atlantis is rising, vampires roam the night, 2012 is the beginning of a new fourth age and so on. The world is a dark, scary and magical place. Although, it's more of the first two than anything else.

Gallery: The Secret World

Continue reading PAX 2009: Dark mysteries of The Secret World

MassivelyPAX 2009: Dark mysteries of The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocatlantiscombatdragonfeaturedfootagefuncomilluminatilondonmartin-brusgaarnew-yorkpaxpax-2009ragnar-tornquistscreensscreenshotscreenshotsseoultemplarthe-secret-worldtswvideoThu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[GDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist pt. 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/gdc09-interview-with-the-secret-worlds-creator-ragnar-tornpt2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/gdc09-interview-with-the-secret-worlds-creator-ragnar-tornpt2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/gdc09-interview-with-the-secret-worlds-creator-ragnar-tornpt2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


So, with expansions, you said that you'll be starting out with New York, London, and Seoul, right?

Yes. Those will be the first cities, the hub cities, available at the start of the game.

Now, the gameplay takes you beyond that, yes?

Oh yeah, absolutely. We're not doing all New York, or all of London, or all of Seoul. We are actually doing very tight and very constrained neighborhoods there. That's where you'll start your gameplay, but they won't be the large, huge open zones where you have tons of gameplay or tons of monsters. That will be left to areas like Egypt and New England, which will be more expansive and include more open-world mechanics and other things that we're not revealing quite yet. We will also be including more instanced and team-based areas as well.

Regarding expansion packs, yeah, we're going to expand beyond what we already will include. It's not like we're going to run out of content, the world is a big place.

Yes, I was going to ask if it will expand into more locations and cities throughout the world.

Yes, it certainly will, but it won't be limited to just that. We have more interesting locations but they won't be limited to just our world. We will be including locations throughout time and space itself.

I want to emphasize that this won't be something like Grand Theft Auto with magic, with a focus on huge, huge open cities. They are reasonably small places where you will start out and take the adventure from there. But one very important thing to note is that this sounds like a very fragmented world. London, New York, Seoul, those cities are a long way away from each other. But we are creating, or at least trying to create, a pretty seamless world. This means there are ways of getting from London to New York very quickly, and we are focusing on that. You won't be just walking up to a plane, clicking on it, and getting a red line that quickly points to where you're going and boom, you're there. You will be moving in real-time from London to New York, just a lot quicker.

There's alot of traditional MMO components that are around now. We're kinda in a new generation of MMO, and people are tired of World of Warcraft model and they're looking for something new. This is certainly in that realm. Are you guys trying to get away from traditional models, like crafting, and moving to something new?

Ah, I can't really talk about crafting right now. What I can say is that while combat is a core focus, we really want other non-combat stuff in the game. We're just not going to be talking about them as of yet. But there will be gameplay that isn't all about fighting monsters or exploring. There will be other things that you will be able to do.

Like you said earlier, like mysteries?

That, yes, that also and there will be other ways for people to play in the game, to participate in the game, that isn't about traveling around the world. Exactly what that is, I can't say as of yet.

Now, will there be a player driven economy?

Well, I can't speak much about that now, but there will be ways for players to take part in the economy. Sorry for being so cryptic, but trying to keep this very focused and very narrow for now.

And player guilds?

Ah, we are going to have cabals, yes. There will be a point to making cabals, and it will play a very large role in the game, but exactly what that is I'm not going to say as of now.

We are a game and we are focusing on the social aspects of the game. We are, in some aspects, a story driven game and alot of it you can play solo, but we really want to emphasize that it is an MMO. There will be stuff that will require you to team up with people in small groups and also in larger teams, without me going into deeper detail.

I hate having to keep saying I can't talk about this stuff.

Oh, so what about in-game factions?

...and I can't talk about that. *laughs*

Ok, so what about the range between hardcore and casual?

Yeah, well, we always say we're going to cover all of it, but the fact is that you can't the game for everybody. So I think we're leaning towards... *sighs* I wouldn't say the casual, because when you talk about MMOs and casual you usually end up at Club Penguin or something like that, and we're really not there. We're somewhere between halfway, I think. There's tons of stuff for the hardcore MMO players, like the whole skill based system and the tweaking that you do to those types of systems with numbers and all the items we'll have, and that will be a hardcore player's dream. But I think in terms of time investment and what's required of you, we're leaning towards the middle ground. It will be fun for MMO players, but it will be equally fun for someone who just likes the idea of a world that has a bunch of other people in it, is completely open, you can play it online, and you can chat, but doesn't feel so unfriendly and unwelcoming as other MMOs.

So, would your target audience be someone who has played MMOs?

I think a large part of our target audience is who are playing or have played MMOs. We want it to be different enough for them to come back or a game that is different enough to have them come to play it with their friends. In addition to action/adventure gamers who play games like Fable 2 for the Xbox 360 and just want to try their hand at something that's online and not feel completely eliminated and have something that's recognizable to them.

We'd like to thank Ragnar for meeting with us at the GDC, and we're looking forward to more information on The Secret World!

MassivelyGDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>casualcitiesfuncomgameplaygdc-2009guildshardcoreinterviewlondonmassively-interviewsnew-yorknon-combatopen-worldragnarseoulthe-secret-worldtswxbox-360Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


This is the second of two parts to the Fireside Chat between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part two of the chat. You can hear and read part 1 here. Enjoy!

[Mp3] Download the MP3 directly

[Thanks, Celebrity!]

Continue reading The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2

MassivelyThe Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earthlinkebayeyepatchfeaturedfireside-chatgavin-newsomgooglehitachiinterviewlaguardia-airportMichael-Bloombergmillions-of-usnew-yorkosakaphilip-lindenphilip-rosedalereuben-millionsofussan-francsicosecond-lifetaxationtokyotoyotaverizonThu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 ESTPhilip Linden/Gavin Newsom chat part 2Akela Talamasca16:30philip-linden; gavin-newsom; fireside-chat