Massively

Black Prophecy not playable on console at release says Reakktor CEO Kirk Lenke

James Egan — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Black Prophecy

One of the sci-fi MMOs we're hearing more about is Black Prophecy from Reakktor Media, a ship-oriented space combat game. Nolvadex from Gamesource recently interviewed Reakktor Media's CEO Kirk Lenke. He gives some basic info about the game's backstory and some of the options available to players, as well as the company's choice to build Black Prophecy on the Gamebryo graphics engine. Lenke states that Reakktor plans to bring a few features to Black Prophecy that should be familiar to Neocron players. He says, "Features that have been successful in Neocron will also be ported to Black Prophecy as much as they fit into the game play and render technically possible, such as the mentioned clan system."

Lenke also specifically addresses the fact that Black Prophecy will not be available on console at release: "Originally it was planned to release Black Prophecy for PC and Xbox 360, but the console version has been stopped by our former mother company, 10tacle Studios, in the past. The release of a console version in the near future seems quite unrealistic now as the porting to the Xbox 360 is much more difficult to accomplish as it would have been in the beginning of the development," Lenke says. "Nonetheless a console release of Black Prophecy is not completely ruled out," adds Lenke.

Black Prophecy not playable on console at release says Reakktor CEO Kirk Lenke originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earthrise lead technical artist Ed Mattinian discusses visual influences

James Egan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, Earthrise

The Bulgaria-based developer Masthead Studios is hard at work on their first massively multiplayer online game Earthrise, a title that's equal parts sci-fi and post-apocalyptic. Nolvadex from the Italian MMO news site Gamesource spoke with the game's lead technical artist Ed Mattinian about the look of Earthrise.

Mattinian discusses balancing form with function when it comes to how technology is depicted in the game, trying to create a futuristic world that's not simply cold and sterile. He says, "I'd say that technological products have their own beauty to them. It's all about function and how that 'product' -- be it a weapon, a craft, or a teleporter - is designed for its function. That's the beauty that we're looking for."

Continue reading Earthrise lead technical artist Ed Mattinian discusses visual influences

Earthrise lead technical artist Ed Mattinian discusses visual influences originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Chronicles of Spellborn interview explains game's unique aspects

James Egan — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP, The Chronicles of Spellborn, PvE, Races

The Chronicles of Spellborn is a game we've been hearing more about lately. We recently noticed an interview by Nolvadex at the Italian gaming site Gamesource with The Chronicles of Spellborn's lead community manager Pierre-Yves "Mirage" Deslandes.

Mirage discusses a relatively smooth European launch for the title and some of the complexities of their publishing deals, insofar as they affect the European market. The challenges of balancing PvE and PvP content in the game comes up, and Mirage also addresses why The Chronicles of Spellborn shipped without an auction house, stressing that a marketplace is indeed on the way. In terms of building upon the game's combat systems, Netherlands-based developer Spellborn NV doesn't plan to make any major changes to the game's combat system, which Mirage states is the trademark and backbone of The Chronicles of Spellborn. Adding greater depth to what's presently offered instead of simply adding more races and classes to the game is clearly a priority for the developers.

Continue reading The Chronicles of Spellborn interview explains game's unique aspects

The Chronicles of Spellborn interview explains game's unique aspects originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock on game's approach to genre

James Egan — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP, PvE

The post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game Fallen Earth has been getting more frequent mentions in the gaming press, earlier this month at Worlds in Motion and now at Italian gaming site Gamesource. Nolvadex from Gamesource recently caught up with Fallen Earth's lead designer Lee Hammock, who shared a bit about the inspiration that Icarus Studios has drawn from post-apocalyptic games and films. Their aim was to incorporate the best of these elements into a game that can stand on its own.

In addition to discussing how Fallen Earth will balance content between PvE and PvP, Hammock addresses the competition the title is likely to get from the other post-apocalyptic MMO on the horizon, Earthrise. The two games are differentiated in ways beyond backstory Hammock says, such as Fallen Earth's 'use what works' approach to found objects and combat, specifically using "non-traditional weapons -- a parking meter or a baker's rolling pin for instance -- to provide more innovative combat and the sense of using whatever means necessary to stay alive."

See the Gamesource interview with Lee Hammock for more on what Icarus Studios is doing with Fallen Earth.

Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock on game's approach to genre originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments