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Diablo III vs. Torchlight II: Battle of the dungeon-crawlers

Matt Daniel — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Diablo III

We know you're all still enthralled by Blizzard's latest blockbuster, Diablo III, but it's important to remember that it's not the only major dungeon-crawler hitting the market this year. Runic Games' Torchlight II is also slated for release, and it's sure to offer plenty of dungeon-delving, loot-gathering goodness as well.

But the real question is, how do the two games stack up against one another? The Ancient Gaming Noob has decided to pit the two titles against each other in a no-holds-barred Thunderdome deathmatch to see which game emerges victorious!

On one hand, you have Diablo III's simplified method of character progression utilizing runes and a number of skill combinations, and on the other hand, there's Torchlight II's more traditional talent trees and attribute points. Atmosphere (bright and colorful vs. dark and dreary is a battle for the ages), story, and gameplay are all matters of contention between the two, and each category receives ample coverage, providing a detailed look at the similarities and contrasts between the titles. If you're unsure which dungeon-crawler you want to swear allegiance to, head on over and give the full piece a read for a bit of help in the decision-making process.

Diablo III vs. Torchlight II: Battle of the dungeon-crawlers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Torchlight 2 available for pre-purchase on Steam

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, News items

With all the buzz around a certain well-known third installment of a franchise, you could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting about Torchlight 2. However, the game is now available for pre-purchase on Steam, which should serve as something of a reminder. The game doesn't yet have a firm release date other than this summer, but you can still drop your $20 and have the game ready to play on launch day.

The original Torchlight was hailed by many as the spiritual sequel to Diablo II (and some assumed it would also be the closest we'd ever get to an actual sequel). Torchlight 2 boasts more character customization, more pet customization, improved fishing and pet management, a new set of classes, and of course all of the same hack-and-slash gameplay that the first game featured. If you're a fan of the genre, that third installment likely has your eye for the moment, but you might want to see how the other half lives as well.

Torchlight 2 available for pre-purchase on Steam originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drakensang Online compares itself to Diablo III and Torchlight II

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-play, Humor

Bigpoint Games is painting Drakensang Online as the Rocky Balboa of isometric hack-'n'-slash MMOs, and it's stepping into the ring with the upcoming title contenders and swinging away. The company released a comparison chart to show how its scrappy underdog is actually head and shoulders above the developing competition.

According to the comparison chart, Drakensang takes the lead by offering all that its competition has and more. When you've got a game that was developed in less than two years, is free-to-play, and is a full-fledged MMO, why would you ever want to sample the fruits of Blizzard's and Runic Games' trees?

Will Drakensang nip hard enough at Diablo III's heels to hobble the mighty demon as it releases next month? Time will tell, but you can check out our impressions of Drakensang when Mike plays it for you live on Massively TV this Wednesday evening!

[Source: Bigpoint Games press release]

Drakensang Online compares itself to Diablo III and Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu

Brendan Drain — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

The big announcement we've all been waiting for has finally arrived: Diablo III has a release date! This week the beta was wiped to prepare for launch, and Blizzard's Jay Wilson responded to questions about the cash auction house in hardcore mode. Competing title Path of Exile continued development toward its own release, and Torchlight II gave players a unique look under the hood of the game with a breakdown of item drop statistics. Runic Games congratulated the Diablo team on its release date announcement and published an open letter to fans urging them to just wait a little longer for their Torchlight fix.

In MOBA news, League of Legends revealed its next champion, Lulu, and explored the game's rapidly growing German community. Dota 2 added classic DotA hero Shadow Demon and performed some much-needed tweaks to bots, and Rise of Immortals released the official Azcadelia immortal spotlight. Heroes of Newerth released Gunblade, an original ranged agility carry hero that was been met with some strong disapproval in the community. Blacklight: Retribution's open beta updates continued this week with the release of its Vertigo map, a battleground set in the roofspaces of a sprawling industrial complex.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu

Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

There are a lot of people eagerly anticipating Diablo III, but there are also several people looking forward to Torchlight II, the followup to the hugely successful spiritual sequel to Diablo. A recent interview with Max Schaefer, co-founder and CEO of Runic Games, discusses the development of the sequel including some of the contrasting points between it and Diablo III -- including the lack of any sort of virtual item shop. As Schaefer puts it, the team wants to put together a good game that stands on its own, and if it's successful the developers will look in the direction of an expansion rather than a straightforward shop.

Schaefer also discusses a potential MMO coming out of the studio, something that's long been among the studio's plans -- one of the big reasons that Runic partnered with Perfect World Entertainment was due to its expertise with running an MMO. He claims that it's definitely still on the table, but it would be a big change for the studio, since the company has focused on staying small and launching an MMO is a very long-term commitment. Somewhat sad news for those hoping that Torchlight II's launch would spearhead MMO development directly, but the possibility certainly remains.

Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Free Steam games and promotional gifts

Brendan Drain — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Not So Massively, MOBA

It's Christmas time, and what better way is there to celebrate than to smash some internet people to bits in your favourite MOBA? League of Legends leads the charge with a gift of 450 RP delivered to every nice player who hasn't been banned in the past two months, and it shows off upcoming champion Victor the Machine Herald. Heroes of Newerth gives all players two free Christmas alt avatars and has a limited-time offer to buy a pack containing every previously released hero for just $10.

Rise of Immortals takes part in Steam's Great Gift Pile promotion that gives you the chance to win discount coupons or free Steam games, and it releases an immortal spotlight on Kavashiir. CrimeCraft: Gang Wars also offers players a Steam prize for playing its festive Snow Brawl game mode. Firefall clarifies the beta process and reminds fans that the game will be "done when it's done," and Torchlight developer Runic Games announces a new armour design contest. Finally, of all the intellectual properties to be made into an online game, did you ever think Doctor Who would make the list? BBC Worldwide has released an open preview of Doctor Who: Worlds in Time, a team-based puzzle game by the makers of Puzzle Pirates and Spiral Knights.

Skip past the cut for details of this week's biggest news from the world of MOBAs and other big online games that aren't quite MMOs.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Free Steam games and promotional gifts

Not So Massively: Free Steam games and promotional gifts originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile

Brendan Drain — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Livestream, Not So Massively

Path of Exile is an upcoming online action RPG by relatively new developer Grinding Gear Games. The game boasts a dark and gritty game world with randomly generated levels and dozens of different skills, all the things that old-school fans of the Diablo series loved. The game is currently in the closed beta stages, but the developers say it will be free-to-play when released and will feature an online world able to support hundreds of thousands of players. The game servers will use the Guild Wars model of communal town districts leading to instanced combat areas, making the game potentially more MMO than online action RPG.

Grinding Gear Games was kind enough to give Massively a few beta keys and permission to livestream the game in its current beta state. The livestream was a huge success, with over 200 people tuning in to check out the game and have a chance of winning a beta key. In this article, Massively's Patrick Mackey and I deliver our first impressions of the Path of Exile beta based on last week's livestream and further play time.

Skip past the cut for Massively's first impressions of the Path of Exile beta.

Continue reading Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile

Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny recap: Drakensang Online

Beau Hindman — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Rise and Shiny, Livestream

This week I was excited to spend some more time exploring Drakensang Online, the latest version in the long-running RPG series. I'd barely touched anything from the previous games, so I was blissfully unaware of what to expect from this one. I knew that Bigpoint was involved, so I had a feeling that the cash shop would be controversial but very convenient. I had also viewed screenshots and watched videos from before, so I was ready to see just how it would run on a basic laptop with three gigs of ram.

The experience turned out more or less as expected, but it did throw me a few curveballs. Click past the cut and let's talk all about it.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Drakensang Online

Rise and Shiny recap: Drakensang Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Torchlight MMO still on schedule, depending on success of Torchlight II

MJ Guthrie — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items

Fans who are eagerly awaiting news on the status of the Torchlight MMO were offered a brief update during Runic CEO Max Schaefer's interview with Eurogamer; unfortunately for fans, it appears that completion and release of the MMO are quite a ways away.

While Schaefer assures players that it is still planned and that they "have a lot of good ideas for the MMO," he also admits that they currently have other priorities -- namely the release of the forthcoming Torchlight II. He is clear that they "just aren't committing to any kind of schedule yet." Looks like fans will have to bide their time a while longer.

Torchlight MMO still on schedule, depending on success of Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behind the Mask: Perfect World and the future

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask

If I were to describe the emotions of the Champions Online playerbase regarding the Perfect World buyout, I would have to say "mixed." Some players are happy that the days of Atari are behind them, and some are really skeptical about the future of the C-Store.

CO is a fairly "pay-to-win" game in that Gold members have a lot of gameplay advantages over their non-subscribing counterparts. A lot of players are suggesting that the C-Store might become inundated with paid features and that we might possibly see the removal of certain free features (like global-purchased respecs).

I am cautiously optimistic about the whole thing. Perfect World Entertainment holds controlling shares in Runic Games, and if the recent Mac and console ports of Torchlight are any indication of PWE's approach to management, I'd be more than happy to welcome our new alien overlords.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: Perfect World and the future

Behind the Mask: Perfect World and the future originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Torchlight's Schaefer: MMO subscriptions aren't the way to go

Jef Reahard — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

Runic Games CEO and Torchlight developer Max Schaefer knows a thing or two about addictive, loot-driven dungeon crawlers. After all, he was a founding member of Blizzard North and instrumental in the development of Diablo and Diablo II. So, when Schaefer talks about game design, people generally listen.

Whether Schaefer's expertise extends to MMO business models is up for debate, though, which makes a recent interview at Charge-Shot.com an interesting read. "I don't think really anyone can do [subscriptions] anymore because pretty much everyone that does subscriptions has one for World of Warcraft," Schaefer posits, while speaking of his plans for the upcoming Torchlight MMO.

While the majority of the interview focuses on the new Xbox Live incarnation of the original Torchlight -- as well as the forthcoming Torchlight II -- it's also a window into Schaefer's design sensibilities and therefore a possible barometer for the type of gameplay that fans might expect from a Torchlight MMO. "[Torchlight] is the kind of game you can play for 20 minutes before you got to go out to dinner, but it's also one that you can geek out on all night. It's just a very accessible format that gives people a chance to enjoy a game rather than work at a game," Schaefer explains.

[Thanks to Craig for the tip!]

Torchlight's Schaefer: MMO subscriptions aren't the way to go originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still clicking: Our exclusive interview with the Mythos dev team

Brianna Royce — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, New titles, Mythos, Massively Interviews

Considering Mythos' stormy post-Flagship past and its relatively low profile over the past half year, we were pleased to see the team at Redbana unveil a website revamp last month, complete with a slew of vibrant new screenshots to tease the upcoming closed beta. The infrastructure revealed in the images suggests that the game has come a long way since we last checked in with the team; although many players might once have pigeon-holed Mythos as "just another Diablo clone," it's now maturing into a hybrid MMORPG that seems to have as much in common with Blizzard's other fantasy game as with the click-fests of yesteryear.

Curious, we commandeered the team at Redbana in order to ask about the progress of the game. Meet up with us after the break as we discuss the transition to Redbana, overcoming the Diablo stigma, camera perspectives, map travel, character customization, and the likelihood that Mythos will be free-to-play. Oh, and did I mention you can play satyrs and cyclopes?!

Continue reading Still clicking: Our exclusive interview with the Mythos dev team

Still clicking: Our exclusive interview with the Mythos dev team originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moonbase Alpha takes one small step, goes live

Jef Reahard — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Launches, New titles, News items

Ready for the federal government's first MMORPG? We're not either, but we're getting a taste of one possible future with today's release of Moonbase Alpha, a multiplayer simulation co-developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Virtual Heroes.

While the game is not technically an MMO as of yet, it will eventually feature a massively multiplayer version, in much the same way that the forthcoming Torchlight MMO started life as a smaller dungeon-crawler. Moonbase Alpha looks to immerse players in a "futuristic 3D lunar settlement. Their mission is to restore critical systems and oxygen flow after a nearby meteor strike cripples a solar array and life support equipment. Available resources include an interactive command center, a lunar rover, mobile robotic repair units and a fully stocked equipment shed," according to the game's website.

The title currently features both single-player and two-, four-, or six-slot multiplayer gameplay. You can download it free of charge at the NASA website or on Steam. Don't forget to check out the gameplay trailer after the cut.

Continue reading Moonbase Alpha takes one small step, goes live

Moonbase Alpha takes one small step, goes live originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Travis Baldree talks Torchlight MMO

Jef Reahard — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

Runic Games and Torchlight designer Travis Baldree open up about their Torchlight MMORPG in the new issue of PC Gamer that hits newsstands this week. The hit single-player game will serve as inspiration for a solo-able massively multiplayer title.

"Our vision is to have an MMO that plays as close to single player as we can get it. It will have the same focus on relatively fast action: carving your way through hordes of monsters with a large number of hugely devastating skills. The game has to be solo-able, but players will have to have skills that make them useful in a party and make them work together," Baldree says.

The title will also feature a microtransaction payment model, which, ironically enough, its creator despises. "I will never, ever buy a microtransaction item," Baldtree states. "I'm that kind of player. And the game has to be enjoyable for me, too. We don't want our monetisation stuff to offer ways to skip the game because the game is boring."

Check out the teaser announcement on PC Gamer's website.

Travis Baldree talks Torchlight MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week on the MMO Report

Larry Everett — Fri, 21 May 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Humor, The MMO Report

The MMO Report this week is chocked full of pre-E3 goodness, and Casey Schreiner wants to tell you all about it!

How are you preparing for E3? Casey and the rest of the MMO Report crew are staying up late and gaming early. Although, they took time out of their exhausting schedule of coffee and mouse clicking to fill our heads with the latest SWTOR Advance Classes propaganda and Guild Wars 2 world changing events. Because most of us are computer inept, WoW demanded Casey give pun-filled detailed instructions on how to sign up for the Cataclysm beta. If you play it back slowly, you can follow along. Casey expresses his soft-spot for Torchlight especially when Perfect World and Runic form a bond. Plus, viewers predict the future of MMOs and feel around in Casey's Mailbag.

All this and more in G4TV's The MMO Report. Oh! Don't forget to snag your fart/laugh ringtone.

Continue reading This week on the MMO Report

This week on the MMO Report originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perfect World Entertainment invests in Torchlight MMO

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items

Torchlight received quite a bit of attention last year when Runic Games announced that they would be releasing the game as a single-player, with an eye for MMO development in the next 18 months or so. Since then, Torchlight has done very well for itself: Runic Games recently announced that they had sold over 500,000 units.

The success inspired confidence in publisher Perfect World Entertainment, who solidified their commitment by purchasing an $8.4 million majority stake in Runic Games. PWE -- best known for their Perfect World MMO and more recently Battle of the Immortals -- is the publisher of the Torchlight MMO and the game itself can be found under the Perfect World banner. PWE hopes that the combined expertise of the two companies will spell success for both: "By collaborating more closely with Runic's professional team, we seek to combine their creativity and expertise in game development with our deep understanding of the online game market to create global titles."

Perfect World Entertainment invests in Torchlight MMO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Impressions: Pocket Legends

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-play, Hands-on, First Impressions

On paper, Pocket Legends is just one of many free-to-play fantasy MMOs that litter the gaming landscape, a little blip that is otherwise drowned out by the noise of its peers. On paper, Pocket Legends is skimpy in standard MMO features: only three classes, no customizable avatars, completely instanced, and a maximum of four skills on your hotbar. On paper, it might be a passing diversion, except for one little detail: Pocket Legends is the first truly successful 3D MMORPG for mobile devices.

And that makes all the difference, my friends.

Several of us here at Massively have been devouring Pocket Legends since it was released this past week, first for the iPad, then for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The general consensus is that for what it lacks, this micro-MMO has the most important quality of all: it's genuinely fun and addictive. Hit the jump for more detailed first impressions!

Continue reading First Impressions: Pocket Legends

First Impressions: Pocket Legends originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Characters go around again?

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind

One of the features that's become more and more de rigeur for single-player games is the concept of a "new game plus," a second go-through of the game with all of the abilities and equipment you picked up the first time around. In some cases, you can't even actually play the full game until you've managed to beat it once, at which point you earn a number of rewards that would have been useful to beat the game the first time around. (Insert your own jokes about boss loot here.)

Kill Ten Rats recently suggested the idea of allowing a similar mechanic in MMORPGs, borrowing from games such as Torchlight that allow you to retire a character and pass benefits on to a new one. Certainly it has advantages -- we've all had a character or two that's sat at a level too high to be deleted that we don't want to play any longer, and it'd be nice to pass along something useful for the playtime. On the other hand, a forced cycle of leveling followed by retirement followed by another level grind could get tedious quickly. What do you think? Would this sort of feature be an enjoyable way to expand your character stable, or a searingly obnoxious grinding treadmill?

The Daily Grind: Characters go around again? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runic Games interview, part 3

Tracey John — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

There's no Diablo III release date yet, but does its release concern you in terms of your playerbase?

Baldree: Honestly, we tried to go a different way. We knew Diablo III was going to come out eventually, and we know it's going to be fantastic and amazing, but we wanted to make a game that sat in a different slot, so we chose to make a single-player mod-able game and then an MMO with a persistent world. We tried to go on both sides of Diablo.

Schaefer: Diablo III has the controversy with the new artwork being too colorful and not having the somber, gothic tone of the old Diablo games. We went way further, and again, in a conscious attempt to be different. We didn't want to be Diablo. We wanted to be in that genre and do well the things that Diablo does well, but it's a different style. It feels different.

Speaking of color, did you have any debate using colors, since many RPG players like the dark, gloomy color schemes?

Baldree: We definitely talked about it, but I think we were all on board with going for a more, broadly accessible look. It took us a few months to hone in on exactly what we wanted to do. I think the Pixar angle is really the best comparison. Pixar has a style that is really broadly appealing. Who doesn't like a Pixar movie? It's cartoony without feeling juvenile, which is what we were kind of hoping to aim for. We tried to reinforce that with the sound of the music. We intentionally didn't make cartoony music.

Schaefer: I think that we should disclose that we were looking for an art style that was conducive to a low tech approach. One that didn't need all kinds of fancy shaders to look good and didn't have to approach realism, just because we're a team that is two percent the size of Blizzard's, if that, and we need to be more efficient.

Baldree: We have about 25 or 26 people now. We really wanted the game to run on everything we could get it to run on too. So having lower system requirements was one of our internal mandates, and the art style really fit in well with that.

To Diablo fans specifically, why do you think they should care about this game?

Schaefer: Um... we're available for sale and you could play today! (laughs)

Baldree: I think some of the main advantages are it's $20 and it's got a full modding suite, so if there's something you wanted to play around with, you can.

Schaefer: Everyone's a critic about the Diablo style of gameplay too. Everyone's like, "They should've done this or done this this way or fix this mechanic here." Now people can go and do that (in Torchlight). And I suspect we're going to have lower system of requirements than Diablo III.

Baldree: Another thing is, if you like these kinds of games, you'll enjoy it. And yeah, we're going to buy Diablo III and play it in the office. I love the genre, so I love it when games arrive in it.

A lot of people are wondering what Blizzard's next MMO is, and for a time, people suspected it could be "World of Diablo." Would you say this is, in a way, the Diablo MMO that some people were hoping for?

Schaefer: Um, yeah. As far as I know, (Diablo III) is doing more of the Battle.net matchmaking-style session that Diablo II had. So yeah, (Torchlight) is the action-RPG MMO.

People seem to keep trying to make the WoW killer...

Baldree: Yeah, we're not really interested in that.

Schaefer: Frankly, that's a terrible idea, to try and make a WoW killer. They put well over $100 million into the budget right now, 10 years, and 200 of the best developers in the world. Why would you try to beat that?

Baldree: What we used to say about Mythos is that we wanted it to be the game you would play while waiting for your WoW raid to start. (laughs)

Do you think it's just dangerous for a developer to shoot that high? Or do you think it's just a ratio of budget to the amount of users you expect?

Schaefer: It's just a losing game because, not only are the resources incredible that you have to put into it, but then you have to make something that's actually better.

Baldree: I think we went down that road in a smaller scale at Flagship. Rather than do that this time around, we went with wanting to build on a smaller success and work our way up, instead of trying to slay Goliath the first time out.

Do you see this game ever coming to consoles? A lot of MMOs these days are trying to make that jump.

Baldree: We talked a lot about it. I think it would be really neat. I think the first person to do a free-to-play MMO on Xbox Live that uses points for in-game purchases is going to do really well.

Schaefer: We'd like that to be us but it won't be an in-house project. That would be something we would have to outsource, and there's a lot of logistical issues. It's on our wish list, but it's not something we're directly pursuing right now.

What can we expect from Torchlight in the near future, before the MMO?

Schaefer: Lots and lots of mod community action. We left a lot of room in the game for people to be creative and do wonderful things. We had a tiny team here, but there's hundreds of modders out there. So we're hoping that they come out with some really cool stuff over time now.

Baldree: For our part, we'll be spending a lot of time with the modding community, injecting assets, being helpful, offering advice, showing how things work.

What have you guys learned from your time at Blizzard and then Flagship for Torchlight?

Schaefer: Well, I can speak to Blizzard. From Blizzard, we definitely just picked up a real appreciation for production values and making sure whatever you're doing, you're doing really well, even if it's at the expense of cutting lots of features just make sure what you're doing is super tight, super polished and don't release it until it's there. That was the biggest thing from Blizzard that I think we took.

From Flagship, the lessons were myriad from there, but really a lot of it was don't try to do everything for everybody. Start with manageable tasks, start with attainable goals, and just pay a lot of attention to budget, efficiency, team size and partners.

Baldree: Basically, starting Runic and working on Torchlight, what we wanted to do was choose something that we thought we could do and excel at with the time and resources we had. And that also fits in with the single-player game. What we had to work with was a small but really good team.

Do you think of the online PC games market is still healthy despite naysayers?

Schaefer: I think so. I think we went through a little rut where there just wasn't a horribly compelling product being made, because everyone was trying to make WoW killers. (laughs)

Baldree: I think it's definitely changed a lot, and it's not the same market it was years ago, that's for sure.

Schaefer: It seems you're seeing more clever things come down the pipe nowadays.

Like Torchlight?

Schaefer: Yes, exactly! (laughs)

Torchlight is available now for $20. The retail version of the game will in stores on January 5th and is available for pre-order at Gamestop and Amazon. Runic Games also says they're currently working on a Mac version.

Runic Games interview, part 3 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runic Games interview, part 2

Tracey John — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

What business model are you going with for the MMO?

Schaefer: Right now we're looking at free-to-play: item sales and free download. We like that model because we think subscriptions are just too restrictive. Everyone's got a (World of Warcraft) subscription already, so who wants to put more money on their credit card every month whether or not they play the game? So we like the item sales model. Having said that, it's two years until it releases and that's an eternity in this industry, so we reserve the right to change that. (laughs)

The economy isn't in good shape either. Do you think that's also a good reason to go free-to-play?

Schaefer: It is internationally. The question is, would (free-to-play games) get adopted in the U.S.?

Baldree: The nice thing about (free-to-play) is that it's a low barrier to entry. You get in and try out our game. And we'd like everything about the game to be that way. We don't want you to have a high-end rig to have to run it; we want it to be something people can easily try out.

Schaefer: And we don't want you to have to buy a $60 box so that you can start paying the subscription to play the game.

Do you think the free-to-play market is getting too crowded though?

Schaefer: I think consumers are business-model agnostic. They'll get word of mouth that some game is cool and that's what they'll play.

Baldree: I think we just have to make a really good game. That's the most important thing.

Schaefer: Right. And if it says, "Hey, come check out this game, you don't have to pay anything to try it out," I think that works. Now item sales is more challenging from a design perspective than subscriptions. With item sales, you have the whole issue of having to balance out what you're selling and not angering the free guys, not angering the pay guys and making everyone happy with it. And it's certainly possible, but it is more work.

Baldree: In the end, I think the game has to come first and if we make a really good game, regardless of what we do business model-wise, it'll work.

What kind of items will we be paying for?

Baldree: A lot of things we talked about are things that really still encourage you to play the game. We really don't want to charge people to skip the game.

Schaefer: Right, we don't want you to buy a cool sword. We want to make it so that the guy who pays has a little better chance to find the cool sword than the free guy.

Baldree: And we don't have that much interest in grinding; we want you to just play and have a good time. A good example is one of the things we were going to be doing with Mythos. We had the concept of cartography. You could buy maps that would make a private instance for you and all of your buddies, and you could control the properties of those areas.

So you could say, "I want this to have more champions" or "I want it to be luckier so I can get slightly better loot." These were options you could change for small amounts of money. So you could have one person who would spend a buck and create an epic map for you and your party to go into.

Schaefer: Right, so everyone can participate; you just got to get one guy in your party to buy the map.

Baldree: Things like high-end balance and guild-housing and cosmetic features. We really don't want to be selling the biggest, shiniest sword in the game for money and then have people buy that because it just doesn't feel fair or right.

Schaefer: That's not fun for anybody.

Let's go back to the beginning though. How did the idea for Torchlight come about?

Baldree: A lot of us worked on all of the Diablo games, and all of us have worked on action-RPGs for a lot of years. And we were working on an action-RPG, Mythos, when (Flagship Studios) closed. So I think it was kind of just a momentum thing. We wanted to finish what we started with the Mythos project, and we thought we were on to something pretty cool with that so we didn't really debate it much. When we started the new studio, we were like, "Let's get a real cool-looking action-RPG going as fast as possible."

And having worked on Mythos and Diablo, did you try to differentiate Torchlight from those games? What did you take from those projects and what did you try to avoid?

Baldree: We definitely wanted to approach it with a different visual style and tone, because we're really not trying to make Diablo. We're making a game in that genre, so we consciously went for a more Pixar kind of look to things. Overall, the look of the game isn't quite as grim.

Schaefer: I think also we brought a lot of lessons from the development of action-RPGs from those projects. We learned a lot about the process of making them and how to do them efficiently, and I think we've applied those lessons to the single-player version and will apply the lessons from the single-player version to the MMO. I think every time you do it, you get a little better at it.

Obviously, just from having worked on Diablo and creating a game in the same genre, people are going to make inevitable comparisons to the past Diablo games and the upcoming Diablo III. How do you feel about those comparisons?

Schaefer: I think it can't do anything but help. I mean, Diablo III is a relatively high-profile project with some pretty significant expectations, so as long as the comparisons aren't discouraging we're pretty happy with it. And obviously that is going to be the comparison. I think one of the reasons we've picked this genre is we feel that there aren't enough games in it. There are a million games that play like WoW, but there really aren't a lot of good action-RPGs or MMOs out there. So yeah, obviously, Diablo is the biggest one and therefore we're compared to that. But I think that's kind of testament to the fact that there aren't that many good ones.

Can you comment on some of Torchlight's similarities to Diablo?

Schaefer: I think there are interface conventions that are not just from Diablo and Torchlight that people use because there's no point in reinventing something that everyone already knows how to use and is already comfortable with. It's kind of just frustrating to figure out how interface works or how a skill tree functions when everyone already knows the standard way to do it. So we didn't want to reinvent how you control one of these games or what they look like, we just wanted to give you a new and fresh take on it.

And Diablo certainly didn't invent a lot of those things that people would say are striking similarities. We consciously used things from other games that worked and felt right. And I think every game does that. How many games use the WASD keys and mouse look controls? It's because it's good, and it works. People know how to do it.

Baldree: I think it gets down to the fact that the genre right now doesn't have that many games in it. Right now you have Borderlands, Rage and Fallout 3. All of which are post-apocalyptic, semi-RPG shooters. But the genre is so large at this point that the internal comparisons aren't made as much.

Fair enough... but you could've added a pants slot!

Baldree: (laughs) The pants slot comes in the MMO!

Page 3 of the Runic Games interview

Runic Games interview, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runic Games talks Torchlight, the upcoming MMO, Diablo comparisons, more

Tracey John — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

Can't wait for Diablo III? Try Torchlight. The single-player action-RPG, available for just 20 bucks via digital distribution, has got PC gamers talking.

But why should Massively readers care, you ask? Because eventually, in about two years or so, developer Runic Games will make it a full-fleged MMO.

We spoke with Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer, who worked on the Diablo series, and lead designer Travis Baldree about what they plan for the Torchlight MMO, what they learned from their time at Flagship Studios, and if their game will be the World of Diablo we've all been waiting for.

Continue reading Runic Games talks Torchlight, the upcoming MMO, Diablo comparisons, more

Runic Games talks Torchlight, the upcoming MMO, Diablo comparisons, more originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion grips top ten digital sales charts a month past release

Kyle Horner — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News items

You'd be forgiven for thinking Aion would've fallen off the Steam and DIrect2Drive top ten sales charts, what with the fire hose blast of new PC releases. Fortunately for NCsoft, that isn't the case as the game is still clinging to said charts in the face of games like Dragon Age: Origins, Borderlands, Torchlight and Left 4 Dead 2. Boldness!

Actually, the game is pretty darn good -- if you don't mind your peanut butter with extra grind -- so that's not a huge surprise all things considered. It's always a good sign when an MMO can stay on the top ten after its launch, moreso when it does so against high profile, high pedigree releases. So, rejoice Aion players, you've likely got a strong community! (We could've just told you that, but now numbers vindicate said observation.)

Aion grips top ten digital sales charts a month past release originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire, page 2

Kyle Horner — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-play, The Digital Continuum

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire, page 2

The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire

Kyle Horner — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-play, The Digital Continuum

For the past week I've been delving deep into the dungeons of Runic Games' Torchlight and found the experience to be nothing short of joyous. Granted, like many other people I also wish some kind of co-op shipped with the game (even over LAN) but thankfully the developer's next project will be an MMO built upon the foundation laid down by last week's release.

My joy for this game most definitely bleeds into its MMO incarnation, which has led to far too much thinking on additions I'd like to see made. So this week, I'm going to get them all off my chest in the hopes that I'll stop obsessing over them. Of course, there's never a guarantee with these things.

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire

The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Getting Torchlight?

Kyle Horner — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Today is the launch of Runic Games' Torchlight, although you probably know them best as the guys who worked on Mythos. The MMO version of Torchlight isn't out for another 18 months or so, but you can get a taste of it as of today, which is of course the game's release date -- imagine that!

Not only is the game developed by the former Mythos team, it's also headed by Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, co-designers of Diablo and Diablo II. Speaking of those games, we hope you liked their music, because the same man who wrote it worked on Torchlight as well. The pedigree is definitely high, and from our hands-on experience it shines through exceedingly well.

So will you be getting Torchlight? At the low price of $20, it's not a hard sell considering the quality of the game. Plus, with full mod tools being included in that price, free fan-made content should be falling down from the heavens in no time flat.

The Daily Grind: Getting Torchlight? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An insight into the art of Torchlight

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

While many eyes are glued to the revitalization of the Mythos IP, many other eyes are looking in the direction of Runic Games's Torchlight. For those not in the know, Torchlight is being made by the original Mythos team -- the ones who were on staff at the time of Flagship Studios's untimely closing -- while Mythos is now in the hands of HanbitSoft, the publisher who had a massive stake in Flagship.

While Torchlight won't be ready for the MMO scene anytime soon, the developers are still coming up with the single-player game that will be the base component for the MMO edition. With that in mind, we'd thought you'd like to check out this Gamasutra article that focuses on the art style and history of Torchlight and how exactly Mythos has impacted that style. It's a great read (although it's a little long at six pages of narrative) and a must see for all fans of the upcoming action RPG.

An insight into the art of Torchlight originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2009: Runic Games announces Torchlight launch for October 27

James Egan — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Runic Games announced at the Penny Arcade Expo today that Torchlight is slated for an October 27th launch, with Perfect World as the game's publisher. Torchlight will be a fully downloadable game, sold at $19.99. Massively had a look at Torchlight at E3 2009 and noted the game is influenced by titles like Diablo and Fate, which should come as little surprise given that the Runic Games is headed up by CEO Max Schaefer (co-designer of Diablo) and President Travis Baldree (designer of Fate).

Runic Games now has a "Meet the NPCs of Torchlight" page up on the game's official site and will be giving fans an early peek at the game at PAX 2009. For the rest of us who can't be there, they'll also be on Twitter with updates from the expo.

PAX 2009: Runic Games announces Torchlight launch for October 27 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mythos teaser and closed beta registration page emerges

William Dobson — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, News items, Mythos

Things are stirring behind the scenes in the world of Mythos, the little MMO that could. A newly launched site offers a very small teaser, but also, a closed beta registration form which is of far more interest. While Mythos was much-loved in its previous form, we don't doubt the followers of the Diablo-esque dungeon-crawler are keen to see if the magic is still there in HanbitSoft's re-envisioning.

If you're not up on the history of this title, now (at its new beginning) seems a good time for us to sum things up. It started out as a way for Flagship Studios to test their networking technology for the then-upcoming Hellgate: London, but soon grew into a popular game in its own right through a widespread closed beta test. It was all set to transition from experiment to fully-fledged title and move into open beta when the well-documented trouble at Flagship derailed the whole thing.

However, Flagship's Korean publisher HanbitSoft acquired the game's license and decided to make use of it. They reassured eager fans only a few months ago that Mythos would be re-born better than ever. Only time will tell if that's true, but with this new closed beta registration, it shouldn't be too long before a select group finds out for themselves. In the meantime, all of the old Mythos devs will be working away on Torchlight at Runic Games. Torchlight undoubtedly stands to be significant competition for Mythos in the future, but it won't be ready (in its MMO form at least) any time soon.

Mythos teaser and closed beta registration page emerges originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: A complete roundup of Massively's coverage

James Egan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Jumpgate Evolution, MMO industry, New titles, The Agency, All Points Bulletin, Global Agenda, Free Realms, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Champions Online, Home, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragonica Online, RIFT, Final Fantasy XIV

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 proved to be a significant event for the gaming industry once again, with a fair amount of news and announcements related to MMOs. Massively was there on the ground for E3 this year and we've been putting up breaking announcements, interviews, and hands-on previews throughout.

Given how much info came out of E3 on Massively, here's a roundup of our coverage, day-by-day. Be sure to check out the rest after the jump as there's plenty more content, plus you'll find E3 galleries for these games as you click through. To cap it all off, we've also put together an E3 2009 wrapup video for you at the end of this post. Read on to see where the MMO industry is headed in the next year and beyond!

Day One

Star Wars: The Old Republic world's first fully-voiced MMO

Final Fantasy XIV announced

Jumpgate Evolution releases E3 trailer

EA to publish All Points Bulletin in 2010

PlayStation Home hits 6.5 million accounts

Trion World Network unveils Heroes of Telara

Massively's day 1 video from the E3 floor

Continue reading E3 2009: A complete roundup of Massively's coverage

E3 2009: A complete roundup of Massively's coverage originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: Massively's day 4 roundup

James Egan — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, Champions Online, Dragonica Online

Wait a minute, day 4 of E3 2009? Remedial math skills? E3 was only a three-day event, but our own coverage of Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 is going to last a bit longer. We've still got a number of interviews and previews lined up for you in the coming days, today included, so we hope you'll keep reading this weekend. In the meantime, here are a few highlights of Massively's coverage of E3 2009 from yesterday:

Champions Online interview with Bill Roper on character customization

Torchlight, from creators of Mythos, to morph from single player to MMO

Rohan: Blood Feud to get crafting system in June

Massively's Dragonica Online Impressions

If you'd like to see more, we've got some eye candy after the jump, with galleries for Champions Online, Torchlight, Rohan: Blood Feud, and Dragonica Online.

Continue reading E3 2009: Massively's day 4 roundup

E3 2009: Massively's day 4 roundup originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO

Kyle Horner — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Hands-on

Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Mythos, Mythos II and Fate, we're expecting quite a lot from their new title, Torchlight. This classic Diablo style 2D hack-and-slasher can in every way be considered the spiritual successor to Mythos, and in some ways even more closer to the original Diablo. For instance, Torchlight is a town with another world underneath it -- that and it's going to be a single player RPG before it goes MMO. But rest assured, it will go MMO in a year to a year and a half.

First, we'll discuss features that will exist at singleplayer launch later this year, then we'll cover the new elements planned when the game expands into a massively multiplayer game. Check it all out after the jump along with gameplay footage, complete with Felicia Day of The Guild trying her hand at a beta version of the Action RPG.

Gallery: E3 2009: Torchlight

Continue reading E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO

E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: Day one video

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Massively Meta, Hands-on

While it's technically the first day for most attendees, we've actually been here since Sunday, preparing for the big event. Yet, yesterday marked the first time the show floor was opened and we all got a look at the new E3.

After last year's disappointing showing, the organizers more than made up for it with what is arguably the largest collection of shinies we've seen at any conference in recent years. To pay respect for E3 going back to the way it was, we've compiled this short video of what we saw on Day 1. There's some shaky-cam footage of the show floor, some great MMO screens including never-before-seen shots of Torchlight and DCUO, and of course, an EverQuest booth babe. You can check it out right after the jump, and be sure to look for another compilation video once the convention is over, featuring our favorite moments.

Massively is on the ground in Los Angeles this week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.

Continue reading E3 2009: Day one video

E3 2009: Day one video originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We're assured that Mythos is coming back

Kyle Horner — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Mythos

Mythos seems to hold a cult fan status among those who were lucky enough to play the game before last year's Flagship kerfuffle unceremoniously halted the games' production -- and with good reason. The game was a lot of fun, as all those cult fans know. Which is why we're torn about this news.

It appears as though Hanbitsoft -- the Korean developer who picked up the rights to Mythos last year -- has come out and said they fully intend to bring the game back into the world. They've also said they realize the game is basically inspired fully by Diablo, and plan to, "-put in more content for more exciting multiplayer." That's great and all, but we worry that the beta that we played last year and this retooled Korean flavored version aren't going to elicit the same kind of excitement.

This is also compounded by the fact that, well, the original Mythos team has already formed Runic Games and will be presenting their spiritual successor to Mythos, entitled Torchlight, at E3 in just about a month. Now, while Torchlight is only a single player RPG for the time being, Runic has clearly stated their plans to build it into an MMO down the road. So for now, with one game the closer, we'll just decide to be excited for E3 come early June.

We're assured that Mythos is coming back originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runic Games interview digs deeper into the Torchlight MMO

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles

Earlier last month we learned a bit more regarding a resurrection of the Mythos team in a new project entitled Torchlight. Apparently, this game will begin life as a single-player game, then eventually branch out into an MMO. Although not much is known about this MMO and how much Mythos influence it will hold, a recent interview at Gamasutra sheds a bit more light on what we can expect from Runic Games.

The Torchlight MMO is said to be modeled after a Diablo-style game mechanic. With the 22-person Runic Games team being comprised of mostly Diablo and Mythos vets, the familiarity will certainly be there. "Obviously it's the same style, but again, they're working on an established IP that has its own look, and its own story and its own tone, and they're not doing, as far as I know, a traditional MMO," says co-creator Max Schaefer. "[It's] more in the BattleNet style that Diablo II was in."

Runic Games interview digs deeper into the Torchlight MMO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runic Games partners with MMO portal Perfect World for their upcoming game

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, New titles

Perfect World Entertainment, the MMO portal of the self-titled Perfect World International and Ether Saga Online, has announced a partnership between themselves and the phoenix game studio Runic Games for the publishing rights of the upcoming MMO, Torchlight.

This is a large step forward for Runic Games, the previous Mythos game team of the now defunct Flagship Studios. Their agreement with Perfect World is for global publishing rights, meaning Torchlight could be seeing an international release.

Little is currently known about Torchlight, other than the game will be focusing on a single city and centered around the acquisition of a magical ore that imbues equipment with power, but also has a downside to it as well. The game has a bit of a cartoony, playful character to it, as seen in some early concept art shown on the main Runic Games website.

Runic Games partners with MMO portal Perfect World for their upcoming game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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