Torchlight Interview
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RunicInsider: We recently found out your first game is going to be entirely single-player, but after that you will be working on an MMO set in the same world. I think the question on everyone's mind is what led to this decision?
Travis Baldree: There are quite a few parts to this - to begin with, since we're starting from scratch and don't have the benefit of any of the previous code or assets we developed for Mythos, we needed to get our feet back under ourselves. Building a single-player game on a short timeline gives us an opportunity to do this - and ship it and polish it. Apart from that, Mythos was only inches from the finish line for open beta before things collapsed, and we're all a little anxious to ship something that people can see and play, from a psychological standpoint. Building the single-player first has a host of other benefits - not least of which is the fact that the game will be highly moddable, and we plan to deliver some robust modding tools, which would never be possible with the MMO. It also allows us to get a little income during our MMO development to help ensure that we stay afloat. Last, but not least - it'll give us a chance to get all of your feedback early on and incorporate it into the MMO!
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RI: Other than the Diablo series, Fate and Mythos, and other games the genre, what games have impacted your ideas in terms of gameplay?
TB: The original Nethack, God of War, anything Zelda, Wasteland, Dwarf Fortress. An eclectic mix with a pretty broad range between hardcore and casual. As long as it's fun to do, that's what matters.
