RuneScape/MechScape Interview
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Is that something you've been working on for a while? And is it tied into "RuneScape's" development at all?
Gosh, I think it's nearly four years in the making. So there's a significant amount of effort into this. Basically, a few years ago we sat down and said, "You know what" -- when we started out "RuneScape" we said "This is cool and fun, but I wish we did this, or that, and we can't change this now..." So with this one we went, "Now we know what to do, so what if we built this game with all of this stuff in mind."
I mean, "RuneScape" evolved over nine years with all these developers on it, and you can tell. It has all these different flavors. And, you know, it's quite organic. So we thought about, from the start, what if we had a bigger design brief, with these robots almost like Mech's, and it was very consistent. And it was only meant to be a year-long project originally launched in 2006. But every year we went "Wouldn't it be better if we did this..."
So the 2006 project became a 2007 one, when I joined it was a 2008... Now it's looking like 2009. But we'll talk about that when it's closer to the gate!
For all intents and purposes the game is done. It's finished, in testing, and working. But we're in testing and going, "What if we change this..." I suppose we're so excited about what the end result can be that we're tolerating all these changes in 11th hour so to speak. There's nothing really arbitrary, ti's all things we think will really help gameplay or make it more fun. I do expect it to be released in 2009, but it's hard to guarantee these as I'm sure you know. The Studio is however doing a fantastic job and working tirelessly to get the game awesome and ready for Beta.
Traditionally sci-fi MMORPGs don't succeed as well as fantasy, so how are you combating that?
That's a good question. I suppose "MechScape" should be clarified as it's not a traditional sci-fi MMO. Even the name, it probably won't be "MechScape." Certainly four years ago it would be sci-fi, robotic, and mech-like. But even now, that's just one of four factions, if you will. So it's grown and evolved as the sci-fi genre allows.
I suppose, if you look at who's the most successful but also hardcore, you'd have to look at "EVE." I would say "MechScape" is not going to be as hardcore; it's kind of casual like (RuneScape), but still gives you the depth, complexity and intrigue that all of the sci-fi MMOs can bring.
We're conscious of what's out there, and of things that haven't worked. But, I think we feel that ours is uniquely different. Alternatively, it may not work for those very factors. But, we think having taken the best lessons, if you will, from "RuneScape" and still making it casual and accessible for a different audience, we've gotten the best of both worlds.
As always with these things time will tell, but we're quite confident about it.
