Tagged News: interview

In his latest column, Jonathan Steinhauer continues his look at what he calls "The Killing Experience". He began two weeks ago in part one and today looks at more recent examples of this trend. It's all about RPGs and how they use killing as the primary form of advancement, or experience.

A second, much more recent, example is with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, particularly Oblivion. In this game which follows the standard RPG model, there is no experience gain from killing. In fact, there is no experience at all. Instead, character growth is built on an array of skills specific to a particular class. As those skills are used over an over again, proficiency grows. Once there are ten threshold increases in the class skills, a new level is gained. At that point health, stamina, magicka, and prime stats also improve.

Read more after the click.

Recently, WarCry took the chance to interview the people behind the Dragonlance animated movie, which comes to DVD on January 15th. The interview gave us the chance to hear from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the famed authors and creators of the Dragonlance series. We also heard from the film's Co-Executive Producer John Frank Rosenblum and Paramount Pictures Product Manager Chris Dreyer.

In addition, we also have an exclusive clip from the film that features Sturm Brightblade.

WarCry: You two did not directly write the script, but as the authors of the original works can you talk a bit about how it turned out and why you believe it is a good representation of your work?

Tracy Hickman: Adaptation of a novel into a screenplay is a tough act especially when you're dealing with fans of a well-know work. It isn't a question of simply portraying scenes from the novel - as I think most people assume - but rather of capturing the emotional core of the original work and being able to portray that in a new medium. Both Margaret and I were granted an unprecedented level of input on the script but in the end it was hardly needed: George Strayton's magnificent screenplay captured the essence of our vision beautifully realized in a new medium.

Read it all and check out a short trailer after the jump.

Recently, WarCry had the chance to talk to Acclaim CEO Howard Marks. We received an update on his company's quest to bring the Eastern MMO business model to Western shores and got a peek at how 2Moons, 9Dragons, BOTS!! and Dance! Online have fared on the open market.

9Dragons

What "free-to-play" really means is that all Acclaim's games are free to download and can be played without the player ever laying down a dime. In 2Moons, for example, the company makes money through in-game advertising that appears in the user interface. In 9Dragons, players can play for free, but also can buy upgrades and customization items securely through Acclaim.

Marks emphasized through that the company is committed to actual free-to-play. One common consumer complaint with the model is that while some games advertise their games as such, many build in an artificial gameplay wall where a player basically is forced to buy items or coin to progress in the game. He says that none of Acclaim's games do this, nor will there ever be any artificial walls.

Read more after the leap.

Gamasutra has an interview with Bioware's Brian DuBose about playtesting and maintaining Bioware's model:

'We're Not Looking To Integrate EA's Practices'

"QA is the voice of the customer within the organization," Dubose stated. It's also important, he said, because it's a service to developers and programmers. "It's important to remember that," he stressed.

Dubose recalled having seen antagonistic relationships before, when programmers see the QA staff as "in the way," while from the QA standpoint, they're just trying to get the game done.

"It's not QA saying 'you guys suck,'" Dubose reminded. "It's QA pointing out the problems and saying, 'here's where the game is.'" It's essential, Dubose said, because ultimately, quality affects the bottom line.

It's an interesting read and will set aside some concerns players have voiced after Bioware's merger with EA.

Fury launched in October and hoped to capture an audience through fast-action, PvP combat in a free-to-play/subscription hybrid model MMO. It has not gone quite to plan and last week the company was forced to layoff many of its developers. We caught up with Auran CEO Tony Hilliam and Lead Designer Adam Carpenter to find out how they got to this point and how they hope to turn it around.

WarCry: Layoffs cannot be spun as good news and shake player confidence. Why should someone who sees Fury in a store feel confident that the game they purchase will still exist in a few months?

Auran: The primary reason is that the smaller core team staff allocated to Fury means the project is now operating at the break even point in terms of salaries and overheads. The Director's decision to cut back on staff ensures that even without significant increases in player populations, the game can be maintained and improved.

Read more after the jump.

In today's Warhammer Online interview, we talk to Associate Producer Josh Drescher and Senior Designer Justin Webb who team up to give us a set of answers. This edition includes questions about the launch delay, longterm appeal, individuality and why they believe they will succeed where other MMOs have failed in recent years.

WarCry: Your big headline recently was the decision to push back launch. This is not the first time WAR has been delayed. Why do you believe this release date is one players can expect you to meet?

EA Mythic: MMORPG fans have come to expect top tier titles to launch smoothly with finished, highly polished content across the board. This second adjustment of the launch date is intended to give us the time we need to make sure we deliver a product that meets those expectations. We're all but finished with feature and system integration right now, but Mark Jacobs (Lead Designer and GM of our studio) wanted to give us months, rather than weeks, to polish, balance and tighten things up prior to launch. As a result, between the December relaunch of the WAR Beta and the second quarter launch of the game, we're going to be able to focus the entire team on making sure everything feels perfect, looks perfect and plays in a way that will blow gamers away.

Click below to read it all.

Phaser Strike on Gorn Soldier (Exclusive: First Avatar Screenshot)

In this exclusive interview, WarCry chats with Daron Stinnett, the Executive Producer of Star Trek Online. What's more, we also debut the first ever in-game avatar screenshot since the company rethought its art direction. The image shows a human character in battle with a Gorn Soldier.

It's been a turbulent couple months for the folks at P2 Entertainment (formerly Perpetual Entertainment). They cancelled their anticipated debut MMORPG Gods and Heroes amid layoffs and concerns for the company's long term health. Now as the dust begins to settle, we find out about Star Trek Online the game, it's long term health and where it's headed.

Yesterday, their former public relations firm Kohnke Communications launched a lawsuit against them, which included allegations of fraud against Perpetual, P2 and the company's leadership. The following interview was conducted last week, but WarCry did seek comment on the lawsuit from Perpetual and Kohnke prior to publish. As is customary with pending lawsuits, neither company had any comment.

WarCry: Recently, rumors suggested that STO would become a more casual game, while others said it would simply adopt a more casual business model. At its core, do you believe that the Star Trek universe is suited a casual experience?

Daron Stinnett: We've always believed that Star Trek is an inviting world for more than just the enthusiasts so we've stayed focused on making a game that everyone can enjoy. We know that difficult to learn gameplay can be a barrier for some as is the $15/month subscription fee. It is true that we have been discussing different payment models internally to see if there is a way to enable more people to experience Star Trek Online while ensuring that we are able to pay for the ongoing operating costs of a triple-A MMO. We haven't yet come to any conclusions though.

Click on "Read More" to do so.

It's the holiday season and Chapter 8 is on the horizon. As an early Life Day gift, SWG Lead Developer Thomas "Blixtev" Blair gave WarCry an early preview:

Space is big. Really big. And, at least in the Star Wars: Galaxies universe, it just got a bit bigger.

Fresh on the heels of one of the largest updates since the NGE, the SWG development team is in the final testing stages on Chapter 8, which was scheduled to be added to the Test Center servers today.

Click below to read the rest and check out some exclusive screenshots.

In the latest installment of our ongoing Tabula Rasa Q&A; series, we get a special treat. Richard Garriott parachuted in for one answer in this edition to talk about Logo. The remainder of the Q&A; is answered by Lead Designer Paul Sage and Community Manager April Burba.

WarCry: Have we asked "Why did you pick "Logos" to describe the psionics and language in the game? Are you referring to the ancient Greek philosophical concept or to the more Biblical connotation"?

Richard Garriott: The word "Logos" is used in our game both for the symbolic language and for the force-like super powers our players learn to wield. "Logos" is often used to describe god-like powers that manifest reality with the power of your mind and spoken words, such as "Let There Be Light and there was." Added to this is the concept of a logogrammatic language, which uses pictographic symbols for communication.

Read more after the click.

Jess Lebow is the Content Director of Pirates of the Burning Sea, but in this latest edition of our Q&A; series, we talk to him about what inspires him and what made it into the game from history and reality. Lebow - who is also a novelist - gives us in-depth responses on all fronts.

WarCry: Sailing has been simplified for ease of gameplay. Is there anything there for the nautical purist to enjoy?

Jess Lebow: Oh sure.

Wind plays a huge factor in sailing and combat tactics. There are several different types of rigging in the game, and each changes the way a ship handles along with its angle of attack. Trying to sail close-hauled will reduce your effectiveness, as it would in a real ship. The sails will actually turn when you move through the point on the compass where the wind hits them in a different direction. And, among other things, our ships have been created using actual plans from sailing ships of our time period.

Read more after the click.