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Dead State - Zombie RPG
Tuesday, August 31st 2010, 2:01pm
When I first of Dead State (or "ZRPG" as it was called then) I wasn't really interested. After all, zombies have been done to dead (excuse the pun). And the first thing "zombie rpg" brings to my mind is some diablo clone where you fight off waves of zombies.
But that's decidedly not the way they seem to be going with Dead State. Instead the zombies are more of a background thing, a sort of natural disaster forming the backdrop for the game itself. Instead the game is much more about survival.
Dead State is an indie rpg made by DoubleBear (which is made up of ex-Troika and ex-Obsidian veterans) using the tech used to make Age of Decadence.
To learn more about the game there's an interesting interview with Brian Mitsoda up at Rock Paper Shotgun, including a bunch of screenshots (which I think aren't up on the official site yet). Here's an excerpt:
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RPS: Can you elaborate on your vision of zombies? What are you trying to evoke in the game? What kind of things have influenced you?
Brian Mitsoda: On paper, our zombies are really not supposed to be threatening. They’re dumb, they’re slow, they’re unorganized – your very basic shambling corpse. They’re only dangerous when you forget about them. Make too much noise, get cornered, ignore them – that’s when they get dangerous. Most games deal with a Night of the Living Dead scenario where you have to survive one night, one wave, one map. We’re dealing with a long-term zombie threat, where you have to worry about keeping people fed, friends getting bit and infected while scavenging, and the desperation of other human beings. Honestly, the game is not about the zombies, but about how people react to a crisis and what they are willing to do to other human beings and even members of their group to stay alive or protect their own. The zombies are just a cause, like economic collapse or a massive earthquake, and it’s really the human self-preservation instinct and the survivor mentality that we’re interested in portraying. |
Of course there's more details to learn on the official website, like from their FAQ. Here's an excerpt:
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Are the allies like party-members in most RPGs?
Not exactly. There are lots of them and they're not always great at combat, but then, combat is only one aspect of the game. The player may go through the game multiple times and never find all of them, nor have the same experience with them. The player has to provide for allies and lead them, and if their allies don't agree with the player's decisions, they may leave or challenge the player's authority. |
And finally there's the official forum of course.
Of course, whether it'll be really good remains to be seen. But at least it could be quite an interesting RPG. Maybe something a bit different from the usual dungeon-crawl oriented RPG games. We'll see.
[link] to Dead State official website.
[link] to interview with Brian Mitsoda at Rock Paper Shotgun.
[link] to Dead State FAQ at official website.
[link] to Dead State official forum.
Love -x-x-x-
Shir'le
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Neverwinter - Announced
Monday, August 23rd 2010, 4:14pm
A new game in development called "Neverwinter" (as far as I can tell that's the actual name) has been announced. It's not Neverwinter Nights 3 and it's also not an MMO. Instead it's, apparently, a "cooperative online RPG". Despite it not being an RPG it's being developed by Cryptic (who made Champions Online and Star Trek Online).
GameSpot has an interview with Jack Emmert about the game. Here's an excerpt:
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GameSpot: Give us an overview of Neverwinter. What is the game and how will people play it? Will it be a full-on massively multiplayer online role-playing game, like City of Heroes or Champions Online?
Jack Emmert: I wouldn't say MMORPG at all--Neverwinter is a cooperative RPG. You can play with a bunch of friends and experience Neverwinter and D&D in a brand-new way. We're trying to create new sorts of games that we call "OMGs" (online multiplayer games).
In terms of Neverwinter itself, players will find it's a brand-new Forgotten Realms. Years and years have passed, and Neverwinter has fallen into ruins. A brave few are trying to eke out their lives and to rebuild the once great metropolis, but many threats stand in the way. And this is where the players come in… |
As you can see from the interview it's using D&D 4E, it's set "a little over 100 years into the future" (no word on the future compared to what, but for the moment I'm assuming the future since NWN2 because it mentions recovering from the Spellplague). There will be five classes you can choose from to play (the staple fighter, wizard, rogue, ranger and cleric) and for races humans, elves, and dwarves "as well as a few special ones that I won't mention just now".
The game will also come with a system currently named "Forge" to allow players to build their own adventures. But from the description it doesn't sound like it'll be nearly as deep as the Neverwinter Nights toolset(s) as you'll (just?) be able to "write adventures, to create maps, and to attach their quests to in-game entrances and NPCs". It's sounding altogether a lot like City of Heroes' Mission Architect; build a simple map, write some story, hook to existing online game world and have some hack-n-slash. Again, to me sounds like it's totally missing the point of what made Neverwinter Nights so compelling.
There is more on the game in the interview. The game is set to release fourth quarter of 2011. There's also an official website(without much content at the moment).
- [link] to official Neverwinter website.
- [link] to interview with Jack Emmert at GameSpot.
Love -x-x-x-
Shir'le
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EverQuest 2 - Going Free To Play
Thursday, July 29th 2010, 2:15pm
I don't usually report on MMOs here, but well, EverQuest 2 has dark elves so it's relevant. 
The big MMO bombshell earlier this week was that EverQuest 2 is soon going to offer a free-to-play version of the game. The free-to-play version runs on servers separate from the main (subscription) servers, has various limitations (many of which can be partially or completely removed through micro-transactions) and it'll support itself with a micro-transaction model. But overall they're saying that it's the same game with all the same content available.
They're calling this new service "EverQuest II Extended" and there's a detailed FAQ available on their website. Of particular interest is probably the "Membership Matrix" image, which shows the differences between the various membership options.
As you can see the free version only has access to four races (Human, Erudite, Barbarian and Half-Elf). Yes, that means that Dark Elf isn't one of the free options; just as in Dungeons & Dragons Online's free version you'll have to pay extra to unlock the race (I don't know how much that'll be, but I suspect somewhere between $5 and $10). You're also limited to eight classes (Swashbuckler, Brigand, Wizard, Warlock, Guardian, Berserker, Templar and Inquisitor). Again the remaining classes are said to be purchasable. There's a level limit of level 80 (which I think is pretty much the level limit without the latest expansion, to which you don't get access, anyway) and a limit of two character slots. There's also a limit to your spell tiers and what equipment levels you can use; at the moment it looks like that can't be upgraded (without going for a normal subscription). Not sure how much that impacts the game. And there are limits on bag slots, money, number of quests at once, etc.
I've never played EverQuest or EverQuest 2, but I might want to give it a try (which means I'll be busy as I'm also looking to give the soon free-to-play Lord of the Rings Online a try). I'm even considering, based on how much it'll be, of buying the dark elf race and playing one of those (though otherwise I'll just try a half dark elf). I've done a little research into the race and it seems that you're forced to be 'evil' (limited to the evil cities and playing neutral or evil classes). But the cool thing is that there's a way to change alignment; there's a quest (that you can do at level 10, but it's advised to wait until level 20) to betray your city (at which point you become an outcast and hated by everyone) and then you can work to gain faction standing with one of the good cities. Sounds very tedious, but also sounds quite interesting and in keeping with playing a dark elf.
Anyway, I thought that this might be interesting.
Love -x-x-x-
Shir'le
P.s. I just picked a random EQ2 dark elf image for the header. 
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Project Mercury - Now Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Tuesday, July 20th 2010, 10:13pm
Today EA officially announced 38 Studios' debut title, formerly known as "Project Mercury". Called "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" the single player RPG is set to be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox360 in fall of 2011.
38 Studios is the game development studio founded by baseball star Curt Schilling and employs the talents of fantasy author R.A. Salvatore (best know for the Drizzt Do'Urden novels) and artist Todd McFarlane (best known for Spawn). Salvatore is said to be responsible for the background of the world and McFarlane is responsible for the visual style.
The game is being developed by Big Huge Games with Ken Rolston as lead designer. Ken was lead designer on Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Morrowind and Oblivion roleplaying games.
Of course, dropping big names is pretty much all 38 Studios has done so far and I'm not convinced in the least that a baseball player, a fantasy author and a comic artist really guarantee a good game. But I think that Ken's involvement is more promising (at least the man is familiar with making roleplaying games). The description of the game itself, though somewhat generic and sparse, holds at least some promise too as can be seen from their press release:
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EA and 38 Studios Introduce Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Epic Open World RPG to be Unveiled at Comic-Con 2010 All-Star Panel Featuring Todd McFarlane, R. A. Salvatore, Ken Rolston and Curt Schilling
SAN DIEGO, Jul 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and 38 Studios, LLC announced Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the company’s first title previously referred to under the codename “Project Mercury”. Reckoning is an epic, open-world role-playing game set in Amalur, a mysterious and magical new fantasy world created by New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore. Brought to life visually through the trademark visceral style of renowned artist and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, Reckoning brings a new level of intense action combat to the RPG genre. The game is being developed under the leadership of Ken Rolston, lead designer of the critically acclaimed RPGs Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and is scheduled for release in fall 2011.
“Reckoning is a great representation of how a team of incredibly talented and creative people with expertise in different areas can come together and complement each other so well,” said Jen MacLean, CEO of 38 Studios. “We are thrilled to be developing an open-world RPG under the leadership of one of the greatest RPG designers in the industry, with creative direction by one of the most iconic artists of our time, set in a rich universe imagined by one of the top fantasy genre authors in the world. We can’t wait to share the first details of this universe we have been so dedicated to building over the past few years.”
“In Reckoning, we started with Bob and Todd’s exceptional Kingdoms of Amalur game setting and imagery,” said Ken Rolston, Lead Designer at Big Huge Games, a subsidiary of 38 Studios. “On that foundation we built the open-world exploration, vast narrative and character customization fans expect from the best RPGs. And we’ve added something new that we’ve always wanted from the genre — a fast-paced, graphically stimulating action combat experience with fluid control and immersive, discoverable gameplay fans haven’t seen before in other fantasy RPGs.”
Reckoning is a single-player RPG that sets players on a heroic journey to unlock the mysteries of Amalur. Amalur is a magical world, filled with strange landscapes, exotic cities, colorful characters and terrifying creatures. This Thursday at International Comic-Con in San Diego, 38 Studios visionaries McFarlane, Rolston, and Salvatore, along with 38 Studios Founder and Chairman Curt Schilling, will be hosting a panel in the first-ever public discussion of Reckoning.
Attendees will be among the first to see the world debut of Reckoning’s first trailer, directed by McFarlane and will also receive a limited edition collectible poster designed by McFarlane.
The panel takes place in room 6A from 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM and will be moderated by Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley. |
38 Studios is also working on an MMO, codenamed Copernicus, set in the same world as the single player RPG.
As for Kingdoms of Amalur, so far it all sounds pretty generic. But considering how few decent roleplaying games there actually are, it's at least one to keep an eye on.
Thanks for the news to VG247, Gamasutra, Kotaku, GameSpot and IGN.
Love -x-x-x-
Shir'le
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