Chase's MYTHOS Preview Part III
Those are all the details I am going to go into for this interview. If there is enough demand, I will write a LONG and DETAILED sequel interview in the future, but for now I will leave you with an exclusive batch of new interview questions from some of the people working on Mythos.
*There are some minor Japan to America related issues in this interview. Thank you for bearing with us while we get them fixed.
Question 1: Just as a quick introduction for our audience, could you start by telling us who you are, what games you have worked on before this, and what your job is in regards to Mythos?
John Dunbar: John Dunbar, no one is sure what my actual title is so I settled on Zombie Pyrotechnician. A large part of my job is making zombies explode properly, so it seems like a good fit. I work on general design, make quests, decorate the world, and create particle effects. I also spend a lot of time arguing about how things feel.
Jason Beck: I'm Jason Beck and I'm the Art Lead for Mythos. I've done a bunch of casual games people likely haven't heard of, but also worked with Travis and many Mythos team members on FATE.
Marsh Lefler: Hello my name is Marsh Lefler and my title at Flagship Studios is programmer. Like most everybody here; I do a lot more than my title would lead you to believe. For instance, right now I'm balancing all the skills in the game; and after that I'll probably make a new class. Just the other day I added a new quest.
Question 2: In your opinion, what is going to set Mythos apart from games like Diablo II and FATE? For that matter, what is going to set it apart from current MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars?
JD: Mythos will be livelier than Diablo and Fate because of the interaction with other players. We're trying to enhance that aspect of the game and make it easier to meet people, and that's big part of why we're adding the overworld now. We're breaking down some of the barriers to community and making it easy for everyone to get online and play. Mythos will also be constantly expanding as we add features and content. Those older games were one shot deals, with a couple of patches. Mythos is a living, growing world.
The pace of play will also be much faster than WoW and even Guild Wars. In Mythos, you don't fight one monster for five minutes, you fight 20 monsters for five seconds. You'll see the difference as soon as you start playing.
JB: There’s a lot of all of those games we’re hoping that mix together, learn from, and improve where we can, or add something entirely new to. I think capturing that fun and addictive playstyle and putting it into an MMO without losing that pace and action is really what will set us apart from Diablo and FATE. As far as how Mythos differs from the MMO’s like WoW…I think it really comes down to streamlining everything that suits the player is how we’re approaching things. While we fully appreciate those games, playing them feels like a second job at times. To really progress and see all there is to see and feel “powerful” it’s an –incredible- grind. And I think those 10 million users or so might not be looking for a similarly huge grind in a slightly different world. I think they might be a bit burnt out on that type of time and energy investment and could go for a game that can be a smaller investment of time for a similar payoff.
ML: Mythos takes so many things from Diablo( I and II ) and Fate; that really the only BIG thing that sets it apart is that we’re an online action MMORPG. There are a lot of things that we take from quite a few other games too; such as the new open world and the crafting system.
Setting ourselves apart from other MMORPG’s has never been a big concern for us. Making a fun game is our biggest concern. Rule 1: it’s not fun; rip it out.
Question 3: What brought your production team together to decide to make something like Mythos? We know that many of your developers are former Blizzard employees, and that Mythos arose from a simple network software test for Hellgate: London, but at what point did you decide to make the shift from “software testing” to “let’s make a game?”
JD: I think making a game was always the goal. Maybe it was more like “let’s find an excuse to make a game.” Mythos was always fun, even in the very early stages, there’s just something fundamentally great about smashing tons of monsters.
JB: I know Flagship was really impressed with FATE and how it really captured the Diablo gameplay better than most. Travis and I had actually started the pre-production on FATE 2**** when Flagship came calling. From there, knowing Travis’ tenacity, I think he knew it could become a full fledged game immediately and it was a matter of getting it up and running on the Hellgate engine to prove the concept and get a team around him.
***This is not any sort of confirmation that FATE2 is in development. To quote Marsh: Fate2 was killed when Travis left which was over 2 years ago. Wildtangent might be making a sequel; but nobody here knows.
ML: Well before Flagship Seattle was even formed, Travis was working with Flagship San Fran. That group decided to take the next step, which included opening the Seattle branch. The production team was initially handpicked by Travis; with most of the team working with him on Fate. While others ( like me ) just worked alongside with Travis. Once the initial team was formed, we then picked up a few other people from around the nation.
You can also switch to the following camera view, which really shows off the scenery and elevation in the game.
Question 4: Mythos will be free-to-play, with a separate purchasable currency known as Ingots, which can be used in an in-game store. You’ve already stated that there will not be items of “uber” quality or that give a real advantage over non-playing characters. Can you give us a better idea of what kinds of things will be purchasable with ingots? What will make players want to voluntarily buy these things if they don’t give anyone a real advantage over anyone else?
JD:I think people will enjoy customizing their in-game avatar, even if they don’t get a real advantage out of it. Everyone wants to look cool, and at the same time they’ll get to support a game they enjoy. I’m excited about the pets, I think they’ll be really cool and add personality to the game. They’re definitely not necessary, but I would buy one.
I know some people are apprehensive about the whole cash shop thing, so I just want to restate that the game has to be fun for everyone. In this sort of game the vast majority of players never pay a dime, yet they are still crucial to making the world feel vibrant. Not only do we want the free players to have fun because we’re nice guys, we can’t succeed without them.
JB: Well, we’re trying to avoid the purchasing of items that give you an advantage in a battle-oriented stat or skill. We also want to avoid the “this is the best X” item problem where everyone in the game is running around in the same helmet, armor, boots, or whatever…while wielding the same weapons as everyone else as well. So, part of that is item diversity, but also changing the appearance of items through an RMT “skin”, but maintaining the native stats of that object.
The types of advantages we think people will enjoy are things like pets, which can serve a variety of purposes like additional inventory space, auto pickup of loot, or help in combat. Other things are advantages in time savings or convenience like luck modifiers to get more frequent or more rare drops, experience modifiers that give you a small boost in experience earned for an amount of time, and other convenience type offerings. Along with those, the majority of our RMT items will be in wardrobe and “dress up” options. More customization options, clothing, hats, masks, you name it. We’re going to add a bunch of fun options that I think people will really enjoy showing off to their friends.
ML: Well, we want pets. Each pet will have different properties; such as returning your items to town – or picking up specific items. And of course just walking around with you; making you look cooler! We have lots of ideas for them. Next thing we want to add are cosmetics. We’re thinking about a system that will link a new visual to an item. Or a visual taking on the properties of the item you assign it.
Question 5: Continuing on the in-game store economic model… how much are you (realistically) hoping to make in a month with this system? It sounds like Flagship Studios is putting its faith in selling “fun” rather than “advantage.” Do you have any hopes that this economic model will set a new standard?
JD: We’re all in the business of making games, selling fun really isn’t a foreign concept. I think that’s something every game developer puts faith in, if that doesn’t work out we’ll all have to get regular jobs and only make games in the wee hours of the night.
JB:I know someone has run the numbers, but it wasn’t me. I think the team is so focused on the experience of playing the game and the options we make available that we don’t really let that mindset take hold for very long, because to a degree it can impact our decisions. We certainly recognize the risk, but we’re feeling really good about the current game and our plans ahead that we think we’ll find and keep an audience.
ML: I would love it to set a new standard – who wouldn’t. As for the “realistic” hopes of the money we’ll make ….. I have no idea. I don’t even think about it – or maybe I should say I don’t have time to think about it.
Question 6: Final question! There is a huge world map, and currently only three zones filled in it. You’ve said before that you plan to fill the whole map, but is there a plan to ever stop adding content?
JD: Absolutely, and once that map is full it will probably be time to make a new one. New planet? Alternate dimension? Cities under the sea?
Keep playing it and we’ll keep making it.
JB: Yeah, we definitely intend to fill the entire map…and as long as we have players we’ll be adding new content. Speaking for myself, there are so many more areas, creatures, and items that I’d like to add to this world…it’ll just be a matter of “do we have enough of an audience?”
ML: As long as people keep playing the game, it’ll continue to grow. The possibilities are pretty endless for us.
Headshot Radio Productions would like to thank to John Dunbar, Jason Beck, and Marsh Lefler for all the great information. And special thanks to Chase for getting us this amazing preview and screenshots!