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Jonathan 'Ringo2000' Sharpe :: 12:45 AM @ July 1st, 2005 :: In-House: Interview |
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Well folks, today we�ve got an interview with Mythic Entertainments Executive Producer, Jeff Hickman. The interview is about their more than successful MMO Dark Age of Camelot, and covers everything from thoughts on their last expansion launch, to their upcoming expansion for the game, Darkness Rising.
GameGossip: Mythic recently released its newest expansion �Catacombs�. In your opinion did the launch go as well as you had hoped? Are there any elements of the expansion you feel still need to be improved upon?
Jeff Hickman: Catacombs was a fantastic launch for us. We had very minimal, issues with the expansion, launch or bugs. I don�t think I would change a thing about Catacombs at this point.
GameGossip: Of all the new features and game play elements in the Catacombs expansion, which would you say is your favorite, and why?
JH: The massive amount of instanced dungeons and how we handle them, is probably my favorite feature from this expansion. The ability to access content solo or in a small group, and have that content tailored to the player is a huge success for us.
GameGossip: One issue that many players have been running into in areas such as the battlegrounds is that the Vampiir class seems to be far to overpowered against other players. In your opinion, do you think that this class needs to be toned down a bit, or would you say that these impressions are false?
JH: We are constantly monitoring class balance in the game, and whenever we put new classes in, they get special attention from our team to make sure they fit within the balance of the game. We are definitely monitoring the Vampiir as well as other new classes, but have not made any decisions as to changing him in any way at this point. Like many classes in the game, the Vampiir is situationally strong, but also weak in other situations. We will keep watching the new classes and make any changes necessary as we see imbalances.
GameGossip: Recently the new town art patch was released, giving the outside appearance of all the different cities such as Camelot, as well as towns throughout the three different realms an impressive new look. However, the insides of the cities still have the same old look as before. Are there future plans to release a patch that will improve the appearance inside of the cities to match the outside? If so, how soon can we expect to see it released to the public?
JH: We are currently in discussion on exactly what we are going to do with the city interiors. I can�t release any real details yet, but I think you are going to like what we are planning ;)
GameGossip: Another thing that several players have asked for is some sort of in-game faction window, letting you know what your status was with various NPC mobs and enemies. Do you guys have any intentions of ever adding a feature like this?
JH: Hmm, that is a great idea! We have discussed it at various times over the years, but have not ever decided to implement it. I will bring it up again in our next design meeting and see what the team thinks.
GameGossip: This year at E3 Mythic announced plans to release its upcoming expansion. Can you give us a hint as to what you guys will be bringing to the table with this next expansion pack, and just what we can expect to see?
JH: We are focusing this expansion on a mysterious rebellion that has arisen in each of the realms. Rebels seem to be springing up out of nowhere and are threatening the safety of the kings themselves! The expansion is centered around the players coming to the aid of the kings, investigating the mysteries behind the rebellion, and putting a stop to it once and for all. There will be a load of new and interesting things for the players to do, see and achieve. This includes things like new Champion Weapons and player controllable and fully customizable mounts.
GameGossip: All things Dark Age aside, just what games is the development team into playing right now, besides Dark Age of Camelot?
JH: Besides playing Camelot? We make it a habit to check out all major MMOs that come into the market to understand how the genre is evolving. So if you name any of the others, we have probably dabbled in all of them.
If you want to learn more about Dark Age of Camelot, visit the official site. |
| #1 - Talon - 07/01/05 @ 03:33 AM EST |
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Very interesting. I've always thought DAOC has a unique look and feel compared to other MMORPGs. Nice to know the devs are continuing to build on the game's strengths. |
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Nice interview. The questions were right-to-the-point, and not tapdancing around the point of it. |
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