While not strictly related to Blizzard, we’ve been following the progress of the former Flagship Studios’ developers, so this is relevant.
GameCyte has a new interview up with two of them who have started a new studio, Runic Games, who are Max Schaeferand Travis Baldree. The interview delves deep into why the company moved, why they think FSS failed like it did. It specifically mentions the current state of FSS right now as well. Specifically Max makes an emphasis on the fact that for all intents and purposes Flagship Studios is closed down, and Bill is just there to finish off the closure.
Max then goes on to talk about his brother and his involvement with the team. It then goes on to talk about if FSS had any chance of staying open. They then talk of the sorts of games they want to make with the new studios.
Next they talk about the game’s (Mythos) differentiation with Diablo 3 and Sacred 2, as well as the whole colour issue in Diablo 3. Lastly they mention that Namco at the moment is just handling the box sales of Hellgate London, but there is no current knowledge of what they plan to do with the game later.
WarCry network has posted up a new interview with Runic Games founder, Travis Baldree. He talks of the new studio, talks a little bit about Diablo 3 which may be their direct competition later, the sorts of games they want to make as well as what payment systems they are thinking of doing.
A new article has popped up today about Mythos. It deals with the way that Hellgate was received as well as how Mythos plans to make a larger dent in the market.
The article has appeared on Eurogamer and it’s sister site GamesIndustry.biz.
“If we made a mistake with Hellgate, it was trying to do too many things for too many people,” admitted Schaefer, in an interview with our sister site Eurogamer.net.
“We wanted a cutting edge graphics engine, we wanted multiple business models with subscriptions and free play, and single-player, we wanted to combine third-person play with first-person play, we wanted to do random 3D levels, and when you’re starting with a brand new game studio with very limited budget and no existing technologies, that was probably biting off too much.
“We ended up rushing it to market and not keeping it in the oven long enough, just out of necessity.”
[...]
“With Mythos we’re definitely taking our time, we’re well within our budget and our means to make it. It’s a little bit of a turning point for us - don’t try to do everything for everybody. Just be more realistic about your design goals. Bring it back to nine tenths instead of ten tenths and things will go much sooner,” he detailed.
[...]
“Can we take down the big boys? I think we can take down some of them. And I’d like to put a dent in the others.”
WarCry network has a new interview up with Travis Baldree, whom we know as the lead behind Mythos.
The interview is quite short, however gives some interesting insights.
WC: The business model for Mythos is unusual. Please explain how Mythos will ‘make money’ if not through subscription play. What sort of items will be sold through through the premium shops?
Our initial plan is to utilize a dual-currency system similar to what is used by Three Rings for Puzzle Pirates. In this system, there are two ingame currencies - one that is earned, and one that is purchased for actual money. Certain goods and services will be available for purchase with the ‘purchased’ currency. The unique part of this system is that players can trade purchased currency for ingame currency or items - in this way, even those who never pay any actual money can still have access to goods that require it. Our aim is not to sell game-in balancing items, but rather convenience services and cosmetic options, primarily.
WC: Mythos has had the ‘casual gamer’ label slapped on it by MMO purists. How do you respond to that? What sort of gamer is Mythos attempting to attract?
I don’t have any problem with being labeled a casual game - primarily because as I grow older I am making the shift from hardcore to casual myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about a fun game with a deep core experience - it means I’m unwilling to put up with needless time wasting and grind. Casual gamers don’t want less of a game - they just want the time spent playing it to count. We’d like the hardcore to play as well - we intend to keep layering the experience, and deepening it with late-game content that we hope will keep players interested and active, without feeling they need to commit an extraordinary chunk of their life to do so.
See the WarCry page for the rest of the interview.
The official Mythos website is reporting on a couple of bits of new Mythos things.
First is a set of new exclusive screenshots of the Overworld by RPG Vault and second is a front page magazine review of Mythos, in an online Magazine, Thirteen1 Online.
Over at RPG vault there are six exclusive Mythos screenshots of the Overworld now available in our Test Center server. Check them out by clicking Read More… below.
Mythos was given a cover spot on the latest issue of Thirteen1 Online Gaming Magazine as well as a three page preview. Check out the June 13th issue over at their website.
Are you tired of having to pester Flagship Studios for small tidbits of news about the game?
Are you bored of not having any recent exclusives?
Are you eager to hear about some new and exciting information about Mythos?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you’ve come to the right place!
That’s right! We here at Mythos Guru have gone out of our way to do the job for you. You won’t have to wait in line to get one measly question answered. You won’t have to leave your kids alone in the car, baking under the hot sun, as you dash to your news press to find the latest goss on the game only to find a police officer waiting for you with a warrant and a pair of silver handcuffs when you return. You won’t have to sit there doodling words and pictures on your wall hoping they will be the new exclusives for Mythos.
All you simply have to do is feast your eyes upon our wonderous interview with the amazing Max (Note: Max may or may not actually be amazing, but the interview is indeed wonderful!). Not only do you get exclusive new information at Mythos Guru about the game’s upcoming new modes of transportation, brand new ways to live and die, new ways to dress and express, as well as the secret race that was going to be put in until Max was abducted!!!
You will see the answers to these questions and more by read not one, two, or even five, but twenty four whole questions that will make you wish that you could hibernate until open beta!
GamesRadar has interviewed Max Schaefer, with a quote entitled “We just wanted to whack skeletons with clubs”. Such is the simple premise of Mythos, a game that’s incredibly fun not in spite of, but due to its overall simplicity and straightforwardness in design. Here’s a snippet from the aforementioned interview:
GR: Mythos is a rarity in the MMO sphere in that it’s completely free of subscription fees. What brought about that decision? Distaste for the current publishing model? The need to compete in a WoW-dominated market? Something else entirely?
MS: We’d like to think we’re clever enough to have made up this model, but the truth is that it’s become the dominant business model in Asia, and is quickly coming to the US/Europe market. Certainly, it’s foolish to compete directly with WoW, but even if there was no WoW, we would still be moving in this direction. We like the model because of the low barrier to entry. You don’t need to go to a store, buy a box, and commit to payments on a game you’re not sure you want to play. We are confident in Mythos, and confident that people will want to participate after they’ve tried it out.
Both of these articles were mentioned on the official Mythos website.
The first is Binary, which is a gaming blog, which has a preview of their gaming experience in Mythos:
The game starts quite smoothly with no long tutorials or cutscenes. You are quickly tasked with going into a vestry to return the undead to the soil from which they crawled and once complete are sent to the castle town, Stonehill. This is the primary world hub, where you can get new quests, buy/ sell and upgrade items, and access your storage chest.
[...]
My biggest concern with the game is that there’s a lot to take in for first time gamers. For a normal rpg I wouln’t think this is a problem - but since this is free it has the potential to attract a much broader audience. Hopefully, since this is a beta, the extra dev time will allow them to improve the tutorial/ docs. Being a massive multiplayer game you can always ask if you get stuck, however currently the world is quite empty. I am not sure if this is due to the fact the game is a closed beta or that the game has been designed this way.
Horned’s dungeon has a new interview up on their website with Max Schaefer.
It goes through a variety of questions about game features and what is to come in the future of the game.
Mythos will finance itself about so-called item-stores. In which prize area will these stores move?
Max Schaefer: You will be able to buy items and services from vendors using the in-game cash currency in each town. They will work very much like the regular vendors, only instead of gold, silver, and copper, they will take the cash currency.
Will there be for fans like me sometime maybe a collector edition? Lineage 2 has demonstrated it here and after 2 years has thrown on the market a collector edition.
Max Schaefer: That’s a little ahead of where we’re thinking right now, but I like the idea. If we are successful in launching Mythos, we’ll do something like that for our fans!
[...]
Thank you Mr. Schaefer for this Interview. I hope Mythos would be a great Game.. No, I know that Mythos would be a great Game. Im a big Fan of this Game. And if, nevertheless, you want to make liable to pay costs one day. I think here the fans pay with pleasure monthly. A survey of us confirms this that the people were ready to pay.
Max Schaefer: There really is no good way to get money from customers, is there? If only we could get a government subsidy and provide the game for free to everyone, then everyone would be happy! Seriously, a huge part of our market is the Asian territories, and they are almost 100% using the item store model. Since our team is as small as our budget, we can only support one financial model at this time, and are going with the item store concept worldwide. We think it provides the most flexibility, and the best option for those who cannot pay any cash to play.
There are more questions on their website, so go check them out!
The weekly 1UP internet radio/chat show has been broadcast again this Friday, and one of the topics discussed was Mythos.
Shawn, Anthony, and Jay Frechette discussing their experiences in the new MMO Mythos, including an impromptu chat with Flagship Studios lead producer Max Schaefer.
While I don’t have the time to download it and find out what they talk about, if any of you guys do let us know if it’s of any use. Thanks.
The download links for the show are on the website.
Mythos Guru was founded early in 2007 as the first fansite and forum ever dedicated to Flagship Studios' online game, Mythos. It caters to an international base of players and guilds. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor Hellgate Guru, Mythos Guru shares a proud tradition of sponsoring and organizing community backed projects and events, and a powerful skill calculator. More
