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General: Editorial: Where is The Secret World
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood writes this editorial focusing on Funcom's little talked-about upcoming MMORPG The Secret World.
Back in May of 2007, we learned about a new project coming from Funcom. This new project would be called 'The Secret World' and would be "inspired by history and mythology, modern conspiracy theories and ancient mysteries." The game Is supposed to be releasing for both the PC and the Xbox.
Funcom has two major MMO releases on the market, Anarchy Online, and Age of Conan. AO is an MMO based on a sci-fi future, while Age of Conan reckons back to the past. The Secret World, one must assume in the interest of cosmic and genre balance, is based in today's world. There is, of course, a catch. Here's how the original press release described it:
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Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
we thought we would present this editorial just to remind people of the game's existence.
And troll bait.
I mean, do you realize the AoC haters who will flock in here to state that this will be a disaster thanks to the fact that so many feel AoC is still a major flop?
I have watched this game with more interest than AoC. I still play AoC and enjoy it immensely. But, with many a blog, news site (like Kotaku, who announced the CLOSURE of AoC) and press release dogging Funcom at every turn, I expect this post to bring about a VERY heated debate,
Get ready with that ban hammer!
It'll be interesting to see what new information we get this year. in all honesty, I've let this one slip off of my radar a little bit, but now I'm even more curios than before.
I have been looking forward to this game too, more so than AoC...
AoC happened to change into a WoW like clone maybe with some part of it Vanguard'ly as well, and most of the fun and interesting stuff was cut out of it, because it was easier to make it like they did... It was easier to play... I wish they had understood the fact of AO, it is popular because it is hard to play, not despite it...
I just hope The Secret World will be all that it is promising to be, and that it won't be made "simple" just because it is easier to make because that may make it loose the appeal it have gotten...
That said I really look forward to more info beeing released, we had tons of fun with the last info and the puzzles in finding out how to find that info, a great effort of the community, a promise to us that the community and the will to cooperate will be very important in the game too...
I will be interested to see if they do vary from the standard MMORPG formula but I'm not going to sit with bated breath until they do.
Woopin, 7 seconds Woopin, only seven seconds.
I'll be keeping my ears and eyes open for new info soon.
I got AofC because I hoped it would have Lovecraftian aspects (as did Robert E. Howard);
this looks like it might be even better.
Ah now see this is exactly the kind of mmo a small innovative company like Funcom should be doing - small, niche, creative, different, and something they could support.
Funcom should create a Major Market Division and hand off AoC to that division. Then concentrate their mainstream Core resources and efforts to this Secret World project.
gamesindustry.biz has a little more not too long ago:
Trond Arne Aas: There were many things we did right when we launched Age of Conan, but there were also things that should have been handled differently. When it comes to sales we did extremely well, and we are also very proud of the fact that the launch itself was without any major technical difficulties.
People had fun when they first started playing, and the feedback we got around launch was very positive all around - both from gamers and press. However, as gamers got deeper into the game we realised there were shortcomings, shortcomings that we have worked very hard on improving after launch.
The game has matured significantly since launch, and we have managed to address many of the key concerns players voiced about the game. We have added more content, we have improved core gameplay mechanics, gotten rid of a lot of bugs, and we have improved stability and performance. Of course there are many changes yet to come, so the game will only improve from here. There are also certain design decisions that we have learned a lot from, and that we will take with us as we develop The Secret World.
Q: Is The Secret World still a priority for Funcom? When can we expect to hear some more solid information on the game?
Trond Arne Aas: Absolutely, the development of The Secret World continues and we are expanding the development team at a steady pace. This is a very exciting project for us, and the team working on it has been able to draw on the innovations of Age of Conan for quite some time now – especially from a technological standpoint.
With such a solid engine already in place, the team is able to focus even more on content and gameplay functionalities. We will, of course, continue to improve the engine as well, but we now have a platform for developing a game that we really didn’t have when we first started working on Age of Conan. Next year you will definitely see a lot more information on The Secret World.
The setting sounds very original and interesting - I'm looking forward to learning more about it but it's so far off, I can't care too much until it's much, much closer.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
I love the setting. Let's hope it's as awesome as it could be.
I'll keep an eye and both ears open on this one but I think they better do it right if CCP will be releasing World of Darkness at the same period .
In the land of Predators,the lion does not fear the jackals...
about time someone makes a cthulu-type mmo!
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
Well it has funcon attached to it, enough said. The completly blew AOC, hopefully they have learned there lesson and do a better job.
"modern conspiracy theories"
WoW, my cup of tea!!! M...Must....not..... pre....p...preorder...... n...no........
Hope they really, really learn from past mistake. I will see how its goes....
RIP Orc Choppa
Like others, I personally have found 'Secret World' to be far more intriguing and interesting than AoC; for many of the same reasons... I'm a big fan of mythology (both of fiction (e.g. the Cthulu mythos) and those derived from different cultures). I also enjoy reading of different "conspiracy theories", like the Montauk Project, etc. It's all really interesting stuff to me.
So, to play a game steeped in that kind of lore, and in that kind of a setting... "Yes, please!"
That said, I am also keeping my enthusiasm at arm's length. As others have and, no doubt, will point out... there have been numerous projects lately that have promised big in concept but fell short on delivery - and not only AoC.
What does give me hope, however, is that Ragnar Tornquist seems to be heavily involved in this project; seemingly a key person. I'm a fan of his work; from his writing for Anarchy Online (including novels set in that universe), to "The Longest Journey" and "Dreamfall" - two games I'm also a big fan of (I've played through TLJ at least 5 times now, and it never gets old).
The man knows how to craft a good story and create interesting and believable characters. So, anything he's directly involved with - especially plot or setting wise - is of immediate interest to me.
So, it's good news to see that this game is still moving forward and I'm glad mmorpg.com decided to post that article.
Let's hope this one pans out well.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
The way i see it is, FUNCOM trashed one game, i mean it was'nt trashed but let's face it.
It just was'nt all the good.
But you, must fail to learn. So in this case they better do so. Becuase if they relesed 2 consecutive mmo's
that got bashed by thouands upon thousands, well i'd say that's bad ( BIZ-NAZ)
So is this game going to be set in a some what post-apoc or some thing.
Becuase if it is, ill play.
- 200+ Hr's on fallout- Give me some thing else now thats my kinda taste.
Soverign Malus some call me
Blood hound is what other's say.
I shall crush all opponents
Father Death, Chaos Lord Rains tyranny.
blanket of shadow, steel sword kissed by the blood of the unworthy. Foes Fall, Fields Of Red.
- Soverign Malus " Father Death" Forever Shadow Sect.
Ah I wondered where this game had gone to. I'm glad it's still around and hopefully it will live up to what it's trying to do.
Well, if it's legitimately panned, that is.
No matter what the game is like or how well it's doing, there are going to be people saying it sucks, etc. Some will say that simply because it's Funcom.
I mean, look at how many trash WoW, call it a "failure" and say it's "dying" when all evidence proves quite the obvious. It's the 700lb gorilla of the MMO industry that everyone's trying to get a piece of; about as far from a "failure" as you can get, personal opinion notwithstanding.
There are some people who will simply never let reality stand in the way of saying whatever they will, about anything really.
So, yeah... There's a certain kind of "trashing" that is to be expected regardless of how the game does. If Funcom fumbles with it, though, and the criticism is warranted, then that'll be a different story.
We shall see!
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
As I understand it (and, of course, I could be wrong), Tornquist actually had very little to do with the Age of Conan project. He's the guy behind the Anarchy Online MMORPG (a great game in its day, although it has aged poorly) and the offline Dreamfall: The Longest Journey game -- one of the best story-driven games I've ever seen, myself.
So, I'm certainly willing to give The Secret World a look. FunCom wasn't always full of fail, and after the botching of Age of Conan, I don't expect they'll be the same company underneath the hood, once The Secret World arrives.
But hey, I'm guessing. What else can we do at this point?
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled flame-troll extravaganza ...
I'm a WoW hater. Not sorry. Whatever. AoC doesn't appeal to me, and I haven't even tried it, so I can't hate it, or hold FunCom in a negative light. I've been waiting patiently for an MMO that does appeal. I have very little to go on for Secret World, but the setting seems fun. Maybe it's the one to fill my MMO gap. Time will tell.
This is one of a very few games that could pull me away from LOTRO for awhile. I've been excited about Secret World since I first heard of it. I joined the forums but haven't visited for quite some time because of the lack in new info. I'll be popping in on a regular basis now.
Secret World has all the earmarks of being a hit. The backgound and clues given originally point to an MMO unlike anything released to date, and if Funcom doesn't over-simplify the mechanics, Secret World will make everyone forget about the AoC mess. Personnally, I have high hopes for this game.
~ Adder ~
Quick, Silent, Deadly