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Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
22/05/2006
Funcom's Product Director talks Conan, Schwarzenegger, and the intricacies of drunken bar brawling in an exclusive look at Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures...
Funcom, a leading developer of multi award-winning games such as Anarchy Online and The Longest Journey, continues to pick up accolades for the much anticipated MMORPG, Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures.
Spearheading Microsoft's renewed push towards Games for Windows with the release of Vista; many will be familiar with the Conan name through Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Funcom are trying to look past this, instead relying on the original works of Robert E. Howard.
TVG recently had the chance to discuss the game with Jørgen Tharaldsen, Product Director, at Funcom.
People have a certain perception of the Conan license with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the part the muscle laden hero; however, you're going against this and focusing on the original works, can you explain this choice for us?
Our goal is to strive to deliver the experience as described in the original novels by Robert E. Howard, where there is a dark, lustful, sinister and sinful universe with that brooding feeling of dark and evil all around you. Even though the movies of the 80's gained many fans and propelled Arnold into fame we have gone for a different, and darker, interpretation of the universe.
"... I believe we have the most experienced MMO team in the industry at the moment."
Please can you tell us about the team creating the game; what they have worked on before and how far into development the game is?
Currently we have about 70 people working internally on the game, and it has been in development for a bit over two years and a half years. The Game Director is Gaute Godager, the creator of Anarchy Online, and the Art Director is Didrik Tollefsen, creator of The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online - Shadowlands. In addition to those we have an incredibly experienced team, with almost 60 released games under their belt (including 10 MMO's) so I believe we have the most experienced MMO team in the industry at the moment.
As you previously mentioned, the game is set in the universe created by Robert E Howard, so does the game have to be sanctioned by his institute and how close to the universe does the game mirror in finite detail?
It means that we are taken a great deal of inspiration from the original works of Robert E. Howard, and that you can expect to meet characters, places and even fight monsters Conan met on his way. We have tried to be as true to the universe as possible, but we are also adding our own tint to it. The goal is of course to make it look as good as possible while being fun to play so in a few instances we have taken some liberties, but always in discussion with Conan Inc.
Who has created the story to the game and is it based round the certain events within Robert E Howard's books? What does the story express?
The story in Age of Conan is set after Howard's' novel "Hour of the Dragon", where Conan has finally risen to the throne as king of Aquilonia. He controls a kingdom surrounded by great evil, and ancient enemies are stirring all around.
There are many people in Funcom working on the story in the game, and you will also find elements in the game from Howard's' stories, the stories from other contributors in the universe as well
Can you tell us the kind of structure the game offers in the progress of your character/class, the kind of skills/new abilities you learn and what the blend between single-player and online entails?
The game starts as a single-player game for the first 20 levels, and as you progress from the single-player part it opens up into a full-fledged MMO with loads of new features and opportunities.
You start your game as a commoner, and you choose only your looks at the beginning of the game (you can choose a look at random, or go into the advanced mode with more than 40 sliders to set just about any visual parameter you would like). At level five you choose between the four main classes in the game (rogue, solder, mage, priest), and then at level 20 you get further three or four choices per class. From there on and on towards level 80 (the final level in the game) you get further and further choices on specialization.
The game should thus be very easy to start, and then as you get progressively deeper into the gameplay experience you will get more and more choices. By starting with a single-player game and moving over to a multiplayer end-game we also see that you get a unique progression compared to any game out there.
Conan being an online action RPG, means that it has a strong focus on character evolution and the journey, quests and the amazing adventures of your character. You will have a host of different items, stats, clothes, armors, feats and whatnot you can evolve throughout the gaming experience, with the ultimate goal of you becoming the most brutal warrior in the universe. I mean, it's a barbaric world.
"Even though the movies of the 80's gained many fans and propelled Arnold into fame we have gone for a different, and darker, interpretation of the universe."
Age of Conan promises distances itself away from the traditional click-combat system of PC RPGs; can you elaborate on this area for us?
The game can be played in a number of ways depending on your choices throughout the game, but the combat experience stands at the core of the game.
We have coined the combat system the "real combat engine" because we have implemented a multi-point melee system where you can strike your opponent at six different points of their body. This means that you can swing i.e. your sword at different parts of the enemy bodies, in real-time, which means that you can link attacks together to get a great flow, and eventually unleash combos and super-combos. With the combat system you can also group up in formations (think roman shield formation or 20 horse riders thundering down on you in formation), as well as lay siege to and attack enemy castles.
Can you tell us a little about some of the factions and cast you will face?
You will face a vast array of cast in the game, ranging from the dark wizards of Stygia, to the pirates in the city of Tortage to the wealthy nobles in Tarantia to the guards, to fat demons to brutal monsters to gigantic bears to wild roaming tribal people to the dark gods of long forgotten civilizations. This game is HUGE, and you can expect a massive variation on your journey through the universe!
Could you expand on a couple of the locations within the game that Conan fans will be accustomed to, and the initial backdrop to the game?
I can talk some more about the Island of Tortage, which is where you start the single-player portion of the game. You start your life as a slave shackled on the deck of a ship, rowing for your life as a fat bloated slaver runs around with this whip screaming profanities (or, if you are a woman, in a bit different position, eh, shall we say). Through the unfolding events you somehow manage to flee the ship, drifting ashore on a beautiful beach, with a dark, lush and deep jungle behind it. As you come to your senses you must venture through that jungle, filled with perils, evil enemies, devious traps and lost temples, before you finally end up at the gates of Tortage, a pirate city located on the other end of the island. Once there, and having completed the challenges of the city (like bar brawling) the game is opening up, and you can choose your further direction in the game. Be it Stygia, Cimmeria or Aquilonia (three of the countries in the Hyborian lore), your adventure is just about to begin.
Can you describe one event in the game that sums up the type of experience Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has to offer?
Once you enter the Thirsty Dog Inn in the city of Tortage (or in other festivals and inns) you can enter a bar brawling competition where you can use barstools, tables and whatnot to fight other players. Drunken brawling is turned once you enter such a place and buy an alcoholic beverage. Then you loose the ability to fight with your normal abilities (spells, levels, skills etc.) and someone at level 5 get the same opinion as someone at level 80! As you toss those drinks down all normal RPG rules are totally thrown out the window. You are yourself, alone with your wits (or lack thereof). You swing, score and reduce the consciousness of the opponent. Drinking a lot might make you less conscious, but then again, you might chose to disregard any puny glass bottles broken over your head. How much, how fast and what you drink make you fine-tune that drunkenness. During this stupor, you actually get access to other special moves that are not available in normal combat, like nasty head butts, haymakers and so on. Perhaps a barmaid or waiter might reward you for your efforts? Who knows?
I guess this says something about the feeling of the Hyborian universe, and even though it contains so, so, so much more, this is but one example :)
Finally, being an amalgamation of single-player content and an online world, do you imagine gamers having to pay a subscription fee in addition to the original purchase?
Yes, you will need to purchase the game, and at some point there will also be a monthly fee, but we plan that the entire first part of the game should be for free.
TVG would like to thank Jørgen Tharaldsen for providing this insight into the world of Conan. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is scheduled for release before the end of 2006, keep an eye out for a closer look soon...
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Svup
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i heard much bout it!
i guess i going down and buying it now! (:
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