BT: Do you think that more MMOs are going to move to consoles in time?
JD: Like with Sony’s Home? Well, it’s always possible but I don’t think we have the same motivation to do it. We are a genre that traces its genetic lineage back decades to MUD culture and the original Neverwinter Nights – those are all PC games that PC gamers play on PC architecture.
It’s hard to imagine those ever having emerged on consoles because, by its very nature, the console experience is about a shorter term and a lot more casual and faster paced. We’re more about lifestyle and the things you’re going to obsess over outside of the game. More like sports than we are like video games.
BT: How do you mean?
JD: Well, if you think of the average video game then they are two things – and this isn’t a criticism, just a statement of fact. First, they are solitary. Second, they are non-competitive. You’re almost always playing against a system. That’s all very fun, but on a primitive level it isn’t all that familiar to humans.
If you think about how people play and have always played then there are two things in common no matter if it’s a sport, a playground game or a board game. First, they are socially co-operative because you play them with other people. Secondly, they’re competitive because you play them against other people. If you wind those two elements together then wherever you see it then it becomes more of a hobby than a game.
So, yes, football is a game – but it’s also a lifestyle and a hobby for the players and the fans because it extends outside of the game itself. That’s something that really is more appropriate on the PC than a console because the PC is more of a tool, a kind of communication mechanism that you can use to extend the experience beyond the game.
And – God, I’m talking a lot and this is all getting very philosophical and I’ll shut up.
BT: That’s fine – it’s interesting stuff, though I do wish I was paid by the word. Back to the game though, you said before that Warhammer is an idea and this is just how you’ve chosen to present it in this way. Why did you choose to present it in this way then?
JD: Well, because of a few things. Firstly, this is where our experience is and going back over ten years our studio has always made MMORPGs going back to Dark Age of Camelot nearly seven years ago. That was also the first game to ever use Realm versus Realm stuff, so in terms of mechanics that’s just what we know and where our sensibilities lie. That’s part of why the license was offered to us.
BT: So you were specifically offered the rights to a Warhammer MMO without having to hunt it down?
JD: The head of our studio is actually very good friends with the guys at Warhammer and they’ve known each other for years. It was one of those things where we’d been offered it before, but the timing was never quite right because of this or that. Luckily though the star just aligned a few years ago and we got a chance at this idea we couldn’t say no to. Warhammer is something that everyone knows, everyone loves.
For example, every time you’ve ever seen a green Orc then that’s come from Warhammer. Traditionally Orcs weren’t green until Warhammer. So, part of our artistic approach was trying to capture that traditional feel of the franchise. We have a high level of detail and, though some proportions are exaggerated, we’re certainly less cartoony than you’ll find in some other games.
That said, we’re perhaps not as photorealistic as some other games. The whole thing is about finding the right balance and avoiding that uncanny valley where the character is looking almost too real and is weirdly abstracted as a result. We needed to find something immersive, detailed, fantastic and evocative. It helps when you have a great art director.
JD: Like with Sony’s Home? Well, it’s always possible but I don’t think we have the same motivation to do it. We are a genre that traces its genetic lineage back decades to MUD culture and the original Neverwinter Nights – those are all PC games that PC gamers play on PC architecture.
It’s hard to imagine those ever having emerged on consoles because, by its very nature, the console experience is about a shorter term and a lot more casual and faster paced. We’re more about lifestyle and the things you’re going to obsess over outside of the game. More like sports than we are like video games.
BT: How do you mean?
JD: Well, if you think of the average video game then they are two things – and this isn’t a criticism, just a statement of fact. First, they are solitary. Second, they are non-competitive. You’re almost always playing against a system. That’s all very fun, but on a primitive level it isn’t all that familiar to humans.
If you think about how people play and have always played then there are two things in common no matter if it’s a sport, a playground game or a board game. First, they are socially co-operative because you play them with other people. Secondly, they’re competitive because you play them against other people. If you wind those two elements together then wherever you see it then it becomes more of a hobby than a game.
So, yes, football is a game – but it’s also a lifestyle and a hobby for the players and the fans because it extends outside of the game itself. That’s something that really is more appropriate on the PC than a console because the PC is more of a tool, a kind of communication mechanism that you can use to extend the experience beyond the game.
And – God, I’m talking a lot and this is all getting very philosophical and I’ll shut up.
BT: That’s fine – it’s interesting stuff, though I do wish I was paid by the word. Back to the game though, you said before that Warhammer is an idea and this is just how you’ve chosen to present it in this way. Why did you choose to present it in this way then?
JD: Well, because of a few things. Firstly, this is where our experience is and going back over ten years our studio has always made MMORPGs going back to Dark Age of Camelot nearly seven years ago. That was also the first game to ever use Realm versus Realm stuff, so in terms of mechanics that’s just what we know and where our sensibilities lie. That’s part of why the license was offered to us.
BT: So you were specifically offered the rights to a Warhammer MMO without having to hunt it down?
JD: The head of our studio is actually very good friends with the guys at Warhammer and they’ve known each other for years. It was one of those things where we’d been offered it before, but the timing was never quite right because of this or that. Luckily though the star just aligned a few years ago and we got a chance at this idea we couldn’t say no to. Warhammer is something that everyone knows, everyone loves.
For example, every time you’ve ever seen a green Orc then that’s come from Warhammer. Traditionally Orcs weren’t green until Warhammer. So, part of our artistic approach was trying to capture that traditional feel of the franchise. We have a high level of detail and, though some proportions are exaggerated, we’re certainly less cartoony than you’ll find in some other games.
That said, we’re perhaps not as photorealistic as some other games. The whole thing is about finding the right balance and avoiding that uncanny valley where the character is looking almost too real and is weirdly abstracted as a result. We needed to find something immersive, detailed, fantastic and evocative. It helps when you have a great art director.
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