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Tabula Rasa: AGC Preview
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Richard Garriott, sometimes called "Lord British", currently acts as the Executive Producer of Tabula Rasa. This upcoming sci-fi MMORPG from NCSoft offers some fresh feature from the an all-star team of developers including the inventor of Ultima himself. At AGC this year we had a chance to talk to Richard - who as it turns out Laura attempted to kill one time in Lineage II - about his project.
;) Richard Garriott is one of the few names in this industry that raises the profile of a game simply by being attached to it. He invented the Ultima series and was a key member of the team that created Ultima Online. Now with NCSoft, Richard serves as the Executive Producer on Destination Games Tabula Rasa.
Originally announced some time ago, the game underwent a marked shift just before E3 2005. Richard explained how it began with a rather trivial observation: everyone on the development team exclusively played female characters. |
You can read the full account of our interview here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
Maybe you didn't read the whole article. It isn't like guild wars, just certain points of interest or control points will be instanced, which then has an effect on the main ouside world. Very intriguing. I hate instances but it sounds like they thought it out so that you won't exactly be in your own little copy of a dungeon, merely a copy of a part of the larger world which still has an effect on the world at large.
Also the targetting yet FPS type gameplay is intriguing. Kind of like a mix between real time FPS and turn based gameplay. I can't wait to see this title released.
Eh...sounds like NC Soft is make all it's games be highly instanced. TR sounds less instanced than GW, but still. WoW strikes the perfect balance of instance vs. persistant game play. Maybe I'm getting too old fashioned, but instancing makes an MMO feel not so MMO...
And RR is coming out with FPS/RPG element hybrid system also...TR just doesn't look interesting now.
And what is with the story? Anyone else think of Starship Troopers when they read the new direction they were taking? Not very original.
Actualy NC SOFT makes a game called Lineage II with absolutely no instanced zone's and they dont make Guild Wars. I'm actualy against isntanced games like Guild Wars I wanna feel like I'ts a free world where i can do what i want (freeeeeDommmmmm) lol. Anyways but I also think that Tubla Rasa will be a fun game if they add more intresting things like their battle field system where you feel like your playing Bf 1942
cuz of the intense action and the feeling like you have to take over a base as soon as you can make a game fun for certain players.
Its good to hear some more news on TR
But otherwise, the big, shared world where everything interacts is one of the things I love in MMORPGs. To use the example with the big wall that needs to be breached:
I would prefer to fight this out on a non-instanced battlefield, with some players rushing the wall while others keep the bane off their back. For those who know Day Of Defeat, I think of something like something like the map "Charlie".
Neocron has something similar, maybe with a bit more skill requirement than TR. It is clearly a step up from the classic "click and wait" combat in MMORPGs, but in direct comparison to shooters like Counterstrike and Call Of Duty it still feels second-rate.
Overall, I'm interested in TR, but like Gunblade I would prefer to test it before buying.
I've been following Tabula Rasa since it was announced, and the change of direction was startling and interesting. Frankly, I'm tired of all the fantasy MMOs around and none of the sci-fi MMOs have captured my interest. TR is sounding a bit like PlanetSide, a game that had promise but didn't wow me. I had issues with some specifics of PlanetSide's gameplay (such as the fact that when you got defeated in battle you had to completely re-equip yourself, giving the momentum to the winning side) and ultimately I didn't see the point of paying a monthly fee to get what was essentially the same experience as Halo.
The fact that they were even planning to make the Game 100% Instanced gives me major reasons to doubt if I'd care for TR, but I trust Richard Garriott as a developer more than any of the other ones out there. Hell I even met him in UO, and exchanged words briefly with him. Kind of makes me feel like I know him. No wonder politicians like to go out and shake people's hands.
He knows how to create an Online World, and was smart enough to leave UO when it was taken out of his control.(At least I think that is what happened.)
Plus I have decided that all I want to do is play an MMORPG where I can become famous, and known for my skill and impact on the game word. This seems like a main focus of TR. Anyone know what year they are planning this for? Screenshots look pretty solid.
It's probably a good thing that Garriot moved the game away from high fantasy to a more action/sci-fi setting. The market for elves and fairy's is beyond saturated. But the setting is really secondary, the big question is wether he can create gameplay that is both new and compelling. Indeed, wether he can realize his vision or fall short, even dreadfully short. I haven't played every MMOG out there but I've played most of the bigger titles and there hasn't been much innovation since Ultima Online and Everquest. Even WoW didn't add much; Blizzard managed to fix most of what was broken with earlier games then present it in a modern graphics engine. It's fun and fluffy, but it lacks depth and after a couple months, I was done. Despite Garriot's iconic status, I'm not sure that he, even with all NCSoft's resources, will be able to bring the true second generation of MMOG to market. The industry buzz seems to be that he is "past it". I hope he pulls it off, if only 'cause I'm bored stiff.
Richard Garriot hasnt really made a game for 10 years.
So if I dont code for 10 years does that mean I will be able to keep up with people who have been?
Just the fact that this thing is going to be instanced means Lord British sold out.
Next Game.