Erik Roggeveen is one of the designers working hard on the eagerly anticipated new MMORPG by Simutronics, Hero's Journey. Today, Erik talks a little about what his job is like:
"Ya ever sit up late when you were a little kid, under the tent of
your sheets with a flashlight so your parents didn't see it shining
beneath your door, munching stolen cookies that grandma had made
earlier that day (she had it comin'!), and plotting the
viscera-slopping disembowelment of a few of your pals' innocent
characters?
Designing
modern MMORPGs is a lot like designing
tabletop campaigns, Erik says. Capture the players' interest, then step back and let them set their own course - but be ready for anything they throw at
you! One needs to be able to bring players back into the stories
when their interest wanes. Most important, however, is "customer service" - everyone wants some personal attention.
The creation of a
fantastic, deeply layered game world demands meticulous preparation, according to Erik. This is where the team is at the moment. Now that the HeroBlade Engine works, the GameMasters are working toward
crafting the game to fit.
"Everyone not involved with the engine had
been working on the development of the lore, quests, intrigue, and
interactions for years ahead of time, and now we've finally got a place
to really assemble it all. It felt like we had an actual-size model of
the universe, and nowhere big enough to put it together!" Erik adds.
Right now, the designers are focusing on Nomgar, which makes up almost a third of the
game world, while preparing for the actual construction. The continent will be broken into 8-10 huge
level-based regions based on the history centered of Elanthia.
"There will be more
than just passing feelings of familiarity for the previously
indoctrinated players, but they more than anyone will recognize that we
have taken Elanthia for another full turn around the wheel, as is only
proper when refurbishing a masterpiece," says Erik.
Each of Nomgar's region has a separate team of
GameMasters working on the details, with lots of support from the Development, Onsite, and the Art teams. With huge areas covering scale miles of explorable terrain loaded with quests, combat, and
treasure, these teams have their work cut out for them. The World team lays out the basic geography, including common dungeons and crannies. Meanwhile, the Quest team adds instances wherever possible, connecting the story strands.
Erik's next topics will (hopefully) be the
Region he's been developing: the battlegrounds where
the worst acts of the Sundering took place. Of his own Region, he says: "It is a seriously chaotic
and demented place - strongly befitting my own leanings - where greed,
violent and unpredictable machines, corrupted magic, and the power
plays of wealthy and craven alike play out in a harshly unforgiving
wasteland."
Titles
