Simutronics' precious MMO creation, Hero's Journey, will be hitting stores next year. But with their announcement of new GameMaster positions, it seems that the people behind the MMO are already done with the engine and are now shifting their attention to amping the game's actual content. They have added two new GameMaster types - Content Writers and Level Builders.

Content Writers are part of the game's story team. Their main job is to help write and design quests, magic items, heroes, and other in-game storylines. Basically, a vast imagination bank would be an advantage for content writers as their words and concocted events would be the lifeline of the game.

Level Builders, on the other hand, are part of the World team. They would have the HeroBlade tool at their disposal to sculpt, paint, and assemble the landscape of Hero's Journey. Imagination could still be your ticket in but you should also have a keen eye for shapes, space and color. Looks like a perfect job for an obsessive-compulsive.

Interested? Well, you can click on the link below to know more about it.

 

Hero's Journey is the new 3D MMO game designed by Simutronics, with a projected release by 2007. This game is rather flexible, as quests and gameplay shape how a particular character's story will turn out. It promises "more fun" and more flexible character customization than other MMORPGs.

Speaking of character customization, there are nifty things in this MMO called Wyr. Wyr are sort of relics that you could attach to your armor to boost your character stats. Found a "haute couture" breastplate that's perfect for your get-up, but thinking of keeping your old breastplate that gives you +20 defense instead? Don't worry, you could just get your trusty Wyr from your old armor, and place it in the new one.

In this game, skills and attribute boosts are not tied to your character's equipment. Just shove your Wyr in that new armor of yours and you're to ready rumble with a cool get-up, without sacrificing your character's abilities. But that doesn't mean that they're throwing upgrades in the trash bin. It's like this: the more powerful your armor/equipment is, the more Wyr slots it has. And more Wyr slots mean more Wyr; thus, more power.

More than that though, Wyrs are sort of memoirs to Elanthia's past, specifically, the tragic Sundering event. It was when Elanthia became desolate, bereft of her fine heroes and inhabitants.

So now that you know what the Wyrs are, you might want to check those out, right? Below are some examples you might find interesting:

• Lynch's Spark - an uncommon item that adds Fire component to a Wizard's Elemental Helix Ability, but is susceptible to Ice damage.
• Ashog's Frozen Heart - a rare one, it adds Ice component to a Wizard's Elemental Helix Ability, and is susceptible to Fire damage.
• Val Zeair's Luck - a Wyr labelled as scarce, it adds +X% Dodge and +Y% Block, but deals -X% to Accuracy.
• Val Zeair's Strength - a common item, it gives +X% Damage and +Y% Protection, as well as Minor Heal (per potion) once over 30 minutes. However, it also deals -X% Mind Accuracy.

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."

For those players of Hero's Journey who have ever considered a character other than a warrior, gearknight or combat monster, game developer Stephanie Shaver provides a primer on some of the other classes one may run across in the world of Elantha - namely, Bards, Clerics and Healers.

Historically, in the real world, bards were a class of Celtic druids (bardagh) whose function it was to preserve the history of the tribe in the form of epic poetry, call the king of the tribe to account when necessary, and occasionally,  curse somebody in the form of a biting satirical song that would be sung for centuries.  In the world of HJ, bards function as mediators and go-betweens. They have the power to manipulate opponents in various ways, and have the ability of "loresinging" - reciting the secret history of select magical objects.

Clerics correspond to the real world's priests, bishops and other officers of the historical medieval Church. They are the representatives and servants of the gods, and are the ones through whom gods communicate with mortals. While healing was originally one of their functions during the tabletop days of RP games, they have, in the cyberage, been endowed with more supernatural abilities. This includes mending the "Broken" (a form of post-traumatic stress in which Mind, Body and Spirit have come apart) and raising the dead.

Healers, of course are the physicians of Elantria. Originally hidden away by the aristocracy of the Ilvari, healing magic became widely disseminated after Shay Willowdaughter broke ties with the Yondolaen family.  Because their skills are necessary to keep combatants battle-ready, they are found on the field of combat as often as the warrior classes. The Healers of Elantria do not take wounds upon themselves, but can channel their health into another. Advanced healers even have some resurrection abilities of their own, though these are not as powerful as those of Clergy.

The great thing about many RP games is that one is not confined to a single role. When slaying monsters becomes old hat, you might consider trying one of the other classes.

More screenshots have surfaced for Hero's Journey. The first two pictures show concept art and the final developed product, and the others were found on the games homepage. Thanks to Simutronics for posting these.

Designer Stephanie Shaver shares her thoughts on some of the classes of the upcoming MMORPG, Hero's Journey.

Some gamers just like to stick with one class, and some wants to confuse everyone else by taking on many roles. Hero's Journey won't take away the roles you are happy with, but it will also give you new things to try in case you get tired of your role.

Shaver explained: "Our design structure for all the classes assigns a primary and secondary role of Melee, Control-Ranged, or Control-Support to each one. All the classes in this set are Melee primary, which means that most of their abilities require them to be within striking range of an enemy."

Warrior (Melee/Melee)
Of course, what's a melee combat without warriors? They dominate the battle scene, in case you have not noticed. Shaver says that while Wizards and Necromancers may have the advantage of distance, going toe-to-toe with a Warrior would be huge a mistake, which gives us an idea on how powerful these warriors are. Abilities like Charge close that distance quickly while Cyclone and Gut Punch simultaneously suck the endurance out of their opponents. You don't wanna mess with the warriors.

Gearknight (Melee/Control-Ranged)
Gearknights are the chief defenders of the Gearsmiths. They serve as distractions to keep weaker units from vanishing from the battlefields. They have the ability to draw and suck down damage. "Gearknights have turned defense into an artform. Gearknights also get a few ranged abilities (useful for drawing out or drawing away enemies), and gadgets like caltrops, grappling hooks, and mortars."

Rogue (Melee/Control-Support)
This class had found its way in the game because the developers are self-confessed rogueaphiles. Rogues strike fast and hard, so what's not to like? Their abilities were developed out of generations of subterfuge, double-talk, and trickery. "Rogues have a rich history of using shadow magic and refined poisons. They time their strikes and pick their battles. Ghosts on the field, you never quite know when one will pop up, but you’ll feel it when the knife punches into your side and makes you an emergency kidney donor."

The people over at mmorpg have just released a new Dev journal for Hero's Journey. Its a pretty good read, click below to read the whole article.

Here are a couple of new screenshots of Hero's Journey that have turned up! In Hero's Journey, you returns to the world of Elanthia. Elanthia has been devastated by a war that disrupted magic and destroyed whole civilizations. What few people remain have been forced to set aside racial and political rivalries for the sake of survival. Civilization has gathered under the banner of the Triumvirate, an alliance of organizations that is working to fix the damage of the Sundering.

But not everyone supports their work. Whether they be motivated by greed, power, or simple malevolence, there are forces in opposition to the Triumvirate. Some are otherworldly (such as the Rakshaal), and some are more subtle and treacherous. It's a struggle that encompasses not only the damage done to the world, but to also put a stop to the forces that would sound Elanthia's death knell.