Runes of Magic Interview - Part 1

To those who are unaware of the Howling Mountains' history, the area's appellation may seem curious. There's no obvious connection to the gentle landscape and calm environment. However, there was once a time when the region regularly served as a gathering place for lower demons. Sizable hordes of them would congregate, quite often in the Barrow, which was the site of an immense stone formation. There, on particular nights, they would perform strange sacrificial ceremonies. Some years ago now, the Council of Varanas and the Eye of Wisdom were able to drive the creatures away through wraith expulsions and sheer force or arms. Since then, the screams from their pagan rituals no longer tear through the darkness, reverberating terror across the land. Nonetheless, they will never be completely forgotten since they are immortalized in the name that is widely known.

In Runes of Magic, this district is where new characters begin their virtual lives. Developed by Runewaker Entertainment for publisher Frogster Interactive Pictures, the massively multiplayer endeavor takes place in a fantasy-themed world known as Taborea, which is described as filled with wonders and ancient riddles for players to experience as they work to solve the mystery of a kingdom that perished long ago. One element that has been emphasized is the title's dual-class system. It offers six initial options, but you add a secondary choice at a relatively early level, which results in a total of 36 alternatives. What's more, it's said you can switch at any time so either is primary. Naturally, we've been keen to know more about this intriguing project ever since it first came to our attention. Recently, we questioned the latter company's Axel Schmidt.

Includes five exclusive screenshots

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Jonric: As an introduction to Runes of Magic, when and how did the idea for it come up, and what is its underlying concept?

Axel Schmidt: John and Tony Tang created the idea for Runes of Magic four years ago. While studying in the US, the two Taiwanese founders of our developer, Runewaker Entertainment, became great fans of Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest and World of Warcraft. After John obtained a masters degree from Columbia University, he returned home Taiwan to work for a leading game company. Two years later, he found himself leading a group of veteran developers who all wanted more creative freedom. So, they started their own team, with the goal of pursuing the ideal experience... an MMORPG created by gamers for gamers.

Every MMORPG player has his first love and nostalgically remembers his first minutes in its world. We want to bring back that feeling, and give them a new home in Taborea, where Runes of Magic takes place.

The underlying concept was to create a fantasy MMOG that combines the positive aspects of traditional western-style online role-playing games with the technology and features of a new generation. To meet all current and future technological demands, the team decided to develop a completely new engine. The game has now been in programming and design for over three years, and is in pre-beta in Germany.

Jonric: With respect to the team's high-level design goals, what types and balance of play can we expect the game to provide?

Axel Schmidt: Based on Runewaker's high ambitions of, PvE players will find many challenges embedded in over 600 quests that draw them deep into the background history. Runes of Magic will feature raids and fights against boss opponents. Players will encounter mobs in instances and within the open gameworld. Besides static dungeons, Runewaker will introduce so-called tile=based ones that change by re-generating themselves every once in a while. Thus, every time players enter, they'll find undergo a different experience.

When it comes to PvP, Runes of Magic will boast several different forms and arena combat modes. Guilds can have their own houses in special zones and declare war on each other. That's particularly interesting considering the guild and player rankings derived from PvP scores, acquired wealth, title and class. And Runewaker is already working on server vs. server combat, so that the whole community of one could well be able to fight another in a huge war. To keep our fan base even more motivated, the team will publish free updates every three to four months; these will bring new features like races, classes and high-level content.

Jonric: What will differentiate this title from other massively multiplayer offerings, both current and upcoming? When are you looking to launch, and where?

Axel Schmidt: The main difference between Runes of Magic and other MMORPGs combines an abundance of features plus being able to provide them on a free to play platform. We really have the ambition to bridge or even surmount the gap between subscription-based and free titles. Easy entry for beginners, a comprehensive tutorial and the western-style atmosphere contribute greatly to that concept.

Our target to launch the English and German versions is winter 2008. These will be accessible in Europe, and in North America via a US-based partner.

Jonric: Is your core target audience defined by particular play preferences or demographics? And how will you appeal to such individuals?

Axel Schmidt: With Runes of Magic, we want to appeal to MMORPG fans who appreciate a complete, wide-ranging gameplay concept. It will be great for those who like following deep-rooted, thoughtful background stories, and enjoy having opportunities to undertake short quests, explore the world for half an hour, enter into PvP combat, dive into the ample crafting system... or join a difficult raid with their buddies for several hours. All this will be possible without constraints. Thus, the game combines the best features and strengths of many others on the market.

Every MMORPG player has his first love and nostalgically remembers his first minutes in its world. We want to bring back that feeling, and give them a new home in Taborea, where Runes of Magic takes place. We know this has been promised many times before, but we really want to make players feel at home with the atmosphere, controls and features. And it will be easy for users to see it's the right game for them, because the client will be free to download, and there won't be subscription fees.