Game Chronicles Magazine

Mythica is a new breed of massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that casts you in the role of an immortal in the mythological world of the Norse gods. As a fallen hero that has ascended to the afterlife, you set out across the Norse planes of existence on epic quests to earn your godhood. You will endure heroic trials, answer the prayers of the faithful, and eventually gather enough energy and worship to transcend your immortal present to realize a godly future. Standing side by side with the Norse gods of old, you’ll attempt to hold back the Fire Giants on the plane of Muspellheim.

Key Features:

Become the one true hero. With new Private Realms Technology, Mythica redefines the massively multiplayer category, combining the richness of a single-player role-playing game with the social experience of a massively multiplayer game. Players can choose an adventure with a band of fellow players in huge public areas populated by other players or enter a Private Realm to take on handcrafted, individual quests with destructible environments, cinematics and engaging storylines.
Explore Playscapes. Private Realms enable a whole new MMORPG experience called Playscapes. Playscapes are sophisticated areas that change over time and contain multiple quest goals and interrelated objectives. Imagine a band of heroes walking into the middle of a large-scale invasion where they must choose among multiple goals: save the mortals, save their town, fight off the invaders, ignore the mortals’ cries for help and go straight for the treasure, or split the difference. All are viable choices, but it comes down to what type of victory players desire and what kind of god they wish to be.
Make war with absolute power. Great things are expected of fallen heroes who have become immortal: Players are imbued with godlike powers to dispel droves of menacing monsters with a single blow, or face off against creatures of legend such as the monstrous Midgard Serpent that will send players flying with one swoop.
Build worship. Players answer the prayers of the mortal factions, whether they are human, the Alfar (elves) or the Dvergar (dwarves), who all seek greater powers to place their faith in and follow. In return, each faction yields a special set of skills and resources; as players grow in power and gain worshippers they may even begin to look like their mortal followers utilizing a Collectable Appearance System.
Traverse fantastic Norse realms. Players journey across the Norse planes of existence, from the hallowed grounds of Asgard to the mortal planes of Midgard and Vanaheim, into the dark expansive caverns of Nidavellir, through the frozen wastes of Jotunheim and on to the fiery heart of Muspellheim itself. Each realm has its own grand story line, treasures and dangers.
Pledge allegiance to an Aesir patron god for special abilities. Using a new god-based class system, players may choose to align themselves with the physical Aesir gods, such as Thor with his berserker strength or Loki with his trickster guile. Players who gain enough glory for their patron god may find themselves sitting at his or her right hand.

Game Chronicles goes inside this exciting new game with an exclusive interview by John Carswell.

GCM: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the team behind Mythica
Corey Dangel: Hi there. My name is Corey Dangel, and I’m Mythica’s art director. Our team is as diverse as it is large. Many of us have been working in games and/or Microsoft for 10 years or more. Collectively, we have created dozens of titles for both console and PC… even pen & paper games. Some of the highlights include King’s Quest, Gabriel Knight, Mech Warrior, Mech Commander, Close Combat, Age of Empires, the Internet Gaming Zone, Need for Speed, Knock-out Kings, Metroid Prime, Utlima Online, Wing Commander, Privateer, Total Annihilation, TA: Kingdoms, Rainbow Six, Halflife, NFL Fever, Dungeon Siege, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: the Gathering. Just to name the ones I can remember :^)

GCM: Firstly, Mythica branches off from the standard MMORPG in so many ways as to be almost unrecognizable. Where did the idea for Mythica come from and how hard was it to convince others that the concept could be pulled off?
Corey Dangel: A lot of the team plays MMP games, and in fact are very addicted to MMPs. This made us really think about what we liked and didn’t like about the current MMPs that are out there. That gave us the core design goal for Mythica. We want the player to be the hero. This allowed us to think of many ways to help change the MMP space. The core was Private Realms and bringing the single player game experience to the MMP space. And what better genre for heroes than Norse Mythology, where you get to be a god and gain worshipers?
Making games at Microsoft is an interesting process. The company has a long history of building software but it’s only in the last couple years that we’ve started understanding what it takes to make great entertainment. Microsoft is used to taking on huge technological challenges, and as such the justification for investing in Mythica was focused initially on technology. But in order for us to turn the corner, we needed to prove that we could entertain. It has taken a tremendous amount of work to get the game to where it is today, but it is certainly entertaining. And there’s a lot of excitement about what we are doing with Mythica.

GCM: Since you start off as an Immortal, what is there to challenge you or increase your skill and knowledge?
Corey Dangel: Well, just because you are immortal doesn’t mean you are omnipotent. There are plenty of challenges, both big and small, and lots for everyone to learn after they’re dead. Think of it this way. Odin had to hang himself from Yggdrasil and sacrifice his eye to Mimir to get where he is today. His knowledge and power came with a price. And if hanging from a tree for nine days isn’t your cup o’ mead then remember that Thor was frequently challenged by the giants he fought. There will be plenty to challenge the players ;^).

GCM: Please tell us a bit about the Private Realms. How much game time do you expect the average realm to hold and how deep can the story get once inside?
Corey Dangel: Private Realms are the next step in MMPs. In the near future, the private space will be to MMPs what real-time is to strategy games. But for those who don’t know, Private Realms are special instances of the world that we spin off just for the player and his party. They can be anything from highly-scripted adventures to open-ended playscapes. Private Realms enable us to handcraft gameplay around a party of adventurers, making the players feel much more heroic. The amount of game time within each Private Realm will vary. Some will take a lot of time to complete; others will require less time. As they are handcrafted experiences, the majority of them will take a good investment of time to fully complete.

GCM: It has been mentioned that a player’s fame can spill out from the Private Realms and influence the gameworld as a whole. Does this mean that players will find themselves competing for the affections of a King or a village, or will said King/village be able to acknowledge the fame of an unlimited number of characters?
Corey Dangel: In a pantheistic religion there is room for many deities. With that said, the person with the most local worship may find monuments erected in their name. This ensures that everyone gets a little love from the mortals, and the players making the biggest impact will get a little extra lovin’ in return.

GCM: What motivations will there be for players to group up and how hospitable will Mythica be to solo players?
Corey Dangel: Group play is integral to MMPs. However, we want to do more than just reward groups with bonus XP for a full group. Our designers have done a fantastic job of creating symbiotic gameplay, where the abilities of one class augments the abilities of another, and unlocks special talents only available when in a group. Case in point: during our E3 demo we showed how the Hunter can use stealth to sneak into a village and then select a party target. The Pyromancer is then able to use a siege spell on the target. This combination attack extends the range of the Pyromancer, benefiting the entire party. A shared magical energy pool and group “ritual” magic are other ways that groups are encouraged in Mythica.
Solo play is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, players need something to do while waiting for friends to show up. Secondly, some people really just prefer to play solo in a large persistent world full of “real” people. Many of the team members are “solo” players in other MMPs. So we’re doing what we can to ensure that solo play is viable in Mythica, though some classes may be better suited for it than others.

GCM: The player’s ability to acquire and create new items seems to be a high priority in Mythica. Have things been set up in such a way as to encourage a player-run economy (gatherers, craftsmen, consumers)?
Corey Dangel: Player-run economies are (to quote a Deep Thought) “tricky.” We anticipate a fair amount of player transactions, but won’t rely entirely on the players to make the economy work. There will be NPC vendors, for example.

GCM: What can you tell us about Mythica’s deformable environments? What limitations will there be and what does this feature add to the gameplay?
Corey Dangel: Here’s one of the ways that Private Realms really shine. Manipulating terrain features in a traditional MMP could be very problematic. But we can craft whatever gameplay we want in a Private Realm. For example, in a module that we showed off during GenCon, a frozen bridge shatters after the first person crosses. This separates the party and challenges them to find a way to come back together. There’s a wonderful moment of tension as the team first realizes what happened… and there is much rejoicing when the party is reunited. This is all possible because the Private Realm enables us to script gameplay around the party. We can do exciting things and know that everybody who gets to that bridge will see it break and get to experience that challenge.

GCM: Finally, will there be player-run/built/owned structures in Mythica?
Corey Dangel: We’re still working on this at the moment, so it’s a little too soon to know the extent we’ll be able to support player housing at launch. We definitely want player owned structures in the game and these won’t be limited to just dwellings. We’re working on boats, too.

GCM: Thank you again for your time. Would you care to close this Q&A with any last thoughts or impressions?
Corey Dangel: Mythica is more than just an MMP set in Norse mythology. It’s a fundamental shift in the MMP genre. Private Realms allow for a much more personalized, engaging gameplay experience… tired of waiting in line for fun? Come play Mythica.