Interview With Atriarch Designer

Start-up games-developer World Fusion is currently working on a massively multiplayer role-playing game called Atriarch. While one might equate such a game to follow in the footsteps of an EverQuest or an Asheron's Call, Atriarch deviates sharply from the standard MMRPG formula by focusing around a sci-fi, and not a fantasy, setting.

We recently had a chance to talk with the game's lead developer, Serafina, in detail about Atriarch. We touched on a variety of topics including the inspiration behind the game and its technical capabilities. What follows is an excerpt from our conversation:

GameSpot News: How long has the company been working on the game?

Serafina: We began putting the concept together about two years ago.

GSN: How large is the development team?

Serafina: When we started, my partner and I were working on Atriarch part-time. Since then, we have grown the Atriarch team to eleven people.

GSN: How many gamers do you anticipate to populate the game?

Serafina: Unlimited. We've built the game with the intention of having only a single game in which everyone can play together. Both the software and hardware is distributed in such a way that there is no limit to the number of people who can play the game at a single time. We've built massive nongame systems before that supported a similar population, so we are confident in our ability to do it again and this time for a game. So, basically, hundreds of thousands can play at the same time.

GSN: While building the game, what features are you adding that you don't see in other MMRPGs?

Serafina: There are four features of Atriarch that distinguish it from other games (actually, there are more - like the ability to fly - but I'll narrow it down a bit). They are:

1. RPG/Strategy Hybrid - also called "strategic role-playing game".Atriarch is the first (that I'm aware of) massively multiplayer, persistent game to be both a role-playing and real-time strategy game at once. A player will role-play a character and go on quests much like you would in any role-playing game. However, there is a whole new level of gameplay added to Atriarch, which incorporates the raising of armies and building empires.

2. Dynamic and Changing World Environment and Story.Atriarch will allow the players to affect the environment and politics of the game. A player will be able to build and destroy customized structures in the game. We're planning for players to be able to modify the terrain, like digging a ditch, for example.

3. No Humans or Fantasy Races Allowed.The world is a completely organic and alien world. Players will choose from one of five alien species as their character rather than human or the typical fantasy races.

4. Truly Massive, Truly Global.As mentioned before, the size and scale of Atriarch is truly massive. There are no zones like in EverQuest, nor portals like in Asheron's Call. The world is free from those sorts of constraints, both in the air and underground.

GSN: Why did you choose to have a sci-fi-like world for the game? What were your major influences?

Serafina: Deciding to do sci-fi instead of a fantasy world was easy. Most of the persistent worlds out there or in development are based on fantasy worlds. I love fantasy, but variety is the spice of life.... I'm ready for something new! We wanted to build a complete universe from scratch - a story and culture and universe that could grow over many, many years. I also wanted to give players the opportunity to be something other than human in a role-playing game. We play games to escape reality, not be forced to relive it.