Dragon Empires Q&A

Just how many online role-playing games can there be? Some veterans of EverQuest or Asheron's Call might tell you that once you've played one, you've played them all. That they're all about long, time-consuming, repetitive fights or fetch-this-and-come-back quests: things that almost seem to force players to hunker down and spend hundreds of hours just trying to build up a character who won't die quickly and horribly when off on an adventure. Of course, this view is far too cynical for online RPGs--many of them encourage exploration and discovery of huge, colorful, and memorable worlds, as well as plenty of social interaction with other players. Hanging out with your online friends is one of the most appealing features that online RPGs have to offer.

This lake seems peaceful enough...but for how long?

That's one of the real strengths of online RPGs--one that Codemasters' upcoming game Dragon Empires hopes to explore. Dragon Empires will be a fantasy-themed game, such as EverQuest and Dark Age of Camelot, but it'll have some very important differences. For one thing, organized groups of players, or "clans," won't just be able to chat with each other while playing--they'll also be able to take over entire cities and control the flow of commerce through them. And players won't just be forced to go out and spend hours killing rats to gain levels--they'll also be able to develop advanced characters by becoming skilled tradesmen. Then again, Dragon Empires will have plenty of opportunities for players who wish to fight against the game's stable of fantastic monsters, as well as against other players. The game will have a player-vs.-player (PVP) combat system that lets players hunt down other players, but they'll do so at the risk of becoming outlaws or suffering the wrath of the dragon guardians of each town.

For more information on this promising game, we did some hunting of our own and managed to track down Peter Tyson, Codemasters' community liaison manager for Dragon Empires, and tap his experience dealing with both the game's developers and its fans.

GameSpot: Thanks for taking the time for this interview, Peter. From what we've heard, Dragon Empires will have some very interesting new features that will help it stand out from other online RPGs, like its clan system. Can you discuss how player clans will work? How are they different from player guilds in other online RPGs?

Peter Tyson: The clans themselves will work in much the same way as they do in other games. You sign on to a clan and join your friends in combat, adventure, and whatnot. However, our clans get to capture cities from each other and change the economy of the world through their actions. Clans become powerful by owning cities, and holding them improves their status over time. Of course, there will always be other clans that want to undermine your control and even more [that are] ready to fight you for ownership!

This might be a good way to rack up kills...and become an outlaw.

GS: We know that Dragon Empires won't arbitrarily separate players who want to fight player-vs.-player battles from other characters--instead, "grief" players who kill other characters out of spite will be branded as "outlaws." Can you discuss how the outlaw system will work? Will there be in-game advisors to help mediate disputes after the game launches?

PT: We will be having in-game customer support staff, but we expect to balance the game to reduce "grief" play. First off, the role of outlaw isn't so much a punishment as it is a status. Many players will choose to be an outlaw in empires [that aren't] their home. It's a great way to get in a fight, as local bounty hunters will be sure to try to keep you away from their cities. Bounty hunters will want to do this because outlaws can attack traders who move goods between cities for experience and gold. This is vital to the economy and important for the success of cities. However, if players aren't keen on fighting for the riches (and risks!) afforded by trading, they can choose to never get involved in PVP and are protected from random attack. But we expect that the rewards of PVP combat and the fun to be had from battling other players (battles in which you can be rewarded through gold and experience gain) will attract many players to the world of PVP.

All this, and I didn't mention our arena-based clan-vs.-clan combat, the "blood circus," where clans battle for the amusement of the dragons--a great way to settle a grudge or to have some quick fun.