EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/eOM4e.jpg)
In one of my favourite cinematics, we have a mother and a daughter arguing about the dirty dishes in the face of the apocalypse. In another we have a desperate villain threatening an already dead man with…death. We have characters who sing, characters who dance, characters who blow things up, and characters who deceive. -Dag Scheve lead writer
The secret world is an MMO in production (no set release date yet; currently in closed beta) set in the modern world. In The Secret World (TSW) all the myths, legends, and wives tales you heard as a kid are true...though there may be a few twists.
Key qualities: CLASSLESS, LEVELESS, heavy narrative focus, meaningful and challenging non-combat missions, and fully-voiced cinematics,
The game is being produced by Funcom with Ragnar Tornquist (The Longest Journey and Dreamfall) as the producer.
Players chose one of three secret factions to align themselves with:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/90SxR.jpg)
Dragon:
A whisper of a rumour of a shadow, this Asian group is the most secretive of societies. With no fixed territory or structure, the Dragon have dissolved and reformed throughout history. They believe that a closed, controlled society is a sick society. Only through collapse and rebuilding, the natural chaos of life, can the world be in harmony. Recently, they have taken root in a nameless district of Seoul, Korea.. -TSW Website
Videos+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/z3L68.jpg)
Illuminati:
The Illuminati may have ancient roots, but they remain forever young and hungry. In every growing empire they have played for it all. And they play for keeps. Stealing the Americas from under the Templars' noses, they grew with the United States to become a shadow superpower. Their corporate headquarters, the Labyrinth, is in an undisclosed location beneath Brooklyn, New York. -TSW Website
Videos+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Bvexz.jpg)
Templar(not religiously-based):
Proudly tracing their royal lineage back to Babylon, the Templars are the lions of the secret world. When they roar, everyone listens. Old Europe is theirs, and the Templars' marble hall dominates the old London borough of Ealdwic - historic capital of the secret world. It's not just a show of strength. Nothing is just for show with the Templars. -TSW Website
Videos+ Show Spoiler +
Combat:
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/UiEaB.jpg)
Little is currently known about the combat system.
What we know right now is that users will be able to wield a variety of weapons from regular magic to vodoo magic and from machetes to fists to assault rifles. And everything in-between.
In addition, TSW will use an ability system similiar to Guild Wars where players can have 7 active and 7 passive abilities on their hotbar at any one time. Abilities, when used, will generate a state on its target and abilities used subsequently can interact with that state to produce new effects. Simple example: Grease spray on a monster puts them in a flammable state and then another player can hurl fire to cause the monster to burn.
Also clothes will NOT be considered armor in the traditional MMO sense (where stat boosts come from). The only items that will affect stats will be hidden items like jewelry and tattoos. So players will be allowed to wear whatever clothing they want without having to sacrifice on performance.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/SNQxs.png)
Dungeon run-through[vid]:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/lknfY.jpg)
Thanks to Slikk for reminding to put up the new dungeon run through. A note: This is more or less still pre-beta. The "beta" testing being done is with a very small team of professionals so it's not even in medium/large scale closed-beta yet. And considering we haven't seen a release date yet, there's still a long way to go.
Three parts:
Part 1:+ Show Spoiler +
Part 2:+ Show Spoiler +
Part :+ Show Spoiler +
Narrative Focus:
+ Show Spoiler +
"Story and massively multiplayer games have in the past (the myth goes) been like oil and water. "MMOs are playgrounds!", it's been argued. "There's no room for storytelling. Narrative gets in the way. The only story is the story written by players!"
This is, quite clearly, complete and utter bollocks." -Ragnar Tornquist
Story appears to be a much larger part of TSW than most other MMOs out there on the market today so here's some of what TSW is promising:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8Z6RG.jpg)
Ragnar Tornquist in an interview with Gaming Nexus:
full interview here:+ Show Spoiler +
Dag Scheve, lead writer in an interview with Massively:
full interview here: + Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/D3Mn9.jpg)
From Dag's blog on NPCs and their place in an MMO:
Emphasis is my own. And full interview here: + Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/qEmvN.jpg)
This is, quite clearly, complete and utter bollocks." -Ragnar Tornquist
Story appears to be a much larger part of TSW than most other MMOs out there on the market today so here's some of what TSW is promising:
Ragnar Tornquist in an interview with Gaming Nexus:
We’re putting a lot of emphasis and focus on story -- or stories -- and this informs every aspect of the game, from missions and monster ecologies, to PvP and game mechanics. Everything is touched and affected by story, every decision made is in line with our extensive and deep backstory, and everything has meaning and context. This doesn’t mean players are bound to a single storyline that they have to follow. It means that the story -- which we always describe as a vast jigsaw puzzle -- is embedded into the world in a really unique way, that it makes the world feel real, and it gives players an incentive to keep exploring, keep digging, to play the content in order to enjoy it, and not just to gain XP and race to the finish-line.
full interview here:+ Show Spoiler +
Dag Scheve, lead writer in an interview with Massively:
The nature of an MMO (and the fact that dev resources are finite) would seem to dictate that players repeat content after a certain period of time. How is Funcom's story approach to TSW going to fit in with this design conundrum? How are the writers dealing with the challenge of multiple protagonists and the need for a story that never ends?
You're right. This can be a problem for story-telling within a persistent multiplayer world. But it's only a problem if every action has to permanently change something to make sense. That's why our story is more about piecing a puzzle together than it is about moving a certain narrative forward. It's about uncovering a world filled with myth, magic and conspiracies, not necessarily about making a permanent change to that world with every mission.
Does Funcom intend for the story of TSW to "end"? If so, do the players fall back to traditional MMO gameplay at that point?
Well, since the story is the world, then it won't end as long as there are people in it. Chapters will end and conclude, and content updates and expansions will bring new chapters, twists and stories, investigations and mysteries.
You're right. This can be a problem for story-telling within a persistent multiplayer world. But it's only a problem if every action has to permanently change something to make sense. That's why our story is more about piecing a puzzle together than it is about moving a certain narrative forward. It's about uncovering a world filled with myth, magic and conspiracies, not necessarily about making a permanent change to that world with every mission.
Does Funcom intend for the story of TSW to "end"? If so, do the players fall back to traditional MMO gameplay at that point?
Well, since the story is the world, then it won't end as long as there are people in it. Chapters will end and conclude, and content updates and expansions will bring new chapters, twists and stories, investigations and mysteries.
full interview here: + Show Spoiler +
From Dag's blog on NPCs and their place in an MMO:
On your journey through the secret world you will meet characters from all continents and all walks of life. From a Scottish school teacher to an Ethiopian gangster. From a fifteen year old contract killer to a jaded hero of elder times. From a sexy Brazilian diplomat to a three thousand year old mummy in a suit. From a golden child to an ancient villain with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Where characters in other games are often just vehicles for the tasks the designers want their players to undertake, our characters are about giving you the information you need to decide for yourself. Rather than asking the player directly for help, they will talk about events in the world and offer opinions, present scenarios that players can choose to react to, do something to change, or walk away from.
In one of my favourite cinematics, we have a mother and a daughter arguing about the dirty dishes in the face of the apocalypse. In another we have a desperate villain threatening an already dead man with…death. We have characters who sing, characters who dance, characters who blow things up, and characters who deceive.
Our aim is for them to reflect all of the Secret World. All of the secret societies, all of the conspiracies, all of the mysteries and all of the legends. All of the emotions and all of the drama. We want them to laugh and love, give and take.
They will be more than mission terminals. They will be a mirror to the world they inhabit.
Where characters in other games are often just vehicles for the tasks the designers want their players to undertake, our characters are about giving you the information you need to decide for yourself. Rather than asking the player directly for help, they will talk about events in the world and offer opinions, present scenarios that players can choose to react to, do something to change, or walk away from.
In one of my favourite cinematics, we have a mother and a daughter arguing about the dirty dishes in the face of the apocalypse. In another we have a desperate villain threatening an already dead man with…death. We have characters who sing, characters who dance, characters who blow things up, and characters who deceive.
Our aim is for them to reflect all of the Secret World. All of the secret societies, all of the conspiracies, all of the mysteries and all of the legends. All of the emotions and all of the drama. We want them to laugh and love, give and take.
They will be more than mission terminals. They will be a mirror to the world they inhabit.
Emphasis is my own. And full interview here: + Show Spoiler +
Non-combat missions:
+ Show Spoiler +
In addition to being able to fight the good fight, players will be able to engage in Investigation missions. These are generally non-combat missions that require the player to use their own deductive skills ( and the power of the internet) to piece together the solution. The main feature of these missions is the lack of hand-holding.
Players will be expected to uncover and piece together the pieces without being told: "Go to this house and look behind the painting." Instead players may find a plaque with a series of numbers and the word King James and players have to realize that its a reference to a passage in the King James bible. From there, they would have to connect the dots and come to the conclusion that the passage refers to a painting in the local library. After traveling to the painting, they look behind it to find another clue that leads them on another part of the mission.
Some of these missions can be done solo, others are expected to require the entire support of the community and the rewards will vary accordingly with individual missions rewarding single players and community missions rewarding whole factions/cabals.
Here's one example:
The whole video is fantastic and worth watching (goes over basic mission structures and the skill wheel. But if you only want to see the non-combat mission then jump to 16:54.
+ Show Spoiler +
A quick criticism that will probably arise from anyone who's ever played an MMO will be: but what about all the lazy people who will just look up the answers and the griefers who will spoil the puzzles by spamming chat??
This has been addressed and when I find the interview I'll link it. Basically, their approach is that it's fine if people just want to look up the answers. They want people to play the game the way they want. Those who want to struggle through it and figure it out on their own, or with a little help from guides, will be able to do so. Those who just want to keep moving can do so as well.
As for griefers, it's been hinted (although I think it was in a separate interview) that they've got several filters and other steps they're taking to block the ability of players to do this. I'm sure it'll still happen though, people who really want to ruin another gamer's experience usually find a way. But at least TSW is being pre-emptive about it and trying to minimize those affected.
ARGs:
I'll try to get around to work on this soon, just a ton that could be said, not sure yet how to best approach it. Basically, from the time the game was first announced in 2007 to now, players have been solving puzzles released by Funcom that uncover the lore of TSW.
PvP:
+ Show Spoiler +
Currently PvP will only happen in specific areas. PvE will be the focus in most areas and players of different factions will be able to team up to complete the missions (though players will have different motivations for doing so, depending on the faction). There are mini-areas for Pvp (the Fight Club) and whole areas (the Himalayas)
Fight Club:
In every hub city there will be a fight club. This is a free for all PvP area where people can try out different tactics on their buddies, duel or even gank. Some of you might be a bit surprised when I say that ganking is allowed, but what we usually see in games like this is that these areas are being self-policed by the players. If a player plays dirty, he will be punished by the other players. Another fantastic part about the fight club is that we will probably see a band of for instance Illuminati players coming into the Templars’ fight club and occupy it. This creates a great sense of rivalry, and we will likely see a band of Templar players forming to kick them out
-Martin Bruusgard lead content designerHimalayas and other areas:
Easiest to show a video. For now it appears to be instanced. Same GDC video as above. PvP content starts at 23:00.
+ Show Spoiler +
Pricing:
Not announced yet.
Release Date:
Not announced yet.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/W5tmN.jpg)
Link to official website:
http://www.thesecretworld.com/
Link to official forum:
http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/index.php
