Massively and Cities XL closed beta promotion part 2

Can you give us a quick overview of Monte Cristo?

Monte Cristo was founded in 1995, and has mostly been very focused on simulation games. In recent years we have shifted our efforts to the city builder genre, especially with our latest game City Life. We currently employ over 80 people in two studios in Paris and Kiev, and we have been increasing in size a lot (and still are) for Cities XL.

Can you give us a quick introduction to Cities XL?

Cities XL is a new city builder game, building on the foundations that made the success of games such as SimCity and City Life, but we are making things much bigger this time around and adding two whole new twists: online play and continuous updates.

As online games have been rapidly expanding we realized there was a number of things that were happening there that could (and should) be expanded beyond the now-traditional MMO gameplay and brought to the city builder genre.

Cities XL will feature the online 'Planet offer' which will add a whole new layer of depth to the genre, and beyond that we intend to constantly update the game adding more content and more gameplay. Also keeping in line with our previous game, City Life, we will raise the bar in terms of visual quality, so that you can immerse yourself in your cities like never before, going from satellite view down to street level. Also we will have what we call the GEMs (Gameplay Extensions Modules) which will add whole new layers of gameplay to the game.
Cities XL is a city builder at the core, but we are adding so much that it feels like a whole new game.

Can you explain a little about the GEMs concept? Are these games in their own right?

GEMs (Gameplay Extension Modules) are essentially 'tycoon' games where you become an entrepreneur and take control of a specific activity in your city. It can be a ski station, or it can be a car factory, and you will take direct control of that activity: build structures, set prices, hire people etc.. What you do in there will be part of your city and have a direct impact on it, enhancing its economy and giving you new resources that you can then use or exchange with other cities.

At the release of the game we will have two GEMs available: the Ski resort GEM and the Beach resort GEM, enabling you build and manage radically different leisure activities.

Why do you think the 'city builder' genre is still a very popular genre despite the drought of games in recent times?

The genre was introduced with SimCity 20 years ago and ever since there's always been a high interest in that genre. The creative aspect, the fact that this is a type of game where you get to build things rather than destroy bad guys and see you city breathe and live make it a very unique game experience that no other game emulates. Lately the genre has faded a bit but online communities remain very active which shows a high interest in this genre.

You seem to be very active with your player base, how do they impact the game development?

Right from the start it was a major decision to have players involved; they have a long experience and know what they want. While we have some new ideas that people are not expecting we want to make sure that we are going in the right direction with this unique project.

What possibilities does the online mode, the 'Planet Offer', open up to the player?

Cities in the real world are not alone, they all interact with each other to some level (economical and goods exchanges etc), that is the basis of the idea for the online part of Cities XL. You get to interact with other players and their cities, exchange resources which ends up creating a global economy giving the city management experience a whole new exciting approach. This also allows you to specialize your city in a specific kind of activity by simply importing the resources you don't want to (or can't) produce yourself. If you want your city to become the new Las Vegas and not take care of the industrial aspects of city development it's possible.

Players will also be able to interact not only through the game but also on the web. We are developing an extensive website where players have their own personal pages and can find other players and cities, sign contracts to exchanges resources, start construction projects etc... This way Cities XL enables you to play outside the game at a relaxed pace, during your lunch break or whenever you feel like playing for a couple minutes, or just staying in touch with other players and friends.

What do you think will draw players back to the game time and again?

Of course we will continually expand the game with new content and gameplay, but by playing online with other players you essentially get an infinite amount of replayability. You get to exchange resources with other cities, sign deals, make alliances with friends to build common projects together etc.

And on top of all this we will personally create activities in the game: continuously adding events, contests, competitions etc.. We want the game to be very alive. Unlike most other online games where activity is essentially generated by the players in Cities XL we will also generate a lot of activity ourselves so that there is always something interesting happening.

How will online play be paid for? How much will it cost?

The online 'planet offer' will be paid for via a monthly subscription; we haven't determined the exact price yet, but we aim at being significantly lower than what MMOs players are used to, something around $5 a month.

Let's talk numbers : How many players / cities / servers?

At present we aim at having 2.000 players and around 10.000 cities per planet. You can build up to five cities, and have them on whatever planet you choose. Unlike most MMOs, the universe of our game is not cut up into separate servers; all players are part of the same universe. You can play on any planet you want, and change at any time.

Will you have a beta?

We will have a closed beta in several phases; adding more and more players each time. Registrations are already open on our site.

Do you already have a release date set?

We don't have a firm release date yet, but the game should be available in the third quarter of this year.