Massively Exclusive Interview: The Secret World to open the flood gates of info soon

Conspiracy theorists rejoice! Funcom's Lovecraftian horror MMO known as The Secret World is looking to get substantially less secretive over the next little while, and we've got a new interview with Funcom's Erling Ellingsen to prove it.

The company's Director of Communications sat down with us to talk about the plans to reveal The Secret World to, well, the world, and if you're even the slightest bit curious about the skill-based MMO headed up by legendary developer Ragnar Tornquist, you'll want to follow along with us after the cut. Ellingsen spills the beans about the title's unique marketing campaign and also hints at the fact that we'll be treated to more traditional (and game-focused) information -- including gameplay footage -- in the coming months.

Massively: With the information reveals we've had so far, shrouded hints and intrigue have been key. Will the new reveals be done in much the same way, or will we be blasted with a more traditional reveal of concrete information?

Erling Ellingson: Since we announced the project in 2007 we have intentionally made sure that our publicity activities live up to the game's name and setting. We've intentionally disguised many of the reveals, often revealing key features and in-game content through ARG campaigns and other unconventional activities. For instance, when we revealed Kingsmouth, we created a fake website for the in-game New England town, and even sent postcards to select journalists that were mailed from a small real-world town in Maine (we sent someone from our Montreal office down there with a bag full of postcards!). Will we do activities like that? Most likely. But you never know when it's going to hit!

That being said, we're now moving into a phase where we will definitely be a lot more candid about the actual game. In the coming months we plan to give gamers a much more substantial look into the game's content and mechanics. We will be revealing details on our unique progression system, our PvP system and several locations. We will be launching new videos, screenshots, artwork and more, and we're also preparing to launch a brand new website for the game.

Will we see in-game footage? That seems to be the icing on the cake for eager players.

You will definitely see in-game footage. We're preparing several videos that will be released in the coming months that offer a unique look into the game. Obviously we don't want to ruin the surprise just yet, but what we can say is that we're putting together videos now that are more than just pure gameplay trailers. These videos will have developers explain intricate details of the game's design to the viewer. It's very, very exciting!

Is EA's involvement as the game's new co-publisher helping move along these reveals, and the game?

Most of the reveals we're doing in the next few months were devised before we signed with Electronic Arts so these have been a long time in the making. However we are very excited to be working with them, and we look forward to working together to co-publish the game. One of the many great advantages of working with an industry leader like Electronic Arts is that we're able to draw from the experience and knowledge that they have built up over the course of more than two decades.

Thanks for sharing with us.