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Funcom restructures Montreal branch, keeps games operational
Funcom is taking hedge trimmers to its Montreal offices today. Senior Game Designer Tanya Short posted the following this afternoon on her Twitter account: "When your branch shuts down, I guess it's less like being fired and more like honorable discharge. Thanks for going down with the ship! Bye!" Massively contacted Funcom for an official statement. Director of Communications Erling Ellingsen confirmed layoffs but assured us that Funcom's games will continue on: "We are currently in a restructuring process and the Montreal office is part of that process along with our other branches. This process unfortunately involves a reduction in staff, but the studio is not closing down. It will continue on, but in a different form and function than today. Anarchy Online, as well as The Secret World and Age of Conan, will definitely continue to operate and be an important part of the company's focus going forward." He said that the studio would provide more details when it had finished with the process. Funcom previously stated that it was restructuring the company to make it more profitable. The Montreal office was established in 2009 and employed 110 people.
The Secret World releases Issue #5 teaser, announces End of Days events [Updated]
When Funcom announced that The Secret World was abolishing subscriptions and converting to a "pay once, play forever" model, the studio also noted that Issue #5 would be included free for everyone who had the game by the end of December. So now that the free-to-play question is answered, inquiring minds want to know what the next monthly update includes! Well, folks, we'll have to wait a bit longer on the full answer to that, but we do have a hint of the upcoming story; the cover art lets us know it deals with The Vanishing of Tyler Freeborn. We also have a special comic to start the story off after the break. Of course, the world is supposed to be ending, so what does that mean for TSW? Senior designer Tanya Short has jumped on the end-of-days bandwagon. In the latest dev blog, she details the special events that will begin on Friday the 21st, including special dynamic events and limited-time currency to spend on potions, unique weapon skins, and even a pet. As expected in any horror apocalypse, zombie attacks escalate everywhere and three giant nigh-invulnerable Harbingers will be roaming the lands. Will players find the single weakness of each that will bring down the behemoths before the world crashes? There is also a contest for the top player throughout the apocalypse with a title and pet reward, so hop on in and play a part in the end! [Updated with second version of comic. So tell us, which do you prefer?]%Poll-79645%
Funcom senior designer discusses upcoming workshop for female game designers
There's been a focus of late on the lack of women in the gaming industry, both what causes the issue and what can be done to correct it. Funcom's Tanya Short, a senior game designer on both Age of Conan and The Secret World, is understandably interested in that discussion, and she's not just talking about it. Short is one of the people behind the upcoming Pixelles Gaming Incubator workshop, and in a recent interview she shares her thoughts on the industry as a whole as well as the upcoming workshop. Short explains that there's a pervasive line of thinking in modern society that loving games is something reserved for young boys, meaning that women are pushed out of the field from a young age and encouraged to leave it behind. She makes the point that the key is not targeting specific demographics but to simply stop shaming women and excluding them from games and culture. Read the full interview for more on her views on the industry and the genesis of the Pixelles Gaming Incubator.
Funcom hints at Halloween tricks and treats in The Secret World
In a blog post prefaced with a spoiler alert, Senior Designer Tanya Short delved into The Secret World's upcoming Halloween event that was initially mentioned when The Cat God went live. Players already know that Halloween plays prominently in the game, as holiday decorations abound throughout Solomon Island, and Ragnar Tornquist himself likened it to Christmas in terms of holiday importance for TSW. The official spook day content will be released around October 15th. According to Short, players can look forward to a more light-hearted experience than the main plot. In fact, she states, "Halloween should be more like 'an episode of Buffy.'" The storyline will begin in Kingsmouth and will flesh out a couple of cat characters who have been waiting in the wings as well as add depth to the stories of two known characters. Stonehenge is also in the spotlight, and players can get a Head-O-Lantern for a limited time. For more details (and a close up look at Irusan, King of Cats), check out the full dev blog.
Age of Conan adding Conquest game mode, new PvP minigame
Age of Conan's Craig Morrison has been a busy man of late. When he's not generating discussion fodder on his personal blog or overseeing the setup of Funcom's new production studio in Montreal, he's finding time to chat up the AoC community on the forthcoming additions to the game via his monthly development update series. Morrison enlists the help of two additional Funcom developers in the latest installment, beginning with lead systems designer Einar Forselv, who talks a bit about the incoming PvP additions. Not only is a new PvP minigame in the works, but an entirely new game mode is coming along with it. The new mode, called Conquest, will make its debut in the new mini -- The Call of Jhebbal Sag -- and will find players fighting for control of a strategic location in the Pictish wilderness. Funcom has also added a new wrinkle in the form of resource points that fluctuate depending on how well your team is doing at holding capture points. The new mini will feature two groups of six for a total of 12 players per side, and it will also allow players to bring their mounts into a minigame battle for the first time. Lest you think the 2.1 update series is solely focused on PvP, Morrison also taps dynamic gameplay designer Tanya Short for a bit of an explanation about the social features coming soon to a server near you. She provides a bit more info on the activities briefly mentioned in last month's letter. "This patch introduces two major social content additions: guild events and horse racing. Both will hopefully provide guilds and roleplayers with some fun activities and offer an interesting diversion for everyone who wants to try them," she writes.
