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TERA's David Noonan talks story, gameplay
TERA was one of the big winners at this year's E3, and the action fantasy MMORPG continues to ride that wave with a set of newly released video interviews taped on the show floor. TheGameNet's Nadine Heimann interviews lead writer David Noonan, who drops a few interesting nuggets about TERA's gameplay and story. For starters, Noonan clears up a question many fans have had regarding Westernization and the game's plot. Despite the fact that the majority of TERA's development is happening at Bluehole Studio in Seoul, South Korea, the game's quests will have a distinctly American flavor since Noonan spends one week out of every month traveling to the far east to collaborate directly with Bluehole's designers. He also points out that the game's quests will feature upwards of two million words, and that players could play through the TERA's lengthy storyline twice without repeating any quest content. Check out the full interview on YouTube, and don't forget to watch the shorter "personality" piece as well.
TERA's Mical talks political system, endgame PvP
Want to know more about TERA's political system, as well as juicy details on the forthcoming action MMORPG's endgame PvP? Yeah so do we, but at the moment the best we can do is an interview with En Masse Entertainment's Jason "BrotherMagneto" Mical. The German fansite Onlinewelten managed to snag a few moments of the community manager's time, and while he steadfastly avoids revealing much beyond the title's talking points, at least the talking points are moving away from Westernization and in the general direction of actual game information. Perhaps the most interesting comment to come out of the interview is a remark tying together the title's PvP and political systems. "Valkyon points are part of the political system, and yes they are associated with PvP as well. Political clout can be gained by defeating enemies-especially very skilled ones-or enemies with clout of their own," Mical says.
En Masse Vice President discusses goals for present and future
TERA has been generating a huge amount of interest in the MMO world these days, and the team at En Masse Entertainment is feeling pretty confident about where things are headed. En Masse Vice President Chris Lee spent some time chatting with Gamasutra about the company's past, present, and future, as well as what he sees in store for TERA. TERA is, of course, the main focus these days; the team is working to make the game's quality live up to expectations, developing it for the Western market, and generally preparing for a successful launch. But what about post-launch? What's in store for En Masse in the coming years? The team has no plans to slow down, and they want to expand a bit. "Our goal would be to go beyond what Bluehole's producing. I think they're the type of studio that's going to produce blockbuster hits, but take multiple years in between each one." They're hoping for a "small portfolio of high-quality titles" to introduce to the MMO market. Fans aren't the only ones attracted by En Masse's success, by the way. Runes of Magic publisher Frogster liked what it saw, and has secured publishing rights to bring TERA to Europe, broadening the game's scope even further. Check out the full story at Gamasutra.
TERA's Brian Knox dismisses console plans
There's been no shortage of TERA news since the game turned a lot of heads at this year's E3, and the latest comes to us courtesy of Caelixian and the TERAcast podcast. Episode number ten features discussion of En Masse Entertainment's showing at last month's trade event, and concludes with an interview with TERA senior producer Brian Knox. Knox talks about everything from the challenges inherent in Westernization, to international communication, to the possibility of TERA appearing on consoles. "[We have] a singular focus that allows us to be concentrated on one product, one release. A lot of people ask "it's such an action game, have you thought about the console"... for us we want to have that single focus, we want to make an action MMO on the PC and we don't want to stray too many different ways because that's when you get caught up and everything gets half done instead of one thing being done really well," Knox says. Download the tenth episode of TERAcast to hear the full interview.
TERA possibly subsidized by Korean government
It's not every day that your MMORPG gets underwritten by the government, and industry insiders are sure to take notice of the fact that Bluehole Studio's upcoming action MMORPG TERA is on the short list of possible recipients for a 500 million won ($415,000 USD) subsidy by the Korean government. TERAfans brings word of the subsidy, but stops short of calling it a done deal. "As this news has been translated from Korean to English, it is unclear whether TERA has officially been granted the funding yet or whether they're part of a list of nominees who could potentially earn the funding," the fan site says. If successful in its bid, it won't be the first time TERA has received a sizable cash infusion from investors outside of Bluehole Studio and En Masse Entertainment. Earlier this year, companies including KNet Investment and Stonebridge Capital signed on to the tune of almost $15.6 million USD. [Update: En Masse's Evan "Scapes" Berman has confirmed TERA's inclusion in this year's Global Plan in a post on the official TERA website..]
TERA's Jason Mical talks community, crafting
TERAHispano has a new interview with En Masse Entertainment community director Jason "BrotherMagneto" Mical. The TERA developer weighs in on a wide range of subjects including what it takes to be a community director, working at En Masse, and a bit of teaser regarding equipment and crafting. "The current plan is to make the highest-end items exclusive to raid boss drops, but crafted items can come very close to these high-end items. We'll talk more about the crafting and enchanting systems soon, and get more in-depth about what exactly that means," Michal says. He goes on to chat about his PR experiences, and how they help him channel both En Masse's and Bluehole Studio's vision of TERA into a coherent and community-focused message. "Apart from working on TERA, a great game, the attraction of En Masse is that the company is small enough -- and daring enough -- that the marketing team (including community) has a lot of latitude to do some really cutting-edge stuff," he says. View the full interview at TERAHispano.
TERA screens take you to Arun's emerald shore
You can almost set your watch by En Masse Entertainment's weekly dose of new TERA screenshots. Yesterday was no different, as the ninth edition of the Screenshots of the Week featurette took us to the emerald shores of southeastern Arun. "Towering trees sprouting canopies of bright flowers sway in the warm scented breeze as glowing vines and luminous insects cross the cerulean night sky. The central feature of this chromatic forest is the shimmering Lake of Tears above which rests the town of Pora Elinu within a mighty trunk," writes En Masse community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman. You can view the new Arun images on TERA's official website, or browse them in our gallery below. %Gallery-96720%
TERA male Castanic renders unveiled
There's been a fair amount of oohing, ahhing, and eye-rolling when it comes to the armor designs in En Masse Entertainment and Bluehole Studio's forthcoming TERA action MMORPG. Much of it has to do with the fact that some fans feel the skimpy female armor is unrealistic and/or sexist. Happily though, that hasn't stopped TERAfans' Radacci from churning out the attractive renders, and today he delivers the male counterpart to yesterday's female Castanic set. As always, the "armors are from a pre-Beta version of TERA and they represent unfinished artwork that is subject to change at any time," according to the teaser post. Visit the gallery below for a few of our favorites, or head to TERAfans for the full set of renders. %Gallery-97020%
TERA castanic armor renders revealed
TERAfans has unveiled yet another set of gorgeous armor renders for En Masse Entertainment and Bluehole Studio's highly anticipated TERA action MMORPG. This time around, the renders focus on the cloth, leather, and plate armor choices available for female Castanic characters. The renders, in which in-game avatars are shown against a recurring background image, were created by TERAfans community member Radacci, and incorporate pre-beta TERA assets that may change during the course of game development. Visit the gallery below for a few of our favorites, or head to TERAfans for the full set of renders. %Gallery-96854%
TERA shows off southern Arun screens
En Masse Entertainment is back with their weekly tease of new TERA screenshots. The eighth installment of the Screenshots of the Week featurette takes us to southern Arun, a dry, arid stretch of land on TERA's large eastern continent. "The fields of flora end in dunes of sand stretching to the horizon. Adventurers exiting the walled caravan stop of Tulufan will find themselves on Aurum Road leading into the vast expanse of golden desert," writes En Masse community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman. You can view the Arun screenshots on TERA's official website, or check them out in our gallery below. %Gallery-96720%
Extensive TERA E3 demo video unveiled
If you're a fan of TERA but weren't able to make it to E3 2010, you can still check out portions of the lengthy press demonstration video that En Masse Entertainment showcased a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles. Gametrailers has an edited version of the video, narrated by producers Sam Kim and Stefan Ramirez, which takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of TERA's action combat as five of the game's eight classes are shown battling through a scenario to take down the evil Captain Marduck. "Keep in mind that this isn't a trailer, it is a cut down version of our demo and it is built entirely from footage captured from one of our sessions. We're going to boil this down to a five minute recap that gives you a taste of the experience," Ramirez notes. The video highlights the berserker, warrior, slayer, sorcerer, and priest classes. Check it out after the jump, or at Gametrailers.
New TERA high elf armor renders released
The folks over at TERAfans have released another set of in-game armor renders for En Masse Entertainment's upcoming TERA action fantasy MMORPG. The latest installment of fan renders, where in-game avatars in various armor options are displayed against a set backdrop, feature cloth, leather, and plate protection for high elf female characters. As always, TERAfans notes that the "armors are from a pre-Beta version of TERA and they represent unfinished artwork that is subject to change at any time." Check out a few of our favorites in the gallery below, or head over to TERAfans for all of the renders. %Gallery-96533%
TERA screens reveal Serpentis Isle
The folks at En Masse Entertainment have made a habit out of releasing new TERA screens near the end of every week, and today is no different. The seventh installment of the Screenshots of the Week featurette takes us to Serpentis Isle, which is just a bit north of Mistmoar Island and the location of last week's E3 demo. "Creatures both familiar and fantastic can be found in this dangerous territory and they are not keen on sharing it with hapless explorers nor gallivanting heroes," says Evan "Scapes" Berman, En Masse community manager, in a teaser post on the game's official forums. You can view the new screenshots on TERA's official website, or check them out in our handy gallery below. %Gallery-96207%
TERA E3 video walkthrough with Evan Berman
Thegamer.vg has an interesting video interview with En Masse Entertainment senior community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman recorded live at last week's E3 convention in Los Angeles. The three-part interview, which features over twenty minutes of footage from En Masse's upcoming TERA action MMORPG, touches on everything from character creation, to class skills, to equipment customization. "With the focus group [testing this past March], we saw the Crystal Socketing System, which will allow your armor and weapons to be a little more customized toward what you want to focus on. If you want to have healing per second, or mana per second, or additional damage when somebody's knocked down...these are all crystals that you'll socket into your armor and weapons and you'll have a combination of them," Berman says. The walkthrough focuses on character creation, and also shows a bit of PvE in the form of quests and starter area gameplay. View the first portion of the video at Thegamer.vg.
TERA collates Elleon's day three journal entries
It's no secret that TERA, the upcoming action-fantasy MMORPG from Bluehole Studio and En Masse Entertainment, is filled with interesting lore. En Masse has devoted much virtual ink to the dissemination of the game's unique take on the fantasy genre, and has also hired a team of professional writers, lead by David Noonan, to flesh it out. To that end, Noonan has been tweeting the journal entries of an in-game character called Elleon over the past several months, and the official TERA website has been updated with a comprehensive collection of all of Elleon's "day three" journal entries. "More gut-emptying pegasus rides. Kyrisha the botanist turned me down (teaching commitment), but Belevrus the anatomist said yes. Mysterium teleporters sent me to Allemantheia, where I recruited Jehan as our botanist. He's no Kyrisha, but his academics look solid," Elleon says. You can view the full summary here, as well as check out the day one and day two collations that you may have missed. Finally, don't forget to check out the recently launched day four on Elleon's Twitter page.
TERA devblog discusses race and class combos
Not content with his various blogosphere interviews and E3 hob-knobbing, En Masse Entertainment Senior Producer Brian Knox continues his prolific PR assault with a devblog on the official TERA website. The topic, race and class combinations, is sure to pique the interest of even the most casual TERA fan, as Knox discusses everything from game balance, to race differentiation, to aesthetics. "We want to give players as many options as possible, but there are story and lore reasons why a certain race may not be appropriate for a particular class. This is partially based on our continuing development of TERA's rich narrative backstory, partially because some combinations simply don't make sense, and partially because the actual combinations (such as weapons and armor for some races) are very technically challenging to pull off in a convincing way," Knox writes. You can view the full blog on the official website.
E3 2010: Your complete Massively coverage roundup
The 2010 edition of the gaming nirvana known as E3 has come and gone, and Massively was there to bring you three days of exclusives, firsts, and hands-on impressions for all your favorite MMORPG titles, studios, and developers. This year's Expo saw plenty of news and announcements regarding highly anticipated games, as well as plenty of information on assorted titles large and small. We thought it best to collate our coverage into a complete and concise roundup post for your viewing pleasure, so read along after the cut to make sure you didn't miss anything. You can also check out all of our E3 galleries along the way.
TERAs Brian Knox interviewed at E3
Amira over at TERAfans managed to corner En Masse Entertainment Senior Producer Brian Knox at last week's E3 convention in Los Angeles. The highly visible TERA producer was quizzed on a variety of game-related topics submitted by TERAfans forum-goers including bits on the character talent system, battlegrounds, and a few hints on the game's political system. "We're not talking a lot about it [the political system], but, there'll be different ways to be elected, be it through PvP, wealth, as well as voting. We're just trying to find the right balance so that different players can participate in different ways and have a choice about how they want to be a part of it all. Once you're elected to office, there'll be some cool features available as well," Knox said. You can view the full transcript over at TERAfans.
TERA teases E3 screens of the week
Despite wowing the gamers at E3 with their hands-on demo this week, the folks at En Masse Entertainment still managed to find time to tease a few more screenshots of their upcoming TERA fantasy/action MMORPG. The sixth installment of the Screenshots of the Week featurette gives those unfortunate souls who couldn't make it to E3 a glimpse into the demo from the show. "Feast your eyes as an intrepid party of adventurers battle a Red Lash Dreadnaught, a Red Lash Juggernaut, and two Kazuur Syndicate Overseers," writes Scapes, En Masse senior community manager, in a teaser post on the game's official forums. You can view the three new screens on TERA's official website, or view the Flickr photostream for larger versions. And don't forget Massively's very own TERA hands-on as chronicled yesterday from E3!
E3 2010: Massively's hands-on with TERA
Our Massively staffers have a busy schedule at E3 this week, including some hands-on time with En Masse Entertainment's upcoming title, TERA. We got our first hands-on back in March at GDC, so this was a great opportunity to see how things have progressed and experience more of the game. The En Masse team at the TERA booth played host to a team of players who joined together to venture into the world of TERA. Each participant played a different role and learned how the classes work as well as how they interact with one another. In the midst of learning the game, we took some time to enjoy the landscapes -- it's a very well-designed and diverse world that merits attention between battles. So how did it go? Follow along after the jump for a recap of our hands-on.
