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Taking a deeper look at Salem (and living to talk about it)
We recently sent San Francisco freelancer Emil Vazquez to a demo of Salem, the upcoming colonial-styled, permadeath MMO from Paradox Interactive. This is Emil's impressions of the game; the opinions might not reflect those of Massively as a whole. I was mildly disappointed that I didn't get to personally play Salem at this demo session until I saw the complexity and depth that was par for the course in publisher Paradox Interactive's new crafting-based sandbox. Had I been put behind the wheel of my very own little gothic pilgrim, it would have looked a lot like a beginner's first few hours in EVE Online and been about as productive. Instead, game designer Bjorn Johannessen took me on a tour of Salem's Lovecraft-inspired re-imagining of 18th century America, complete with farms, smithies, and chthonic earthworms.
Paradox sends a producer to England for War of the Roses
In order to promote its upcoming 15th-century combat game, War of the Roses, Paradox Interactive sent a senior producer over to jolly olde England to experience some of the history for himself. It's interesting, but if you're looking for either Michael Douglas or Kathleen Turner ... well, best to look elsewhere.
PSA: War of the Roses beta now open for registration
War of the Roses is now open for beta registration, Paradox Interactive recently announced. The medieval combat game for PC went through a private alpha stage before hitting its beta test period, with the full game set to launch in Q3 2012.Those interested in signing up for the beta program can do so here. The entry form notes that by referring five friends to the program, you are guaranteed access to the beta version of the game. Show full PR text Paradox Lowers The Drawbridge For Beta Testing War of the Roses Medieval Multiplayer Accepting Applications for Early Access NEW YORK – July 6, 2012 – Paradox Interactive and Fatshark announced that, after recently completing a successful closed alpha, sign-ups for a chance to participate in beta testing for upcoming medieval multiplayer combat title War of the Roses has now opened to the public. Starting today, players can enroll to be a Knight in the King's army and help restore order to England by visiting the following link: http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/ When signing up to guarantee their access to enter the beta, future knights will obtain a unique referrer URL from the King that can be shared across social media channels. When five friends use this player-specific link to sign up for the beta, the player who is linked to the URL will be granted a secure spot in the beta.
A Game of Dwarves digs into closed beta
Would you like to help build a virtual dwarven civilization? Would you like the super exclusive opportunity to do it before other like-minded dwarf-lovers get a chance? If so, the upcoming closed beta for A Game of Dwarves is for you! Paradox Interactive has announced that applications for the beta are now being accepted, with the beta itself set to kick off on Friday, July 13.If you still don't know what this whole A Game of Dwarves thing is about, the trailer above should lay it all out rather nicely. The beta application deadline is July 2.
War of the Roses trailer and screens get nasty
Contrary to what Ron Perlman might tell you, war changes a lot. What is fought today with guns and drones was once fought with pointy sticks and horses. War of the Roses hopes to remind us of this fact, bringing home the ancient, raw brutality of hoof, blade, bow ... and electric guitar.
Leaderboard: Permadeath vs. no permadeath
Permadeath is one of those game mechanics that seems destined to forever be nibbling away at the fringe of the MMO genre than invited to the cool kids' table. Many players find themselves aghast at the notion of losing all their hard-earned progress with one untimely demise, and it seems like game developers agree with them: Very few MMOs have any sort of permadeath option. However, this most-severest-of-severe death penalties does persist. Some players elect to form guilds and meta-groups to pursue a permadeath lifestyle in their games. A few upcoming titles, such as Salem and Wizardry Online, have permadeath as a core mechanic. Even the recently released Diablo III has a "hardcore" permadeath mode for the brave at heart. The question we put before you today is yet another nibble that may never be noticed by the mainstream, but it's important to consider: Is permadeath worth including in MMO design, even as an optional mechanic or server, or should this brand of death penalty kick the bucket once and for all? Vote after the jump!
Some Assembly Required: I saw the wilds of Salem (and lived to tell about it)
I spent an hour romping through the woods of Salem last Friday with Seatribe head honcho Bjorn Johannessen. The tiny indie company (current dev population: two) is hard at work on its followup to Haven and Hearth, an acquired taste of a sandbox game notable for its no-holds barred approach that includes permadeath and the ability to summon (and kill) criminal characters -- even while their lulz-loving puppet-masters are offline. Publisher Paradox bills Salem as "the crafting MMO," and boy it's not kidding. Over the course of this particular dev tour, I saw crazy amounts of tradeskill functionality, all kinds of cool world-building stuff, and ultimately, more than enough reasons to spend time with the game when it launches later this year.
Salem sandbox MMO not for the faint of heart
Twenty minutes of gameplay doesn't seem like a lot when it comes to previewing an MMO, but PC Gamer is giving it the ol' college try with a look at Seatribe's new Salem sandbox. You know the Salem we mean. The one with... permadeath. Ooooh. Scary. Anyhow, the piece offers up a few interesting insights, like when creative lead Bjorn Johannessen admits that the devs "have almost nothing to do with what happens" outside the game's only safe area (a colonial-era Boston). Another noteworthy tidbit is the fact that Salem doesn't display avatar names. Instead, it prompts you to name other characters for yourself (or trust that someone is who he says he is). For more on Salem, check out the source below as well as our permadeath-flavored interview with Johannessen in Some Assembly Required.
'War of the Roses' and 'Chivalry' wage war without all the nonsense
Of all the games I played this year at PAX East, two unlikely contenders stood out. They weren't indie darlings or supported by the donations of Kickstarter enthusiasts. And they weren't first-person shooters, nor character action games set against historic backdrops. Both games – Fatshark's War of the Roses and Torn Banner's Chivalry: Medieval Warfare – are about as far from my usual radar as games go. That was until I played them, of course.Both Chivalry and WotR are set in (you guessed it) medieval times, though neither employs its setting much beyond a backdrop. The games are multiplayer-focused affairs; neither has any sort of single-player campaign. Given the backdrop, you might assume multiplayer to be of the Mount & Blade variety. You'd be wrong.Both games are vicious, fast, and, most importantly, accessible. These are not the sim medieval combat affairs of many Paradox Interactive-published games. These are arcade-style medieval combat games, presented in first- and third-person perspectives, and they're like nothing else I've played in the past few years.
Mount & Blade: Warband DLC features 250-player battles
A Mount & Blade MMO is something we've wanted to see for a long time. While that's not exactly happening, 250-player battles is probably the next best thing. Paradox has just released a new DLC pack for Mount & Blade: Warband called Napoleonic Wars. It brings the game's signature real-time combat to 19th century Europe and gives players the ability to use soldiers, artillery, and even battlefield musicians to wage epic multiplayer battles. Napoleonic Wars features five nations, a wide range of artillery pieces, over 220 new units, an Engineer class that uses barricades, trenches, and explosives. There's also a new commander battle mode for your squad-leader gameplay needs. The DLC pack will set you back $9.99. Oh, and don't forget to check out the launch trailer after the cut. [Source: Paradox press release]
Colonize the New World: Salem opens beta sign-ups
It's time to set sail for the New World with Paradox Interactive's upcoming free-to-play sandbox title, Salem. The studio announced today that beta sign-ups for the title have opened up, and anyone and everyone is welcome to jump in and give the team feedback. But remember, folks, the untamed wilderness of the New World is a harsh and unforgiving place, and death is not something to be taken lightly. If you don't play your cards just right, you could end up six feet under with no way of returning to the world of the living. Don't worry too much, though; the folks at Paradox have released a new video to give players a bit of a heads up on how to survive the wilderness. So after you're done with the "how-to-not-die-of-dysentery" primer, just head on over to the game's official site and get in on the test. [Source: Paradox Interactive press release]
Confronting The Showdown Effect and its Super Smash Bros. inspiration
The Showdown Effect, the new jam from Magicka developer Arrowhead Game Studios and newcomer Pixeldiet Entertainment, was inspired by '80s and '90s action movies, and even Nintendo's multiplayer-focused brawler, Super Smash Bros.Emil Englund, Design Director at Arrowhead Game Studios, offered some insight regarding the creation of the game as he watched me experiment with the shotguns, pistols, rifles, pool cues, stools and rocket launchers cluttering up Neo Tokyo, 2027. The future's a pretty violent place!%Gallery-149554%
Crime and punishment in Salem, New World-style
With all of the open world sandboxy goodness going on in Salem, one might wonder if Paradox Interactive is prepared for the level of griefing that can come with such games. Interestingly enough, the team has given this some serious thought and come up with an elegant system of crime and punishment in the game world. Player villages are protected by claims that set these areas apart from the rest of the world, and these claims can be expanded by building certain structures. Griefers who set out to do harm or mischief against villages within these claims will leave a "scent" behind that can be used to track them. There are certain skills, such as ranging and tracking, that players need to have to follow the scent to the perpetrator, however. This opens the door for players to specialize in becoming bounty hunters who protect the village by rooting out enemies. As for punishment, well, Creative Director Björn Johannessen expects players will take justice into their own hands -- and more than one perpetrator will pay the ultimate price for violating a peaceful sanctuary. You can watch the full discussion of Salem's crime and punishment system after the jump.
Face off against The Showdown Effect beta this summer
We certainly don't blame you for wanting to play The Showdown Effect. Thankfully, here at GDC, Paradox Interactive was more than happy to oblige and sat me down in front of a PC next to Emil Englund, Design Director at Arrowhead Game Studios. But before I could place my fingers over the WASD keys and start shooting everything in sight, I had to ask one question: Will there be a beta?"Beta in the summer," Englund quickly responded. As for how the beta will work and who will get in, Englund says "that's still being decided" by publisher Paradox Interactive, and that more would be revealed later.Another question I had was in regards to controller support -- Magicka on the PC is compatible with Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller, and when asked if The Showdown Effect would support it too, Englund told me that the earliest testing on The Showdown Effect was done with controllers. "The first months of development we actually only used game pads so, yeah, it should be in there," he told me.The Showdown Effect is currently slated to launch "when it's done -- in 2012."%Gallery-149554%
Paradox reveals 3 new games: The Showdown Effect, Dungeonland and Red Frontier
Paradox has, as promised, revealed the next three projects in the pipeline from Arrowhead Game Studios, Critical Studio and Zeal Game Studio at GDC. Each is set to launch on the PC and Mac sometime this year.The first game is The Showdown Effect, from Pixeldiet Entertainment and Arrowhead Game Studios -- you may recall the latter outfit's previous effort, Magicka. Paradox describes the game as "a 2.5D multiplayer action game in which players will be participating in death-matches to gain glory and fame." It's set in Neo Tokyo in the year 2027, and focuses on a cop destined to meet his ... destiny.The second on the list is Dungeonland, from Brazil-based newcomer Critical Studio. Up to three players assault Dungeonland, a theme park where adventurers can go to hack and slash stuff together, while the fourth player takes on the role of Game Master, devising traps and overall trying to kill their friends -- sounds like the perfect role for that one passive-aggressive friend of yours.Finally, Red Frontier is a competitive RTS that tasks players with mining resource deposits in space. Sharing is caring, guys -- even in the future we can't get along? It seems so.Hit the jump to check out the rest of the announcement trailers and some screens, hot off the wherever screenshots come from.%Gallery-149554%
Some Assembly Required: Salem dev talks permadeath, griefing, and skill-based gameplay
Hello, sandbox faithful, and welcome to a special interview edition of Some Assembly Required. We recently had a chance to pitch some questions to the team behind Seatribe's upcoming Salem title, and creative director Björn Johannessen was kind enough to answer them. Salem is being advertised by publisher Paradox as "the crafting MMO," but it's also rife with throw-back mechanics including a huge amount of player freedom and a permadeath/punishment system similar to the one in Johannessen's Haven & Hearth.
Paradox to reveal Magicka studio's next game at GDC
Paradox Interactive plans to show off three unannounced titles at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next month. The publisher, which has the peculiar habit of using Kevin Costner films as codenames, has three new games based on brand new intellectual properties to reveal.Project "JFK" comes from Magicka studio Arrowhead Game Studios and is described as a multiplayer combat game with "a focus on killing your friends and looking cool doing it." Project "Revenge!" is by Critical Studio out of Brazil and is an "action packed action game in a world that can be described as death trap for heroes and children." Finally, Project "Silverado," from Zeal Game Studio, is a real-time strategy game meets shooter, with "a side order of a tabletop wargame and a sprinkle of sci-fi."The publisher will also have more on A Game of Dwarves, its fantasy management game, along with War of the Roses (again, NO, the game is not based on the amazing Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner divorce saga).
King Arthur 2 demo fuses dark fantasy with deep strategy
King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame combines the massive armies and strategic elements from games like Shogun 2: Total War and sets them in the dark fantasy world of Arthurian legend, complete with Sidhe (faeries), magic, and The Knights of the Round Table. The demo is available now, giving players a chance to see if they have what it takes to be king and hold Camelot together.This demo includes the game's tutorial and first mission, which is about an hour's worth of gameplay. System requirements are shown after the jump.Download the King Arthur 2 demo (1.66 GB)%Gallery-145723%
Paradox Interactive announces A Game of Dwarves, reveals new Magicka concepts
Swedish developer Paradox Interactive held an annual convention in its hometown of Stockholm last week, and took the opportunity to announce a brand new title by Zeal Game Studios called A Game of Dwarves. As you can see from the trailer above, the Game has sort of a casual Dwarf Fortress feel, allowing you to build, upgrade, and improve a dwarven clan's headquarters, while also looting and battling whatever mysterious foes happen to be living beneath it.We hope that trailer announcer gets over that sore throat he seems to have, though; that's one heck of a frog. A Game of Dwarves is due out later this year on PC and PSN -- you can see some screenshots, along with some brand new concept art from the also-announced Magicka expansion, in the galleries below.%Gallery-145557%%Gallery-145559%
EA adds CD Projekt RED, Paradox, and nine other publishers to Origin
When Valve introduced the hat system to Team Fortress 2, you swore off Steam forever. You're a die hard PC Battlefield player, and simply won't play it anywhere else. You refuse to use standalone clients for launching your favorite PC games. Do these things describe you? Then you're probably a big fan of EA's Origin game service, which will be getting content from 11 publishers "in the coming months," according to a press release issued by EA this morning.The first game to be added is the aforementioned Rift from Trion Worlds, with games from Robot Entertainment, CD Projekt RED, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, Inxile Entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning, and N3V Games joining Rift's ranks soon. EA says that more specific information on pricing and release dates will be offered in the near future via Origin, so keep an eye out while you're remaining steadfast in your stance against that other major digital retailer.
