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Free Realms interview explains character customization options
Free Realms is a pretty hot topic in the MMO world right now, and with good reason. If the game can live up to expectations, Free Realms may just be a game that both adults and young kids can enjoy. The art style of Free Realms is distinctive and this carries over to the look of the characters themselves. Carolyn Koh from MMORPG.com recently caught up with Free Realms art director Rosie Rappaport and associate art director Sebastian Strzalkowski to talk about some of the game's character customization options. The interview kicks off with a discussion of the inspiration for the art style we'll soon see in Free Realms, but the discussion focuses heavily on the potential for customization. The game will launch with Humans and Pixies as the playable races, with some customization options unique to each race. The title will not have slider bars to scroll through the various character creation options as with some other MMOs, but will have more 'playful' icons that open up the various options for skin tone, face paint, hairstyles, and wings (in the case of Pixies). According to the SOE artists, "In the case of the Pixies, the wings can be customized to look very elegant and floral or they can be bat-like and scaly." If you're interested in the customization options available to Free Realms characters, have a look at the MMORPG.com interview with the title's artists.
Free Realms video preview focuses on character creation and gameplay
There are so many massively multiplayer online titles on the horizon that it would be hard to pick a staff favorite among the Massively writers, but one game that consistently draws 'oohs' and 'aahs' from us is Free Realms from Sony Online Entertainment. We're not alone in wanting to know more about the game. Adam Sessler from G4's X-Play recently got some screen time with Free Realms associate art director Sebastian Strzalkowski.Strzalkowski walks the viewer through character creation, which is done via the Free Realms website before the game itself actually launches. As the interview progresses, he mentions that a storyline runs through the game's quests, but players aren't locked into following along with it. A wide variety of mini-games will be on offer, as the accompanying footage shows off. SOE's hope is that the mix of various types of activities in the game (plus pets and social networking) will hold appeal for its younger target audience as well as the parents of those gamers. We've got the video embed of X-Play's Hands On: Free Realms Game Preview after the jump.
Free Realms video preview shows quests in action
TenTonHamster has put together a whopping 13 minutes of Free Realms preview video footage from the Sony Online Entertainment Block Party, at the 2008 Comic-Con. Sony artist Sebastian Strzalkowski brings us on a tour of Free Realms, beginning with character creation and moving on to quests and minigames. Along the way, he notes that Free Realms characters are not locked onto a given server, and can easily move to other servers to meet up with friends. Strzalkowski also touches upon the system of point accrual and redemption for premium content in the game. Also, true to its name, Free Realms allows for a free-to-play experience, with an optional possibility of earning points through short ad views. He shows viewers a simple user interface, with an OS X-like dock at the bottom of the screen and an animated map.The video presentation focuses mostly on minigames and quests, with bite-sized play times linked to rewards. The idea is that it provides a sense of accomplishment without having to rack up hours of gameplay.
