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Building The Secret World: An interview with Ragnar Tornquist
As the buzz surrounding Funcom's upcoming title The Secret World increases, we continue to hear more from the developers in the form of things like concept art and some spooky game footage. The latest dose of information is an interview with Funcom's Ragnar Tornquist. He spent some time with Gamasutra recently, and their interview tells all about building a cozy little corner of hell in Kingsmouth. The discussion ran the gamut from fantasy genre oversaturation to the creation of a game set in the real world. The extensive interview is well worth a read for anyone interested not only in The Secret World, but in the thought process behind game design as well. Tornquist explores his history as a gamer and how it helped to shape the way he is creating The Secret World. The interview covers quite a bit of ground and reveals plenty of new information about TSW. It can be found here -- enjoy!
The Secret World less secret: first in-game footage
Thanks to the video above, we now know more about Funcom's upcoming MMO The Secret World than ever before. And yet, that's still not saying much. The new trailer provides the first in-game footage, specifically showing off the town of Kingsmouth, a game location revealed last month. Of course, no sleepy New England town is complete without a dark secret, and Kingsmouth is no exception. It seems an evil fog rolled into town one day, taking most of the townsfolk with it, leaving only a handful of unlucky survivors and ... zombies. They aren't your typical, garden variety zombies, though. No, these zombies never die, as the narrator explains, "Kill one, he'll rise in the morning. There's no getting rid of them." There's no telling if the actual game will hold up at this point, but the premise thus far is certainly intriguing.
The Secret World broadcasts footage from the streets of Kingsmouth
What horrors lie in Kingsmouth when the fog comes to rest? Well that's for you to find out! Thanks to a tip from a certain Erling Ellingsen, we've been pointed to a brand new trailer for The Secret World. It seems that someone has hacked into the security cameras around Kingsmouth, giving us a look at the town's various areas. All of this is set to an unknown narrator explaining exactly how Kingsmouth turned from a small, All-American town into the black pit that it is today. It's important to note, however, that this video is only a preview of the Kingsmouth location -- it's not a gameplay trailer. Erling attached this "quotable quote" in his e-mail: "This is a part of a ramp up of the communication we're doing around The Secret World. We wanted to give gamers a very quick glimpse into the game and the universe, without giving away exactly how the game looks in motion and in all its glory. We're saving that for GDC actually." So GDC it is then! We'll be there! But, while you're all waiting for GDC, go on over to Gamespot and learn more about Kingsmouth. (Also, we saw your Lovecraft Lane street sign! We see your references!)
The Secret World revealing more secrets soon, Funcom confirms Kingsmouth connection
Sources have told us the Kingsmouth website is in truth connected to the enigmatic developer known as Funcom. They've also informed us that this is just the beginning of a new The Secret World initiative from the mysterious developer. In fact, those very same dark forces- er, sources, told us that you can expect to see a significant reveal happen this very weekend. We asked Funcom's Erling Elingson for a comment on these shadowy happenings, "The recent release of the Kingsmouth website is just one of many unique initiatives that will be happening around The Secret World in the next few weeks. Not only are we teaming up with a major site this weekend to give gamers a unique glimpse into the game through new and never-before-seen footage, but there are also other secrets lurking under the surface waiting to be discovered. The ever-growing community surrounding The Secret World did a great job deciphering the clues that led to the discovery of the Kingsmouth website, and they will have plenty more to play around with in the next few weeks!" Success! Our dark lord's ancient powers worked wonders. Wait, we mean uh, our highly charismatic and soothingly baritone voice made them talk, yes. So, you'll want to keep a lookout this weekend TSW fans, and don't stop investigating for clues. If you did, the all-knowing master would be very upset...
Funcom's The Secret World gets a weird website
Since it was first revealed back in 2007, there really hasn't been a lot of information released about Funcom's upcoming MMO The Secret World. We've learned a bit about its factions, enjoyed a handful of screenshots and watched a couple of nifty trailers (embedded after the break, for your convenience). Now, Funcom has opened a website for one of the game's locations, a sleepy New England town (yes, another one) by the name of Kingsmouth. The website is designed as though it were made by an actual chamber of commerce, including plenty of low resolution photos and awkwardly placed Google ads. According to Joystiq's sister site Massively, the site is also full of references to H.P. Lovecraft, which seems appropriate given the otherworldly nature of the game. There is what appears to be a handful of screenshots in the site's gallery section, and the news section also mentions planning for "Kingsmouth Day 2010," which is set to go down on Saturday, April 3. Whether or not anything will actually happen on that day is anyone's guess. %Gallery-72472%
All hail the Kingsmouth Horror: The Secret World pays homage to Lovecraft
For a while now, the community over at The Secret World has noticed things in the game that are distinctly influenced by the writings of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. From the original poster that revealed a beast that reminded many of Cthulhu to the whole idea of secret societies and monsters that exist beyond time and space. So when The Secret World community members stumbled upon a website for the fictional town of Kingsmouth, many weren't surprised. Kingsmouth, a mash-up of Lovecraft's Kingsport and Innsmouth (and, to an unnamed extent, Arkham), is the typical New England town that Lovecraft so loved to talk about. It's sleepy, it's quiet, it's community is entrenched, and there are probably more monsters than people. Lovecraftian references are abound from the aptly named Miskatonic River (see Miskatonic University) to the town's presence as a port on the coastline. Of course, with the addition of a brand new website, new puzzles are bound to pop up. The Secret World community is already pouring over the website, so jump into the discussion if you think you found something. Of course, for those of you who aren't into the whole conspiracy angle, we got the screenshots of Kingsmouth for you below. Beware though, the originals are small, as apparently the Kingsmouth locals don't know how to upload quality pictures. %Gallery-72395%
Funcom Games Canada enters the Age of Caron
What to do when you're coming off a year of huge losses but still planning to reinvigorate the company? Get yourself a new CEO! That's what Age of Conan's Funcom did, announcing that Miguel Caron would be stepping into the position at Funcom Games Canada. Caron has been working in Quebec with Lyrtech, an audio and video processing company, as well as with IT firms like BCM International and NoWire Telecom. Given his background in reducing IT costs and raising market share in the realm of digital communications, we'd guess he's got his job cut out for him at Funcom. The company says it's aiming to expand operations in Montreal, far away from its humble roots in Norway, so we'll see if Caron can summon some Cimmerian strength and get things moving in the right direction over there. [Via Massively]
Funcom Games Canada hires new CEO and plans to expand
2009 wasn't the best year to be in the business of making games, to the point where some of us weren't expecting good news like a major publisher hiring new people -- but it's happening. And it's not a small hiring push, either, aiming in the 100-150 range. That's the latest news from Funcom, whose recently opened Canadian studio has appointed a new CEO for the division. Miguel Caron is going to be in charge of building up the staff of Funcom Games Canada, as well as overseeing the studio during the development of The Secret World -- according to Ragnar Tornquist, the Montreal-based expansion will play a key role in the game's development. Even if you aren't looking forward to The Secret World, however, it's excellent to have news of a company not facing security trouble, layoffs, or shutdowns. Although the timeframe for the expected hirings is a year and a half, that's still a lot of work being generated by Funcom, which is a boon to both their existing games and their newfound plans of focusing on the casual gaming market. Let's hope this kicks off a trend of more positive news for the industry this year. We certainly need it.
Funcom plans a more casual direction for future games
Back in December, we talked a bit about Funcom's new studio SweetRobot, which will be designing games for a much younger market than the Age of Conan crowd. Pets vs. Monsters is the first offering from the studio, with the promise of more to come. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas took some time to sit down with gameindustry.biz and discuss where the company stands now, and how that has influenced their decision to explore this new opportunity. Of course, Funcom had to employ some cost-cutting measures in 2009: "...it's become almost a default thing for businesses in the last year it seems." Tapping into the vast tween market could be a very lucrative move in the face of those measures -- while their cash reserves are more than comfortable, gaining new subscribers is the way to keep the company moving forward. Make no mistake - the grownup side of Funcom isn't going anywhere. Age of Conan is here to stay and The Secret World is still coming, but Funcom is also giving plenty of attention to their more casual new studio as well. The full interview can be read here.
Funcom begins 2010 with new concept art
Funcom's concept artists have been letting their imaginations run wild again. After the last round of concept art was released for Rise of the Godslayer and The Secret World, fans had a good time speculating about what they were looking at, and now it's that time again. Funcom has released Creepy Concept Art 2.0 via Facebook, and fan speculation is even more enthusiastic and varied than it was for the last round. The first piece of concept art is for The Secret World, and features a very small, very angry totem or pendant of some sort (It's tiny - check the size reference figure in the corner). The second new item is from the upcoming Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer, and garnered nearly as much interest as the other, with thoughts of Wookiees, Bear Shaman, and Picts from commenters. You can take a look for yourself on Facebook, and join us in our thanks to Funcom and their concept artists for the new eye candy!
Funcom gives us some AoC and TSW concept art for the holidays
Remember how we told you the other day that Funcom was looking for more friends on Twitter and Facebook? Well, it appears that they've decided to sweeten the deal from just the initial contest offering. Sure, you can win all kinds of goodies as we mentioned, but if you do wind up following, you'll find that Funcom is using these feeds to offer up tasty little concept art sneak peeks of The Secret World and the Rise of the Godslayer expansion for Age of Conan. Currently out on their Facebook gallery are two pieces of Age of Conan art depicting the above scene and a Scholar of Cheng Ho. Both of these images show the strong Eastern art style for Godslayer that many find intriguing. As for The Secret World previews, there are two pieces as well. One appears to be a character sketch of a young man - perhaps an NPC that will help us move the story along. The second, much more haunting image, is a picture of a slavering six-armed demon wielding a blood-covered trio of tanto, wakizashi, and katana mounted to a pole. Definitely not the kind of thing you want to run into -- secret society to help you or not! Be sure to pop by and take a look at the concept art that Funcom have posted - and consider adding them to your page so you'll know when they post more!
More on The Secret World's Templar and Illuminati
Looking for further information on The Secret World's equally secret Illuminati and Templar societies? We're going to go ahead and assume that you are, as they're quite interesting aspects of Funcom's upcoming third MMO. Actually, considering much of the game's story and conflict revolves around the three warring secret societies, we'd say these two Illuminati and Templar interviews are required reading for anyone who considers themselves interested in the game. We're all about picking sides in MMOs here at Massively. When it comes to The Secret World, there's a lot to consider, although something about the Illuminati is quite alluring. We're of the opinion that their high tech nature combined with their fashion sensibilities is going to be quite attractive to many a person. Oh, plus it doesn't hurt that they're the "bad boys" of the game.%Gallery-72399%
Funcom offers prizes for friends and followers
Tis the season for getting cool things -- and for making new friends. Funcom obviously agrees, as they've got a contest going where they'll be giving away some pretty nice prizes for people who become friends, fans, or followers on their various Facebook and Twitter accounts. The idea is pretty simple: for every one of the Funcom accounts you link up with, you'll be entered in the drawing for prizes. So, with two accounts each for Age of Conan, Anarchy Online The Secret World, as well as for Funcom in general, there are 8 different ways you could land some sweet swag. Among the prizes for this giveaway are free game time; beta access to Age of Conan's next expansion, Rise of the Godslayer; a guaranteed spot in hotly anticipated The Secret World beta test; in-game items for Age of Conan and Anarchy Online; and "much, much more" according to their information. With Rhode Island and Florida excluded from the ranks (that pesky "must buy a bond for your prizes" thing we're sure) most everyone else can enter for a chance to score some sweet Funcom goodies. If you're looking for where exactly to link up your accounts, they've even listed the links on the Age of Conan site, making the clicky-clicky that much easier. Just make sure you've joined up before January 4th, 2010 when the contest ends. Good luck!
Demystifying The Secret World's enigmatic Dragon
There's definitely a certain type of player the enigmatic Dragon secret society will appeal to in The Secret World. We can say that with even greater confidence after reading Gamespot's Dragon-focused interview with Funcom's Ragnar Tornquist. They're masters of the subtle and maestros of manipulation -- also, they carry katanas and guns. The interview runs the gamut topic-wise, but many of the answers coming from Ragnar are still incredibly careful to avoid any and all spoilers. Nevertheless, there's still much to be gleaned from regarding what these guys are about and how playing them is going to be different from the other two factions within The Secret World. Our favorite nugget of new information? Lighting your katana on fire being confirmed as an in-game feature. There really isn't anything quite as satisfying as splitting a foul monster in twain with a burning chopping blade of death!%Gallery-72399%
Funcom posts $9.6 million loss in Q3 2009
Following a round of layoffs, a delay for one of its most anticipated titles and continuing reports of the player decline of Age of Conan, we knew that Norwegian developer Funcom wasn't in the best shape. Earlier today, the company posted its Q3 financial results and confirmed our suspicions: The company's reporting a $9.6 million loss for the third quarter of this year. Compared to the company's $3.3 million profit from the same period last year, that's a pretty disheartening decline. With an expansion for Age of Conan and the ever-intriguing The Secret World presumably due out next year, and (according to a September 30 finance report) $34.8 million in the bank, Funcom's far from down and out. However, until one of those titles hits store shelves, things are probably going to get considerably less fun for Funcom.
Funcom publishes sharp revenue drop for Q3
Funcom has released its financial results for Q3, and it's not pretty. Revenue was down 68.5% to 5.7 million USD, and expected to drop even more in Q4. This time last year they were reporting a profit of $3.3 million, a strong contrast to the current $9.6 million loss. They see a few reasons for this drop, including some stiff competition: "The Company ran a successful re-evaluation campaign during July, increasing the number of subscribers to the game. However, the launch of two major competing MMO-games during Q3 led to a subsequent reduction in subscriber levels." Funcom remains optimistic, though, thanks to numerous upcoming projects. The Secret World is reported to be "progressing well", Age of Conan is planning a launch in Korea, the "Rise of the Godslayer" expansion for AoC is on its way, and Funcom recently received a grant to create an extreme sports MMO. The full report can be viewed here.
Subscribe to Age of Conan and receive The Secret World beta access
Funcom recently announced their plans to get older players back into Age of Conan and boost multi-month subscription rates. Players with inactive subscriptions are invited to retry the game for two weeks and receive a double experience bonus. Those who sign up for multi-month subscriptions will receive these additional bonuses: 3-month sub: Beta access to The Secret World 6-month sub: Beta access + in-game helmet that boosts experience gain by 10% 12-month sub: Beta access + helmet + a free copy of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer Age of Conan has received many updates in the year and a half since its release. However, MMO players can be an unforgiving bunch, so these incentives to give the game another shot are quite necessary. And it's extra-smart given all the excitement around The Secret World. Considering how many players would be willing to pay for beta access, a subscription to a vastly improved AoC is just icing on the cake. For those interested in catching up on AoC, check out the most recent game director's letter, new content, and revised subscription options. Have a burning question for Funcom about this or anything else? Ask it here. Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
Fourth annual MMO calendar now on sale
It's that time of year again - the MMO Calendar for 2010 is on sale. MMO Calendar is a yearly project created as a non-profit fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The calendar features original art from 12 different current and upcoming MMOs, and 100% of the purchase price of every calendar is donated to St. Jude. This year's calendar includes artwork from: Age of Conan Dungeons & Dragons Online Eve Online EverQuest II Free Realms Guild Wars 2 Lord of the Rings Online Runes of Magic RuneScape The Secret World Warhammer Online World of Warcraft It promises to be a gorgeous calendar, but just in case the art alone isn't enough to convince you, purchasing the calendar will get you entered in a drawing for one of ten prizes including closed beta access, subscriptions, and boxed game sets. Calendars will be shipped by December 5th and the prize drawing is December 7th, so visit MMO Calendar to order yours!
Ragnar Tørnquist on what sets The Secret World apart
One of the games we've seen a lot of reader interest in at Massively is The Secret World, in development at Funcom. One of the key people behind the upcoming horror MMO is Ragnar Tørnquist, Producer and Director of The Secret World. Tørnquist recently sat down for an interview with Vladimir "Evoker" Georgiev from UGDB.com to discuss what will set The Secret World apart from other MMOs we've played. One of the refreshing aspects of the game is there are no levels or classes in TSW. Tørnquist tells UGDB, "Our goal is to make sure that players can sit down and play this game and enjoy themselves from the very beginning. You don't start out fighting rats with a rusty sword. You get cool firearms, black magic, occult weapons from the outset -- and you're fighting demons and the undead, not wild boar or petty criminals."
Funcom unveils The Secret World beta
In spite of recent layoffs, Funcom seems to be moving forward steadily with The Secret World, offering a peek into the secret societies and a chance at the beta. The official site invites you to take the test to win beta access, and offers up a quiz asking "Which secret society do you belong to?"The quiz is brief, a fun diversion that serves to give an overview of the three secret societies in The Secret World: the Illuminati (described as the notorious bad boys and girls of The Secret World), Templars (Crusaders, judges, the holy terror), and Dragon (manipulators and conspirators). Taking the quiz and giving your email address nets you an initiate kit, an invitation to join the forums, and a shot at a beta key. So if you are looking forward to this upcoming game, rest assured that it seems to be delayed, but not dead.
