If I Had a Hammer...

With Warhammer Online almost ready to go live, we get the skinny on this next-level MMORPG.
8/27/2008 8:40 PM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 4

Crispy Gamer: Got it. What is The Tome of Knowledge?

Barnett: The Tome of Knowledge is a book that records what you've done, how you did it, and how quickly you did it. As you progress through the game, it unlocks story elements and background elements, it unfolds the world to you, and you can do things in the Tome of Knowledge.

Crispy Gamer: Does it work like Achievements on the Xbox 360?

Barnett: They're like Achievements, only much, much deeper because they unlock abilities, they give you items, and they give new things to do.

Crispy Gamer: So if you kill a dozen goblins, you'll unlock the ability to wield a goblin sword?

Barnett: Right.

Crispy Gamer: All of this makes this sound like it's more of an action hack-and-slash game. How deep are the role-playing elements?

Barnett: Well, the skill-set customization is insanely large. There are three core paths to every career. You have your core career, then you have your three specialties, and each specialty comes with its own abilities, morale and tactics. So, for example, a Bright Wizards will have three different ways he can cast spells: He can be hit lots of things, he can one thing really hard, or he can hit things that are further away. I think someone ran the numbers, and you'd have to play the same career eight times, all the way through, before you've played every possible permutation.

Crispy Gamer: There are three armies on the good side (Dwarves, Humans and High Elves), and three on the bad side (Orcs and Goblins, Chaos, and Dark Elves). But are the two sides just opposites or mirror images of each other? Like are Dark Elves just High Elves who are jerks?

Barnett: They're not mirrors. There are 20 careers, which are based on four core jobs: hitting things from a distance, supporting people, fighting up close, and pets and things like that. But each of the careers has its own unique, distinct flavor. There's none where you'd go, "Oh, this is like that other career, just with different colors." To fully experience our game, you'd have to play all 20 careers.

Crispy Gamer: Now this is not your first MMO, you did Dark Age of Camelot, which came out in 2001. Has there been anything that you learned, maintaining Camelot over the years, that really informed things in Warhammer Online?

Barnett: There is a wisdom gained from building, launching, and supporting a game that you just can't get from talking to people or reading a book. Knowing how to keep a game live and active, what makes your customers stickier and what makes them leave -- these are hard-learned lessons, and Dark Age of Camelot has been a tremendous learning ground for us.

Crispy Gamer: How, in terms of the fantasy elements, do you think Warhammer is different from other fantasy MMOs?

Barnett: Well, the Warhammer world is rich, diverse and crazy. It's like fantasy worlds with the boring bits taken out. We took out things like item damage, running back to your dead body, and endless amounts of dull crafting.