While in attendance at E3, MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh had the opportunity to sit down and talk about The Agency with Lead Designer Hal Milton and Studio Manager Matt Wilson.

At this time, The Agency needs little introduction.  It is a Secret Agent / Spy action-based MMORPG.  Lead Designer Hal Milton and Studio Manager Matt Wilson were on hand to talk about the game, and the game's key concepts were reiterated.  “You are what you wear.”  and “A Head shot is still a head shot.”

As I had seen the demos before, I chatted with Hal to see what other information I could get out of him.  He was excited about the current progress of the game, “We'll be in Alpha in summer and that means locking down the future set.  Of course completing Alpha means that we've met exit criteria of Alpha and we're ready for Beta.”

He could, however, speak more on the roles that he had let slip at the Press day held in May.  “You are what you wear.”  is how the roles are defined.  What this phrase really means is that in this game, you create a character, and the role you take is dependent on the outfit you wear.  Careers aren't about classes and skill trees.  Instead, its about outfits and roles.  James Bond didn't wear a wet-suit to a pool party or a speedo to penetrate an armed fortress, neither will you.

Read more here.

this game looks cool.

I love the art style.

I think it looks cheesy and lacks cohesion

It is one of those console/PC games with a very dumbed down UI.  At best, it will be average because of that.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

It is one of those console/PC games with a very dumbed down UI.  At best, it will be average because of that.

the little we saw doesnt give me that UNREAL3 feeling...

I admittedly am not the sharpest tack in the carpet... but did they ban cameras at E3? A picture says a 1000 words....

Made by SOE-----i'll pass.....

SOE==game starts off good......then goes right to Sh*t once they get their invesment back!!!

After looking up all the E3 info about this game, I have become really excited about this game. It's on top of my list at this moment.

Originally posted by grimfall

 you can check here: 

livewire.ign.com/2008/e3/index.html#

then go to Livewire show archive, click on wednesday, july 16th, then click on The Agency interview.
Lots of info and gameplay footage

I admittedly am not the sharpest tack in the carpet... but did they ban cameras at E3? A picture says a 1000 words....

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

This is another game im really looking forward to. The idea of a dumbed down ui is funny to me, because really you dont need much on a good ui. I actually dislike the ui in games like wow where you have 42 skills and crap. I suspect alot of others do too since everyone mods there ui.

The graphics look good enough, kinda hard to have spectacular graphics if your going for the tf2 look.

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

QFT

and also because I'm sick of seeing the SAME people that complain about EVERY game idea, complaining in EVERY thread about new games that are on the horizon.

Why is it some of you people can't wait until a game is actually RELEASED and you've...."zomg"....TRIED it....before judging?  Honestly, it doesn't make any of you that do that appear to be intellectuals like you think it does.  Intelligent people gather facts and are capable of critical thinking.  They weigh those facts and make educated decisions and comments.  They don't make decisions, comments and judgements based on speculation and rumors.  Get a grip.

It looks like it has potential, I got burned by SOE on galaxies, but I might be willing to give them another chance.  I like what I see so far.  

Looks interesting, i like the idea of swapping between rolse by swapping equipment, this might reduce times to find groups a lot. (i spent enough time already waiting for a healer/tank/samagedealer/supportclass that was important for your group and noone was available?)

Anyway i won't get too excited about that game yet since in the last years i have seen too many games not delivering what was promised so i would prefer seeing it in beta before launch to build my own opinnion.

looks interesting to me and i like the spy game in the genre mix but....

OMG WTH were alreaddy talking about standard classes like tank, dps and healer ???
in a spy game ???

 whats next ? dc universe where superman is the tank and catwoman a healer ?

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

Hmm... maybe thats why everyone keeps complaining about how MMO's have become so stale lately. No originality. Let me be a soldier, or spy, or pilot, or adventurer, or super hero in ONE game. Now that is diversity and that breaks the MMO molds. Why do people keep acting like a game like this will keep their interest. All of the MMO's you named off, I don't play, for the same reason I won't play this one. Same ol' same ol' crap game with nothing new to bring to the table except it spies now. WTF! Just my opinion. I like to be innovative, original and think outside the current MMO box. It's all just a nitche thing. I want more out of a game.

Originally posted by girlgeek

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

 

QFT

and also because I'm sick of seeing the SAME people that complain about EVERY game idea, complaining in EVERY thread about new games that are on the horizon.

Why is it some of you people can't wait until a game is actually RELEASED and you've...."zomg"....TRIED it....before judging?  Honestly, it doesn't make any of you that do that appear to be intellectuals like you think it does.  Intelligent people gather facts and are capable of critical thinking.  They weigh those facts and make educated decisions and comments.  They don't make decisions, comments and judgements based on speculation and rumors.  Get a grip.

If someone would come up with something more original than just an IP change then it might be more exciting to me. It could be fun for awhile and even bring something new to the table but all in all, it WILL get boring over time and only create another nitche in gaming. Nitche's can be good, but too many of them ATM.

Originally posted by Szark

 

The Combat role is straightforward.  There's the Tactical Specialist that's your typical tank, able to absorb a great deal of damage, and the Weapons Specialist that has a variety of weapon skills and able to put out a lot of damage or specialized damage as necessary...The Support Role has a Field Medic, again a pretty typical role, he is able to revive and heal
 

 

This game doesn't have a chance of not sucking

Originally posted by infrared1

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

 

Hmm... maybe thats why everyone keeps complaining about how MMO's have become so stale lately. No originality. Let me be a soldier, or spy, or pilot, or adventurer, or super hero in ONE game. Now that is diversity and that breaks the MMO molds. Why do people keep acting like a game like this will keep their interest. All of the MMO's you named off, I don't play, for the same reason I won't play this one. Same ol' same ol' crap game with nothing new to bring to the table except it spies now. WTF! Just my opinion. I like to be innovative, original and think outside the current MMO box. It's all just a nitche thing. I want more out of a game.

You can't appeal to everybody, you're asking way, way to much from just one game. It's much better for one game to focus on one theme and get that right instead of trying to appeal to everybody and give a mediocre experience to everyone. You can't create a game that has a flight system of EVE, a full stealth mechanic and content suited for stealth AND adventuring of traditional mmorpg's, that's impossible.

This game is suck.

It looks nice but........

1. SOE sucks
2. Too instanced like GW
3. SOE's new thing is micro transactions........ Which I hate.

I like how it has no classes though.

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

 

Hmm... maybe thats why everyone keeps complaining about how MMO's have become so stale lately. No originality. Let me be a soldier, or spy, or pilot, or adventurer, or super hero in ONE game. Now that is diversity and that breaks the MMO molds. Why do people keep acting like a game like this will keep their interest. All of the MMO's you named off, I don't play, for the same reason I won't play this one. Same ol' same ol' crap game with nothing new to bring to the table except it spies now. WTF! Just my opinion. I like to be innovative, original and think outside the current MMO box. It's all just a nitche thing. I want more out of a game.

You can't appeal to everybody, you're asking way, way to much from just one game. It's much better for one game to focus on one theme and get that right instead of trying to appeal to everybody and give a mediocre experience to everyone. You can't create a game that has a flight system of EVE, a full stealth mechanic and content suited for stealth AND adventuring of traditional mmorpg's, that's impossible.

Yo Mr. Gameloading, I'm not stupid. I know you can't appeal to everyone. It's just the majority that I'm after.

As for the rest of your comment... It's that type of attitude that continues to keep MMO's where they are, mediocre, cookie cutter, niche crap. As for a "traditional MMO", you are correct, it is impossible. Get your head out of the box and start thinking NEXGEN.

Quote me: All games are niche games that appeal to certain groups. If you can take all the best parts of each game and put them together you get the next big game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but AO and SWG are pretty diverse are they not. Single theme yes , but lots of player diversity. Especially SWG pre-CU. It appealed to a large audience. Too bad SOE F**ked it up. AO, hell, I can't wait till the graphics upgrade goes live. Lord knows it needs it bad.

It will be next gen ITS FPS!

Who really cares if its sony....blizzards sucks ncsoft sucks everyone sucks (to somebody)

This game is more origianl than aoc and war.....not every game needs to be a blockbuster.

Originally posted by infrared1

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by infrared1

No diversity. Come on... everyones a spy of some sort. This will get boring REAL quick. No way for a player to be original or stand apart in the game. Sounds like a console game to me.

 

I'm sorry but that's a really unfair argument. In a typical fantasy MMORPG we're all adventurers, in a game like Tabula Rasa we're all soldiers, in a game like EVE we're all pilots, in a game like City of Heroes we're all super heroes.

 

Hmm... maybe thats why everyone keeps complaining about how MMO's have become so stale lately. No originality. Let me be a soldier, or spy, or pilot, or adventurer, or super hero in ONE game. Now that is diversity and that breaks the MMO molds. Why do people keep acting like a game like this will keep their interest. All of the MMO's you named off, I don't play, for the same reason I won't play this one. Same ol' same ol' crap game with nothing new to bring to the table except it spies now. WTF! Just my opinion. I like to be innovative, original and think outside the current MMO box. It's all just a nitche thing. I want more out of a game.

You can't appeal to everybody, you're asking way, way to much from just one game. It's much better for one game to focus on one theme and get that right instead of trying to appeal to everybody and give a mediocre experience to everyone. You can't create a game that has a flight system of EVE, a full stealth mechanic and content suited for stealth AND adventuring of traditional mmorpg's, that's impossible.

Yo Mr. Gameloading, I'm not stupid. I know you can't appeal to everyone. It's just the majority that I'm after.

As for the rest of your comment... It's that type of attitude that continues to keep MMO's where they are, mediocre, cookie cutter, niche crap. As for a "traditional MMO", you are correct, it is impossible. Get your head out of the box and start thinking NEXGEN.

Quote me: All games are niche games that appeal to certain groups. If you can take all the best parts of each game and put them together you get the next big game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but AO and SWG are pretty diverse are they not. Single theme yes , but lots of player diversity. Especially SWG pre-CU. It appealed to a large audience. Too bad SOE F**ked it up. AO, hell, I can't wait till the graphics upgrade goes live. Lord knows it needs it bad.

A game like Star Wars Galaxies is not really a game that focus on anything, in fact, I think it's the perfect example. Star Wars Galaxies also has some form of space flight combat, is it anything compared to EVE? No, ofcourse not, because it's not the games focus. Or take crafting in mmorpg's. Now some mmorpgs do crafting quite well, but then compare that to a game that is completely build around crafting, such as ATITD. ATITD easily wins.

You can't just take bits and pieces from other games, put them all in one and expect them to work, and it takes way, waaayyy to much time to combine all of EVE with all of SWG,, for example.

That's why games like The Agency's focus is entirely on being a spy/action hero.

When I first heard about this game, I was pretty psyched about it.  And, in a sense, I still am, but only because Super-Spy stuff is always cool.  But looking at it from an MMO standpoint, I didn't realise before, but now I'm sort of seeing how potentially shallow this could be.

Okay - so we understand the idea, "You are what you wear."  But that can also be interpreted as, "You're only as good as the stats on your gun."  And then I started to remember SOE's whole "We really beleive Micro-transactions are the business model of the future because it allows us to focus on more and better content..." - which in case you didn't know, is code for "We will make more money for doing less!"

I mean... think about this guys.  This game will be even more item-centric than WoW is, and their entire business model is banking on it.  I see this whole game as nothing more than playing a slot machine at a casino.  You don't win, unless you bid the maximum.