Irth Worlds: Interview with Dev Team

Alan Chipura, Dennis Robinson and Tony Pungitore, the Lead Developers on Irth Online took time out of their busy schedules to collectively answer the following questions. I'd like to thank the team for going above and beyond the questions to give amazingly detailed answers!

This is the first installment in a new weekly feature. Every Thursday we will show you new images from Irth Online, with the team chiming in to answer questions every other week. Check back in one week for more screenshots, and in two weeks for more screenshots and questions!

We have set ourselves apart in many ways. I'll start off by mentioning that we have developed a proprietary game engine. We could have bought one, but because we wanted to set ourselves apart, we took the time to develop something unique. Consequently this game has an entirely different look and feel from any other. On a clear day players will have a line of vision that extends 10km. This extended view also lends itself to the possibility of extraordinarily large battle scenarios that other games simply are not capable of having.

This is an incredibly interactive game. Players can manipulate world objects and items in ways that are uncommon in many other games.

The housing system is unlike any other. All players will receive one free home per account. This is not a virtual room. It is a real virtual house with real virtual land. Players can enlarge their homes by building additions and adding shops on to them in order to conduct their trades.

Our game is not based on class as so many other MMOs are. Any player character from any civilization and race can develop any skill. Characters will have a certain propensity to develop certain skills and more difficulty developing others depending on race and civilization, but any skill can be developed by any character. Players can make their character whatever they want it to be. If they do not like what the character has become they can change it by learning new skills and taking it in an entirely different direction. It's just like real life.

Our design has addressed griefing issues that have become serious player concerns in other MMORPGs. We have created a system where the opportunity for griefing to occur is minimal or perhaps even entirely impossible. Implemented mechanics of non-point located spawns, anti- grief resurrection systems, global and local harassment filters, and others have improved and protected the game play experience for all.

Our storylines are not static as many other MMOs are. Our storylines respond to player actions. Because we will have different servers, storylines will evolve differently on each one depending on the players. The players will have a reciprocal relationship with the storywriters.

Players will have an opportunity to create unique items. They will design their own blue prints, recipes and formulas and will be able to share them with their civilization. This is likely to be a post release feature.

We have combined PvP and Non-PvP players in one world and created civilizations that respond to their unique styles of playing. Combining these two types of players in one world is uncommon and adds a dynamic that enhances the overall game experience for others.

We have built a great deal of flexibility in the game that will allow our players to help the game evolve over the course of time. Players can change the environment. They can change the storylines. Some may be the subject of our quests. They can become heroes and villains. They can develop sub-cultures, conquer territories, discover new lands, build and manage their own villages, and much, much more. We are committed to offering our players more freedoms and fewer restrictions.

There are many other areas that distinguish us from others as well. I hope you're beginning to see that this should be a new experience for enthusiasts of MMORPGs.

I guess we're somewhere between Charles Schulz and Rembrandt…That was a joke, but in a way its true. This is quite honestly a beautiful looking game. It is not cartoon-like. The scenery leans more toward real than comic strip. The landscapes are stunning with serene sunsets and sunrises, detailed mountainous terrains, meticulously designed forests and jungles, breathe taking natural wonders, picturesque feral plains, eerie swamps and caverns, gorgeous sea shores, flowing lava rivers, impressive erupting volcanoes, spewing fountains and water falls and much more.

We also are using speed tree technology to populate the landscapes. This has provided a remarkable intensity of realism and beauty to the sceneries. Overall the attention to artistic detail in the landscapes is awesome.

Likewise and equally impressive is the level of detail of our characters and buildings with full deep textures, color, shading and shadows. Our artists are extremely talented and have done an exceptional job.

Basically, Irth has been designed to satisfy all different types of players. We have addressed various player styles by implementing features that respond to individual unique needs.

While there is quite a bit of combat, PvP and PvM, the amount of combat in the game is really up to the player. Different civilizations have been prepared for different player types.

If a player enjoys PvP he or she can choose between three PvP civilizations. Quests and storylines will encourage these types of players to engage in PvP combat such as invading foreign territories and player run villages, capturing foreign properties occupied by enemy players, bounty hunting real players for reward, etc.

If a player enjoys Non-PvP and wants to focus on crafting and building wealth he or she can choose the Non-PvP civilization of Avaria. Avaria is an the economic superpower in the game and contains the only auction house on the Irth. Only Avarian currency is accepted world wide. Players, PvP and Non Pvp alike, will travel from far ends of the Irth to obtain highly sought after goods and services from the Avarians. Storylines and quests will aid and motivate crafters to develop their characters and trades efficiently and effectively.

Quests and missions will also aid players to adventure and discovery. If players prefer solo-play, quests and missions will assist them and lead them to do so. There are numerous vast areas of significant interest and challenge where solo players can adventure, discover, gather, combat, and develop their characters.

If players prefer group play many options have been implemented to assure for a full and fair experience. Features such as sharing in experience points in relation to the percent of damage an individual caused, prescribed loot split options that group leaders will choose before combat, and others.

Many features have also been implemented to assist guilds including the ability to own common property. Players can reserve a guild name across all Irth online servers. They can do this before the game is released. They can also receive low cost website hosting, guild mail, and much more. We make it easy for players to preserve guild continuity across servers. Guilds can be included in our optional "Guild Recruiting" listing on the official Irth online website. Together with Irth Online's network provider, IWH, we are trying to remove the stress of the guilding rush that usually occurs after a game server debuts.

If you are a hard core player and focus on achievement you can develop multiple professions, gain fame and hero status or criminal and villain status. There is proficiency titles that players can choose to display as a prefix to their name once earned to reflect their achievements and mastery of the game.

If you are a casual player features have been built into the system to aid you in developing your character in an efficient and satisfying manner so that you will have a full experience even though your in-game time may be limited due to busy real world commitments.

Our focus is to create a great MMORPG. We want to build a vehicle for players to have fun and entertainment. We have no desire to promote our game as a means by which to earn extra cash. We cannot condone the fact that selling in game items on auction sites is a concern. However it is not our intent to capitalize or authorize this activity.

The unauthorized or even the authorized process of selling virtual items for real money can have adverse results on the game economy and could create undesirable consequences for players. Our main center of attention and greatest concern is to create and protect this game and the resulting player experience as a top priority. We will do everything and everything in our power to make certain that our game and our players are protected.

Thank you to Alan, Tony and Dennis. Please, make your opinions known on their HYPE METER and in THIS COMMENT THREAD.