BIOGAMER GIRL: THE SECRET WORLD is an upcoming MMO with many unique qualities set in a world where monsters and mythic beasts are real, and society is very different from our own. Where did the inspiration for THE SECRET WORLD'S universe originate, and how difficult was creating a world in which all of these creatures could coexist?
RAGNAR TØRNQUIST: THE SECRET WORLD takes place in the modern day real world, and we have taken inspiration from a lot of different sources, but behind it all, tying it together, is our own extensive and deep storyline that spans millions of years, and multiple dimensions. The initial inspiration for the universe came from years of devouring contemporary fantasy and horror comics, novels, movies, and TV shows, and also from a lifelong interest in myths and legends, ancient history, cryptozoology, magic and the occult. There are not a lot of games in general —and absolutely no online games—that draw on these rich sources of inspiration, and it felt like such a natural fit for us.
It’s taken us the better part of ten years to create the world, and everything in the game has an extensive backstory; absolutely everything, from the characters and monsters, to the three secret societies, to every mission and piece of lore, every weapon... This is something that players really feel and appreciate when they start digging into the setting. There’s so much there, it’ll take months and years to get to the bottom of it all.
BIOGAMER GIRL: THE SECRET WORLD has strayed from the common MMO path by taking away most of the RPG elements you'd find in other games, such as removing traditional classes and leveling mechanics and having NPCs primary purpose being something more than simply offering missions. What made the team stray from these features that seem to be standard in so many MMOs today?
TØRNQUIST: From day one, we set out to do something fresh and different and new; not just with the contemporary setting and monsters drawn from pop culture and legend, from modern horror and ancient mythology, but also with the game mechanics. There are enough class-and-level based role-playing games out there, enough high fantasy and science-fiction settings, and we really felt we needed to do something different—to not just follow the same old template, but to actually take the road less travelled and give players something they have never seen before. It’s really company culture here at Funcom to not just rinse and repeat, but to try to invent and reinvent and break the mold, regardless of the genre.
BIOGAMER GIRL: THE SECRET WORLD will feature tons of monsters from literature, myths and lore all in one world. Can you tell us a few of the more unique and horrifying creatures we will find in the game, and how we're supposed to take out these terrifying beasts?
TØRNQUIST: I can’t think of any other game with such a vast and diverse cast of monsters, some of them drawn from modern horror movies, some from ancient myths and fairy tales, some from urban legends and pop culture. A couple of my favorites are the Draug on Solomon Island, reanimated and mutated corpses of Viking warriors that draw their power from the ocean ; the Revenants, which are dark creatures from mediaeval Europe that can morph into ravens and rats; and, of course, the vampires in Transylvania, not just your standard cannon fodder vampires, but also mutant super-soldiers created through an occult science program initiated by Stalin. Every type of monster requires a different approach, different tactics, and players really have to adapt and change the way they play in order to stay alive across the different adventure zones.
BIOGAMER GIRL: In player vs. player matches, gamers will face off in massive conflicts on legendary battle sites such as Stonehenge, El Dorado and Shambala. Why were these unique locations saved for PvP matches, how chaotic can these PvP matches get and what more can you tell us about THE SECRET WORLD'S multiplayer versus mode?
TØRNQUIST: We felt these locations were uniquely suited to our player-versus-player combat, since they are powerful occult locations and home to some of the greatest mysteries of mankind. Just because they are PvP zones doesn’t mean players won’t get to see the same locations from another, non-combat perspective in the future. We have plans to expand on the lore around our PvP areas post-launch.
There are two different PvP modes in THE SECRET WORLD: Battlefields and Warzones. Battlefields are ten-versus-ten-versus-ten battles where the three secret societies—the Templars, the Illuminati and the Dragon—fight short, intense battles in order to (briefly) dominate either El Dorado or Stonehenge; both of them sources of great magic, of Anima, that the factions can harvest.
Fusang Projects, on the other hand, is a persistent Warzone; a Chinese city built on top of an ancient temple, where the battle rages twenty-four-seven between all three secret societies. In this location, players compete for control over various points on the map, with the ultimate goal of dominating all of Fusang Projects.
BIOGAMER GIRL: What is the key difference between THE SECRET WORLD and other MMOs and why players will want to keep coming back to play your game again and again?
TØRNQUIST: The modern-day setting and story are two key differentiators. This really is the first massively multiplayer role-playing game set in our world, in real and familiar locations. The story is deep and complex, and you’re only going to see the beginning of it at launch. It will keep developing as the game grows and evolves, and players will cooperate to piece together a massive jigsaw puzzle.
There’s also the fact that you can join a secret society and take part in the battle for control over the Earth through PvP combat, ranking missions, and the ongoing political conflict between the factions; and also dig into the secret history of the world through the eyes of these ancient cabals.
Last, but not least, our skill-based system has no classes or levels, and players can grow and develop their characters any way they want. That freedom, that flexibility, is incredibly unique, and will allow our players to experiment with their characters, with different weapon types and play styles, for months and years to come.
You can learn more about THE SECRET WORLD at the game's official website. THE SECRET WORLD is out July 3 on PC.