Torchlight : Mythos-reborn

Games
#1

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=2][COLOR=#ffff80]BEIJING, April 22 /PRNewswire-Asia/ – Perfect World Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: PWRD) (“Perfect World” or the “Company”), a leading online game developer and operator in China, today announced that it has entered into a publishing agreement with Runic Games, Inc. (“Runic Games”), a specialized developer of PC-based entertainment software in the United States, for the exclusive rights and license to publish “Torchlight,” an action-packed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (“Action-MMORPG”) that’s being developed, throughout the world.

Being developed by Runic Games’ experienced team of industry veterans, “Torchlight” is an adventure-themed Action-MMORPG. Adventurers set out from the town of Torchlight into the nearby mountains in search of the magic ore that imbues their equipment with power, yet imperils their very existence. “Torchlight” emphasizes a simple and intuitive interface, fast and furious action, and a colorful and compelling game world.

Mr. Max Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Runic Games, said, “Runic Games is very pleased to partner with Perfect World. Perfect World’s strength and expertise in creating and running MMORPGs and track record of high quality of service to the playing community give us great confidence and hopes for a long and prosperous partnership. With ‘Torchlight,’ we strive to bring the best of Western and Eastern gaming together, creating a truly global title.”

Mr. Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World commented, “We are very pleased to cooperate with Runic Games, whose members have a first-rate track record. Leveraging Perfect World’s marketing capabilities and deep understanding of Asian culture and player preferences, ‘Torchlight’ is expected to be a ‘global title,’ catering to the tastes of both Western and Eastern players. In addition to our involvement in game development leveraging our extensive experience with MMORPG, we will also strive to demonstrate our excellent game operating ability and to offer players unique and exciting online game experience. We treasure this opportunity to work with the professional team of Runic Games, and look forward to the success of ‘Torchlight,’ as a cornerstone for the long-term strategic relationship between Runic Games and Perfect World.”[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

A Chinese publisher partnered with ex-Flagship developers. Not sure if they were involved in the mess of Hellgate:London, but I had certainly heard good things about Mythos. This should be interesting. I wonder how much creative freedom are the developers given and what is their stance in P2P?

Oh, they are hiring too.

#2

Mythos was fun. Looking forward to Torchlight.

That is all.

#3

Is Travis Baldree part of Runic?

#4

This is the real question.

#5

Yep, he is. There was an employee list on the website a few months back.

#6

I hope they stick with the overhead camera seen in early Mythos beta, not the 3rd person camera they were playing around with at the end of the Mythos beta right before it was shut down. I guess that was an attempt to make it feel more like an MMO. But the overhead camera, IMO, just works so much better for this type of game.

I’m really looking forward to this. Travis & company really knew what that magic ingredient was that makes Diablo so addictive. The ingredient I felt was missing in Titan’s Quest.

#7

This is fantastic news!

I was really starting to think that we’d never see Mythos again. I took a while, but at least it looks like we’ll see the finished product some day.

#8

How I feel about a Mythos successor? Awesome!

How I feel about the Chinese publisher? Cautious.

#9

Yeah, I’m one of the cofounders. Heck I’m the president insert eye roll here Which basically means that this time out, if things go ass-over-teakettle, it’s all my fault.
Hopefully that won’t be the case though.

Perfect World is our MMO publisher. The single-player game ( and the press release makes things a bit confusing on that point ) is going to be released this year, and we haven’t announced any publishers for that yet, although we’re aiming to do online distribution, hopefully box, and OEM if we can swing it. So, casual game distribution channels.
The single-player will be a 20-30 dollar game or so, and we’re going to release the tools we used to build it. It’s extremely mod-friendly - people should be able to relatively easily add items, monsters, level, art, quests, skills, and the like. We have some pretty nifty tools.

The single-player is our baby, and PW has given us their blessing to do it, with the understanding that the work we do there will be very beneficial for the MMO ( assets, lore, tech, tools, etc. ) - especially since we had to start all over again from scratch after Mythos sank into the mud. It’s effectively a merging of what we learned with Fate and Mythos. Development began in earnest about November 1st or so of 2008, a little bit after we incorporated, evaluated tech solutions, got an office, and did all the boring stuff to make sure it was possible to pay ourselves and keep the power on.

At any rate, we’re having a blast making it - it’s a nice change of pace to make a single-player game again on a short schedule, and it’s been coming together very fast. There are a couple of screens we released to some fansites so you can get a bit of an idea of how it looks early on - sort of The Incredibles by way of Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair. Or something like that. These are representative of approximately 5 or so months of development - maybe 6. Lots will probably change.

http://www.runicgamesfansite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/image002.jpg

http://www.runicinsider.com/wp-content/gallery/torchlight/Torchlight001.jpg

hope they stick with the overhead camera seen in early Mythos beta, not the 3rd person camera they were playing around with at the end of the Mythos beta right before it was shut down.

Your wish is granted! You can zoom it in, which banks it down a bit, but no orbital camera ( except in paused vanity shots )

#10

That looks and sounds great.

#11

I bought Fate the first time I saw it in a store and loved it. This game, which looks like a sequel to Fate, is a first day purchase for me.

EDIT: Actually, just looking at those screens makes me want to start playing Fate again. Even the item grind fishing was really fun, as it led to weird and awesome upgrades for the pet.

#12

Everything sounds great. I was really loving Mythos and was rather sad to see it go.

#13

Woot! Well that was better news than I was expecting, and a 2009 release too! Glad to see you guys not only hit the ground on your feet, but took off running.

My only request is Steam or Impulse, fine with either =)

#14

This all sounds wonderful, but you have failed to mention the most important question: will the cigar smoking goblins be back?

#15

Looks great!

#16

Good luck to you tbaldree and Runic Games. I always was a big fan of Mythos and look forward to what your team can produce. The screenshots look great, keep us posted on the progress and when the site for it launches.

#17

Is co-op play going to found only in the online version of the game or will the single player offer it in some fashion (yeah, I know that sounds like asking for the impossible)? I loves me a good action RPG but usually only play them co-op. Not interested in all the MMO-style trappings that appear to be part of the online version.

#18

I think it looks fantastic

#19

Moar Fate

Travis rocks.

#20

Nice to see you rebounding after Mythos. Consider my interest piqued.