Stargate Worlds: Interview with Dan Elggren (english)

buffed.de: Will we have to explore the world and discover gate locations on our own or is there going to be an index of some sort?

Dan Elggren: If you watch the series, the main way that gate addresses are found comes through missions. Stargate Worlds is a story-based game, and these missions and gate addresses are the primary drivers through that story. However, once you have an address, it stays in your logbook so you can always revisit locations.

buffed.de: Is Stargate Worlds more of a PvE- or a PvP-experience? How do you want to cater to both audiences?

Dan Elggren: At launch, Stargate Worlds will primarily be a PvE experience. Post-live we will begin adding significant pieces to the PvP system until it is fully fleshed out with objective-based battlefields and mission-based combat. We’ll have a PvP server at launch for players who are dedicated to that style of play and we’ll be rolling out our dedicated PvP content over time.

buffed.de: Are there any particular elements from other MMOs you liked and want to incorporate – or others you are definitely going to avoid?

Dan Elggren: I think one lesson we’ve learned from the success of World of Warcraft is that it’s important for a game to be accessible. It’s not just that you can play the game on your grandmother’s computer, it’s also the fact that it’s easy to pick up. We’re shooting for a similar easy to pick up game curve, but we believe that for the game to maintain its popularity that it’s important for it to be difficult to master.

buffed.de: A lot of MMO-players want to be able to play on their own for some time. How solo-friendly is Stargate Worlds going to be?

Dan Elggren: We’re looking at an 80/20 split between solo/non-solo content. Solo players will be able to advance through the game and participate in the end game without ever teaming up with another player if that’s what they’re looking for. Now, they will miss out on many of the instances that will be designed for teams, but there’s nothing that will prevent them from taking part in the story.

buffed.de: Can you tell us something about the crafting system?

Dan Elggren: Our crafting system has several dynamics, but I want to touch on base items here a little bit. In many game, crafted base items are never as good as quest items, so they aren’t generally in great demand. In Stargate Worlds, there won’t be many base items that crafters can create, but those that they can create will be mighty, making them highly sought after.

buffed.de: We often hear that working with a well-known license can be restrictive at times. What’s your experience with the Stargate-franchise so far?

Dan Elggren: Some licenses are more restrictive than others, I would say. The Stargate license hasn’t been restrictive at all in my view. When you have the freedom to create the worlds you want, that’s very liberating. All games have restrictions; even new IPs need limits for things to make sense. It’s all about internal consistency building a believable game universe.

buffed.de: We heard there’s going to be an open beta – WHEN?

Dan Elggren: We’ll have our open beta a few weeks before launch ... does that answer the question? Our closed beta will be kicking off this summer, however, so that narrows things down a little bit.