Greeks, Norwegians and Swiss have been creating Darkfall for 7 years now, the first online videogame that's been
"set up" here in Greece. The studio, it's creators and the roles.
A production that's going against the colosal titles of the genre.
Goblins, dwarves and orcs are escaping from Halandri (a region in Athens).
We're not used seeing these kind of graphics in greek videogames and especially not in the difficult genre of MMOs which have especially high requirements. So when we visited the offices of this small team that's housed in Halandri of Attica, we were impressed by the fact that such a young company is paving the road..and the way for other colosal companies in the gaming industry through Darkfall.
A greek-norwegian partnership will bring us this new MMO, the first to be produced in Greece, in the end of 2008.
At this moment the game is the stage of internal Beta and signups for the open beta have allready started in Europe (more than 100.000 people have allready signed up for the beta).
A tour around the offices and discussions with the creators and producers of the game shows that there are at least two secrets to the recipee of their success, excitement and love of their job is in the air
This small small team which reminds us of a miniature of the United Nations, seems to have a found a common code of communication that breaks down the barriers of different languages (greek,norwegian and swiss).
It's the fever of creation. They show us the graphics, the movement, the shadows, we hear the sounds of Darkfall.
"One of the original ideas of the game is that there are no specialties or levels. Everything is based on skill" says Tasos Flambouras one of the producers.
What does that mean? Simply that a good player won't have to wait until the higher levels in order to compete with other players in PvP. He'll be able to do that from the first moment he enters the game.
In other words, ganking of lower levels will not be a problem.
Also, instanecs are dissappearing from this game.
"No more loading screens from area to area".
"Now players will be able to go from geographical place to another without waiting a single moment".
That's not so bad if you consider how many times we've been disconnected during a loading screen in countless other games.
Naval Battles
The "cherry on top" is naval battles.
Yes, there will be naval battles in Darkfall.
Something that means that you'll either have to build your ship or conquer one with force....
The cannons of the ships are so realisticly made that only the smell of gunpowder is missing.
Also the player will be able to choose among 6 races and to forth and act based on the ancient hostilities and alliances..
For Instance if you're a human don't expect to have a good relationship with an orc...
Whether it's a success or not ( let's not forget that Age of Conan is relatively new also and that on the 13th of November Wrath of the Lich King is released, which means that Darkfall will have big competition) Darkfall's try is something to admire, because it shows that the only thing you need for this, is hard work.
As for the economical part, as Spyros Iordanis told us (the economical manager), "where there is will there is a way".
"Let's not forget government funding, which are not the solution but they area a helping hand".
"Our aim is to make a special game of higher quality that offers the evolution of MMORPGs"
-Claus Grovdla (lead designer)
"Darkfall offers it's players endless posibilities: It's an open game of roleplaying,action and strategy, all packed in one"
-Natascha Roosli (designer and gorgeous girl
)
A sheep among wolves or is it the other way.
If someone asked Aventurine how did they manage to get through the hardships of developing Darkfall Online, he's sure to get a lot of answers, some of which he'd expect and some not. What is sure though, is that the answers inspire a dynamism and self-confidence which is hard not to notice.
It's amazing in how much detail and -why not- ease, the creator of Darkfall Online describes some of the revolutionary characteristics of the game which makes someone wonder if they're simply chapters from a dusty manual of Game Design.
On the contrary. The production not only believes in the game but also inspires trust to people who have been following their progress even though this odyssey has been going on for 7 years. It has the courage and vision to proceed to a new kind of MMORPG in an early but well-thought of maturity, giving honour to the holy seed of Ultima Online
while wanting to go one step further. After the dissapointment of Age of Conan, which is slowly regaining ground,
the satisfying Warhammer Online release and the upcoming release of the expansion of colosal World of Warcraft, Darkfall Online seems like a sheep among wolves.
However, In reality it's not because what it wants to give to te genre puts it in it's own sphere of uniqueness.
If it keeps up to even half of the things it promises, no other release will overshadow the meaning and the evolution of the genre. And that is a truth that doesn't need Directx10 to run.