Next Generation MMORPG, Exclusive Mortal Online Interview

Mortal Online announced by Star Vault for the first time is a first-person MMORPG in a fantasy setting, which is also a next generation MMORPG both in terms of graphics and gameplay. There are no PvP zones, only an open realistic world where you are free to choose your own path. Experience true real-time combat where you decide every move your character makes and where your personal skill really matters.Build your own house, or set up a guild to build a keep. With enough power, violence or diplomacy, you and your allies will be able to rule an entire nation. Choose from many different races and professions. You decide your own style of playing and whether to focus on PvP or PvE, both sharing the same game world. Devote your life to crafting, combat, magic or trading. Discover new skills, tools and resources. Or be the first to explore new areas to put your name on the map.

Henrik Nystrom: I started my journey in the sandbox mmorpg genre in the game Ultima Online some years ago. It was the first so called real mmorpg released. I really liked the genre and as I got deeper into it I started to plan a mmorpg in a very early stage. The only problem back then was the technique and internet standards that were so poor. Mortal Online is more similar to Ultima Online in its first years compared to today's mmorpgs, often called theme parks, which are based on levels, have a rather linear game play and relies heavily on automation.

The plans and some testing started back in 2002 for a very early version of what was later to be called Mortal Online but the project really took off in 2005.

I founded Star Vault as a private structure in 2006 after presenting the handpicked team and the project (with the work name NOW) for a group of investors, who showed an interest in the project. This was not a simple task and it took lots of time to get where we are today. Where most commercial games are funded and controlled by a publisher, it's really a dream situation for everyone at Star Vault where we ourselves instead control the project and are free to do what we do best. A small group of people including myself invested the funds needed to start Star Vault and get the team going on the project in full time, soon after we converted the company structure into a stock company and got listed on Aktietorget to get the rest of the finance to be able to completely develop and release Mortal Online.

To be able to compete with today's high standard on graphics features and also to lower the risk and the development time in the project, I started cooperating with Epic Games. They showed an interest in our team and the project and supplied us with the rewarded game engine Unreal Engine 3 and the network engine for our game Mortal Online.

MMOsite: When and why did you decide to work on Mortal Online? Where does the development currently stand? So far, what are the major challenges you've encountered?

Henrik Nystrom: Creating a "sandbox" mmorpg where it's up to the players to shape the world has always been a dream to me. When I got the opportunity after many years of hard work and finding all parts needed to create such game, with a talented team, great partners and the funds to develop it, it was an easy choice to go for it.

There are many challenges in creating an open mmorpg, as you never know what the players will be up to in the free world. From optimizing performance to creating enough of variation in customization for the players is an important but challenging part in a mmorpg. What we focus on is the features we think will stand out and will interest a lot of players and then continue to develop the game even after release.

The production of Mortal Online is currently in a stage where we are migrating the game content into our new network solution.

MMOsite: In overview, what kind of MMORPG is Mortal Online? What are the major features that will set Mortal Online apart from other MMORPGs other there?

Henrik Nystrom: Mortal Online is very different from today's mmorpgs. You are free to choose your own play style and what you want to do in the game. There are no levels or linear quests that you have to follow to continue to advance your character. In Mortal Online it's a combination of the character skills and your own player skills, and training them, that will lead you to success. You are not forced to grind quests or fight monsters to advance, you can choose to play a blacksmith without entering a single battle. You can focus on economy without fighting, build houses, trade routes and much more. It's really up to the players to do what they want instead of us focusing on balancing and creating a linear level-based world. Of course with this freedom there is a risk, the game doesn't stop other players to start rob and murder other players to take their items. But there are some zones with guards that do protect innocent players from getting murdered or plundered.

I would say that this kind of free world will give the players a unique and challenging experience.