Runes of Magic is a fantasy MMORPG without monthly costs and free to download. Right from the launch Runes of Magic will convey its absorbing story in over 1000 individual quests embedded in an atmospheric world. Players can choose from six main classes. Combined with a secondary class they dispose of 36 individual character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can Seite 2 von 3 use mounts in the later stages of game play. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. Sounds great. Doesn't it? Recently, we questioned Daniel "Danatros" Ullrich,the Director Product Management for Runes of Magic,and let him give us more details about this game.
MMOsite: Hello, thanks for taking our interview. First off, would you please introduce yourself and your company to our readers?
Daniel: Hello, my name is Daniel "Danatros" Ullrich, and I am the Director Product Management for Runes of Magic. In the last years I have worked as Senior Project and Community Management for the big German games portal OnlineWelten.com. As a specialist for MMO I saw a lot of games coming and going but I always searched a game which combines the good elements of my first MMO loves and the technology and features of the next generation. When we got in touch with the developers of Runes of Magic half a year ago and saw the fist alpha version, we have been so impressed by the game that we wanted to publish it in any case. Sure, we didn't tell them ;) I'm sure as soon as you get a chance to play it yourself, you will understand what I'm talking about.
MMOsite: Can you give us a brief overview about Runes of Magic? What is the background of Runes of Magic? Is there a storyline in the game?
Daniel: Runes of Magic is the ambitious MMORPG project of developer Runewaker Entertainment. The online role-playing game is a completely persistent and seamless fantasy world. Runes of Magic is currently in closed beta stage and we are heading for a worldwide release in December 2008. The main concept behind the development is to include all the fantastic features MMO that all aficionados out there long for. Thus, developer Runewaker has combined some of the most interesting features of the best traditional games of the genre and enriched them with some stunning new ideas.
Currently, there are about 1,000 individual quests already in the game. They are deeply intertwined with the background story of Runes of Magic. In the pre-history of the game, a god called Ayvenas created the world by writing the book Taborea. When he noticed that humanity started to quarrel, steal and fight, he tore apart the world scripture in desperation. In his rage he spread hundreds of magical runes all over the world. Many soldiers of fortune now roam the lands striving to get their hands on the mighty objects. But dark powers also long for the stones to open a gate into a demon world. Therefore it will be the task of new adventurers to keep the gates to the underworld closed.
MMOsite: How would you describe the game's art style and its overall look? And what types of gamers are you targeting?
Daniel: Runes of Magic is grounded firmly on Western and medieval mythology. Varied landscapes, towns, villages, mountains, forests and characters with much detail and a high resolution create a lively atmosphere. Runewaker has put a lot of effort into creating a consistent game-world with many interactive elements like fires or candles you are able to ignite in your player house for example. With many interesting features like the dual class system, raids in open and instanced dungeons, variable player housing, mounts, tile-based dungeons, instances, arena combat, guild wars, server vs. server wars including three servers, much content for PvP and PvE players alike and a very interesting crafting system, the game appeals to experienced MMO fans. Players of other popular MMO games will immediately feel at home with the look and feel and the controls. But also newbies will be able to dive quickly into the game thanks to its comprehensive tutorial region.
MMOsite: Can you basically introduce the six classes in Runes of Magic to our readers? What sort of unique traits will each of them have? And what is their typical role in a team?
Daniel: Players will have the opportunity to choose one of the six classes warrior, knight, priest, scout, rogue and mage in Runes of Magic. With the first add-on we are probably going to introduce two more classes for the game. But we'll keep them as a surprise until further notice. Warrior and knight are the main damage and melee classes. Warriors are skilled in the use of the deadliest weapons and proficient in all close combat techniques. Knights can wield massive armor and use heavy weaponry. They master every fighting skill, though their real strength lies in their deep faith. It allows them to call out hidden powers of the light. Scouts are persevering wanderers, who are sensitive to dangers in their surroundings. This allows them to close in on their enemies from a favorable position. Just as in most MMORPGs, magicians most often cast their spells from a distance. The immense concentration needed to unleash a spell, forces magicians to do without the protection offered by strong armor. Thus, they are rather far range specialists. Priests are able to cure wounds, purge magic and call back souls into their bodies. And rogues are one of the fastest character classes. They are almost always able to sneak up on their unprepared victims twinkle-toed. Due to their marginal physical strength they can only inflict a couple of small damage to their victims. Therefore they combine their swift attacks with insidious poisons.
