Roma Victor is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) based on the Roman Empire, circa 180AD, and is being developed by RedBedlam Ltd. Recently, I had a talk with Nick Witcher,the Communications Director of RedBedlam. I think this interview will give you more info about the game.

MMOsite.com: Would you care to introduce yourself and talk something about your company first? Has the development team had any previous experience in MMORPG making?

Nick Witcher: I m a co-founder and Communications Director of RedBedlam Ltd the developers of Roma Victor.  The Company was set-up in order to develop 3D virtual worlds and implement a virtual economics business model for the MMORPG industry. 

The development team is well experienced in PC game development and in particular MUD development since the 1980 s. 

MMOsite.com: Roma Victor is new to some players, can you give a brief view of Roma Victor in your own words?  

Nick Witcher: Roma Victor is a sandbox style virtual world, set in Roman Britannia in the 2nd Century.  The current playfield includes the whole of Hadrian s Wall, splitting the Roman and Barbarian lands with towns, forts, mile castles and numerous villages. 

As you would expect with a sandbox style world, the players have many paths available to them to develop their character from building their own settlements to one day running their own Roman Legion. 

There are no subscriptions in Roma Victor, you pay a one-off download fee of 19.95 GBP and you own the game for life.  The initial download includes 10 GBP of the in-game currency Sesterces and you can earn further Sesterces in-game or top-up with your debit or credit card.

MMOsite.com: The theme of Roma is used in many different games, and I m wondering why did you select such a theme and how do you look upon it? How do you make your game distinctive?

Nick Witcher: Although Roman games are very popular there is only one Roman themed MMORPG ¨C Roma Victor!  In fact, historical MMORPG s are few and far between I would class "Pirates of the Burning Sea" and "A Tale in the Desert" in the same category.

As you concur there is a big market for Roman and historical games in general.  This was one of the major factors in our decision and we are very distinctive in the MMOPRG landscape.

MMOsite.com: Lots of Roma themed games marginally have business with myth and gods, why do you make Roma Victor a historical game instead of a fantasy game? 

Nick Witcher: Looking at the MMORPG market it is saturated with fantasy titles, it was always our intention to release an authentic virtual world.  We want players to live life and experience the 2nd Century, to immerse themselves in the traditions, the history and the way of life of that period in history.

MMOsite.com: Creating a historical game is not an easy task, and Roma Victor really provides historical authenticity. How did you restore the historical Roman Empire for our players? 

Nick Witcher: You re right about it not being an easy task, we ve undertaken painstaking research into every aspect of the Roman Empire.  It has been made easier because the team are all interested and educated to varying degrees in Classical history.

The uniqueness of the project has attracted a number of academics and we can rely on a great pool of knowledge that makes up the Roma Victor community.  

A good example of this, in 2002 some members of the game community started their own historical reference site www.unrv.com ¨C UNRV ¨C United Nations Roma Victor.  The site is now a leading reference site used by countless high school history teachers and their students.

MMOsite.com: What major challenges did you encounter while developing Roma Victor?

Nick Witcher: Too many challenges to cover in this interview, everyday finds another challenge and a number of miracles have allowed us to get as far as we have.  I would never recommend getting into this industry to anyone.  It s deeply complex and very competitive especially for a small, independent developer.

MMOsite.com: What games or ideas have influenced your work?

Nick Witcher: The text and graphical MUD s of the 1980 s and early 1990 s were a great influence, we believe MUD games are the forerunners of MMORPG s but the lessons that were learnt in MUD development have not been transferred very well to MMO game development. 
One of the first MMORPG s "Meridian 59" was a massive influence as was the Ridley Scott film - Gladiator.

Click here to see the part 2 of the interview.