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In the Gold Mine added on Jul 10 2008
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 by Sp3tSnAz, Level 35
Last updated at April 23, 2009, 10:58 am
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As a number of you probably know, the old Flagship Seattle team who worked on Mythos, started their own company not too long ago called Runic Games.
While their parent company Flagship Studios failed miserably, Mythos was actually hailed as a great game by those who tried it, and was vastly superior to Hellgate London, even though it was originally only meant to be a test bed for it.
While many people categorized Mythos as a Diablo 2.5, it was it's own game and having followed it's progress from the Alpha testing, it was obvious that the game was heading into its own direction that would only complement a game like Diablo rather than try and take away from it as many Diablo-clones try to do.
Those that followed Runic Games know that the new game they wanted to release would be something similar to the top down rpg type games, like Mythos and Diablo and probably in a similar way to Fate as the lead designer also made that game. It was also amazing to see people like Matt Uleman on the team to design the music, as he was such a huge influence for the Diablo game. Until lately, not much was known about the new game, except that it would be titled Torchlight, and come out as a single player game first (likely this year), followed by an MMO later on set in the same world.
While many people didn't know if this was a good idea or not, it became clear just how great this would be, when Runic announced that the Single Player game would be highly moddable, with lots of customization options available to the players. The potential for this is virtually unlimited and alone had me excited about the Single Player game. It was also revealed that the game would be created in an engine called Ogre, which uses no shaders (yet still manages to look great), which means it would run even on the much older PCs.
While the news was very small for a while, yesterday heralded an announcement from Runic Games about their publisher and some details about the game. The official announcement can be seen below.
BEIJING, April 22 Perfect World Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: PWRD) (”Perfect World” or the “Company”), a leading online game developer and operator in China, today announced that it has entered into a publishing agreement with Runic Games, Inc. (”Runic Games”), a specialized developer of PC-based entertainment software inthe United States, for the exclusive rights and license to publish “Torchlight,” an action-packed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (”Action-MMORPG”) that’s being developed, throughout the world.
Being developed by Runic Games’ experienced team of industry veterans, “Torchlight” is an adventure-themed Action-MMORPG. Adventurers set out from the town of Torchlight into the nearby mountains in search of the magic ore that imbues their equipment with power, yet imperils their very existence. “Torchlight” emphasizes a simple and intuitive interface, fast and furious action, and a colorful and compelling game world.
Mr. Max Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Runic Games, said, “Runic Games is very pleased to partner with Perfect World. Perfect World’s strength and expertise in creating and running MMORPGs and track record of high quality of service to the playing community give us great confidence and hopes for a long and prosperous partnership. With ‘Torchlight,’ we strive to bring the best of Western and Eastern gaming together, creating a truly global title.”
Mr. Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World commented, “We are very pleased to cooperate with Runic Games, whose members have a first-rate track record. Leveraging Perfect World’s marketing capabilities and deep understanding of Asian culture and player preferences, ‘Torchlight’ is expected to be a ‘global title,’ catering to the tastes of both Western and Eastern players. In addition to our involvement in game development leveraging our extensive experience with MMORPG, we will also strive to demonstrate our excellent game operating ability and to offer players unique and exciting online game experience. We treasure this opportunity to work with the professional team of Runic Games, and look forward to the success of ‘Torchlight,’ as a cornerstone for the long-term strategic relationship between Runic Games and Perfect World.”
About Runic Games, Inc. Runic Games is a developer of PC-based entertainment software, designing games that focus on quality, approachability, and fun. Runic Games is staffed by team with experienced members, including leads on “Diablo,”
“Diablo II,” “Diablo II: Lord of Destruction,” “Fate,” “Hellgate: London” and “Mythos.” Runic Games is located in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Some details emerged on the game as well, which was playable at this years GDC, including such details as bleeding monsters and skeletons with bones chipping off them. A height environment where monsters can jump down at you, as well as you pushing them off ledges. As well as an innovative pet system, where you have a pet that both fights for you and helps you carry inventory. The game would all be set indoors for the Single Player game (but not for the MMO) and the game would feature a Hardcore mode like Diablo 2!
To top this off, today a couple of fansites got a great surprise, when the staff at Runic Games emailed them a couple of screenshots (one for each site), which showed us the first details of the game!
While we could have gone to the trouble of going over the screenshot ourselves, the great forum members at RunicGamesFansite as well as the Administrator Webbstre did the hard work for us and posted a very in depth analysis of the screenshots which I would highly recommend checking out.
Personally I can't wait to see this game in action, as while I really liked Mythos, it's hard to judge an Action RPG game from screenshots alone, so I want a video to completely seal the deal for me!
Hope you guys enjoy the news as much as we did both on this site and over at RunicGamesFansite, and while some of the smaller news from the fansites might not make it over here, I'll try and get as much of the important stuff posted on Hellforge as well as I know many people here really liked Mythos as well.
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14 comments
SpellsofWar Apr 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm
+1 votes
Great article and a great hope for those who loved Mythos like myself and a few of my friends. The only problem I can foresee so far would be that the development of this game will run into a Diablo III release date when it wants to begin its beta. Of course with a far different game engine and such an experienced team we might see faster progress on Torchlight, and we all know DIII is going to get pushed back at least once.
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Agamemnon Apr 23, 2009 at 12:13 pm
+1 votes
I'm having a hard time telling; is that a Diablo III environment or is that a Torchlight environment?
Anyways, best of luck to Baldree and Schaefer and the rest of the crew, but I'm pretty much done with MMOs.
Anyways, best of luck to Baldree and Schaefer and the rest of the crew, but I'm pretty much done with MMOs.
Sol Invictus Apr 23, 2009 at 1:50 pm
+1 votes
Torchlight isn't an MMO, Agamemnon. It's a single player game.
Agamemnon Apr 23, 2009 at 7:44 pm
+1 votes
"Being developed by Runic Games’ experienced team of industry veterans, “Torchlight” is an adventure-themed Action-MMORPG."
Sol Invictus Apr 23, 2009 at 9:02 pm
+1 votes
I know. I crack me up, right? Anyway to clear things up the first game is a single-player only title similar to FATE. It's even got pets and stuff. They'll follow it up with an MMORPG in a year or two.
Sp3tSnAz Apr 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm
+1 votes
To be even more clear, the single player version and the MMO might not even have the same name, all they share is the setting.
Torchlight will be a highly mod friendly single player game, where the community will help deliver a lot of the fun it seems through fun mods, while the game itself will play out as Sol said, similar to something like Fate.
Torchlight will be a highly mod friendly single player game, where the community will help deliver a lot of the fun it seems through fun mods, while the game itself will play out as Sol said, similar to something like Fate.
MIK0 Apr 23, 2009 at 1:44 pm
+1 votes
It seems more the SD version of Diablo, and that could be good.
However It's obvious that this game it's not gonna run against Diablo III but point to another field and we could enjoy both.
However It's obvious that this game it's not gonna run against Diablo III but point to another field and we could enjoy both.
Sol Invictus Apr 23, 2009 at 1:49 pm
+1 votes
I'm really hoping that this game goes up on Steam, Impulse and Greenhouse. I'd rather have it available to me on one of my current platforms than any other site.
MIK0 Apr 23, 2009 at 5:48 pm
+1 votes
That seem a pretty good choice. It could probably reduce the cost of the distribution.
Kritias Apr 25, 2009 at 10:28 am
+1 votes
I think the screenshots look great. However, I really want to see this game in action. From the look of the screenshots, I think when this is running its going to look pretty awesome.
Sp3tSnAz Apr 25, 2009 at 10:51 am
+1 votes
http://www.runicgamesfansite.com/torchlight-faq/
Quick FAQ we made for those that still want to know more about the game
Quick FAQ we made for those that still want to know more about the game
Vogon Apr 28, 2009 at 6:08 pm
+1 votes
Love the graphics. I look forward to more info as it comes available.
I want to try this when it comes out.
The info so far looks like they will incorporate some good action and adventure features into this game.
I want to try this when it comes out.
The info so far looks like they will incorporate some good action and adventure features into this game.
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