It should come as no surprise to Stargate SG-1 fans that one of the target demographics for the new MMOG Stargate Worlds is comprised of those individuals who like peaceful exploration rather than combat. After all, Dr. Daniel Jackson was the archaeologist and scientist who wanted to understand what was “out there”—”the meaning of life stuff”. Sometimes, he had to fight, but it was obvious that his heart was in making friends and learning all about the diverse cultures his team encountered through their Stargate travels, illustrated by his chiding of Colonel Jack O’Neill and Captain Samantha Carter when they pointed their weapons at a bunch of priests on their first mission together as “SG-1”, “Unless we want to give ourselves a bad reputation, I just think we should avoid shooting the first people we meet on a new planet.”
And so, the peaceful explorer was born in the Stargate universe, and the game-builders at Cheyenne Mountain recognize his/her value. “One feature that we’re really excited about is the noncombat play style that will be available to the Archaeologist archetype,” said Dan Elggren, Stargate Worlds studio head, in a recent roundtable interview with Gamespot News. “MMOs, with a few exceptions, don’t really give players many options when it comes to navigating the play space. Generally, the only way you progress is through combat. The archaeologist and, to a lesser extent, the scientist will have a noncombat path they can take, even when teaming with a group of soldiers and commandos.
“This is a big deal in MMOGs, and we believe it will open up Stargate Worlds to an entirely new type of gamer who wants to be a part of [an] MMORPG experience but doesn’t want to be continually killing enemies to advance their character.”
In a previous article published by Gamespot that announced the structure of the new MMOG, contributor Andrew Park noted after talking with Joe Ybarra, FireSky senior vice president of strategic operations, “The game itself will feature what Ybarra hopes will be a huge world that will have ‘all the planets, as many as we have time to build,’ though the game will apparently be structured to drive players to both explore and to discover the locations of new stargates—the portals that lead to the next unknown destination. In fact, the designer suggested the game will focus on three key points: exploration through stargates; tactical battles using the game’s squad-based combat system that will involve both conventional weapons as well as more esoteric weapons such as orbital bombardment; and ‘replayability.'”
As to when the new game will be launched in the real world, Elggren said, “As you know, building an MMOG is a very difficult process, and the release date has to be somewhat flexible to account for the complexities. We have announced a tentative window of winter 2008, but we are continually evaluating the scope and quality of Stargate Worlds to ensure we release the best game possible.”
To read the full interview, which includes Elggren, Ybarra, and FireSky senior vice president of product development Rod Nakamoto, visit Gamespot News: Q&A: Stargate Worlds MMORPG team. To read more about Stargate Worlds, visit their website.