The Matrix Online Interviews

Both GameSpot and GameDaily have published new interviews with different members of The Matrix Online's development team. GameSpot's interview is with Monolith lead designer Toby Ragaini:
Q: Obviously, your character will gain experience levels the longer you play. What kind of benefits will that accrue? More hit points? Better skills? And how do you balance the game so that a high-level character doesn't overpower a beginning character?

A: Like other role-playing games, The Matrix Online is level based. Your character completes objectives in the game and earns experience points for doing so. Besides higher health points, leveling increases your character's capacity for more abilities. Abilities allow players to perform the incredible actions you might remember from the movie. Everything from a specific Aikido throw to a hyperjump is possible.

And GameDaily's interview is with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment vice president Jason Hall:
Hall truly believes that MMO players, whether Matrix fans or not, will really be drawn to The Matrix Online because the scope of the MMO offerings has been so limited. After all, how many times do gamers want to play through environments with trolls, elves, goblins, dragons, swords and sorcery, etc.? "It's the equivalent of a television channel that only showed a kind of soap opera; yes you'd get your audience but it would be very limited and until you came up with another channel like MTV, you would think that the market would have a limited number of people," said Hall. "Companies keep making these fantasy/adventure MMOs over and over and over again."