Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Interview
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Q: The hardcore Warhammer audience is divided between role-players, painters and war gamers. How have you set out to capture each of these audiences on top of the regular MMO gamers?
A: This question is mind-boggling in its scope, and the answer I'm about to give is overly simplistic.
We are appealing to the figure painters, among many other ways, with all the detail and color. I have had several people with really extraordinary army collections tell me that seeing the NPCs is exactly like seeing their figures move. That was one of the finest compliments I have accepted on behalf of the team.
Roleplayers will love the rich backstory and lore. Twenty years of novels, stories, tabletop books, and more has given us this amazingly layered world. Because there has been so much history written, roleplayers have a foundation they can start from with their own characters, guilds, and adventures. This bit sounds like complete and utter marketing slop, doesn't it? I swear it's not. Talk to established Warhammer fans who have been roleplaying in live campaigns since Reagan was President.
If by war gamers, you mean the guys who enjoy virtual fighting, bloodshed, and general mayhem, we're designing the entire game for them.
If by war gamers, you mean the guys that do the tabletop environments with the miniatures, the answer is a little more complicated. Gameplay will not be like that. They shouldn't expect it. But there is an ongoing tabletop campaign here, involving artists and designers and content people. The guys love the game; they play every week. That love, and that devotion, is definitely informing the work on the MMO. So I believe the spirit of the war gamer is part of the game that we're building, and that the war gamers in the community will be able to see it. But only beta testing will prove my belief.
