Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Q&A

IGN PC has posted a three-page interview with EA Mythic's Steve Perkins, quizzing the director of marketing about their upcoming PvP-heavy MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
Q: How do you remain faithful to the spirit of the Warhammer universe while adapting Games Workshop's strict rules enough to make the online experience fun?

A: Games Workshop has created a wonderfully rich setting for their games, but they realize that this world cannot dictate the rules of each game set there. There are certain universal principles that need to be maintained (Orc are green, Dark Elves are evil, the world is dark and gritty but still has a sense of humor, etc.) and a consistent aesthetic that applies to all Warhammer products, but beyond that Games Workshops allows each game to establish its own systems and rules.

WAR is based on the Warhammer universe, and is not a direct translation of either the RPG or miniatures rule sets. We've taken the best parts of the IP and are adapting them for an MMO. This means translating the core concepts of Warhammer - the heroic epic struggles, the perpetual conflict, the dark humor, and sense of fun - into a game that thousands can enjoy simultaneously. When you get into WAR, you'll recognize a lot of elements from the pen and paper RPG and from the miniatures, but you'll experience and enjoy them in a completely new way.

Games Workshop realizes that a set of rules and dictates for the miniatures or the pen and paper RPG won't always work within the bounds of an MMO. Thus, they have given us the freedom we need to adapt the Warhammer universe to create the best possible online game. However, by staying true to the underlying principles of the property (Orc are green, Dark Elves are evil, the world is dark and gritty but still has a sense of humor, etc.), our game will look and feel like Warhammer come to life.