Gamernode: Previews - Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Interview

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Interview

Ultima Online. Everquest. Asheron's Call. Dark Age of Camelot. World of Warcraft. If you play video games, chances are you've heard at least three of those names before, and have played at least one. Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs (MMORPGs) are an expanding market in the PC gaming community. Since the incredible success of World of Warcraft, developer after developer has announced the next big MMO game, but often they fall short of expectations. One game coming out very soon, though, has enough history on its side to possibly give WoW a run for its money: Vanguard. Developed by SOE (the same people responsible for EverQuest), the game is being released on Tuesday -- unless you're one of the lucky ones who preordered soon enough to get in the Early Start program. Recently, I had the chance to chat with Sigil's Nick Parkinson about Vanguard.

Brendon Lindsey: Whenever a new MMORPG is released, gamers immediately want to know what exactly is going to be different about it and whether or not they should switch over from their current game. What is the most unique feature about Vanguard: Saga of Heroes compared to other MMORPGs on the market, and why should fans switch?

Nick Parkinson: Two major things will separate us from the crowd and are why folks should play Vanguard. First, our visual style - the late master fantasy artist Keith Parkinson served as art director at Sigil until he passed on in late 2005. He established the look of Vanguard through the eyes of a painter and as a result, it feels much more alive and organic - much like an oil painting.

Depth of game play is the other big thing. There's just so much to do. Gameplay is broken into three separate spheres. Two of them, adventuring and crafting, should be familiar to most players. But the third, diplomacy, is something that's pretty new to the MMOG genre. In addition to that you've got player owned houses in non-instanced plots, player created and owned ships, flying mounts that aren't set on tracks and the freedom to explore anyplace that you can see.

As far as the setting of Vanguard is concerned, what can players look forward to? Are there any clear parallels between the game world and actual history? Is it more based off of mythology and fables? Or is the world mostly original?

The official description is this:

"Welcome to Telon, a vast and magical world teeming with riches and danger.

Vast and ancient civilizations have crumbled under the strain of internal strife and the relentless march of time. Even as the people struggle to reclaim their land and rebuild their once great cities, quarreling fiefdoms have emerged to struggle for control of the empire's remains.

Now a new threat looms large as the age-old magics that once existed only in legend, reawaken and threaten the diverse races and kingdoms of Telon. With the lands now set upon by rapacious and ominous forces, the warring factions have struck an uneasy alliance to stand against the greater danger that threatens them all. In Thestra, the sprawling green hills and serene glades are plagued by a relentless undead menace. Qalia's windswept deserts and hidden valleys are filled with the whispers and rumblings about the dark power beginning to emanate from the great Mount Stiirhad. The chaotic jungles and mystical ruins of the Kojan are overrun with fiendish spirits from a time long since past.

Adventure, intrigue, and fortune await any hero hardy enough to brave the challenges of these untamed realms."

Players have the option to start on Thestra (European themed), Qalia (Arabian themed) or Kojan (Asian themed). Each continent is currently battling some strange, otherworldly invading force - and nobody is quite sure why they are invading or what they want. It's up to the players to find out.

It goes without saying that every MMORPG looks back at its predecessors and decides what needs to be different; however, many times there are more things that stay the same. If there was one single RPG that influenced Vanguard the most, what would it be?

With Vanguard we reached back to the days of the old text based MUDs and really drew a lot of our inspiration from there, as well as the adventurous spirit you could only find in some of the great table-top RPGs of past.

There is a lot of excitement buzzing around the MMO community about the intuitive crafting system in the game. Other MMOs have tried a similar 'sandbox' approach, but the result has often been too open-ended, resulting in players feeling like they have no direction. How much do you expect players to rely on the crafting system as a means of entertainment in the game, and how do you plan on avoiding the 'sandbox' trap? Will the game be more like UO where a player can have a viable gaming experience (and career) as a pure crafter? Or will it be like WoW where crafting is a supplement, more than an actual career choice?

The crafting sphere is just as complex and robust as the adventuring sphere and should players choose to, they will certainly be able to focus on crafting as a "career", so to speak. There will come a time where they will probably require the aid of an adventurer or diplomat (just as either of them would require aid of a crafter from time to time) but if you want to log into Vanguard and be a full time crafter you're certainly able to and there will be plenty of content for you.

That said, we imagine most players will want to try out some of each of the three spheres.

One of your mantras seems to be "bringing challenge and freedom back" to the MMO scene. Exactly how are you sticking to your idea with regards to the combat system in Vanguard?

I think by encouraging grouping and interdependency. There is solo content in Vanguard should folks wish to take advantage of it, but most of the content was designed with groups in mind. Combine that with challenging encounters and the ability to explore virtually every nook and cranny of the game world and you can get a pretty good idea of the direction we're heading.

The usual play session for the typical MMORPG includes hunting, looting, selling and repeating. To more accurately outline your vision with the idea of "freedom" in Vanguard, could you briefly outline a possible play session for a novice player?

With so many different combinations of things one could do upon logging into Vanguard, it's really hard to sum up a "typical" play session. What we do want though, is for the "core" player - meaning the guy who plays for a few hours every night, and maybe longer on weekends - to be able to accomplish something and better their character, even if it's a relatively small task, in a single play session. There needs to be some sense of accomplishment, regardless of what you're doing in order for the game to be as fun as we'd like, so while that accomplishment may not mean you gain a level every time you log in, you should be able to do something -- whether you're a crafter, adventurer or diplomat -- that will in someway, meaningfully advance your character.

Many know about the development team's history with EverQuest, and I'm sure you've heard this time and time again, but many fans are afraid that Vanguard will simply be a modernized version of EQ. What are some specific features you can think of that make Vanguard a completely different experience than EverQuest? And what from EQ are you trying to avoid repeating with Vanguard?

Again, depth of gameplay and visual style will separate and differentiate us from any other game - past or present. We've taken what we liked and what worked well from the previous generation of games and allowed it to evolve together into Vanguard. One thing that we're definitely planning on is the longevity of the game. Back when a lot of our guys were working on the original EQ, it wasn't planned out 7 or 8 years in advance. Vanguard is, and it will keep the game strong for a long time to come.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, Nick. Any last remark you'd wish to give our readers?

Everything we've been working on, pouring ourselves into for nearly the past four years we're almost ready to finally share with everyone -- and we couldn't be more jazzed about it!

This week, the game ships out across the country and you can find it at Gamestop, Best Buy, Fry's and other retailers. Check out our website at http://www.vanguardsoh.com and if you like what you see, pick up a copy and we'll see you in Telon!

Once again, I'd like to thank Nick Parkinson for taking some time during a very busy period to answer some questions and give some further insight on Vanguard. Look for a first impression and review in the coming week, as Chris Pereira and I make a name for ourselves in Telon. Hopefully in a good way.

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