In an interview with MeinMMO, the Game Director of the new MMO New World mentions that it shares a lot with the big MMORPGs of the past. He recalls Runescape, Star Wars Galaxies, and Ultima Online as games he fondly remembers. However, New World focuses on a modern aesthetic and an action combat system.
We at MeinMMO had the opportunity to play the new MMO New World and conducted detailed interviews with the minds behind New World.
Our editor Leya Jankowski spoke, among others, with Scot Lane, the Game Director. He mentioned that many who have tested New World compared it to the MMORPG Runescape.
Leya inquired why testers draw this comparison, as the two games do not appear particularly similar.
After all, New World is developed using Amazon’s Lumberyard Engine, an evolution of the Cryengine. The new MMO looks really good. Runescape is, let’s say, nowadays more of a game for enthusiasts when it comes to graphics.
This is what Lane says about comparisons with MMORPGs:
“I personally played a lot of Runescape, and when you look at New World, you don’t really make that comparison quickly. I believe what they [the testers] mean are the 5 interconnected progression systems.
Runescape, Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies: Many of these games that we happily remember had similar approaches in their systems, but a completely different aesthetic and different combat systems.”
Scot Lane
These 3 MMORPGs are mentioned: The three games Lane lists are somewhat the holy trinity of sandbox MMORPGs:
- Ultima Online was released in 1997 and is considered the “progenitor” of MMORPGs
- Runescape came out in 2001 and is still doing excellently today
- Star Wars Galaxies was released in 2003 and was considered “ahead of its time” – a nice way to say “loved but unsuccessful”)
The 5 ways players discover New World
What kind of progression systems does he mean? Lane explained in the interview that New World offers players 5 ways to progress in the game:
- through XP progression, that is, through experience points
- through Weapon Mastery – using a weapon makes you better with it, replacing a class system
- through quests, which are meant to introduce players to the world
- through the Territory system, the control of land
- through the faction system – players unite in 3 major groups
These systems are oriented towards sandbox MMORPGs. Players do not just follow clear lines, like in a theme park (theme park MMORPGs), but can explore the world.
In these sandbox systems, quests serve more as rough hints or tutorials and are not the main focus of the games as in theme park MMORPGs.
New World aims to give players freedom
Lane states that in New World, it is possible for players to explore the world at their own pace through these 5 interconnected progression systems.
“You gradually discover that there is a whole world to explore. […] If you like, you can just chop trees for an hour because it’s so relaxing. Or you can run around and kill enemies if you might prefer an aggressive playstyle. It depends on what mood you are in.”
Scot Lane
Why does New World appear as an MMO, not as an MMORPG?
This is what it’s about: It is indirectly a genre classification that Scot Lane makes here:
- New World is at its core and in the progression of players a sandbox MMORPG
- however, in graphics, it is modern, like current hits
- in the combat system, it is oriented towards titles like Dark Souls
To distinguish itself from the “old” role models, it is important for New World to emphasize the differences in aesthetic and in the dynamic combat system. The “models” are all around 20 years old.
It is fitting that New World is advertised as an “MMO” and not as an MMORPG. While games like Final Fantasy Online, Astellia, or Black Desert Online clearly present themselves as “MMORPGs”, New World prefers the term “MMO”.
Starting in 2005, the term “MMORPG” has primarily been associated with the quest and story-heavy path that was first established by WoW and later by Final Fantasy XIV and The Elder Scrolls Online. If New World were to aggressively present itself as an MMORPG, there would be a high chance of creating false expectations and disappointing buyers.
