New World is dark and filled with mysteries. Many people appreciate this setting of the seemingly corrupted world. What story does the new MMO from Amazon want to tell? In an interview, Game Director Scot Lane gave our editor Leya Jankowski an answer.
This is how the fascination developed: When New World was presented at gamescom in 2018, the setting still seemed realistic. New World was supposed to take place in an alternative 17th century, the time of American colonization.
Even then, New World had a certain mystical aura in its imagery. Everything seems enveloped in a veil of mist and fog.
Gradually, however, it became clear that the mystical element in New World actually plays a central role. Suddenly, there was talk of mysterious guardians and undead roaming the land.
It is precisely this mix of the dark colonial period with horror and fantasy that appeals to many. Even the first alpha testers praised the look and idea behind the MMO. We also noticed in the comments that many are eagerly anticipating the mystical influences in New World. The curiosity about the world and what lies behind it grew more and more.
Meanwhile, New World is even distancing itself from the colonial setting and moving even more towards dark fantasy.
This is the background of the story
How is the world structured? In the middle of the ocean lies the supernatural borderland Aeternum. Here lie the remnants of a past civilization that seems to have been swallowed by the earth. Only their ruins and traces of ancient technology remain.
Aeternum can be beautiful yet dangerous. Here live majestic creatures: deer entwined with lush green branches and living bears that resemble a marble statue. However, there are also nasty monsters, undead, and aggressive animals.
Aeternum is interspersed with a powerful substance called Azoth. This is said to grant one eternal life.
The promise of eternal life draws many explorers to Aeternum, who want to become immortal and powerful – and you are one of them.
The greed for eternal life corrupts man and beast
The release of New World was officially announced at the Game Awards 2019. In this context, we spoke with developer Scot Lane about New World at MeinMMO. He shared a little more about the lore with us.
MeinMMO: Do you actually know how popular the setting already is? How do you want to bring the lore closer to the players? There won’t be classic cinematics.
Scot Lane: “I’ll give a quick summary of the lore.
Aeternum is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a magical place on Earth because it has the powerful mineral Azoth. It is so powerful because it grants you immortality in various ways.
Azoth also affects the environment. It can be an amplifier of power, but it can also be an amplifier of greed. The only place on earth where this mineral appears is Aeternum. This is because the mineral flows together under the earth in two streams and is pushed upwards.
The mineral deforms nature, and that’s why you encounter creatures like a powerful elk that looks as if it is made of wood or a bear that looks as if it is made of stone.
If the mineral is misused, corruption occurs. This happens when you use it out of greed and for personal gain. When used in its natural form, it appears more bluish. When it corrupts, it turns red. Blue and red are the opposing forces that battle each other – but both of these forces are against us players anyway.”
You fight for power in Aeternum
Just like everyone else on the continent, you also want to tap into the power of Azoth. To do this, you must explore and discover Aeternum. In doing so, you will encounter humanoid beings that have been transformed by corruption.
Of course, you are not the only one planning to claim the power of the mineral for yourself. You must fight against rival companies. You are constantly fighting for survival and power.
You discover the story through the world itself
You are not given any cinematics or a linear storyline. You discover bits of lore all over the world. Scot explained how storytelling works in New World:
You find things like pages from books written by people who were there before you. You can then piece the pages together. You read only one interpretation of the person, how they experienced Aeternum and explained the mysteries themselves. You overlay your own interpretation on top of it. We will add more such things throughout the game.
Scot Lane, Game Director New World
Additionally, there are also ruins of the ancients, an ancient civilization that vanished from Aeternum. What the ancients left behind, you will discover in the world.
What do you think about the setting in New World? Does the mystical aspect in the open-world MMO appeal to you?
New World has developed
We have already published the first part of the interview, which you can read below. More will follow.
