GDC 2008: An Interview with the Earthrise Development Team

[Cody Bye]

The design of MMOGs has come a long way over the years. With more instancing and small group play, sandbox style games are becoming harder to find. Some of the ones out there are certainly successful. But hope is not lost for those that love playing in the sandbox! A new MMORPG is being developed in Bulgaria by an up-and-coming studio named Masthead Studios, and they hope to go back to this sandbox style of play.Earthrise hopes to bring the sandbox style of play back into popularity. The name of the game is Earthrise, and the Ten Ton Hammer staff got a chance to speak with George Petrov and Nikolay Stoyanov from Masthead who are working hard on the game.

In the post apocalyptic setting, technology still reigns and players will have a chance to craft their own items. Once you get some resources, you’ll be able to start crafting your gear. The development team is working on the possibility of two forms of crafting. The first phase would be the design portion of crafting, where players can map out the designs of weapons and armor. Once the design is complete, the second phase of crafting begins which is manufacturing. Here players actually build the designs that other players have worked up. The system is not fully in place yet, but the team continues to work out ideas. One thing that George explained was that the best items in the game will come from player crafting.

Read the whole interview here!

Do you look forward to a sci-fi, PvP, sandbox style MMOG? Or will the game simply be lost in the crowd? Let us know on the forums!