gamebunny auto assault interview

According to a chopped 'n' dropped bit from the official NCsoft site: Auto Assault "combines vehicular combat with role-playing elements. Set in a Post-Apocalyptic future, players assume the role of a soldier of one of three competing races as they drive to survive."

We took NetDevil Senior Developer, Ryan Seabury for a speed-limit busting joyride around the block until he coughed up the details we required for our exclusive gamebunny interview. Read on!

gamebunny:
E3 seems to have been a smashing success for Auto Assault – a busy booth with lots of positive feedback from the press. Did anything surprise you about people’s comments and were suggestions taken to heart or insights gained from so many new hands on the wheel?

Ryan Seabury:
The biggest thing we noticed was simply how much fun people had just driving around and destroying various buildings and structures in the environment. I think it's a lot more interactive than what most everyone is used to, especially for an MMORPG. People were laughing and smiling, and they hadn't even started playing the actual game yet!

The other big thing was how much everyone loved the Biomek "Hazard Mode" (transforming into a hulking Mek and laying waste to the immediate vicinity). We got such a positive reaction when we did that in our demos, that we realized we need to do something equally as cool with the Humans and Mutants... so we're brainstorming some pretty interesting new ideas for those guys right now.

NCsoft is fast becoming a major player in the MMO universe (dare we say #2 now, after SOE?) What’s it been like working with them and do the company bigwigs like Tack Jin Kim (CEO) and Richard Garriott provide any input for AUTO ASSAULT?

Ryan Seabury:
NCsoft is an absolute dream to work with. They take the MMO business very seriously and have given us tremendous support getting to where we are today with Auto Assault. There is an unbelievable amount of veteran game industry talent at NCsoft that we get to pull from on a regular basis. And since you mentioned it, I'm pretty sure that NCsoft is far and away #1 in MMOGs worldwide, with combined subscribers in the millions.

We do receive input on Auto Assault from TJ, Richard, and a lot of other folks. On the flip side, they give us a lot of flexibility in the specifics of our design and implementation, reining us in only when we get a little too crazy. As a result of our positive relationship, we've been able to remain on target with NetDevil's original vision and concept, while taking the graphics and accessibilty to a level that we feel can compete with the best of today's "offline" games.

Attracting the elusive “Casual Gamer Beast” and simplifying gameplay seem to be the trends in MMOs these days. What exactly is being done to assist “Newbies” and will “Hardcore” gamers feel left out at all?

Ryan Seabury:
I don't know if "simplifying" gameplay is the right term for our design philosophy. We think of it as making the gameplay more accessible, but there will certainly be depth and strategy for hardcore players to master. For example, we're trying to make as much info as possible on game statistics and mechanics available in-game. A lot of MMOs intentionally hide this info from the players, as part of the "fun" of figuring it out. It's our opinion that this only hinders casual gamers, who don't have the time or desire to research across fansites for analysis. The hardcore guys will have it reverse engineered and posted on their clan-only web boards in a matter of hours, either way.

So basically Auto Assault will be very accessible at a basic level, you can play the entire game with just the mouse, all of the skill details and mechanics are explained well in-game. However, it can take years to master the intricacies of the various sides and playstyles, especially in PvP.

Some other things to rattle off for accessibility would be our multiple redundant control schemes for camera and driving, a waypoint-based world map travel system for instantly hooking up with friends (no travel times), scripted private instance mission lines, and my personal favorite: no death penalties. Other than the time you spend getting back into the action, you're not going to lose much if anything when you die, especially not XP or levels.

Is the failure of the vaguely similar, car-centric MMO, MOTOR CITY ONLINE a concern for the team?

Ryan Seabury:
No, not at all. I never got a chance to play that title myself, but from what I understand we're about as different to MCO as say... Grand Theft Auto is to Gran Turismo. Auto Assault is by no means a simulator. Our focus is squarely on over-the-top vehicular combat and mayhem -- almost arcade-y -- and action-oriented play style, with character development behind the vehicles. Judging from the reaction we had at E3, it seems like we're really hitting an aspect of MMO games that has been overlooked so far.

Player avatars are only able to explore on foot while in safe, town centers (if I understood correctly.) Can you elaborate a bit on what players can do while in these protected town areas?

Ryan Seabury:
That is correct, when in town you are out of your vehicle. Currently, you can interact with various buildings and NPCs, such as general stores for equipment and weapons, refineries, body shops, garages, and the like. You can also socialize and trade with other players if you just feel like hanging out, and you can pick up missions as well. A lot of these things you can also do outside of towns, but we felt it was important to have a place to check out everyone's avatar so you can identify more with those you're playing with.

At one point in development, we allowed you to get out of your vehicle outside of towns as well. It quickly became obvious that you would never want to do this, as you would die almost instantly. It turns out the raging firepower of armored assault vehicles, alien machinery, and mutant creatures instantly focused on your soft and fragile body isn't very fun for anyone.