gamebunny wild west sim interview

WILD WEST SIM, a recently-announced western-themed MMO, promises to provide "The most realistic, interactive, (and fun) Old West Sim" and features a "Massive, SEAMLESS, graphical world, Faction wars, saloon fights, "draw" shootouts at high noon, Gambling: slot machines, Player-2-Player Poker" and much more. Sound enticing? We thought so.

We spoke with dev team members, Sebastian, aka "Glock" (Lead Software Architect) and Nick, aka "drummerboy" (Systems Developer) for the dust-covered lowdown. Read on, cowboy!

gamebunny:
First off, could you give us a bit of background on the development team? How many people are involved and what games and other media they may have worked on?

WWS Dev Team:
The WWS Team is comprised of very creative and talented people from widely varied backgrounds. The interesting part is that while we are all game players, this is the first time any of us have been on the developer side of a game. Fear not however, as everyone has proved themselves with past project successes in industries such as online banking, telephony, casino, biometrics, video and other fields requiring high- concurrency applications.

Not much has been revealed about WILD WEST SIM in regard to the game’s graphics and engine. Can you tell us a bit about the creation of your own engine and what we can expect in the way of graphical splendor?

WWS Dev Team:
WWS is approaching this a bit differently in that there are actually 3 seperate engines. There is a single back-end server engine, and two front-end interface (client) engines that bolt onto it. The first client is a 2.5D perspective while the second is a full 3D engine. This allows for a very broad machine compatibility and will also be convenient for those that travel or share computers. If you have a nice gaming rig at home or work you can use the 3D engine there, and then you can use the other at an internet cafe or friend's house, which requires no software installation. There is also a mini-engine for the action shoot-out mode, so I guess you could say WWS will be the first game to implement 3.5 engines. ;-)

Arizona-based film production company ‘Brilliant Screen Entertainment’ has been contracted to provide audio/visual content for the game. It seems a bit unusual to have a film company involved. Will BSE be providing sfx, motion-capture and/or any live-action film?

WWS Dev Team:
Brilliant Screen will be providing authentic textures, sounds, and music for the game. They also will be responsible for creating the live-action cinematic cut scenes and tutorials.

New players enter the game as offspring of other players. How exactly does this work? How long does it take a new player to “grow up” or do they enter the world as adults (their poor mothers!) If players age, do they lose strength, wither away and die eventually?

WWS Dev Team:
New players go through an optional tutorial that shows them the basics of the game. When they are finished, they are 17 years old and ready to face the world. They can then decide to stay home and learn the family trade, or to set out on their own.

Characters do age, but it would take about 2.5 to 3 years of playing for your character to die from old age.

How will death be dealt with? With dueling, bandits and gunslingers tooling around there must be plenty of dead avatars expected. Is there an experience penalty? A loss of items? Perma-death? What about Player-Killers?

WWS Dev Team:
Gameplay decisions like these are still being worked out and will be decided after we receive player feedback from the closed beta. PK'ers will show up on Wanted posters and become missions for bounty seekers. Unless you enjoy living on the run, or finding a defensible fort to hide out in, I suggest you don't make trouble for other players. :-)

Give us further details on the “action elements” such as “Shoot-out Mode”. Will we see mini-games like the now mandatory Fishing or Mining? And can Mining ever really be considered a “Game”?

WWS Dev Team:
The "Shoot-out Mode" is essentially a special game mode where your "twitch" reflexes are combined with your character's attributes to determine the outcome. There are no other "mini-games" planned, however, now that you mention it, that is a neat idea. Imagine a multiplayer version of "Bejeweled" where the best players draw more goods out of the mine.

Can a player survive strictly as a non-combatant? Will Traders, Shopkeepers and Tailors be able to compete with their more violent, rip-snortin’ compatriots?

WWS Dev Team:
Yes. Just as in history, the world of WildWestSim requires many varied careers and skill paths to sustain itself. Players are not forced into combat if they don't want to take part.

Lastly, is the game planned for release in any countries other than North America ? Will we see WILD WEST SIM in places like China and Europe ?

My thanks goes out to Anastasia Odiakova, Sebastian "Glock" and Nick "drummerboy" at WWS.com. For further info on WILD WEST SIM you can shoot the link below: