Interviews:MMOsite.com Interviews Josh Kurtz

From Stargate Worlds Wiki (SGW)

Interview at MMOsite

Stargate Worlds is an MMO-RPG, based on the Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis TV series, with playable areas based on historical & fictional human time periods, alien environments, and outer space locations.

Stargate Worlds provides players with a form of squad-based ranged combat unique to an MMORPG that will take full advantage of modern and science fiction weaponry, cover, and terrain. We also plan on focusing on non-combat gameplay to allow players a rich crafting and construction experience. The unique game experience will be played with state-of-the art graphics and technology.

Here is the interview completed by Josh Kurtz, Lead World Builder of Stargate Worlds. He also brought us 5 exclusive screenshots.

MMOsite.com: Stargate Worlds has attracted a lot players attention since CME announced the project. Can you give us a brief introduction about the game?

Josh Kurtz: Stargate Worlds is an MMO that takes place in the universe of the Stargate SG-1 Television Series. We have taken that universe and using environments both recognizable and never before seen we are creating the backdrop for players to explore, adventure, research, and fight their way through the conflicts and hurdles to become heroes.

MMOsite.com: In its ten years history, the TV series Stargate has been greatly favored by the audience and won lots of fans. I am sure many of them are expecting the release of Stargate Worlds. Do you feel any pressure while doing this project?

Josh Kurtz: In any project you always find yourself looking at what you are doing and even if you enjoy it you ask yourself "ill other people like this too?"

As a fan of Stargate I often find myself extending that question into the show space and asking what fans will think. It does create some pressure but at the same time it gives you something to strive for, a goal to achieve.

MMOsite.com: When mentioning Stargate, naturally, such names Sam, Teal c, Dniel...etc will come to our mind. Will these characters appear in Stargate Worlds? If yes, how will they function?

Josh Kurtz: These characters will most definitely show up in the game in some incarnation but it s a little early right now to talk about how they will appear.

MMOsite.com: There is no doubt, based on Unreal Engine 3, Stargate Worlds will present extremely fantastic graphics. Can you give us some description about the game world? Does it require high-perforce PC?

Josh Kurtz: We discussed early on whether we were going to do one enormous seamless world or several different worlds that each provide a unique gameplay experience. We decided that it would be far more interesting, and true to the show if we provided travel through the stargate to numerous worlds that each offered their own environment. This also gives us the opportunity to create a story driven backdrop to each world that makes them feel unique and interesting on their own as well as when viewed from the larger picture of the entire universe. As for the performance or what kind of PC you will need, our engineering team is working on the engine and optimizations to get the game running on as many PC s as possible while still retaining the beauty of the Unreal engine and until they get closer to their goal it really isn t fair to make guesses on what players will need to play it on.

MMOsite.com: What characters can we expect to play in the game? Can we play the races like Nox, Furlings...?

Josh Kurtz: So far the plan is to include Human, Jaffa and Goa uld.

MMOsite.com: What kind of community can we expect in Stargate Worlds? Are there any kinds of support for guilds or teams?

Josh Kurtz: We are planning to have support on guilds, we even have some really cool features that we are planning for them, but it is a little early to describe them in detail.

MMOsite.com: Is the game level based or skill based? How will characters develope themselves?

Josh Kurtz: We will be approaching a Level Based rather than a Skill Based system. In Stargate Worlds our goal is to give players frequent feelings of accomplishment and success as they play, one of the best ways to do that is what has become known to many gamers as the "Ding!" or the experience of leveling up. This allows us to advance players and give them a bundle of new things at a set time and also gives players something to look forward to. Do not think that every character will be the same however, we have a system in place that will allow further customization and will keep players fromfeeling like just another cardboard cut out of their class.

MMOsite.com: What about the PVP system? Will players get any reward or penalty in PvP?

Josh Kurtz: We plan to have a voluntary PVP system that will allow our PVP oriented players to play their wway without interfering in the play experience of players who do not wish to engage in PVP. As for details or any rewards or special abilities, those will have to wait till another discussion.

MMOsite.com: What about the quest system in the game? What kinds of quests will you provide to the players?

Josh Kurtz: It is too early to give you an answer to this question.

MMOsite.com: Any final words for our readers?

Josh Kurtz: Keep up your interest and the posting on the forums, we read them regularly and consider all of the ideas we see there.