1) Who are you?
My name is Kristan, I'm a network tech from San Francisco. I've played roleplaying games since way back in High School, starting with pen and paper RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, Empire of the Petal Throne, and Traveller. I played for several years on text-based MUDs also, and coded many areas and monsters as a "Wizard" (i.e.: programmer/administrator) using LPC.
Currently, I'm enjoying playing on the Darktide (PK) server of Asheron's Call. I roleplay a character there called General Zang, who is something like a Paladin, leading a small Anti-PK strike force to punish the Evil PKs ;)
I'll be playing a different type of character in Atriarch. Many of our group of roleplayers and PvP enthusiasts (not mutually exclusive :P ) will be part of a faction called The Karshan Empire, and I'll be playing Zang, the High Claw of the Karshan Empire.
2) How long have you followed the development of Atriarch?
I first stumbled across Atriarch in late March I think. I immediately liked the concept a lot, and it seemed very original and inventive. Somewhat reminiscent of the old pen-and-paper game Skyrealms of Jorune, but clearly a very original concept from the WF folks.
3) What game(s) did you play before finding out about Atriarch?
Included in answer to question #1 :)
Gaming Aspects
1) What gaming design aspect are you glad is included in the game?
Well, I'm glad that the Atriarch world is going to be able to be fully affected and altered by the players. Also, the concept of programmable henchling-type "Natives" is brilliant. I think it's one of those ideas that seems unusual now, but after Atriarch comes out I don't see any future games being able to NOT offer such a feature once people see how well it works in Atriarch.
2) What would you like included in/removed from the game?
I'm glad that there's some provision for some type of permanent death. In my opinion, this feature is a good thing because nothing ruins immersion more than Quake-style fights where your opponent pops back into the fight 5 minutes after being disintegrated. Like: Um, "I got better" ;)
3) How much/what innovation do you think Atriarch brings to the industry?
Atriarch is very innovative. Basically, right now from a player's standpoint, the MMORPGs out there are basically very similar to text-only muds with moving pictures and network code. Mostly static, with the major attractions being camping for set spawns, and collecting items. There is slightly more dynamism on the current PK servers, but they're still hampered by the fact that you can't actually affect the game world.
Atriarch, I think, will change all that. A fully changeable world, player-built cities, armies of hired NPC henchmen, and a gigantic playing field are all things that are going to change the way people look at MMORPGs in the future.
Atriarch Community
1) What factors build/destroy the Atriarch community?
I'm not entirely sure. I've been talking up the game to everyone I meet, and sending all of my friends to check out the Atriarch site, and I've been talking to lots of people in Darktide about Atriarch also. Many people are looking forward to playing Atriarch. However, most people on Darktide are people of action....who just want to get in there and start building cities and gathering Native armies, and getting into the game. So, their presence on the message boards and on #atriarch in IRC may not be as large as their numbers in-game will be.....there's probably a lot of people "ghosting" the boards, the same way I "ghosted" the Asheron's Call boards before getting into the AC beta.
2) How can the schism between longtime and new followers of the game be breached?
Once the game has started, and everyone in each particular faction is working cooperatively together to build their faction city or base, I don't see that there will be any schism within factions. If there were any schisms at that point between different factions, well.....that's what the siege engines are for ;)
3) Should visibility in the community curry special favour in the (pre-)game?
Well, yes and no. I don't think any player should get any sort of "special advantage' in the game that any other player couldn't also get by playing within the rules and working towards that goal. I do think however that those who've been cheering Atriarch on for months, and in many cases offering suggestions and support, should be given the opportunity to help in any Atriarch Beta Test that might occur.
Discussions
1) Where can people find your threads (site/url)?
Well, my gaming site is called General Zang's Reports and it's at:
http://www.ZangWeb.com On my site you can see a section for The Karshan Empire faction, with links to the faction charter http://www.ZangWeb.com/charter.htm .
2) What thread was your favourite to start or see thrive (site/url)?
Favorite threads? Heh..those would have to be the several huge political/philosophical/flame war threads on the Atriarch Stratics site faction board between the Evil Dictator Zepath, and the decent Civilized Glurg-Worshipping Karshan Empire people ;)
3) What do you think should be discussed more amongst the communities? Forms of player government and how they'll be managed.
All original artwork and content copyright 2000 - 2008, Atriarch Watcher, do not reproduce without express written permission, or link directly to any graphics on our server. Design/Code by Dakejuka Design (www.dakejuka.com) except where noted. Please read About Us for more information on the staff and philosophy of this site.
Atriarch, the Atriarch logo, and World Fusion are trademarks of World Fusion, and ATW does not makes any claim upon them. This site is in no way affiliated with World Fusion.
This site is designed for Internet Explorer 5.01 and up, with 16 million colors, and 800x600 or greater resolution, with JavaScript, cookies, and CSS enabled. Other browsers and settings not guaranteed, though every effort will be made to ensure backwards compatibility.
