Mythica

E3 2003 - First Look

The future of online gaming is evolving, but sometimes the best path forward lies in a journey to the past.

Microsoft Game Studios is banking on the mythical richness of the Norse era, combining it with true fellow game play, in the massively multiplayer online game Mythica. With stunning graphical elements, rich evolving storylines and characters, interactive environments, this looks to be a game that will reset the bar in terms of MMOs.

Microsoft was showing off the pre-Alpha build of the game at E3 in Los Angeles.

“Holding off fate is not an easy deal,” said Hal Milton, one of the game’s designers, “and it’s going to require a lot of people to do it.”

The game is essentially a voyage to godhood. Game players can take on a character in a general variety of classes (melee, missile or magic), and then fellow with other classes to challenge the world, acquire worshippers, grow in godlike immortality and eventually challenge god-like creatures of the upper plane of existence. There are seven realms and nine planes of existence in this world.

The game also features new skill classes. The hunter (essentially an archer) can go into stealth mode and remain virtually invisible to the mobs along the way. Then the hunter can “paint” a target for the rest of the fellow. The mage class is not just limited to a new variety of spells (each sporting amazing effects), but can also possess items. The troll guarding the gate will be an enemy, unless the mage possesses the beast and turns it against its fellows.

Though a persistent world, the game features dynamic play so that players can experience the game at their own pace. There are also individual perspectives for each of the character classes.

With puzzle challenges, a massive richly-textured world, characters who evolve based on decisions made, terrain-oriented tactics, and a host of staging areas and mission-based objectives, this game shows promise and may reset the standard for MMOs.