Digg it here.

Here’s a tiny snippet from the full article:

Dungeon Siege II

Let me say right off the bat that I hated Dungeon Siege. It wasn’t a bad game by any means, but nonetheless, I did not enjoy it. It played itself and all you had to do was click to move and spam the heal potion button every once in awhile. In stark contrast, Dungeon Siege 2 does not in fact play itself. In fact, I’d say that Dungeon Siege 2 is a lot of fun.

It’s set in a fantasy-steampunk world with clockwork devices, Uruk Hai-like legions of bad guys, crossbows, dryads who live in trees and elves. The story’s pretty run of the mill, but the locations are varied enough and the NPCs are somewhat interesting, though they are nowhere close to reaching Bioware-levels of character depth.

Titan Quest

Titan Quest is arguably the one Diablo clone that manages to capture the visceral feel of Diablo’s combat and take it to a whole new level. **** goes flying when you hit it with a bat. The only problem with all this hilarious brutality is that there’s no blood or dismemberment, so they feel like little more than indestructible ragdolls.

On the one hand, it’s very satisfying to see a monster go flying after you swat it with a maul, but on the other hand it’s very disappointing when they don’t explode into a fine bloody mist or have body parts flying away when you throw a fireball at them. It’s simply not vicious enough.

The rest of the article can be read at Hellforge @ Gameriot.

With that in mind, we’ve created Hellforge — It is not your average Diablo III fansite. To us it’s all about the community. At Hellforge, you tell us what you want to say and share your views with our innovative blogging system. It’s easier than posting on a forum, and we have those, too!

You can also share your own videos and images by uploading them for all to see. Writing your own blog, responding to one, or simply posting on a traditional forum? It’s all up to you.

Be a part of something special and join the Hellforge community.

Check it out here.

GameCyte has a new interview up with two of them who have started a new studio, Runic Games, who are Max Schaeferand Travis Baldree. The interview delves deep into why the company moved, why they think FSS failed like it did. It specifically mentions the current state of FSS right now as well. Specifically Max makes an emphasis on the fact that for all intents and purposes Flagship Studios is closed down, and Bill is just there to finish off the closure.

Max then goes on to talk about his brother and his involvement with the team. It then goes on to talk about if FSS had any chance of staying open. They then talk of the sorts of games they want to make with the new studios.

Next they talk about the game’s (Mythos) differentiation with Diablo 3 and Sacred 2, as well as the whole colour issue in Diablo 3. Lastly they mention that Namco at the moment is just handling the box sales of Hellgate London, but there is no current knowledge of what they plan to do with the game later.

GameCyte: And you say Flagship Studios did close?

TB: Max, are they still kind of open?

MS: It’s barely open. It’s just open enough to take care of the final affairs, but for all intents and purposes it’s closed down.

GameCyte: We’d figured as much, but all we’d had was a press release saying “We’re still open!” “We still have our IP!” It’s hard to tell what’s actually going on.

TB: It’s a little bit of a new experience for all of us. (chuckles) We don’t exactly know the ‘proper’ way to close down a company. First and foremost, we’re just trying to take care of the debts and the employees in an orderly fashion, so Bill [Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios] and one or two other people have stuck around and are doing their best to get that done before we move on in different directions.

GameCyte: (to Max) What happened to your brother, Erich Schaefer? We noticed he’s no longer with Flagship.

MS: Well, for one thing he’s here in Michigan with me… and for another, he is one of the initial investors in Runic Games. He will be onboard with the company in one way or another from here on out. He is also a big fan of Travis and the Seattle guys and was more than happy to be able to contribute.

[...]

MS: We knew there was a possibility, but we were in very advanced negotiations with a couple of people for deals that would have kept Flagship open and would have kept everything running. And in fact, for a good while it was looking like a near-certainty that one of those would have come to fruition.

When they didn’t, we were far enough along that we were kind of even going past the point where we should have closed down the company, because it looked like such a surety that something was going to be closed, but there were a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations occurring with multiple partners around the globe, some of whom were less than… ethical or honest, and it was just a very complicated mess. In the end, it was just too entangled to get a good deal in place, and so we had to close down. It was really kind of a wrenching, horrible period actually, and we learned a lot from it. We’d do things differently next time for sure.

We all were up all night, every night, not getting any sleep, working every day trying to get it to work out for everyone, and in the end it just didn’t.

[...]

GameCyte: I’m curious what kind of cues you might be taking from Blizzard on your next titles. Bill Roper once said Mythos was the most genuine Diablo title; but as Blizzard North becomes further fragmented, will you be able to make that kind of claim again?

TB: I think we’re kind of moving toward making a slightly different kind of title at this point. Diablo III is coming down the tracks, and I’d rather be on the tracks alongside them rather than directly in front of them when they come rolling through. What we really started to do with Mythos was make it more of a social action-MMO, where there was a shared overworld where people spent a lot of time interacting, and I think it’s important for the free-to-play microtransaction market for people to be able to spend time interacting face to face in larger groups, rather than “I only see you in the lobby and then I’m off with my party for the remainder of the time.”

TB: We still want the random, fast play experience that we had, but it’s important for us to differentiate ourselves from Diablo III and Sacred 2 as they come down the line by having that sort of shared community feel to the game. Auction houses, crafting, more traditional MMO trapping within the context of a game that’s much faster paced and doesn’t require the same sort of time commitment.

MS: Diablo III is not shaping up to be an MMO at all; Diablo III is in the vein of extending what Diablo II did. What we’re doing is taking the Diablo-style action and moving it into the MMO space, and not into the casual games space. The missions are different, and we’re really excited about Diablo III. We can’t wait for it to come out, just so we can play it, and we have nothing but respect for the Blizzard guys. They’re incredibly talented, and I know that Diablo III’s going to be a top-notch game. But, fortunately for us, we’re going in a slightly different direction.

GameCyte: I wanted to ask about the use of color in Diablo III. I know you’ve both spoken to interviewers about the art direction, and praised it for what it does, and since you’ve said you want to be on the tracks aside Diablo III instead of risking being… in front of it…

TB: (laughs)

GameCyte: Is there pressure to move in the same direction, and go for that bold, colorful style, or do you perhaps think that there might be an unserved market for dark action-RPG titles like the ones zealous Photoshop enthusiasts were making ’screenshots’ of?

MS: I’m loving this controversy, by the way. The same thing happened when we were making Diablo and Diablo II — there was a lot of criticism that it was just too gray and too dark, and that people wanted brighter colors. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t with these sorts of games. I think that the team that’s making the game should set the tone of the game, and shouldn’t try to make it something that someone else did… really, they have to create their own vision for the game, and be true to that vision.

Now, I love the really super-gritty, super-dark look of the original Diablos, but I also like what I’ve seen of Diablo III so far. I think both can be wonderful games. What we were doing with Mythos was even more bright and colorful than what Diablo III is shaping up to be, just because we were aiming at a little bit different market; it was going to be a global game, and in Asia they’re very much into the brighter colors and lighter atmosphere. I think also, since Mythos was a social game, something that you’re going to be spending a lot of time not playing, it’s something that you probably want a little bit more inviting atmosphere for.

TB: It also allows us a little more latitude in item sales; if people want to be heavily customizing their characters, there’s someone who always wants to walk around carrying a fish in a floppy hat.

MS: In Diablo I we had naked corpses stuck on stakes and it was really kind of gruesome… not where you’d want to meet your girlfriend and get married.

[...]

GameCyte: Regarding Namco, do you know what’s going on currently with the Hellgate: London forums and servers? It seems that Namco Bandai has taken over the forums, and may be moving towards the servers as well.

MS: They are continuing to operate it, and they are still participating in the boxed sales portion of Hellgate and obviously have an interest in keeping it going. So they are taking it for now, but I really don’t have much visibility into what their plans are.

Enjoy

What is the background for the name “Runic Games”?

I think like most company names, it was a tortuous process of elimination, where everyone had their favorites. A long process of thinking up fantastic names and discovering that someone else already had them resulted in a short list of finalists, and an elimination round determined the winner. I should really come up with a better story though!

When was the decision made to form Runic Games?

Immediately after the dissolution of Flagship Studios, we knew we wanted to get back to doing what we’d started with Mythos. We believe that there really isn’t much in the market like what we were attempting to do - an Action-RPG with a large shared MMO world, and fast-paced randomized dungeon adventuring. Our entire Seattle team is really like a family, and we knew we wanted to stick together, and this seemed like the right thing to do. Maybe sooner than we expected to be doing it - but sometimes you just have to treat life’s unexpected twists as an opportunity.

[...]

What type of games is Runic looking to develop?

We believe strongly in the idea behind Mythos - a fast paced Action-MMO that doesn’t require enormous time commitment to play, and favors quick and visceral combat right alongside the social aspects of MMOs. That’s really what we want to deliver, and we think the market could use that type of game right now.

[...]

At this point, and we realize this is very early on, does Runic have a business model for the games it develops? For instance, will games be subscription based or micro-transaction based?

It’s hard to say just yet - we definitely believe in the free-to-play model that we were espousing with Mythos, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be doing it with our first product for certain. I’ll probably be able to answer this question a little more thoroughly in a few weeks.

[...]

What is your opinion of the “subscription vs microtransaction” debate?

I think there’s value to both models - for a small group like ours, microtransactions have a lot of appeal. With an initial free-to-play release, the barrier to entry for players is seriously lowered, and individuals who might never have tried your game otherwise will actually give it a shot. I think it’s also what makes the 20 dollar casual game market work - the scrappy underdog can make a go of it.

Just for fun, what do you think about the discussion swirling around the “tone and color” of Diablo 3?

Personally, I think what they’ve done with Diablo 3 is fantastic. It seems pretty obvious that the mandate was to make the game look like a concept painting brought to life, and I think they’ve succeeded pretty wildly. The contrast and use of color really works well for an Action-RPG, where there are hordes of monsters and spells, and separation of individual entities is required for satisfying play. I can’t wait to play it! Blizzard is really second-to-none, and I have nothing but admiration for their work. I know a lot of people are lamenting what they see as a move away from the grim vibe of Diablo, but I think a lot of that gothic feel is really sold by a combination of sound, content and story, and the visceral nature of the game - and Blizzard certainly isn’t skimping on the visceral if the videos are any indication. I also feel strongly that there’s some pretty grim content they haven’t bothered to show everyone just yet.

Please take a minute and “talk” to your fans, and they are many.

I’d like to say that I’ve never had such a fantastic experience with a community as we did with Mythos. It was an incredible time, and one that the entire team and myself would like to recreate. We learned a great deal in creating Mythos, and we’re really looking forward to putting that knowledge to work to create something that surpasses it in every way we can. As with Mythos, one of the most important parts of that process is our interaction with you, and we look forward to working together with all of you to make something special. We hope to see you online again soon!

Enjoy

We, the ancient elders of Uld are issuing this warning to all citizens and travelers. Hurry! The great darkness that once plagued Uld is returning. Everyone is ordered to close down their shops and prepare. We predict the when night is at its peak the darkness will arrive. The ancient elders of Uld will be leaving immediately in order to preserve the lore of this wonderful world. Citizens please prepare thyself and know that the elders will be back from their travels some day.

From the team:

We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 CST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus. On behalf of all of the Devs and Community team we want to say thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we will see you soon.

The Mythos Team</blockquote>

On Friday, July 18th at Midnight (CST) the forums will be shutting down. We would like to thank everyone for being a part of this wonderful community and we hope to see you all again soon.

-Tiggs

See it for yourself. Thanks for the news tip, Swordplay. You shame me with your news finding abilities sometimes.

Well, it’s an interesting few days here for all of us. It’s just been killing me not to post until now, but I really needed to wait until some things were settled and announced. As you may or may not know Flagship Studios laid off almost all employees effective friday - you should be able to see the press release in the Announcements. Now, on the face of it, that really does sound like the end of Mythos as we know it - but we have a tight-knit team that feels like family and hopes to stick together. Unfortunately, I can’t speak at any real length about our immediate plans just yet - but let’s say that we hope to have you back up and Beta testing for us in one way or another sometime soon.

You’ve been an incredible community that we’ve all felt priveleged to be a part of, and we’re not quite ready to let go of that little family just yet. No matter the outcome, this has been a fantastic experience, and I and the team would like to thank each and every one of you for the tireless hours of testing and discussion you’ve undergone, and the uniquely friendly community spirit that you all helped foster. It’s been a treat every step of the way.

So, I’m not exactly sure how long Mythos in its current form will remain up, since it is effectively a testing server. I’ll try to get you that information as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I know the rest of the team would love to post their farewells and thanks to all of you. We’ll try to keep you as up to date as we can in one way or another.

Thanks again to all of you - and I hope to be seeing all of you online again very, very soon.
Travis

Others of Flagship Studios who have contributed their farewells and goodbyes to the thread include Jason “Grimby” Beck (Art Lead), Adam “HamSandwhich” Perin (3D Technical Artist), Kyle “SkyCrickett” Cornelius (Concept Artist) and Taylor Balbi (Community Manager).

History will, perhaps, remember Mythos as one of those “great games that should have been”, along with Black Isle Studios’ Van Buren and Troika’s post-apocalyptic RPG. Hope may yet exist for the game, so we’ll be crossing our fingers for a miracle.

Flagships’s Community Manager, Taylor Balbi, has revealed to VE3D that all Ping0 and Flagship Studios staff have been made redundant. According to Taylor and the VE3D article, employees were notified at a company meeting and subsequently informed that the offices will be officially closed on Saturday. The source went on to reveal that three of the studio’s top brass dug into their own pockets to provide 30 days of pay to all employees.

As mentioned earlier, word of the studio’s closure reached HanbitSoft, leading to an early press release regarding the control over the Hellgate: London intellectual property that lead to a stern rebuttal from an official source in Flagship Studios, which, subsequently lead to a HanbitSoft lawyer posting the following sentence on our very website: “It is unfortunate that Flagship turned down additional investments HanbitSoft offered to make that would have allowed it to keep its doors open.”

As also referenced in the legal release, HanbitSoft hopes to independently continue development of Mythos, to which it owns the rights thanks to a loan agreement enacted with Flagship. Comerica now owns the Hellgate: London rights through a similar loan agreement, and will likely continue Asian development with HanbitSoft. As for English-language releases of the two games, it is possible that the Asian companies would continue development, but the fate of the US, Japanese and European version of Hellgate: London remain a mystery.

In short, Flagship’s time has run out, and all intellectual property may have been lost, all staff fired, and the studio closed. Flagship, we hardly knew ye…

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