Friday, April 01, 2005
I met a dog named Huxley last week and now this
In the early afternoon yesterday, word got out that TeamXbox, some website I had never heard of before, was going to reveal to the world a brand new Xenon title on the night of March 31. Though the pessimistic internet community held strong in the belief that this was merely an elaborate April Fools prank set to crush the dreams of raving Xbox fanboys the world over, I stood strong knowing no website would be so foolish. Thankfully, TeamXbox proved they were not only above such childish pranks, but they also have some rather lofty contacts within the industry. They secured the exclusive first information about an upcoming Xenon title and the world was finally privy to their secrets last night. Introducing Huxley - a title so far off the map I'm not even sure the genre it resides in currently exists.
Huxley is a First Person Shooting Massively Multiplayer Online... experience. We'll call it an FPSMMO for short. That acronym looks so unwieldy I can only assume my guess that no other title could be categorized as such has to be true. To dash one Scott Hannan's hopes completely, the Huxley universe is not a medieval fantasy one. Rather, it takes place in a near apocalyptic future where energy is scarce and anger is high. The name Huxley comes from the author of Brave New World... though I don't remember much shooting in that book.
Don't get Huxley confused with games that take place in a first person perspective but focus on strategy. This is a pure action title, in the same vein as Doom, which just happens to take place in a huge online world. A persistently changing online world at that. As I have lived and died where my console will take me, I have no real experience with a persistent online world. Any online game I've played, like Halo 2 for instance, is a static world that, while it may change slightly during the course of a match, suffers no permanent changes. The idea of a living breathing world, which can change and be manipulated by thousands of gamers, is a concept so far beyond what I have experienced I almost cannot fathom it. I guess consider what Fable was supposed to be - a world where one can plant a tree and watch it grow or create their own path through a dense forest - only translate it to a first person shooter setting.
There will be three character classes in the game. Definitely less than any MMORPG out there (which probably have about fifty different classes including Chef Boys and Bards) but more than most FPS. There's your standard Sapiens (like Dan), Alternatives (Eddie Vedder) and Hybrids (Prius). We can only speculate on differences at this time, so I'm going to guess that Hybrids can fly, Sapiens can swim and Alternatives can dance. If I am wrong, someone should definitely steal my idea. "Dancing into battle" isn't currently a phrase, but it should be.
In the broadest of strokes, there are two ways to play this game: following the story or leveling up. Both are played online but have different focuses. Like most FPS, there is a story which forces you through different worlds and enemy encounters. Either by your lonesome or with a group of like-minded friends, you can go through the natural story progression if you chose. Imagine something like a co-op Halo only on a much, much larger scale. If story is for lames, though, you can just attack every man, woman or child you come across to improve your own standing. Obviously, Player vs. Player will not only be allowed but encouraged. Even though I would rather have a medieval setting, the idea of rounding up twenty friends with a couple choppers and flying into battle seems amazing.
Other than that not much is known at this time. It does use the Unreal 3 engine, easily the most advanced graphics engine in existence. It will also come out on the PC, though it is unknown if Xenon and PC players will be able to join up together. If they can it may have to sport a simplified control scheme to ensure PC gamers don't have an unfair advantage. It is being made by some Korean development team I have never heard of - Webzen - who apparently has some experience with online PC games. Oh, and it should be out within the next 12 months.
So how did you like my blatant plugging of this game? Quite the shill, eh? But if a game sounds awesome what can I do? Objectivity be damned, I want this game. Here's hoping I don't have to pay a subscription fee to play.
Huxley is a First Person Shooting Massively Multiplayer Online... experience. We'll call it an FPSMMO for short. That acronym looks so unwieldy I can only assume my guess that no other title could be categorized as such has to be true. To dash one Scott Hannan's hopes completely, the Huxley universe is not a medieval fantasy one. Rather, it takes place in a near apocalyptic future where energy is scarce and anger is high. The name Huxley comes from the author of Brave New World... though I don't remember much shooting in that book.
Don't get Huxley confused with games that take place in a first person perspective but focus on strategy. This is a pure action title, in the same vein as Doom, which just happens to take place in a huge online world. A persistently changing online world at that. As I have lived and died where my console will take me, I have no real experience with a persistent online world. Any online game I've played, like Halo 2 for instance, is a static world that, while it may change slightly during the course of a match, suffers no permanent changes. The idea of a living breathing world, which can change and be manipulated by thousands of gamers, is a concept so far beyond what I have experienced I almost cannot fathom it. I guess consider what Fable was supposed to be - a world where one can plant a tree and watch it grow or create their own path through a dense forest - only translate it to a first person shooter setting.
There will be three character classes in the game. Definitely less than any MMORPG out there (which probably have about fifty different classes including Chef Boys and Bards) but more than most FPS. There's your standard Sapiens (like Dan), Alternatives (Eddie Vedder) and Hybrids (Prius). We can only speculate on differences at this time, so I'm going to guess that Hybrids can fly, Sapiens can swim and Alternatives can dance. If I am wrong, someone should definitely steal my idea. "Dancing into battle" isn't currently a phrase, but it should be.
In the broadest of strokes, there are two ways to play this game: following the story or leveling up. Both are played online but have different focuses. Like most FPS, there is a story which forces you through different worlds and enemy encounters. Either by your lonesome or with a group of like-minded friends, you can go through the natural story progression if you chose. Imagine something like a co-op Halo only on a much, much larger scale. If story is for lames, though, you can just attack every man, woman or child you come across to improve your own standing. Obviously, Player vs. Player will not only be allowed but encouraged. Even though I would rather have a medieval setting, the idea of rounding up twenty friends with a couple choppers and flying into battle seems amazing.
Other than that not much is known at this time. It does use the Unreal 3 engine, easily the most advanced graphics engine in existence. It will also come out on the PC, though it is unknown if Xenon and PC players will be able to join up together. If they can it may have to sport a simplified control scheme to ensure PC gamers don't have an unfair advantage. It is being made by some Korean development team I have never heard of - Webzen - who apparently has some experience with online PC games. Oh, and it should be out within the next 12 months.
So how did you like my blatant plugging of this game? Quite the shill, eh? But if a game sounds awesome what can I do? Objectivity be damned, I want this game. Here's hoping I don't have to pay a subscription fee to play.
// posted by Tom @ 8:29 AM 
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