mythos posts

Massively's interview with Mythos: gearing up for launch

by Shawn Schuster Dec 1st 2009 at 12:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Interviews, New titles, Mythos, Massively Interviews

Today marks another milestone for the almost-forgotten Mythos MMO. As we mentioned a few months ago, the Diablo-esque game has been resurrected and we can now report that it has been picked up by Redbana US. New closed beta registration was started in August and we're well on our way to actually getting this game launched. With this new information, we assembled some questions (thanks to former Managing Editor, Michael Zenke for most of these questions) for the Mythos team on this special occasion.

So the milestone at this stage of the game's life is a newly-revamped website, just released and announced today. Check it out for a teaser video, lore entries, their brand new forums and much more!

Tags: diablo, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, interview, mythos, redbana

The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire

by Kyle Horner Nov 2nd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-play, The Digital Continuum

For the past week I've been delving deep into the dungeons of Runic Games' Torchlight and found the experience to be nothing short of joyous. Granted, like many other people I also wish some kind of co-op shipped with the game (even over LAN) but thankfully the developer's next project will be an MMO built upon the foundation laid down by last week's release.

My joy for this game most definitely bleeds into its MMO incarnation, which has led to far too much thinking on additions I'd like to see made. So this week, I'm going to get them all off my chest in the hopes that I'll stop obsessing over them. Of course, there's never a guarantee with these things.

Tags: blizzard, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-ii, featured, mythos, perfect-world, persistent-world, pve, pvp, runic-games, the-digital-continuum, torchlight, world-of-warcraft, wow

An insight into the art of Torchlight

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 10th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

While many eyes are glued to the revitalization of the Mythos IP, many other eyes are looking in the direction of Runic Games's Torchlight. For those not in the know, Torchlight is being made by the original Mythos team -- the ones who were on staff at the time of Flagship Studios's untimely closing -- while Mythos is now in the hands of HanbitSoft, the publisher who had a massive stake in Flagship.

While Torchlight won't be ready for the MMO scene anytime soon, the developers are still coming up with the single-player game that will be the base component for the MMO edition. With that in mind, we'd thought you'd like to check out this Gamasutra article that focuses on the art style and history of Torchlight and how exactly Mythos has impacted that style. It's a great read (although it's a little long at six pages of narrative) and a must see for all fans of the upcoming action RPG.

Tags: art, art-direction, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, mythos, runic-games, torchlight

Mythos teaser and closed beta registration page emerges

by William Dobson Aug 15th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, News items, Mythos

Things are stirring behind the scenes in the world of Mythos, the little MMO that could. A newly launched site offers a very small teaser, but also, a closed beta registration form which is of far more interest. While Mythos was much-loved in its previous form, we don't doubt the followers of the Diablo-esque dungeon-crawler are keen to see if the magic is still there in HanbitSoft's re-envisioning.

If you're not up on the history of this title, now (at its new beginning) seems a good time for us to sum things up. It started out as a way for Flagship Studios to test their networking technology for the then-upcoming Hellgate: London, but soon grew into a popular game in its own right through a widespread closed beta test. It was all set to transition from experiment to fully-fledged title and move into open beta when the well-documented trouble at Flagship derailed the whole thing.

However, Flagship's Korean publisher HanbitSoft acquired the game's license and decided to make use of it. They reassured eager fans only a few months ago that Mythos would be re-born better than ever. Only time will tell if that's true, but with this new closed beta registration, it shouldn't be too long before a select group finds out for themselves. In the meantime, all of the old Mythos devs will be working away on Torchlight at Runic Games. Torchlight undoubtedly stands to be significant competition for Mythos in the future, but it won't be ready (in its MMO form at least) any time soon.

Tags: breaking, closed-beta, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, mythos, registration, runic-games, teaser, torchlight

E3 2009: A complete roundup of Massively's coverage

by James Egan Jun 8th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Jumpgate Evolution, MMO industry, New titles, The Agency, All Points Bulletin, Global Agenda, Free Realms, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Champions Online, Home, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragonica Online, Heroes of Telara, Final Fantasy XIV

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 proved to be a significant event for the gaming industry once again, with a fair amount of news and announcements related to MMOs. Massively was there on the ground for E3 this year and we've been putting up breaking announcements, interviews, and hands-on previews throughout.

Given how much info came out of E3 on Massively, here's a roundup of our coverage, day-by-day. Be sure to check out the rest after the jump as there's plenty more content, plus you'll find E3 galleries for these games as you click through. To cap it all off, we've also put together an E3 2009 wrapup video for you at the end of this post. Read on to see where the MMO industry is headed in the next year and beyond!

Day One

Star Wars: The Old Republic world's first fully-voiced MMO

Final Fantasy XIV announced

Jumpgate Evolution releases E3 trailer

EA to publish All Points Bulletin in 2010

PlayStation Home hits 6.5 million accounts

Trion World Network unveils Heroes of Telara

Massively's day 1 video from the E3 floor

Tags: all-points-bulletin, champions-online, dragonica-online, dungeon-fighter-online, e3-2009, final-fantasy-xiv, free-realms, global-agenda, heroes-of-telara, home, jade-dynasty, jumpgate-evolution, massively-event-coverage, massively-hands-on, massively-interviews, mmo-industry, mythos, new-titles, perfect-world, perfect-world-age-of-spirits, perfect-world-international, rohan-blood-feud, roundup, star-wars-the-old-republic, swtor, the-agency, torchlight

E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO

by Kyle Horner Jun 5th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Hands-on

Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Mythos, Mythos II and Fate, we're expecting quite a lot from their new title, Torchlight. This classic Diablo style 2D hack-and-slasher can in every way be considered the spiritual successor to Mythos, and in some ways even more closer to the original Diablo. For instance, Torchlight is a town with another world underneath it -- that and it's going to be a single player RPG before it goes MMO. But rest assured, it will go MMO in a year to a year and a half.

First, we'll discuss features that will exist at singleplayer launch later this year, then we'll cover the new elements planned when the game expands into a massively multiplayer game. Check it all out after the jump along with gameplay footage, complete with Felicia Day of The Guild trying her hand at a beta version of the Action RPG.

Gallery: E3 2009: Torchlight

Tags: e3, e3-2009, felicia-day, flagship-studios, mythos, runic-games, the-guild, torchlight

We're assured that Mythos is coming back

by Kyle Horner May 7th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Mythos

Mythos seems to hold a cult fan status among those who were lucky enough to play the game before last year's Flagship kerfuffle unceremoniously halted the games' production -- and with good reason. The game was a lot of fun, as all those cult fans know. Which is why we're torn about this news.

It appears as though Hanbitsoft -- the Korean developer who picked up the rights to Mythos last year -- has come out and said they fully intend to bring the game back into the world. They've also said they realize the game is basically inspired fully by Diablo, and plan to, "-put in more content for more exciting multiplayer." That's great and all, but we worry that the beta that we played last year and this retooled Korean flavored version aren't going to elicit the same kind of excitement.

This is also compounded by the fact that, well, the original Mythos team has already formed Runic Games and will be presenting their spiritual successor to Mythos, entitled Torchlight, at E3 in just about a month. Now, while Torchlight is only a single player RPG for the time being, Runic has clearly stated their plans to build it into an MMO down the road. So for now, with one game the closer, we'll just decide to be excited for E3 come early June.

Tags: blizzard, diablo, e3, e3-2009, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, korean, mythos, runic-games, torchlight

Runic Games interview digs deeper into the Torchlight MMO

by Shawn Schuster May 5th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles

Earlier last month we learned a bit more regarding a resurrection of the Mythos team in a new project entitled Torchlight. Apparently, this game will begin life as a single-player game, then eventually branch out into an MMO. Although not much is known about this MMO and how much Mythos influence it will hold, a recent interview at Gamasutra sheds a bit more light on what we can expect from Runic Games.

The Torchlight MMO is said to be modeled after a Diablo-style game mechanic. With the 22-person Runic Games team being comprised of mostly Diablo and Mythos vets, the familiarity will certainly be there. "Obviously it's the same style, but again, they're working on an established IP that has its own look, and its own story and its own tone, and they're not doing, as far as I know, a traditional MMO," says co-creator Max Schaefer. "[It's] more in the BattleNet style that Diablo II was in."

Tags: gamasutra, interview, mythos, runic-games, torchlight

Ex-Mythos devs discuss upcoming MMO project at Runic Games

by James Egan Apr 28th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, New titles

A few of us on the Massively staff were gutted when Mythos became a casualty of the Flagship Studios closure. We later learned that some of the former Mythos devs had formed a new studio called Runic Games; just the other day we picked up on a partnership between Runic Games and Perfect World to release a new title called Torchlight. Aside from this, we'd heard precious little about what's in the works at Runic Games, but an interview we've come across sheds some more light on what the former Mythos devs have been up to.

Travis Baldree from Runic Games discusses how they're building Torchlight as an MMO, although its first incarnation will be a single player title, one that actively supports modders. The interview also discusses the story and art of Torchlight, as well as its music, programming, and the toolsets which will be made available to players. In fact, Runic Games' Greg Brown says, "Hopefully, nearly everything I've been working on will be usable by players who want to modify the game." If you were interested by what you saw of Mythos and want to know what those devs have in store for gamers with Torchlight, you'll want to give the interview a read at the Runic Insider site.

Tags: fantasy, flagship-studios, greg-brown, mythos, new-titles, perfect-world, runic-games, runic-insider, travis-baldree

Runic Games partners with MMO portal Perfect World for their upcoming game

by Seraphina Brennan Apr 22nd 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, New titles

Perfect World Entertainment, the MMO portal of the self-titled Perfect World International and Ether Saga Online, has announced a partnership between themselves and the phoenix game studio Runic Games for the publishing rights of the upcoming MMO, Torchlight.

This is a large step forward for Runic Games, the previous Mythos game team of the now defunct Flagship Studios. Their agreement with Perfect World is for global publishing rights, meaning Torchlight could be seeing an international release.

Little is currently known about Torchlight, other than the game will be focusing on a single city and centered around the acquisition of a magical ore that imbues equipment with power, but also has a downside to it as well. The game has a bit of a cartoony, playful character to it, as seen in some early concept art shown on the main Runic Games website.

Tags: breaking, city, ether-saga-online, flagship-studios, flagshipped, magic-ore, mythos, ore, perfect-world, perfect-world-international, publish, publishing-rights, runic-games, torchlight

HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion

by James Egan Nov 3rd 2008 at 1:45PM

Filed under: Horror, Expansions, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors

The Hellgate: London IP saga continues. While we had some dire news that the servers will go dark at the end of January, we also know that development for the title is still being done in Redbana's California office... just not for which region. The latest word we've received on this seems to indicate the continuity of Hellgate: London, but to date this is only confirmed for service in Asia -- so we cannot (yet) offer a definitive, "Yes, HG:L will continue for North America and EU." That being said, Gamasutra has picked up on company blog posts by HanbitSoft's Global PR Manager, Janelle. One is a definitive announcement that HanbitSoft owns both the Hellgate: London and Mythos IP, while the other is more telling.

Janelle republished an email sent from Hellgate: London's Product Manager about the future of the title.The message in its entirety, as shown on the Game Espresso site for HanbitSoft, is reprinted below the cut.

Tags: asia, breaking, eu, european-union, fantasy, gamasutra, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, hgl, horror, janelle, mythos, north-america, redbana, redbana-usa, rumor, rumors

Hellgate London status: Purgatory

by James Egan Oct 30th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors

There have been so many twists and turns with the future of Hellgate: London (and Mythos) that it's hard to know what will happen next. We've heard on a few occasions that Hellgate: London was about to face its demise, only to be saved. Adding to the confusion was the dispute over who even owned Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios or HanbitSoft. After Flagship folded, HanbitSoft's claims seemed to be genuine, and the IP was left in the hands of T3 Entertainment. Subscriptions, however, were then suspended. Shortly afterwards Namco-Bandai swept in, prominently featured HG: L on its site... and subsequently removed it. Despite this, the game has been kept running ever since, although Namco-Bandai's stated that the servers will shut down at the end of January, 2009.

Gaming site HellForge has picked up on what we're not ready to call anything more than 'rumor' at this point, but something that perhaps bodes well for the future of the game. Another company name has been thrown into the mix: Redbana (based in Taiwan, connected with the aforementioned T3 Entertainment). HellForge writes: "Further research leads to findings of a new San Francisco office for the company, which is where Hellgate offices were located previously." This seems to be in line with what we reported about the future of both titles in August. While we hope this information could be a positive sign for Hellgate: London and perhaps Mythos as well, at this point it's still largely conjecture.

[Via Blue's News]

Tags: bill-roper, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, hellforge, hellgate-london, hgl, horror, mmo-industry, mythos, namco-bandai, redbana, rumor, rumors, t3-entertainment, taiwan

Flagship Studios' founder finally speaks

by Kyle Horner Aug 18th 2008 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Interviews, News items, Hellgate: London, Mythos

If you've been wondering just exactly what happened with Flagship Studios over the past year or so, then you should really give a listen to the thoughts of Bill Roper, founder of Flagship. The poor guy pretty much spills his guts to 1up.com's Jeff Green about everything that happened and is happening with the people and projects from Flagship. It's a surprisingly lengthy interview, clocking in at eight pages. It's totally worth the read if you want a gritty insight into just how much went into not only Hellgate: London and Mythos, but the team that put those titles together.

It's not often that we get such a wide and deep look into a developer. We're counting ourselves lucky that Bill seems to be such a open and forthcoming guy, otherwise we might have never known anything beyond rumors and speculation. If everyone previously involved with Flagship lands on their feet, it will be in no small part due to Bill Roper's efforts.

Tags: 1up, bill-roper, flagship, flagship-studios, hellgate-london, mythos

From the ashes of Mythos, Runic Games is born

by James Egan Aug 10th 2008 at 1:15PM

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

The fate of the former Flagship Studios staff is something a number of our readers have been wondering about, particularly after the confusion and drama surrounding the Hellgate: London and Mythos IPs. The writers at Massively have been curious about this as well, until now. We've gotten word from Joystiq that former Flagship Studios Seattle staff -- specifically, the Mythos team -- have formed a new company called Runic Games.

Max Schaefer and Travis Baldree are at the helm of Runic Games, and have stated that their forthcoming projects will be announced in the coming days. There are no further details at this time, but Runic Games now has a site where the announcement of their resurrection is posted. Massively extends its congratulations on making a quick comeback, and here's hoping Runic Games will bring some of that Mythos magic to their new projects.

Tags: breaking, business-models, flagship-studios, hellgate-london, industry, ip, joystiq, max-schaefer, mmo-industry, mythos, runic-games, travis-baldree

Mythos lives!

by James Egan Aug 3rd 2008 at 12:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, News items, Mythos, Rumors

These have been some turbulent times for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. Following the closing of Flagship Studios, recent news revealed Namco-Bandai Games as Hellgate: London's saviors, while the fate of Mythos remained uncertain, but grim. However just over a week later, the Hellgate: London page at Namco-Bandai has already disappeared.

In another turn of events, Gamasutra reports that Korea's T3 Entertainment, perhaps best-known for their online music game Audition, is seeking programmers for its new development studio in San Francisco: "T3 Entertainment is searching for creative minds to passionately continue development of Hellgate: London and Mythos, along with other new games, which are being published by HanbitSoft Inc." This may put to rest the dispute over IP which HanbitSoft was engaged in with Flagship Studios, as T3 Entertainment is HanbitSoft's largest stockholder. With any luck, the opening of a North American studio signifies a healthier future for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. We'll keep you posted, once more details become available.

Tags: audition, beta, fantasy, flagship-studios, gamasutra, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, horror, ip, ip-dispute, korea, mythos, namco-bandai, rumor, rumors, t3, t3-entertainment