wes-platt posts

Designing the apocalypse: behind the scenes of Fallen Earth

by Rubi Bayer Feb 1st 2010 at 6:00PM

We know that the development teams at our favorite MMOs work hard at game creation, but we're equally aware of how much they love their jobs. It's a dream job, and while development of a new game can be tough and stressful, more often than not it's lots of fun.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the studio? What mishaps do the developers run across during the process, and what great ideas never make it to launch day? We talked to the team at Fallen Earth, and they generously shared some of their greatest bloopers and favorite ideas. Read along after the cut, and enjoy!

Tags: behind-the-scenes, bloopers, fallen-earth, gabriel-smith, icarus-studios, james-lowe, lee-hammock, wes-platt

Wes Platt sheds some light on Fallen Earth

by Krystalle Voecks Sep 14th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Interviews, Launches, New titles, News items

Recently we found out that the team at Fallen Earth LLC have decided to push the game's release date back to the 22nd to allow for a bit more polishing before the final launch. Currently, those who pre-ordered through Direct2Drive or the Fallen Earth website are enjoying a headstart in the strangely altered lands around the Grand Canyon. Still others are biding their time, seeing just how the game develops after release and keeping an eye out for news from this small independent studio.

Werit had a chance to sit down with Wes Platt, Content Design Team Lead for Fallen Earth and ask some questions about a few different aspects of the game, as well as where Wes thinks the team will be in a few years. If you're interested in this crafting-heavy story-driven sci-fi MMO, then you'll definitely want to head over there and give the interview a read. Personally, we can't wait until we can build a muscle car that's bristling with weaponry and drive it around with our friends, hopefully. That sounds like an apocalypse we can get into!

Tags: delayed-release, early-start, fallen-earth, interview, mmo, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, wes-platt

Fallen Earth Developer Diary: Exploring Hoffa Bunker

by Shawn Schuster May 28th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Fallen Earth, Lore, MMO industry, New titles

Massively is proud to host a brand new five-part developer journal from the Fallen Earth team which will explore various levels in Fallen Earth, their storylines and how they make the player experience richer. This second one takes us through Hoffa Bunker, and was written by Wes Platt, Content Team Lead for Fallen Earth.

In the rugged hills of Toro Bend, far north in the Plateau region of the Grand Canyon Province, slouches a fenced town called Trailer Park. It's comprised of big-rig trailers and cargo containers left over from before the Fall. The inhabitants are mostly castoffs who can't fit in anywhere else – and in a mad world after the apocalypse, that's saying a lot.

Billy Bob Swayhill, a shopkeeper in town, talks a great deal. However, not much of it makes much sense. Beyond preaching the glory of soup, Swayhill mostly rants about the treasures waiting to be found in the Hoffa Bunker. He claims that's the final resting place of the treasures owned by Jimmy Hoffa, an assassinated President of the United States, who managed to get his hands on Al Capone's cash, the gold from Fort Knox, and Andy Warhol's soup supply.

Tags: dev-diary, developer-diary, fallen-earth, featured, hoffa-bunker, wes-platt

Fallen Earth dev diary focuses on introducing new players to PvP

by James Egan Apr 7th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, PvP, Quests

Fallen Earth is one of three post-apocalyptic massively muliplayer online games currently in development that are a far cry from the fantasy titles which have proven most popular in the MMO world. IGN scored an exclusive two part developer diary from Fallen Earth writer and content developer Wes Platt who discusses creating the PvP starter town of Terance. Namely, he explains how and why the Fallen Earth team has been putting so much work into Terance and the challenges and pitfalls faced in differentiating the PvP-centric area from other more standard towns in the game.

The first part is "Building the Town of Terance". It paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic aftermath setting where a psychotic artificial intelligence, long since sealed away underground by its corporate progenitors and forced into a century of dormancy, is woken with dire consequences. Now powered up, the AI -- TETRAX -- prepares once again to work towards the extermination all human beings in its vicinity. Human beings in Terance may find themselves on the run, hunted by AI-directed zombies called Diggers, as well as mutants and vermin.

Tags: ai, dev-diary, developer-diary, diggers, fallen-earth, fallen-earth-llc, game-design, game-mechanics, ign, missions, mutants, post-apocalyptic, pvp, quests, sci-fi, starter-town, starter-zones, storyline, tetrax, vermin, wes-platt

Fallen Earth interview drops info on factions and storyline

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

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, MMO industry

As Fallen Earth gets closer to being released, that previously hazy image of what the game will be like sharpens. The latest bit of info we've come across is an interview with Fallen Earth writer and designer Wes Platt conducted by MMO Gamer's Nate James.

In a market rather saturated with fantasy titles, Platt discusses what Fallen Earth brings to the table and how the game will be differentiated from its competitors. The interview also touches upon the background of the six playable factions in the game and their motivations, as well as the storyline element of the Shiva plague. Have a look at MMO Gamer's interview with Wes Platt for more on Fallen Earth's approach to a post-apocalyptic MMO title.

[Via WarCry]

Tags: fallen-earth, fantasy, game-mechanics, icarus-studios, interviews, lore, mmo-gamer, mmo-industry, nate-james, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, shiva, shiva-plague, wes-platt