Stargate Worlds :: Interview

Production is nearing its 50th week at Stargate Worlds. How is game development progressing?
Excellent, we are building out some of the larger worlds that will appear in the game as well as continuing to flesh out the combat mechanics.

You've said the game is likely to be released late in 2008. Are you on schedule to reach it?
We certainly want to release the game in 2008, but we also want to make the best game we possibly can. To date, we are making our development milestones and meeting all of our deadlines. We will release the game when it is done.

As a seasoned videogame-design professional, has development of Stargate Worlds been unique in any way? Has it offered any interesting challenges?
Every game that I work on has unique challenges. The game industry is always on the cutting edge of technology that forces us to change how we work and how we approach certain game designs.

With so many competing products, what will Stargate Worlds offer in the MMO space to make it stand out?
The MMO market continues to get flooded with fantasy-based MMOGs. Stargate Worlds will be one of the few Sci-Fi MMO’s on the market as well as the only one based off a great TV and movie history. Not only do we have a strong background and a unique space to play in, the combat dynamics of Stargate Worlds give us the opportunity to craft an entirely new style of gameplay.

Do Stargate creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper get to offer input into various aspects of the game?
Brad and Robert have been a great resource for us. Not only do they provide a behind the scenes element that we would have never known, they also are a great sounding board for the story that will drive players in Stargate Worlds. The creative team behind the Stargate series has been a great asset to our team and we look forward to continuing to work with them moving forward.

The television series were obviously not designed to transfer directly into a video game. Are there any deliberate departures from the series for the purpose of creating a better gaming experience?
We have been given free license to create new worlds and characters that you would never see in the TV series. The television series was limited by budgetary and location issues that we don’t have to worry about. We can create some truly amazing science fiction environments that would be impossible to duplicate on a television series. We also have crafted a unique story line that has been created solely for Stargate Worlds yet still lives in the Stargate universe.

What will Stargate Worlds offer gamers who prefer non-combat products?
SGW gives the players the ability to not only play as the hero soldier similar to Jack O’Neill but also the ability to take on characteristics similar to Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter. This gives players a unique way of playing the game through a variety of mini-games and options for exploration.

When should fans expect to start seeing screenshots?
We’ve got plenty of concept art and screenshots on our website at www.stargateworlds.com. As for future screenshots, we’ve got some great new art in the pipeline that we’ll be releasing over the course of the year.

Are there plans to release Stargate Worlds on a console, such as the XBOX 360?
While we aren’t ruling anything out at this time, we are currently only developing Stargate Worlds for the PC.

What is the best way to become a candidate for beta testing?
Probably the best way to get on the radar for beta testing is to take part in the forums and be active in our rapidly growing community at www.stargateworlds.com.