38 Gamers » R.A. Salvatore

R A Salvatore on building the world of Amalur

Vanguard — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:55:07 +0000

Before I get to this story I just wanted to say that we all stand on the eve of the birth of a new IP. I had wanted that birth to be the MMO that 38 Studios had originally start out to create and instead it will be Reckoning in just over 2 weeks time. It’s been fun to champion 38 Studios when there was so much doubt but after seeing and getting to play Reckoning at BHG I knew this was going to be a big hit. EA has been going all out and the marketing machine was in full spin and it simply became a bit much to stay on top of it all. With the confidence that Reckoning would be a big hit I decided to sit back, relax and wait because I knew once it has been lauched then we would finally start to hear more about the MMO world that the team at 38 Studios has been working on for all these years.

This article by R A Salvatore does a fantastic job of explaining it all, of how the world of Amalur came to be and how it changed to be more then just the MMO. As a fan its my hope that soon we will know and experience both the world of Reckoning from the team at BHG and the MMO world 38 Studios has been working on since the company was founded. Exciting days lay ahead my friends, exciting days indeed!

The following article is written by fantasy author R A Salvatore on his work on the Kingdoms of Amalur games:

World-building is, mostly, an exercise in philosophy and logic.

Every culture has creation and destruction myths; building a world means exploring these and, perhaps, determining if one of them might actually be true.

In any case, these myths, or religions, are often shaped by the environment, both political and physical, and they, in turn help shape cultures.

Mark Twain once noted that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure rhymes. If you study history, you see the truth of that. Cultures follow a pattern, human needs demand certain systems, and there is a beautiful symmetry to be found in putting one culture beside another.

So take our own human history viewed through an honest prism. Now turn that prism just a bit to the side — for example, pretend that one of the more primitive creation-destruction myths is actually true (consider the 2012 Mayan craze currently hitting pop culture). In this skewed vision, add in elements to fit the new “truth” of history, the way Dan Brown did in The DaVinci Code, (and many others did before him) and you’ll find yourself amazed at how well those elements “fit” into the question of what really happened versus what we know from textbooks.

This is the secret of world-building, whether you’re recreating or reinterpreting our world history, or creating an entirely new entity. And a second secret: it’s a blast. I mean that. You are, in effect, concocting a gigantic conspiracy theory, and admit it or not, people love conspiracy theories.

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Inside Reckoning: Narrative Design

Vanguard — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:54:14 +0000

38 Studios and Big Huge Games just released the first installment of a new video series they are calling Inside Reckoning. In this video series, they take a closer look at a variety of development aspects, such as design, cinematics, and music. The first video is all about Narrative Design, and features members of the Big Huge Games Narrative Design team (Lead Narrative Designer Erik J. Caponi, and Narrative Designers Andrew Auseon and Tom Murphy). Join them as they talk about their roles, how they shape the world of Amalur, and share stories about how visionary author R. A. Salvatore’s involvement has enriched the Reckoning team’s creative direction.

UGO – Curt Schilling: We Want to Be the World’s #1 Game Publisher

Vanguard — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:30:55 +0000

Tracey John got the chance to interview Curt Schilling at New York Comic Con and asks some really great questions about the MMO 38 Studios has been working on since it was founded 4 years ago. If you your interested in the MMO then you need to read this!

As a legendary Major League Baseball pitcher, Curt Schilling was, for a time, the best in his field. But that time has passed, and Schilling has now traded the mound for a mouse in his new career as the founder of game developer 38 Studios. With a fighting drive to be number one, can Schilling transform 38 Studios into the best game-maker on the planet?

“(Blizzard is) the best in the world at what they do right now, but nobody stays number one forever,” Schilling said during an interview recently at New York Comic Con. “And I want to be the number one leading game publisher in the world. Whether that happens two years or 10 years from now, that’s the goal.”

Although 38 Studios’ first game will be a multi-platform single-player RPG called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the company is also working on a massively multiplayer online game currently codenamed “Copernicus.” Armed with famed fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and developers who’ve worked on EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online, Schilling thinks 38 Studios has got what it takes to be on top.

We asked Schilling more about his history in gaming, why some MMO developers are “full of crap,” and how Blizzard can’t stay number one forever.

Read on for the full interview.

UGO: Why put out an MMO?

Curt Schilling: Um, I’m stupid? (laughs) I don’t know. It’s what I love. It’s the reason I got into the industry. I think it’s the genre in the industry that I — air quotes — know best, and it’s probably the sweet spot of the talent we put into the studios. (The developers) have been on every major MMO from Ultima Online. They’ve made mistakes, and they’ve done great things so I think it’s probably our strength.

UGO: And you personally have played every major MMO since Ultima Online?

Schilling: Oh I have, yeah. I go way back. I started on Ultima Online but my first hardcore game passion was EverQuest. I lost many years of my life in Norath. EverQuest and EverQuest II were the kind of games that sold me on what I thought I wanted to do after I was done playing (baseball).

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R.A. Salvatore Gauntlgrym Event

Vanguard — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 04:10:58 +0000

R.A. Salvatore was in Seattle WA on tour promoting his latest book, Gauntlgrym. The hour long presentation was recorded and is really great stuff. He covers his book, what he is working on and talks about his involvement with 38 Studios upcoming MMORPG code name “Copernicus” where he has created the world the game is set in. He discusses the Well of Souls and the impact of what such a device would cause in the world and that is driving a lot of the story in the MMO. Definitely worth checking out!

Suvudu: R.A. Salvatore Gauntlgrym Event from Suvudu on Vimeo.

Ten Ton Hammer – Reckoning Update Q&A with Curt Schilling at NYCC 2010

Vanguard — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:26:50 +0000

The guys over at Ten Ton Hammer got a chance to sit down with Curt Schilling at the NYCC and ask some great questions. Great read!

Ten Ton Hammer: How’s development on Reckoning moving along?

Curt: It’s coming. We’re getting into some big milestones, some big completion dates, and the game – well, I’m obviously biased, but the game is a blast.

Ten Ton Hammer: So you’re playing Reckoning internally?

Curt: Oh yea, I’ve been playing it for about 8 months now. This last twelve months is where you really turn it from an 85 to a 95, and we’re trying to make sure we didn’t drink our own Kool-Aid – start the focus testing, validate our decisions, and make sure what we believe to be true is true.

Ten Ton Hammer: That pegs Reckoning for a holiday 2011 release. Are you comfortable with that date?

Curt: Yea. Recognizing we need to be fluid there – there are a couple of titles that we’re paying attention to, that everyone’s paying attention to, and we’re trying to make sure we have breathing room when we do our thing.

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38 Studios – Gen Con 2010 Video

Vanguard — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:23:57 +0000

Here is the video that was sent out as a thank you for everyone that had already signed up for the news letter. If you have not been following 38 Studios or Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning then this will definitely give you some insight into the company and the people behind it. Enjoy!

R.A. Salvatore’s New Neverwinter novel trilogy

Vanguard — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:38:07 +0000

Looks like R.A. Salvatore is expanding his influence in the gaming word by writing a new Neverwinter trilogy that will be the backdrop of Cryptic’s New Dungeons and Dragons Game, Neverwinter. It’s rather fitting that such a prolific fantasy writer is influencing multiple fantasy RPG video games including 38 Studios own Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and their un-named MMORPG code named “Copernicus.”

Comic Con 2010: Best Selling Writer R.A. Salvatore Talks About Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Game

Vanguard — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:09:47 +0000

Another video interview by Gamer Live TV interviewing R.A. Salvatore that I had not seen before. Definately worth checking out!

Escapist: Melding Story with Mechanics: The Secret of Amalur

Vanguard — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:55:36 +0000

Nice write up from Escapist magazine that gives a good summary of everything. Definately a good read!

The plan is an ambitious one. An all-star baseball player and videogame geek assembles a crack team to create a blockbuster MMOG that plans to rival anything that Blizzard, SOE or Cryptic has to offer. Schilling’s 38 Studios purchased veteran design house, Big Huge Games, to make a single-player RPG as a prelude to the big MMOG project. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is slated for a Fall 2011 release, and EA has signed on to publish it and help with marketing. That machine began down in San Diego Comic Con and continued at Gen Con this past weekend in Indianapolis. Through it all, the one constant has been the desire to create a living, breathing world that aims to have story consequences for one of the most glaringly unrealistic mechanics in most games; the fact that you can die and come back to life is explained in Amalur by something called the “Well of Souls”. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’m not easily star-struck. But when I met with Curt Schilling, R. A. Salvatore and Mark Nelson from Big Huge Games at Comic Con, I realized that this was group of guys that I admire for very different reasons. R. A. Salvatore is arguably the most successful fantasist of our generation, with a slew of New York Times bestsellers starring the iconic Drizzt Do’Urden. Curt Schilling was the hero of my favorite baseball team as they slew the Yankee dragon in 2004, all while being a huge Everquest gamer. And Mark Nelson, even though his name isn’t instantly recognizable, is responsible for one of the greatest CRPGs of this decade, Oblivion. All three of these gentlemen are at the top of their game. How the hell does this collaboration work?

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Reckoning T-Shirts from GenCom

Vanguard — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:46:21 +0000

In case you were wondering about what the t-shirts looked like that Curt Schilling and R.A. Salvatore were signing and giving out at GenCon, I found a photo from Jack of all games. He called them ugly, what do you think?