The Gamers Temple has posted an interview with Scott “Scorch” Brown, project lead for the post-apocalyptic vehicular MMOG Auto Assault. The interview (even if they call it a preview) is rather straight-forward, with relatively simple answers to the questions at hand.<blockquote>GT: What kind of MMOG is Auto Assault? Would you describe it as a driving sim, an action game, an RPG, or as a different type of game entirely?
Scorch: A good description for Auto Assault is an Action RPG. There is not much out there to compare the game to right now. We are working hard to make a game that balances player skill with character advancement.
GT: Are there RPG elements in Auto Assault that are unique to the game?
Scorch: One really unique RPG element to Auto Assault is the split of abilities and equipment. The character has the attributes and skills while your vehicles contain your armor, weapons and other equipment that define your abilities in the world. Players will keep different vehicles with different load-outs depending on how they want to accomplish the current missions.</blockquote>Scott Brown also participated in another interview, this one at GameSpot. This interview is much longer, with in-depth answers about the game; the interview also dwells on the current status of Auto Assault.<blockquote>GS: Tell us a bit about the postapocalyptic world that Auto Assault is set in. How big is it, and how is it divided up (if it is divided at all)? Are there many towns and cities? Where will you go to repair your vehicle or rest up?
SB: The Auto Assault world is broken into regions. Each region consists of a highway map, several instanced highway exit maps, and a few towns. The highways are huge maps, usually more than 30 square miles of territory. This is where you play with lots of other players, completing missions and wreaking havoc on the world. Some mission arcs will include playing a part on an instanced map that you can either play alone or with your current convoy of fellow drivers. These maps are instanced just for your group and they retain the state of what missions you have completed on them. For example, if you destroy an enemy base on an exit map, when you return with a later mission, the base will remain destroyed. Each map has at least one repair station where you are returned when your vehicle is destroyed. The highways also have truck stops, which are large repair stations with stores. Players can travel quickly between truck stops and towns once they have discovered them in the game.</blockquote>Over at FileFront, they have a lengthy profile on Auto Assault's Art Director Peter Grundy. While it has little to do with Auto Assault directly, it still is an interesting read.<blockquote>How Grundy feels about his work is very common amongst many in the video game industry. There is a definitive link between artistic exploration and video games that Grundy and many others would like to see recognized, which is of course for video games to be an art form.
“I’d like to see some games get funding and recognition like movies do,” he said. “Many people assume if you play video games you are “wasting time,” when in all honesty some books and prime time television shows people spend their time on are far more detrimental to one’s mental health than an active complex video game.”</blockquote>Lastly, on GameSpy, Auto Assault ranks in at number 29 on their Most Wanted Games of 2005.<blockquote>While car combat is the heart of the game, though, MMO veterans can rest assured that all the rest of the usual MMO features will be there as well. Players will be able to craft new auto parts, challenge each other to gladiatorial events, races, and demolition derbies for cash and prizes. There will also be an involved pre-fab mission structure that players can take on via a CB-like mission dispenser. Call us "revved up" with excitement, Auto Assault looks like a breath of fresh air in a genre that just doesn't need any more magic swords.</blockquote>Links:
Auto Assault interview at The Gamers Temple
Auto Assault interview at GameSpot
F! True Gamer Story – Peter Grundy at FileFront.
Auto Assault at #29 on GameSpy's Most Wanted list.
Found at Blue's News and the official Auto Assault website.
Scorch: A good description for Auto Assault is an Action RPG. There is not much out there to compare the game to right now. We are working hard to make a game that balances player skill with character advancement.
GT: Are there RPG elements in Auto Assault that are unique to the game?
Scorch: One really unique RPG element to Auto Assault is the split of abilities and equipment. The character has the attributes and skills while your vehicles contain your armor, weapons and other equipment that define your abilities in the world. Players will keep different vehicles with different load-outs depending on how they want to accomplish the current missions.</blockquote>Scott Brown also participated in another interview, this one at GameSpot. This interview is much longer, with in-depth answers about the game; the interview also dwells on the current status of Auto Assault.<blockquote>GS: Tell us a bit about the postapocalyptic world that Auto Assault is set in. How big is it, and how is it divided up (if it is divided at all)? Are there many towns and cities? Where will you go to repair your vehicle or rest up?
SB: The Auto Assault world is broken into regions. Each region consists of a highway map, several instanced highway exit maps, and a few towns. The highways are huge maps, usually more than 30 square miles of territory. This is where you play with lots of other players, completing missions and wreaking havoc on the world. Some mission arcs will include playing a part on an instanced map that you can either play alone or with your current convoy of fellow drivers. These maps are instanced just for your group and they retain the state of what missions you have completed on them. For example, if you destroy an enemy base on an exit map, when you return with a later mission, the base will remain destroyed. Each map has at least one repair station where you are returned when your vehicle is destroyed. The highways also have truck stops, which are large repair stations with stores. Players can travel quickly between truck stops and towns once they have discovered them in the game.</blockquote>Over at FileFront, they have a lengthy profile on Auto Assault's Art Director Peter Grundy. While it has little to do with Auto Assault directly, it still is an interesting read.<blockquote>How Grundy feels about his work is very common amongst many in the video game industry. There is a definitive link between artistic exploration and video games that Grundy and many others would like to see recognized, which is of course for video games to be an art form.
“I’d like to see some games get funding and recognition like movies do,” he said. “Many people assume if you play video games you are “wasting time,” when in all honesty some books and prime time television shows people spend their time on are far more detrimental to one’s mental health than an active complex video game.”</blockquote>Lastly, on GameSpy, Auto Assault ranks in at number 29 on their Most Wanted Games of 2005.<blockquote>While car combat is the heart of the game, though, MMO veterans can rest assured that all the rest of the usual MMO features will be there as well. Players will be able to craft new auto parts, challenge each other to gladiatorial events, races, and demolition derbies for cash and prizes. There will also be an involved pre-fab mission structure that players can take on via a CB-like mission dispenser. Call us "revved up" with excitement, Auto Assault looks like a breath of fresh air in a genre that just doesn't need any more magic swords.</blockquote>Links:
Auto Assault interview at The Gamers Temple
Auto Assault interview at GameSpot
F! True Gamer Story – Peter Grundy at FileFront.
Auto Assault at #29 on GameSpy's Most Wanted list.
Found at Blue's News and the official Auto Assault website.
