The last time we talked with Fallen Earth developer Wes Platt, it was just before launch. Since Fallen Earth has been out for a few months, I wanted to catch up and see what they were up to. Wes was kind enough to answer some more questions. Thanks Wes!
Werit: Fallen Earth launched a couple of months ago. It seems to have gone pretty well from a players standpoint. How was it from your perspective?
Wes Platt: It was the first major MMORPG launch I've ever been involved with. From my point of view, it was a great experience. Turning the game loose on the world, letting people play what I had a hand in creating, that's really exhilarating. We've received a lot of positive feedback on our missions – especially the character dialogue – so that has meant a lot to the writers who put so much time and energy into crafting the stories that we set out to tell in Fallen Earth.
Werit: I have seen a lot of praise for the quests in Fallen Earth. The humor in them is especially nice. Do you have any favorites?
Wes Platt: I'm particularly fond of missions where the person offering the mission is mistranslating old history in the course of sending the player off on the next big adventure. In Trailer Park, for example, there's a lunatic of the tinfoil-hat variety who talks about the late President Jimmy Hoffa's treasure. In Depot 66, we've got an actor in a play who thinks a duck is a type of Internet – a joke that gets a reprise, for those who pay attention, in the town of Watchtower.
I don't just like laughing at my own jokes, though. We've got quite a few funny people writing missions for Fallen Earth. Few missions are as memorable as the one that starts with a severed ear on the ground in Boneclaw or the “meat pants” mission for the CHOTA in a later sector.
Werit: You guys recently had the Days of the Dead event for Halloween which seemed to be a hit among the players. Can we expect a Christmas Event? If so, will it involve a mutated Santa Claus?
Wes Platt: Yes, we'll have a winter holiday event. You might even get to kill some elves.
Werit: There has been a lot of talk about how to get Fast Travel into the game. Some of the ideas revolve around the remains of the monorail system in the game and perhaps a server wide effort to rebuild it. Is a server wide goal something you guys are open to?
Wes Platt: It's something we're thinking about on a regular basis, sure. The monorail idea is interesting, maybe we could ask Leonard Nimoy to attend the dedication, but it presents numerous artistic and technological issues that would be difficult to overcome anytime soon.
Werit: In the future, as new sectors are added, will we be leaving the Grand Canyon? If so, any hints on what locales we may see?
Wes Platt: We're liable to explore what's left of the world beyond the Grand Canyon at some point, but no guarantees when that will be. We've been thinking about taking the game to some denser, more urban environments as we get beyond the Grand Canyon.
Werit: Camps have been mentioned as something you guys are working on adding to the game. What will they be for and are they different than player housing?
Wes Platt: Permanent player housing is still on the horizon. I like the feel that camps will bring to the game, though – the idea that you can set up your shanty out in the middle of nowhere, make it your own patch of land in the post-apocalyptic world, but it's never quite permanent. Keep an eye out. In the coming weeks, we'll have dev journals on some gaming sites about new features coming in our next big patch.
Werit: As far as content goes, what is your team up to now?
Wes Platt: Lately, we've been working on a lot of bug fixes, as well as holiday planning and development of new content for Sector 3 and beyond.
Werit: There have been free trials on some of the major game sites already. Are there any plans for a broader system so that subscribers can give out keys?
Wes Platt: We're always conjuring up more ideas for promotions and it makes sense to think about ways to involve communities—friends of friends and that type of thing—since MMOs are built around that structure. We will also continue to promote trials via some of our partner media sites and our site, so players can always direct their friends to existing promotions.
Werit: You've got an app coming out for the iPhone soon. Might we see the same for other devices, like Android enabled phones?
Wes Platt: The iPhone application is our first foray into mobile applications for the game. We are working on development for other devices. It’s an exciting step for the game because it furthers the interaction that players have with the game while they’re away from their PC, like getting to their crafting queue, mail and chat.
Werit: Anything else you would like to tell the readers?
Wes Platt: If you're playing Fallen Earth, thanks for your support! If you're not playing Fallen Earth, give it a shot! Visit http://www.fallenearth.com to learn more about the game. Follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FallenEarth
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