14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher SEGA of America and developer Three Rings have announced that they are working together to develop and release a new free-to-play MMO called Spiral Knights, which is aimed at a younger audiences and aims to offer players a chance to experience old school adventure game content.
The new game will use a setting called Clockworlds and will see up to four players teaming up in order to develop characters, create a party, find treasure, fight monsters and solve puzzles.
The developers are saying that Spiral Knights will support a guild structure and that players will also be able to craft a wide array of weapons and armor and create unique characters.
The game will be free to play, but a virtual currency system, called Crystal Energy, will be used to get access to more equipment.
Spiral Knights seems to have been in development since at least late 2009.
Daniel James, who is the chief executive officer of Three Rings, has stated when the announcement was made that, “Based on our experience with titles like Puzzle Pirates, as well as fond memories of dreaming up new games when we were kids, we have built an instantly accessible, action-packed world that appeals to gamers of every type.”
He added, “Spiral Knights skips the stereotypical level grind for a co-op adventure that is focused on fun gameplay above all else.”
Three Rings has quite a bit of experience in the free-to-play field, having launched Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates way back in 2003.
The company also recently entered into a deal with the BBC to create another MMO, also free to play, which will be inspired by the television series Doctor Who.
The free-to-play space is becoming more and more important for developer and publishers, with the aim being to create a game which can attract a wide audience and then persuading a segment of that to pay for more content.