14 DAY TRIAL // Mark Jacobs, the leading developer working on Camelot Unchained, says that he wants an MMO experience where players will be able to predict the outcome of a battle before they engage but still be surprised by events on the battlefield.
Most of the actions that a player executes will have clearly designed outcomes but once in a while, a critical hit or miss will take place that has the potential to change the course of an entire engagement.
Mark Jacobs states in an official Camelot Unchained blog post that, “it will not be fun to be on the receiving end of course but on the other hand, if you are on the other side or simply enjoy a good chuckle, your seeing that powerful Tuatha De Dannan mage cast a mighty spell and being turned into a horned rabbit might make your day.”
The idea is to have a controlled MMO experience that sometimes surprises players with its extreme effects and makes them approach all encounters with caution.
The unpredictable element will also pop up in other areas of Camelot Unchained, with mages able to create dead zones by using the magical equivalent of tactical nukes.
Jacobs adds, “It could also mean that the geography of an area could suddenly change or even that certain beings might manifest themselves within the world quite unexpectedly and with rather interesting results. These are just a quick sampling of the many game devices that we can use.”
The developer has previously worked at Mythic Entertainment on Warhammer Online and understands that surprise is essential to any good MMO experience.
He also believes that modern games in the genre are too predictable and rarely force players to face strong emotions.
Camelot Unchained will be fully revealed during March when Jacobs and his team plan to launch a full-fledged crowd-funding effort for the MMO.