When it comes to highly anticipated titles, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is right up there at the top of the list. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the release on May 20, 2008… including me. While at GDC in San Francisco, we were invited to another preview of Age of Conan, where Gaute Godager, Game Director, chatted with us while showing some awesome new footage of in-game combat and giving us some additional information about what is coming. As many know, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has been in development for the last 4 ½ years. It is a fantasy MMO with a mature rating, as it contains graphic violence and mild nudity. This is not a title for the craven, nor the gentle at heart. Rather, one must be strong and determined in mind, body and soul… determined to conquer all that you survey, regardless of the price. We were also treated to the new video trailer. First and foremost, the music is amazing. There are 3 hours of music in Age of Conan, all of which is hand-composed. The melody is haunting, and you are drawn into Hyboria through the story it tells. As I listened to the recording without any video, I could feel the world shape around me, and was driven to follow where the path would lead me.

Age of Conan is using the proprietary Dream World Engine, developed by Funcom, and rebuilt specifically for this title. They are also utilizing the DirectX 10 technology, which allows for a more immersive world by providing sharper details, longer views, and smoother textures within the world.

For those that are not familiar with the history of Age of Conan, it was written by Robert E. Howard in 1932. Conan is a Cimmerian barbarian born in the far north of what is now known as Ukraine. The most widely-known story of this character is the 1982 move Conan the Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Following it was a sequel, Conan the Destroyer, and then in 1992 a series was born on television, which continued the successful story of Conan in a more magical setting. Regardless of which genre you are most familiar with – books, movies, or television – the basics remain the same. Conan is a tireless champion for the world, battling evil and misdeeds wherever he finds them and constantly striving to maintain a balance in his own life.

In this MMO, little has changed. Upon creating a character in Age of Conan, players are provided three race choices: Cimmerian, Stygian, and Aquilonian. From there, you may choose from three archtypes (rogue, priest, soldier), and build into your final profession. Character creation will be extensive, so that you can make your in-world presence as unique as possible, and not find yourself staring back at a twin you never knew existed. Rather, characters should be so singular that you will be able to recognize a player by their face – not just their name. Characters start on an island called Tortage, a pirate haven east of the fabled Atlantis, and west of Hyboria. You are given a brief introduction advising you that your life is already forfeit, as the slave master from your shipwreck is probably already headed to the city to tell the guards that the ship carried human cargo. Slaves are not permitted within the city walls, and therefore you would be left standing without – to fend for yourself in the wild jungle. You must catch the slave master or beat him to the city and locate an individual who can help you. This becomes the start of your beginning quests, and you eventually find the king, Conan. Therefore, you have a purpose, however you are alone. You will eventually be able to play solo or with groups, but to start out – one is alone to learn the lay of the land and discover the path to salvation. It even includes saving the girl. Seriously. What would a Conan story be without that? “Everything is story driven”, according to Gaute, which gives Age of Conan depth and true lore. And you, the player, can drive stories along as well. He did divulge that players will be able to start volcanic eruptions – he didn’t say how, just that it can be done. This provides more immersion into the game – being able to drive the world instead of the world just driving you. Finally, an MMO that gives us the power to truly impact the world rather than the world just impacting us.

Combat is area-driven. As he was showing us, Gaute stated, “The core of our combat system is the direction and exploiting weaknesses… the orientation and instance. Every melee swing in Conan is area damage. The bigger the weapon, the bigger the swing, the more people you hit.” Basically you can hit all mobs with a swing of your big sword, provided they are all within reach. And you don’t need to use an “area of effect” spell or art. It’s just the way it works. Period. This is how it should work, too. If I stand in your living room and swing my sword around, chances are I’m going to hit a helluva lot more than just what I’m currently looking at, right? Right. So from the sounds of it, AoC has a good grasp of how combat should truly be.

There are dungeon crawls, which will be limited to 100 players per version. So once the dungeon reaches that total, a new version will open for additional players. When looking at the dungeon we were shown, an area in Stygia, we were truly in the dungeon. It’s not a zone with long hallways and lots of light with no shadowing or dark corners. It is not big and cavernous. Rather, the dungeon looks and feels like a dungeon. You must crowd together and be cautious of the darkness. I saw cobwebs and flickering lights from the torches on the wall. Truly a dungeon feel… truly an experience. Oh, and before I forget… all classes will have the ability to sneak. Rogues of course will be faster (and are already, as we were shown), but the fact that each player will be able to move silently through the world is a true testament to how innovative Age of Conan is. Why should only a certain class have this innate ability? Aren’t there far more individuals out there who can learn and hone this ability without having to take on a specific profession? I’ve always believed that a fighter can be quiet and stealthy when the situation demands it… such as when noise would equal death while passing through savage lands. Within the world, you will find similar immersion. This is not a 2-dimensional world where you have buildings on land with little or nothing inside. Instead, what you find is true culture, depth, and life within each area of the game. Upon looking at a city or the holdfast of a civilization you will know that there is more to it than meets the eye. Funcom is staying as much with the lore behind the story as they can, and it shows within the cracks and crevices around you. The history is also preserved within the world. Therefore, one can truly appreciate the world they have built in a whole new perspective than ever before.

Keeping all of this in mind, it is not difficult to see why Age of Conan is so anticipated. From the graphics to the game play we are expecting something that is so amazingly innovative that it will create a whole new level for MMOs to strive for from this point forward. In other words, AoC may just be the title to finally topple the monster that is World of Warcraft. While this may not be Funcom’s goal (or rather, it’s not a goal they’re publicly stating), they may achieve it anyway. If they can provide everything we’ve seen in the fashion they are promising, I believe it is not only possible… but rather probable. The development team is experienced, dedicated, and driven to provide us with the single most immersive world created to date. This is told not by just my knowledge or opinion, but more by the fact that after 4 ½ years of development they still chose to push back the release date in order to ensure quality in some areas they felt were lacking. Vanguard failed to do that, and look where it is today. Age of Conan is, from all perspectives, doing things right and I hope to see you all there. From level 1 to level 80, this is one title that has me the most excited since EverQuest II.

*Note: All images captured with a digital camera during a video presentation. Quality not necessarily indicative of the title.

Ryan "Draknorr" Bohmann
Director of Content