With this DotA-inspired craze that's been sweeping the industry, Hi-Rez Studios has also tossed their cap into the ring. Find out more about SMITE in our exclusive interview!

It seems like around every corner there's a DotA-inspired game just waiting to happen, but the latest DotA-related announcement may have come as a surprise to some people. Hi-Rez Studios, the creators of the third-person shooter Global Agenda and developers of the next Tribes game, have thrown their hat into the DotA ring with the announcement of SMITE.

Of course, It simply wouldn't be Hi-Rez if they didn't bring something new to the table, and so they've promised a new take on the DotA concept, most notably being the addition of third-person action with a mythical gods motif. Of course, with such an announcement coming out of nowhere, we decided to catch up with Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris to find out more about SMITE and what it means for the rest of the Hi-Rez family.

ZAM: It's been a little more than a week since you announced that you were developing SMITE, and it seems all we really know about this new game is that SMITE will be a DotA-inspired third person action experience involving mythical Gods from the past. First of all, what led you to develop SMITE?

Todd Harris:  The vision for SMITE started with the DotA style games that are so popularly played within our studio. But we add a significant twist by using a third-person camera and making the combat feel more like an action game than a traditional real time strategy game. Finally the theme of mythical gods really excited our character design team. The characters they are producing using Unreal 3 look incredible and are already a lot of fun to play.

ZAM: You've noted that SMITE is already circulating internally, with a playable mode, so it seems you've been developing this game for some time. How much time prior to this announcement were you working on SMITE? Was it always the plan to develop SMITE alongside both Tribes: Ascend and Tribes Universe?

Todd:  Yes. In late December of 2010 we moved our studio into a larger space. Our plan was to develop a new game and franchise in parallel with Global Agenda and the Tribes franchise.  By January we finalized the concept of mythical gods and so for months now we've been internally play testing SMITE.

ZAM: When I first heard about this announcement, I'll admit that I was a bit worried about how this would affect the fate of Global Agenda, Tribes: Ascend and Tribes Universe. Is SMITE being developed by a completely separate team in Hi-Rez, and if it's not, will this new development have any effect the development cycle of Tribes or Global Agenda?

Todd:  At Hi-Rez we now have three separate project teams - one team working on continued updates to Global Agenda, one team working on the Tribes franchise with a current focus on Tribes: Ascend, and, since January, a third dedicated development team on SMITE.  

Regarding the development of Global Agenda, as long as we see a healthy community that game will continue to see frequent updates. And since making Global Agenda free-to-play, that community is not only healthy but growing dramatically.

ZAM: Just looking around in the industry, it's obvious that the DotA gameplay mechanic has caught the attention of many developers. What level of influence did DotA have on the creation of SMITE? Will players be treated to the classic tri-lane map setup with towers, creeps, levels and gear, or will there be some persistent elements to the game, similar to Global Agenda?

Todd:  SMITE was definitely influenced by DotA-style games. And many elements, like creeps, are present in SMITE in a way that will be familiar to DotA players. That said, the actual combat within SMITE feels very different from DotA.

Here's an analogy: World of Warcraft has character levels, gear, loot, crafting, vendors, and an auction house. And Global Agenda has all those same MMO systems. Yet GA feels nothing like WoW because of choices we made around the combat itself. And of course combat is where you spend the majority of your time.

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