The Secret World

[Morreion]

The Secret World - an in-development MMORPG by Funcom. An original story, it will take place in the modern day as well as ancient mythology and civilizations long gone, blending these elements into what is being called a dark fantasy with supernatural elements.

Dark Days Are Coming- The Secret World official site

The Secret World impressions- first look

The Secret World information page at MMORPG.com

The Secret World info roundup page at Ten Ton Hammer

[Morreion]

All hail the Kingsmouth Horror: The Secret World pays homage to Lovecraft (Massively)

For a while now, the community over at The Secret World has noticed things in the game that are distinctly influenced by the writings of horror master H.P. Lovecraft. From the original poster that revealed a beast that reminded many of Cthulhu to the whole idea of secret societies and monsters that exist beyond time and space. So when The Secret World community members stumbled upon a website for the fictional town of Kingsmouth, many weren't surprised.

Building The Secret World: An interview with Ragnar Tornquist (Massively)

The latest dose of information is an interview with Funcom's Ragnar Tornquist. He spent some time with Gamasutra recently, and their interview tells all about building a cozy little corner of hell in Kingsmouth. The discussion ran the gamut from fantasy genre oversaturation to the creation of a game set in the real world.

The extensive interview is well worth a read for anyone interested not only in The Secret World, but in the thought process behind game design as well. Tournquist explores his history as a gamer and how it helped to shape the way he is creating The Secret World.

A Little Piece Of Hell: Building The Secret World (Gamasutra)

You said this particular neighborhood in London is subject to this other influence, which implies there are other parts of the world in this fiction that are as we know them now, that are not corrupted.

RT: Yeah, absolutely. It's real, man. It's not fiction. This is real stuff. The secret world has been there for a very long time. The people who are part of the secret world, it's not like they're in a parallel universe. They're around the corner. I'm sure Seattle has a tiny little street where those people congregate, and those are the locations we have in the hubs. Well, not in Seattle. New York and London are the main hubs. Not Seattle. We didn't really see Seattle as a hub. [laughs]

But the other locations in the game are actually normal places where darkness is rising. These are places that weren't traditionally occult places, but where stuff is happening now. Things are crawling out of the ground, dark days are coming, and players are sent there in order to save those places.

They also find out that each of these places is linked. There's a reason why they can access them, why this stuff is happening unbeknownst to most people who are there.

The players are really out to really try to contain this rising darkness. They're getting help from governments around the world. They're getting help from agencies from around the world in order to contain it, but it's spreading wider and wider and wider.

That's something we are going to expand upon after launch. The world is going to change.

[Regolyth]

The story seems pretty interesting. I'm not sure how it'll function as a game though.

[Morreion]

Tornquist gives more juicy details on The Secret World (Massively)

To date, the development team of The Secret World has almost been a secret society unto itself. We've heard whispers and tantalizing tidbits that have piqued our curiosity, seen teaser sites, and caught the occasional tweet from the front lines. Now, the floodgates are starting to open, and more details are coming to light for those craving information.

An interview with Ragnar Tornquist has just gone up on IGN and it is chock-full of tasty details about what players can expect from The Secret World. Along with the interview, there's also a pile of eerie concept art illustrating some of the many different monsters we'll see in the game -- from brain-munching zombies to mutated boss monsters.

The Secret World Details (IGN.com)
Loads of info about Funcom's mysterious MMO.

IGN: What kind of MMO is The Secret World? How would you define it?

Ragnar Tornquist: If you've played an MMORPG before, you'll know your way around The Secret World from the get-go. You create a character, join a secret society, and go out into the world to do missions and kick demon ass for experience and loot. We're not out to reinvent the wheel completely. But we're mixing things up quite a bit, both with our role-playing system – which is skill based and level-less – and with our combat, which is very fast-paced and action-packed. And, of course, with the setting and the story. The Secret World takes place in the modern day real world, and players are called upon to fight in the coming war against evil. Dark days are coming and those with the power to stand up and fight must do so – or our world will fall into an eternal night.

ARG! The Secret World community uncovers hidden 'Monster Blog' (Massively)

Let us never say that Funcom doesn't know how to run a good Alternate Reality Game, or ARG. The community surrounding the upcoming modern-day MMO has discovered a personal blog named Monsters of Maine. How, you might be wondering? Through the oft-maligned Twitter, that's how. If you're willing to sift through a 50+ page thread over on The Secret World's official forums, you'll find a transcript of a the Twitter conversations between the fictional people of Kingsmouth. Yep, this community pretty much rocks.

[Morreion]

GDC10: A first glimpse at The Secret World (Massively)

The Secret World is described by Tørnquist as an action-adventure game, focusing on combat and character progression. Gameplay is king here, and despite the fact that this takes place in our world, there is plenty of opportunity to stretch what we know into something mysterious and... well, secret. The familiar setting is there to bring down our defenses a bit -- to help us feel comfortable, just enough to have our minds blown away by what lies beneath the surface.

No classes and no levels

The Secret World is an MMO with no specific classes or levels to worry about. The meat of your character's development centers on powers such as fire magic, healing, assault rifle, etc. There are hundreds of these powers in the game, but you will need to construct builds of 14 powers to take with you into combat. Seven of these are for active powers visible in your UI, and seven are for passive powers not directly visible on the UI. You gain XP and special points to purchase these powers, and according to Funcom, as long as you have these powers on your character, you can switch them around to create various builds before entering combat. This allows more options for those alt-a-holics among us who may want to play a healer one day and a tank the next. While this is a more diverse system (with no class restrictions), I can't help but be reminded of Guild Wars and how much I enjoy their restricted skill-based combat system. Actually, it almost seems to be a mix of Champions Online and Guild Wars.

One important element of combat is the State System. This is based on the ability to put targets into a "state" that can be exploited by another power that you own, or even someone else in your party owns. So let's say one team member causes your target to catch on fire. You can then use a particular power that will cause extra damage (or another result) because of that burning state. It's like skill combos, but anyone in the party can participate.

The Secret World will also feature clothing that is not based on stats at all, allowing you to look however you'd like in a system that's separate from stat-based items. Jewelry, tattoos and even the passive powers are used to buff your character's stats, instead.

Socializing

Guilds in The Secret World are called cabals, which was no secret in itself, but what is news to us is how important these cabals will be in the game. There will be an achievement system in the cabals centered around guild rating which will involve rank in PvE, PvP and even crafting.

There will also be hub cities in the game where players can congregate for social activities and "tiny games" that Ragnar says they have not yet announced.

Endgame

Martin and Ragnar also pointed out that the main storyline will eventually conclude in the version set for launch, but they are working on a 2-year plan ahead of what's scheduled to be released, always staying on top of how that story will evolve and grow. As the game stands right now, we're already over seven years into its creation, so you can bet that we'll get quite a bit to keep us busy.

But when we reach that fabled "endgame", the Funcom guys say there are certain mechanics that will kick start for your character. Of course they aren't allowed to spill the beans just yet, but they spoke of PvP between the three factions based on occupying and holding resources for the magical energy in the game.

This is very exciting news!

[Loendal]

This "Enggame" quote you have (Actually the last three quotes)... They said the same things about Anarchy Online. Anarchy Online continues to have one of the widest ranging "cosmetic only" clothing items that I've ever seen. It's a cash sink, but has always been kinda cool.

Most of the game is done inside of Missions, which are instances, where you never see anyone else. Hinting at this "hub city" concept as if it were something new and unique is certainly not.

And lastly, in two years or something like that from launch, there was supposed to be a massive PvP fight between the Clan and the Corporation which was going to be an in-game apocalypse kind of thing that would reset everything and start fresh.

Here we are, something like 5 to 7 years into the game's existence and this hasn't happened, the plan for it never congealed and you're left with an imbalanced, buggy, complicated game that pioneered in-game real-world advertisements by Pepsi and others to spam your gaming experience to allow you to play for free.

If they follow the same path with Secret World as they did with Anarchy Online or even with Conan, you're going to be sorely disappointed (yet again) by the MMO industry. They have quite a bit to prove to get me excited about this upcoming release. Right now it looks like Anarchy Online all over again, minus the class/skill combo system and plus this new state system (Which sounds vaguely like 'You will NEVER be able to solo or even duo for too long')

[Morreion]

The Secret World Game Director Interview (IncGamers)

How will the game differ for members of the three different factions? Will they get many alternative quests, a unique levelling experience, or mainly different customisation options?

The game will differ in a number of ways. First off, each faction has a unique story and progression arc that takes you through the ranks of that faction - from initiate to master - and as players rise in stature, they are submerged deeper into the secret societies and the hidden truths of each organisation as they begin to unravel the larger conspiracies at the heart of the secret world.

Secondly, players are required to fight for their faction in the battle for world domination, and the factions have different goals that need to be accomplished - based on their basic philosophies.

Thirdly, yes, there's lots of customisation that's unique to each faction, and that also translates into gameplay - without revealing too many details.

The choice of faction is important - and it's for life - so it's something players will need to take seriously and deliberate on. It matters, in a lot of ways, and the future of the world depends on it.

TSW Community Questions! 1 (official site)

Q9: The Secret World exists so far from the mundane world... how elaborate/visual will the magic in game be? How varied? (Azaris)

The Secret World isn’t very far from our everyday world at all; we just tend to look the other way. It's the world down that dark alley, beyond the tall fence, through the door of the rundown house on the edge of town. It's the world that we glimpse when we take a shortcut home one night and see shadows lurking off the beaten path.

It's the world we see in the corner of our eye but are afraid to acknowledge because it would make us question everything we hold to be true. It's the world behind the curtains, where puppet-masters pull strings, making governments, religions and corporations dance to their tunes. It's our world, without the coat of white paint, and it's right here, right now, if you only knew how to look.

There’s going to be tons of variety in terms of what kind of magic players can learn and how they can use it – both in terms of visuals and gameplay – and that also goes for the magic weapons players get to wield. But it's still magic of our world, not a world of elves and dwarves and dragons (well, um, sort of), and it'll feel as such.

There's voodoo, illusionism, demonology - magics that belong in the darkest corners of Earth, not in some high fantasy world.

TSW Community Questions! 2 (official site)

Q6: Is the game still going to focus on a classless skill based system or will it be designed to have players focus on filling different rolls in a group? (Malkov)

Both. Players can create their own hybrids with any combination of powers, but it'll also be important to put together teams that can function as efficiently as possible. To that end, we're building combos that require the use of different powers by the various team members, making the choice of powers - and the composition of the team - into a sort of meta-game. I think players gravitate towards specific roles, regardless, but the beauty of our system is that you don't just have to be a tank; you can also be a damage dealer and a healer. You don't have to get stuck with one job. Of course, our monsters will also challenge players in new ways. If you play TSW like a purely class-based game, you might find yourself at a disadvantage.

TSW Community Questions! 3 (official site)

Q0: How about safe area/cities? Will there be places where players can chill out with other players?

Martin: Yes. The hubs are designed to be an important part of the game, and the outdoor/non-instanced part of the hubs is combat free. Hubs are where you interact with your secret society, purchase rewards, and access areas of game play not available in the playfields. But, this is also where you chill out in social areas, having a drink with your friends and enjoy the social scenery. Yes, there will be social scenery

[Morreion]

Ragnar Tørnquist Answers Ten Ton Hammer Reader Questions for The Secret World (Ten Ton Hammer)

OneEyeRed asks: Could you go over how combat works to some extent for us?

Ragnar: In detail - no. But we've already talked about how players can equip seven active powers and seven passive powers before heading out to do missions and fight monsters, and that choice - from hundreds of available powers - is really the driving force behind the combat. The mix of powers, both actives and passives, and the powers equipped by your team mates, is key, and these powers are designed to work together to create powerful 'combos'. This makes the system really unique and a ton of fun to play. Also, since we don't have classes in The Secret World, you can buy and equip any powers you want, creating a totally unique hybrid character - if that's what you want - or a super focused one if you prefer to play an archetype like healer or tank. For example. It's a very flexible and very deep system that will hopefully keep players engaged for a long, long time.

New Video and Images of the First 30 Minutes in The Secret World (Ten Ton Hammer)

The video is 7:30 long- it gives you a real feel for the game's atmosphere.

Gamescom: Exploring London in The Secret World (IGN)
Home of the Templars.

Not the entirety of London's sprawling cityscape will be traversable by players, of course. In fact, it seems that the playable city will likely be fictional, but will have recognisable aspects. According to Tornquist, "Ealdwic Square may look like a normal London neigbhourhood, with a pub, the fish & chips, a closed-down tube station, tiny, winding streets leading to forgotten streets." In fact, the name Ealdwic Square is almost certainly a reference to Aldwych, a road and area in the real London. In fact, Aldwych was derrived from Ealdwic, which in Old English means "old settlement." Especially explorative players may find this concept reinforced as they traverse The Secret World's London. " The deeper you go," Tornquist explains, "the stranger London becomes, and below the streets of Darkside are the ruins of those who built this city, long, long ago…"

London Calling - An Exclusive Interview for The Secret World (Ten Ton Hammer)

First we were introduced to the social hubs of the game. In particular Funcom highlighted London, which is the main city of the Templar faction. Each faction will have its own variation of social hubs, but none will be as large and as welcoming as London. The city will offer players of all factions a place to meet other players, dance, party, and socialize. It's not all fun and games though, as we were told that London will have its own series of secrets for players to uncover.

There's a 9:06 minute video interview included here.

[Regolyth]

That video of the game didn't look all of that great. I found myself skipping around during it.

[Morreion]

There's a conspiracy afoot: Funcom and EA co-publishing The Secret World (Massively)

It turns out that Funcom's been involved in a conspiracy of sorts: The company has signed a pact with EA Partners to co-publish The Secret World. EA Partners is a division of Electronic Arts that co-publishes third-party games such as Crysis and APB's first incarnation.

The Secret World: Publishing Deal Clarification
It was announced earlier today that Funcom had reached a publishing deal with EA subsidiary EA Partners for The Secret World. MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood reached out to Funcom's Morten Larssen, VP of Sales and Marketing to ask a few clarifying questions. Check it out and then let us know what you think in the comments below.

Massively Exclusive Interview: The Secret World to open the flood gates of info soon

The company's Director of Communications sat down with us to talk about the plans to reveal The Secret World to, well, the world, and if you're even the slightest bit curious about the skill-based MMO headed up by legendary developer Ragnar Tornquist, you'll want to follow along with us after the cut. Ellingsen spills the beans about the title's unique marketing campaign and also hints at the fact that we'll be treated to more traditional (and game-focused) information -- including gameplay footage -- in the coming months.



The Secret World: Getting a Little Less Secret
In more of our first major coverage of Funcom's The Secret World, MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood has a report about what he learned during last week's GDC. He's got information about the four pillars of the game, what he saw during the live demo, PvP, the skill system, events and guilds. It's a terrific read so be sure to check it out. Let us know what you think in the comments.

The first subject that was discussed were the four pillars of The Secret World.

First, you have the modern day setting, which has informed the team’s design choices in everything from the quests that you get to the itemization, the locations that you visit. The developers aim to have built a totally modern MMO, and not a fantasy game with modern wrapping.

Second is character progression. The game defines itself as different by letting players build their own characters from a large skill wheel, allowing players the “freedom to define themselves”.

Third is the conflict. Not only are players in the game world battling against the darkness that rises, but they’re also battling against each other by way of the three factions, or secret societies.

Finally, you have the story, which informs everything. A great world story is unfolding around the characters and the game is designed to enhance that feeling.

GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG (Massively)

Investigation missions are where The Secret World really sets itself apart from the MMO competition in terms of PvE. In a nutshell, Funcom is aiming for an ARG-like experience, making use of external tools like Google and various meta-gaming opportunities as well as in-game mission arcs to create an immersive experience for players who long for something more than the get-there-as-quick-as-you-can level grind that typifies most MMORPGs. Bylos was quick to point out that players who lack the desire to do anything other than theorycraft build mathematics can still do so, but the options will be there for the folks who are looking for a deeper experience that takes full advantage of the game's conspiracy-laced supernatural aesthetic...

The Secret World eschews the standard level- and class-based systems for which MMORPGs are famous. Instead, Funcom is gifting players with 500 unique skills, which Martin Bruusgaard says are truly unique and not three- or four-rank variations on the same skill. The skills are divided into actives and passives, with seven of each being available to players at any given time.

To progress your character, you earn XP, and subsequently skill points, which can then be spent acquiring new skills with which to customize your build for various situations. Characters in The Secret World will be able to spec into any of the traditional roles available in other MMORPGs including tanks, DPS types, healers, and of course, a huge number of customizable hybrids.

Includes a 3:27 video.