Thepro318
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The Agency Information i can find
Published by: Sony Online Entertainment
Developed by: SOE Seattle
Genre: Persistent Online Action/MMO
Number of players: Unlimited
Release Date: TBA 2008
Platforms: Playstation 3, PC
July 24, Cross Platform Still Up in the Air for The Agency.om PS3Fanboy.com
While it hasn't been completely ruled out at this point, SOE hasn't made a decision on whether to make The Agency cross-platform compatible between the PS3 and it's distant cousin, the PC. Lead designer Hal Milton said, "we're evaluating cross-platform support" and then completely closed the topic with the declarative "we're not prepared to make a statement at this time."
Questions and Facts
Will The Agency be Pay to Play?
- This question currently does not have a definite answer but new information suggests it will be free:
"Hang on. This sounds an awful lot like Battlefield 2 with a surcharge. Smedley quickly defuses concern: "We're not saying that there's even going to be a monthly fee. This is all going to require some experimentation before launch, but we don't want players feeling screwed." Smedley's gut instinct points to a virtual metropolis littered with in-game billboards or a velvet rope service that'll have pay-for premiums (like clan hosting and Teamspeak severs)."
What is the major theme in the Agency?
What side can the player choose?
- There will be two major sides: Unite and Paragon. Unite is more of a traditional stealthy spy while Paragon is a more brunt force type.
Missions in an MMO?
- The Agency will consist of instanced space missions (missions that are specific to the player rather than the community as a whole). Once you complete these missions, your gole will be to create your own organization to go up against other spy organizations online. When you beat a mission you will be given points toward a higher rank as well as the ability to aquire better weapons.
Rewards?
- At the end of a successful mission, players will earn money rewards, items, and eventually NPC operatives who function as the game's crafting system. These NPCs can be given schematics obtained from beating missions and commissioned to make new items for you like modded guns, vehicles equipped with special gadgets and weaponry, etc.
What is the goal?
- Eventually the goal is to become powerful or experienced enough to create your own spy organization with other players, something SOE Seattle is calling "World Domination mode."
Meeting Places?
- There will be public meeting places between missions where players can meet together, chat, party up, and play mini-games around towns such as Prague, Czech Republic.
Class System?
- The game has a dynamic class system, where your role is determined by your uniform, of which there are three types. The Combat outfit type is geared more toward offensive maneuvers, Support outfits give you options for healing and hacking, and Stealth offers a more specialized skill set.
What about a storyline for the game?
- There will be a main storlyine or plot for The Agency that you move through along the main quests or missions.
What about cross platform interconnectivity?
- Matt Wilson, the studio manager for SOE Seattle, said they were considering it but nothing is in motion.
Gamasutra Question and Answer with Matt Wilson - June 11
As announced elsewhere, Sony Online Entertainment has revealed that it's developing the first massively multiplayer online game for the Playstation 3 as well as PC, and it has nothing to do with swords or sorcery. Known as The Agency, the game is set in the world of espionage, inspired by James Bond and aimed at a more mainstream audience.
Sony Online Entertainment Seattle has a few tricks up their sleeve to keep players always attached their virtual world, such as using SMS messaging to notify players about in game events. Gamasutra spoke to Matt Wilson, Studio Manager, to explain their upcoming project.
Where did you guys come with the idea to make an espionage title?
Matt Wilson: I think our big inspiration to develop this game actually came from watching movies. If you pay attention to all of the summer blockbusters there are lot of movies that come out around the spy/espionage genre. Whether it’s James Bond, or the Bourne series all the way from Mission Impossible or even TV shows like 24 or Alias, it is a really big genre of information that is out there.
When we were watching the gameplay demo we saw there was a little FPS shooting. Is it an FPS?
It’s both first and third person shooting, but the main component there is shooting. One of the things we wanted to do is combine the best of the mainstream action genre. So if think of mainstream shooting games, you know you see a lot of them on the console and on the PC, we really want to take advantage of that and bring a new audience to what typically is a fantasy online world.
After that, we want to take the two [genres], the best of the MMO and the best of the shooter, and combine those to develop something that is new that is pushing the online space forward.
How do characters team up? Do they meet before hand in a lobby or is there a virtual space everyone is hanging out at?
We’re going for the world approach. When you log on into The Agency you’re logging into our world. In fact our world is the world! We will have public spaces that you can join up with your friends in, do some amount of combat and mini-games.
Once you’ve joined up with your friends you will be able to go out and do more experiences, more like what you would see typically in cooperative shooters in these instant spaces.
Are you guys going for a subscription fee or is The Agency free to play online?
We have not determined what our subscription model is yet. One of the things we are doing is a wait and see to see how Free Realms works out as far as their subscription model. We have designed the game to support multiple subscription models from free to monthly subscription.
Have you considered a cash-op or ad based service?
Most of the revenue systems we have been looking at include a lot of different aspects. Obviously you’ve seen Kung Fu Hustle and Free Realms. Those have taken completely different approaches to the model and we have been given the freedom to think of a lot of different models. I don’t know exactly if game players are ready for that kind of model yet, but it is something we are definitely looking at.
Are you going to be able to use your character on the PC and the PS3 or is your character fixated on one platform?
As of right now we separated the two platforms. From a technical aspect it is achievable. We are not sure yet if we want to do it from a gameplay aspect. It is definitely something we are looking, but nothing that we have committed to.
Gamespot Q&A
GameSpot UK: What can you tell us about the player-vs.-player action in the game? Will this include world PVP, or is it limited to certain arenas?
Hal Milton: The Agency is an action shooter; therefore PVP is a very important feature. There will be a mix of PVP arenas that support casual and official game modes that feature common and unique multiplayer game types. There will also be some optional crossover PVE missions that may find UNITE and ParaGON agents coming into conflict over shared or competitive objectives within a given area.
However, we need to make certain a player's first experience is not being repeatedly shot in the brain every time they set foot in the world. Therefore, player-versus-player content is always consensual and never a surprise.
GS UK: Other than chasing down bad guys and defusing bombs, what sorts of missions will players face?
HM: Players will have a wide variety of combat and noncombat missions and activities to pursue. We have missions that involve tailing suspects, dead drops, assassinations, stealth, alias gameplay, and more. We have activities like photography, gambling, in-world minigames, and arcade games. The missions themselves will see players move from standard encounters to elaborate lairs replete with traps, security, and deadly bosses.
GS UK: How many different roles will each character be able to switch between, and will it be possible to create hybrids by mixing gear types from different roles?
HM: Players will have six specialisations related to combat, stealth, and support roles. We intentionally avoided the concept of hybrids, as balance between these roles is key to PVE and PVP gameplay. We liked the concept of players being able to max out all their roles, essentially have six characters for the price of one, and explicitly designed it to avoid the "tank mage" syndrome. That being said, there is some overlap between the roles, but highly controlled overlap and not freely interchangeable abilities that would break our role counters and balance.
GS UK: How easy is it to switch between roles?
HM: Switching roles is as easy as changing your outfit. In The Agency you are what you wear. So, head to a facility, access your storage, change into a different outfit, and you are a different role.
GS UK: Other than standard firearms, what kinds of weapons can players expect to get their hands on?
HM: I would love to spill the details on some of the other nontraditional weapon types, but I have a feeling I would be taken out by the team using the closest real-world equivalent they could find...which might involve my head and a microwave.
GS UK: Will the PS3 version have mouse-and-keyboard support?
HM: We are investigating that now. Technically there isn't any reason why we couldn't; however, this has an impact on aim assist mechanisms and other elements that might feel unusual for the player. At the very least, keyboard-bearing PS3 players will have more fluid text-chat capability. At the very most, we will continue tracking how mixing things up feels as we constantly test the gameplay.
In the meantime, we are developing the keyboard-mouse control scheme for the PC while constantly refining the PS3 controller abilities to feel as natural as they can.
GS UK: What plans are there to integrate content from The Agency into Home?
HM: Unspoken plans mentioned in whispers behind locked doors thick with ritual and danger.
Home is a really exciting initiative, and we are tracking its development very closely. We are reluctant to talk about any Home support until we have proven out the concepts we are currently developing.
GS UK: Are you planning a subscription-based model, or will you be relying on other revenue streams such as in-game advertising?
HM: We are definitely exploring nontraditional business models. Our primary goal is to reduce the barriers to entry for the console crowd. However, we are still on the hook for running the server clusters and support infrastructure that makes our service fun and easy to live in.
When the exec-u-sphere has signed off on a solution that's right for The Agency, we'll let everybody know.
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