{"id":4104,"date":"2010-07-20T10:06:20","date_gmt":"2010-07-20T18:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/?p=4104"},"modified":"2010-07-20T10:06:20","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T18:06:20","slug":"an-aside-kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-from-r-a-salvatore-and-38-studios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/videogames\/an-aside-kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-from-r-a-salvatore-and-38-studios\/","title":{"rendered":"An Aside | ‘Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’ from R.A. Salvatore and 38 Studios"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>From USA Today<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

A six-time All-Star pitcher, Schilling four years ago started 38 Studios (named after the uniform number), which is unveiling its first release, the role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, this week at Comic-Con in San Diego.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

To create the game, which is due in fall 2011, Schilling has drafted an all-star team that includes artist and toy creator Todd McFarlane (Spawn), best-selling author R.A. Salvatore (The Ghost King) and game studio Big Huge Games (Rise of Nations), acquired by 38 Studios last year. “I wanted to put together a team like the 1927 Yankees (which included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig), arguably the greatest team that was ever assembled,” Schilling says, “and to do that, in my mind, I had to start with some visionairies.”<\/p>\n

The first peek into their collective vision is a special poster and one-minute cinematic that McFarlane created for Comic-Con. “We are going to set the mood,” says McFarlane, who along with the other principals will make a presentation Thursday. “We will show a little bit of a hint of magic in it, a hint of the scale of the bad guys (and) the intensity of some of the action.”<\/p>\n

Salvatore, who has written numerous books based in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, is tight-lipped about Amalur, but says that he has created a Tolkienesque 10,000-year-long back story: “I think we can say that we are talking about a high fantasy world with multiple races.”<\/p>\n

The goal is a game that combines role-playing complexity with action-game intensity. “I hope it will be a breath of fresh air,” game designer Ken Rolston says.<\/p>\n

38 Studios hopes to create a franchise for multiple games, books and other products; planning is already underway for a massively multiplayer online game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I’m still unsure about this odd mix of ‘celebrities’ hooking up to create an ambitious MMORPG. Schilling’s a big videogame fan… but he made his living by being a baseball player. Has McFarlane’s design and art grown up since the 90’s? Salvatore’s well respected (and I’m a huge<\/em> fan of his Demon Wars<\/em> series), but a “Tolkienesque 10,000-year-long back story”<\/em> isn’t exactly in his wheelhouse. Still, I suppose we could\/should wait for the official announcement (along with video, screenshots and gameplay details?) at Comic Con 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From USA Today: A six-time All-Star pitcher, Schilling four years ago started 38 Studios (named after the uniform number), which is unveiling its first release, the role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, this week at Comic-Con in San Diego. […] To create the game, which is due in fall 2011, Schilling has drafted an all-star… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-videogames"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n