Crowns of Power
| Crowns of Power | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Rampid Interactive, LLC |
| Publisher(s) | Rampid Interactive, LLC |
| Engine | Torque (TGE) |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date(s) | 11 August 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer Online |
Crowns of Power, also referred to as CoP, was a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was launched live on August 21, 2008. It was developed by Rampid Interactive and its development can be credited to a team of 5 people made up by Peter Simard, Matt Ensign, Matt Tapply, Bogdan Iliesiu and Chris Bechard. The game was distributed off their main site through a free download, as well as other distributors such as Download.com.[1]
The director, Peter Simard, was interviewed by Deborah Marshall of GarageGames in September 2008 for successfully developing an MMORPG with a pitifully small development team.[2]
Crowns of Power was showcased by Rampid Interactive at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles on June 2–4, 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center as an Exhibitor.[3]
Gameplay
Crowns of Power fell under the MMORPG category, drawing inspiration from the text-based MUD genre of old as well as the traditional role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, The Realm Online, Meridian 59 and EverQuest .
In Crowns of Power, players created a character's appearance and chose a color-based spell school[4]
Players used their avatar to adventure through a fantasy world called Arder. Players progressed through the game by slaying mobs and completing quests which yield experience points for levels and loot like armor, weapons, potions, magical spell runes and artifacts.
Crowns of Power allowed players to interact with others through role-play, grouping, raiding and the joining of guilds,. There was also the ability to duel players, converse with others in a World chat, trade and place items for sale in a player driven market.
The game world consisted of 9 environmental zones and 4 dungeons. Multiple instances of this world were available across various servers that could support small numbers of people online at a time.
Mana, like most other games of this genre, was the energy source that allows a player to cast spells. In Crowns of Power, some spells required additional “reagents” to cast, which were items that were consumed upon casting the spell and could be purchased from non-player characters (NPCs)or found off mobs in the world. Mana was expanded by gaining levels, doing quests and discovering “Mana Nodes” throughout the world.
Development
The development of Crowns of Power began in 2007 when Co-Owners Pete Simard and Chris Bechard committed company funds towards a development team to produce Rampid Interactive’s first 3D based graphical game. After acquiring licensing for use of the Torque Engine [5] that has been used to produce many other titles,[6] they hired on a team to implement the design. The team started with Pete Simard as the Programmer/Director and Matt Ensign who was responsible for all content related tasks involved in the project as well as the development of the 3D world. Pete then hired on Bogdan Iliesiu as the sole artist of the team who can be credited for making most of the 3d models, including the main character models and a lot of the texture work seen in Crowns of Power. Matt Tapply was brought on shortly after to help develop the 3D world, create quests, implement itemization, create spell effects, AI and more.
References
- ↑ "Crowns of Power – Free software downloads and reviews". CNET Download.com.
- ↑ "Interview with TGE MMO Developer – Deborah Marshall". GarageGames.
- ↑ "E3 Exhibitor List". Electronic Entertainment Expo.
- ↑ "Crowns of Power – Spells". Rampid Interactive.
- ↑ Brett Seyler. "Torque 3D Development – Chris Robertson and Collada". GarageGames.
- ↑ "TGE Developer List – GarageGames". GarageGames.