Project C is a sci-fi MMO from Thief and Half-Life 2 designers
It's a shared world with a simulated ecosystem.
Darewise, the company founded by Thief designer Randy Smith and Half-Life 2 artist Viktor Antonov, announced its first game this week, after switching from publishing to game development. It’s going by Project C at the moment, and it’s a single-shard sci-fi MMO.
“Project C is the first step of this ambitious journey, to become a quality-first independent company, competing in the AAA field with truly innovative experiences,” said Darewise’s CEO Benjamin Charbi. “Our inspiration comes from companies such as Pixar or Bungie, who have been committed to quality and amazing company culture since day one.”
It sounds pretty elaborate, with a simulated ecosystem that contains creatures and resources, the ability for players to permanently change the world and a focus on emergent moments backed up by new chapters in the world’s story. Of course it’s also very vague, and they’re boasts we’ve seen from plenty of MMOs before.
Last month, Darewise teamed up with Improbable, creators of the SpatialOS game platform, presumably for Project C, suggesting that it's still very early days. Here’s a bunch of gibberish about SpatialOS:
“Improbable’s SpatialOS is a distributed, cloud-based platform for game development that integrates with and augments existing workflows, engines and tools. By removing computational barriers to game design, SpatialOS enables developers to create previously impossible games that boast massive, persistent and richly simulated virtual worlds.”
Details are sparse at the moment, but keep an eye on the official site if you’ve got a hunger for a new MMO.
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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.