2112 Interview at Dark Station

What do you get when you combine RTS with MMO in a science fiction universe? Emobi Games is hoping that you get 2112 a new game that hopes to combine these elements to a free-to-play model later this year. Sounds interesting right? Read on with our interview with Nguyen Tuan Huy, Director of Emobi Games to talk about 2112.

1. For those that don’t know anything about the game 2112 can you tell us a little bit about what the game is all about?

2112 is sci-fi style MMO game that combines real time strategy features with intense base defense games. We are setting out to put a new spin on the MMO genre.  That is one of our goals, to provide people with a different take on the genre.

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2. 2112 is considered a blend between an MMO and RTS. Seems like a great concept. What was the inspiration for blending the two genres?

The RTS game genre is beloved by many gamers, but online game versions seem to struggle and can be difficult to enjoy. We want to make a MMO game that keeps the important core features of RTS titles, but with gameplay that focuses on mid-core trends. A game that is fun, rather than difficult to play. The idea is to give people a fun game whose challenge comes from opponents rather than the game itself.

3. What’s the backstory behind 2112? How much does that impact the players experience?

2112 tells a futurist story of intergalactic war between the human race and two mysterious alien races. It mirrors today’s society where countries war over resources like oil. In 2112, humans battle with two alien races to control the Herani power source. You can play as any of the three races.   The storyline has many missions, quests and campaigns that are being designed to help you and your chosen race fight off advancing armies.

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4. What are some of the major differences between the games three races? Do you have a favorite?

I wish I could be more descriptive at this time, but we will be releasing a new trailer soon that will show off the different races and classes. Obviously, the different races will not only look different, but each race will have strengths and weakness that are inherent to them. Players will need to decide how they want to play the game and then pick the race that best suits their tastes.  Along the way, they will work both their strengths and weakness.

5. Watching the announcement trailer it appears as though there are a lot of different types of units (mechs, planes, tanks, etc). Can you expand on what sort of units are in the game? Any favorites?

All units appear in trailer belong to the human race only. They are battle units.  But this only a few of the units the human race can use. Plus, there are two other races, so we will have a lot of variety when it comes to units.  Oh yeah, players can customize their weapons and units. So is no one badass unit, but you can make units badass for certain battles. In other battles, other units will prove more effective against your opponents.

6. Is the entire experience played online or is there any offline modes? How many players can you expect to be playing with online?

Yes, there are no offline modes in the game. Just because you are online does not mean that you always have to interactive with others. You can work on your strategy before entering into battle.  Right now we are focusing on eight player wars, but that number could go up. You figure eight players playing base defense with RTS and their customized armies, it should make for some explosive wars.

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7. The game is going to be free-to-play, which seems to be pretty popular these days. What made you decide to make the game free-to-play?

We think this model is fair and works best with the MMO genre.  We will have micro-transactions for those who want certain items, but you do not have to purchase in order to succeed.  We are making sure that people can play the game and enjoy it as a free MMO.

8. What sort of things are you thinking of making available for purchase in the game? Can you play the entire experience without paying anything?

Players can play the entire game without buying anything and they can succeed in battles. Remember, part of this game is about strategy. Brains over brawn. But, for those wanting special items can purchase them. We leave it up to the player.

9. The visual style from the announcement trailer looks pretty interesting. What sort of influences have gone into deciding the style of the game?

When we decided the game genre, want were torn between fantasy and sci-fi.  In the end, we went with sci-fi because we just liked the genre and what it allows us to do when developing gameplay and graphics. Both genres are extremely popular, but we felt sci-fi was slightly more so.

10. What are you most excited for in 2112?

Our goal is to create something different that people enjoy playing. I know every developer says their game is unique and we want our game to be unique too. But we know that it is a very difficult task to make a game that is unique and yet is still familiar for people. In addition, we want the game to be fun to play. So we have set huge goals for this game internally and that is what is most exciting for us, trying to reach our goals.

11. What platforms are you planning on releasing 2112 for and when can we expect to get our hands on it?

We will release the PC platform first, and plan to release iOS and consoles versions later on. I probably wasn’t supposed to share that yet, but that’s our release plan for now.