Next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco continues to pick up steam. Recent weeks have teased the appearance of Medal of Honor: Warfighter as well as a possible project from Lionhead Studios. Now, just before the conference kicks off, the event is adding one more horse to its stable -an addition that standard bearers of House Stark and House Lannister in particular should find quite suitable.
Bigpoint Games, the development force behind Battlestar Galactica Online, has announced in a press release that their Game of Thrones MMO will be shown off in its pre-production stage at GDC.
Two screenshots from the project have also been revealed by Venture Beat - but the developer wouldn't elaborate on any of Game of Thrones' specific features.
That said, we do know that Bigpoint isn't just adapting the game from the print source material and has partnered with HBO for a quasi-tie-in to the multi-award winning Game of Thrones TV series. The German studio aims to create an "extension of the series" targeted at veterans and sell-swords alike:
"We intend to build a game that resonates intimately with its diehard community of followers, while also creating an authentic gaming experience that attracts newcomers to the franchise.
"Bigpoint’s design goal is to capture the show’s compelling drama and action and create a visceral gaming experience via an unprecedented level of visual fidelity. The bloodthirsty struggle for power, corruption, and deception will persist. To ensure survival of their dynasty, players must master combat and politics."
The decision to partner with HBO is especially smart - considering the buzz around the franchise. Game of Thrones began as A Song of Ice and Fire - the aforementioned, and wildly popular, fantasy novels written by George R.R. Martin. However, the success of HBO's television adaption has given it some strong pop culture clout in the recent year. No doubt fans would appreciate seeing the on-set likenesses of characters like Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) or Lord Baelish (Aidan Gillen).
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A release date for the MMO is still up in the air, but we'd be disappointed if it didn't find some way to play off of "winter." When taken in conjunction with Cyanide Studios' Game of Thrones RPG (due out this May) the news means that two Game of Thrones video games will be vying to offer up a worthy interactive experience for the canon (a task that A Game of Thrones: Genesis failed to achieve, according to our review).
Much like The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, Game of Thrones has every chance to succeed in the MMO world with its rich universe and gargantuan backstory. It will be interesting to see how the browser-based utility factors into Bigpoint's design approach - but we're hungry to play as long as the horse hearts are fresh.
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Source: Venture Beat