Mojang, the company behind the internet sensation that is Minecraft, formed by Notch, brought the goods to PAX Prime 2011 this weekend and as they continue behind-the-scenes on their second video game, we're able to piece a lot more of it together.

This is the same Scrolls that caused lawyers at Bethesda to file a legal claim against Mojang, demanding that they change the name of the game, due to its similarity to The Elder Scrolls franchise. During a Q&A about the title, Mojang co-founder Jakob Porser revealed more detail Scrolls and fielded a funny question about the game's title.

Scrolls was revealed back in March during the Game Developer's Conference and was described as a fantasy-themed, single and multiplayer hybrid of collectible card games, board games, and tactical strategy games.  There's a game in just collecting the scrolls and of course the actual game of using them in battle on the board, with each scroll representing different creatures, spells, structures and weapons and a player controlling each side.

During the Q&A, one fan asked if Mojang had any back-up names in case they lost their Quake 3 game against Bethesda, referring to the challenge Notch posed online in that if they lost the duel, they'd change the name of the game, a challenge Bethesda never commented or responded to. Porser's response: "someone suggested 'rolled up parchments.'"

Porser clarified a few things about the game through fan questions and here's a summary:

  • Will be available on multiple platforms - "accessibility is a key feature"
  • Players can login through anywhere and play through their browsers.
  • All scrolls are available to all players - players can buy with real money, but there are a number of ways to win scrolls, including winning ranked matches.
  • Players can sell scrolls they don't want through the auction house for in-game currency.
  • A lifetime subscription will be available that will add a new set of scrolls to a player's account each month.
  • Mojang does not have any back-up names for Scrolls and will not consider any for now - they firmly believe the legal claim by Bethesda is bogus and will fight in court, as Notch clarified before.
  • Will their be RPG elements within the scrolls? This is something the team is working on and it's an issue of balance where they want to avoid scrolls becoming overpowered.
  • There will be a tournament template, and some tournaments could include restrictions for only certain types of Scrolls.
  • There is only one type of board - from a strategic standpoint - but there will be plenty of different looking backgrounds.
  • Price of game and in-game scrolls has not been decided yet - Porser would love to start the game off free but they're worried about people signing up a ton of free accounts each, so there will be a starting price point but it'll be low.

At the end, Porser also emphasized that Scrolls.com will feature lots of new screenshots in the coming weeks so stay tuned in for more info. If you missed it, here's the Scrolls trailer:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-NM-0P6LFY

Look for a major announcement during MineCon in Las Vegas this November.

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