Hi-Rez Studios just wrapped up its first closed beta test for Global Agenda, and we got the chance to sit down with Executive Producer Todd Harris to discuss the futuristic action game.

ZAM: We’d like to start things off by talking about the dynamic, player-driven world that’s advertised to exist in Global Agenda. Can you tell us more about what makes this possible? 

Todd: Well, one of our early design goals was to have elder-game drama emerge from the choices and actions of players and player groups.  That way the game would remain interesting even for max-level players. So, we designed with that goal always in mind and implemented features that supported that goal.   

For example, within Global Agenda there is no concept of developer-created factions, like Horde vs. Alliance that players must select between. Instead, players create and name their agency groups and they choose which other agencies they will ally with and which agencies they will oppose.   

Also, in what we call the Campaign, these player groups compete with one another for limited territory and resources within the world. So, this global conflict over territory, technology, and influence makes for a very dynamic world with politics, intrigue and, at times, all out war. There is a world map that displays the persistent territory areas and who is in control of each area so that aspect is certainly very dynamic. 

ZAM: Let’s talk more about agencies. How will they differentiate from the traditional guild in other MMOs? 

Todd: In many respects our agencies are similar to guilds in other MMOs.  But we’ve included a lot of agency management functionality in game to support agency leaders coordinating their members because that can always be a challenge.  

One key difference is that we have this grouping of multiple agencies called an alliance. And these alliances are the entities competing against one another to dominate a region within the Campaign.   

ZAM: In the same vein, can you tell us about some of the other persistent elements that make Global Agenda an MMO. What kind of gameplay will exist to keep players engaged and continually working to develop their characters? 

Todd: Great question. Because we have fast and fluid combat, and fairly detailed graphics, there are definitely folks that see the game and assume it isn’t an MMO.  When we showed Global Agenda at E3 we heard a lot of comments like “but it isn’t blocky-looking and chunky feeling, how can it be an MMO?”  So, I always appreciate the opportunity to talk about the more MMO-ish parts of the game and there are many.   

Just to rattle off some of the features that would be most familiar to MMO players, Global Agenda has:  multiple classes and subclasses, character progression to level 50, skill-trees, player vs. environment missions with boss fights, player vs. player missions with different objective types, social hubs, loot of various types and qualities, blueprints and crafting, a player economy and auction house, gear upgrades, achievements, character visual customization and dyes, flair and seasonal items, text chat with multiple channels, integrated voice chat and of course our large-scale, persistent territory control meta-game called the Campaign.   

Whew, that was a mouthful.   

ZAM: During a recent interview you stated that Global Agenda servers will be designed “to support tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of players interacting within the same game universe via systems like chat, teaming/looking-for group, matchmaking, economy/auction house, and agency management.” How is the development team making this possible and what are the limitations to this technology? 

Todd: Well, the short answer is that our Campaign can be truly massive in part because each battle is a balanced instance.   

Most MMO players are familiar with a model where they choose a named server at character creation, and that server has a maximum population of 10,000 to 20,000 people and you interact only with people on that server.  And of course there are other parallel servers/universes where another set of 10-20K people are playing the same game but these server populations never meet nor interact with one another.   

And that works fine for many games.  However, for Global Agenda we did not want server-choice to get in the way of player-driven politics and strategy on a more massive scale.  We wanted a single world where players could interact with anyone and affect the state of that world.   

So, we designed around a single-shard cluster with essentially no upper limit on the number of players who could find another within the game universe.  But also with the intent to only use instanced world spaces and base combat around strike-team battles with a maximum of 8 to 12 agents per side.  All our players are within the same world but, by design, you will see fewer of them at any one time.  This is deliberate because it fits our theme of special agents in a less populated future but most importantly because we wanted our battles to depend upon team tactics and cooperation and balanced numbers per side rather than zerg-strategies; (i.e. you don’t win simply by bringing more people to the battle).  And the results of each battle can affect the entire, single shard universe of players, not just players on a particular server.    

ZAM: PvPE is one of the features that sets Global Agenda apart from other MMOs on the market. Can you explain what PvPE is and how players will be able to modify instances to create a unique PvP experience? 

Todd: PvPE is the ability for players to actually modify certain playable areas.  There are a number of different ways we might use this concept in the future but for now the focus is around agency secured territories.  So, within an alliance vs. alliance Campaign, my group can secure a territory by installing defensive elements such as turrets that will persist in that territory over multiple battles; until destroyed by the enemy.   

It is features like this that make our Campaign much more than just a tournament or ladder system.  The Campaign is a strategy game of resource and territory control that is persistent and massive – involving hundreds of territory locations and tens of thousands of player agents. 

ZAM: Can you give us a walkthrough of a PvE scenario that players might face in Global Agenda? Paint a picture for players that don’t want to be confined to PvP. 

Todd: I’ll share an example from our most recent Closed Beta Test. Players assemble a balanced team consisting of an Assault, a Medic, a Robotics, and a Recon.  The 4-man group decides to raid a Research Lab owned by the Commonwealth – an oppressive NPC faction within Global Agenda.  The players must now work together, with very complementary devices and skills, to complete this PvE mission.  They mow thru android Commonwealth guards, they encounter specialists such as the Scanner Bot whose sweeping detection beam must be avoided or additional responders will be alerted.  The team proceeds thru various mini-bosses and finally concludes with an epic Boss battle.  They are managing aggro and working as a team but also jetpacking to gain the advantageous high ground and using cover to avoid enemy projectiles.  Along the way they are getting loot drops and salvaging key components that can later be crafted to create custom character Implants or put on the auction house for credit.  Based on successful mission completion the Assault character earned an achievement that allows him to purchase a more bad-ass looking suit or learn a new taunt emote, or perhaps acquire the gold metallic dye that can be applied to his helmet as a visible boast to others. 

ZAM: Was it difficult to develop a game with RPG elements and FPS gameplay while making sure the game is enjoyable for fans of both styles of play?  

Todd: Actually yes. It was a very challenging and iterative process because both fan groups have different expectations. But we really wanted to introduce hybrid gameplay that combines shooter mechanics and melee and jetpacking and class-specific specialty devices and character stats/progression, and we are extremely pleased with the results.   

The most consistent feedback we get is that our combat feels really good and is extremely fun even independent of the mission rewards.  So, players enjoy the combat enough that leveling does not feel like a grind.   

After this past weekend of testing I read feedback from shooter fans saying that other shooters now feel static in comparison to GA because they want to be able to tweak their character build and talents like an RPG.  Likewise many MMO fans said they would be craving the fluid gameplay and intense action combat until we turned the servers back on.  So, fans have been very complementary about how Global Agenda combines both RPG and FPS elements.

ZAM: How will the story-based elements of the game effect gameplay over time? 

Todd: We take the opposite approach.  Rather than having story-based elements affecting gameplay, we want gameplay actions to affect the story.   

We’ve developed a rich canon of fiction toward an interesting world for players to enter.  We have posted some of the story elements on our website but it is only a small fraction of what has been developed.  It provides an engaging back-story but beyond that we believe the most interesting narrative comes from the actions of players and player groups as they cooperate and compete.  The most successful player agents and agencies within Global Agenda will make a name for themselves and literally make history as their actions and accomplishments are written into our lore.   

ZAM: Can you tell us about player-controlled vehicles and how they will compare to vehicles in FPS MMOs like Planetside? 

Todd: One big difference between GA and Planetside is that we want to keep our players very close to the action rather than having larger zones that utilize player-controlled vehicles for transport logistics and/or combat.  Our combat mechanics, including considerations like weapon distances, have been designed around intimate and intense battles within medium-sized conflict areas.  You’ll see your character going to battle via a sub-orbital drop ship but, once in battle, vehicles are not really needed or fitting given the environment area sizes and themes.   

Agents do have instant access to fast transit over short distances via the jetpack on their back, and it is hard to beat that form of transportation once you’ve tried it!  Also, from time to time you may see or use a player-controlled Mech and these are tremendous fun.   

ZAM: What kind of long term plans do you have for the game after launch? Are there systems or features that won’t make it for launch that will be a priority for implementation within the first year after the game goes live? 

Todd: We are working to make sure all the core features will be in place and well tested by launch.  Beyond that, we plan to keep a sizable team on the project to continually update the world with new content including new player devices, new conflict zones, new PvE areas and enemies and more.   

In terms of specific new features after launch, we have a long list of nice to haves and will incorporate community feedback when prioritizing those.   

ZAM: The first beta phase began on July 24. When do you expect to roll out future beta phases? Additionally, do you anticipate an open beta stage? 

Todd: Our next beta weekend, CBT1-B, is currently planned to begin on August 21. We are planning to have an open beta stage, but before that we are planning at least one additional Closed Beta Test (CBT2) with a focus on the Alliance vs. Alliance Campaign feature set.    

ZAM: We definitely appreciate the time you spent with us today and we’ll be looking forward to getting our hands on the beta later this fall. 

Todd: Thanks so much to ZAM for your interest in Global Agenda and your great questions!  Interested readers can apply toward future beta activity at www.globalagendagame.com and in the meantime your readers might enjoy our trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NPZkgK-TkY < No Elves video>.