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| London before |
| Funcom |
If you go to Funcom’s main page on their website, you’ll see that their newest project isn’t even in the “Funcom Links” panel. It doesn’t have a graphic representation there yet. In fact, the only mention of it on the front page is a link in their news panel.
Click on the words “Funcom reveals The Secret World,” and you will be taken to a company written article about the announcement of their latest MMO being revealed earlier this month.
According to the article the game will be a “different kind of online world, something scary and contemporary, something deeper and closer to our reality.” The game promises to offer fresh material, something different from the standard sci-fi/fantasy MMO faire.
Although no release date has been cited yet, Funcom began to announce the game with an email to EuroGamer and has spent the better part of the month generating interest with a series of puzzling websites. These sites, including www.DarkDaysAreComing.com, asked players to solve puzzles and rewarded them with concept art from the game.
While the above link no longer takes you to a puzzle, it does – after a series of clicks – take you to the forums on darkdemonscrygaia.com. Here, an already buzzing community continues to pore over the various clues given to them by Funcom.
Looking through the forums, one finds a lot of speculation on the part of the members. “Will the game be post- of pre-apocalyptic?” “What will the classes be like?” “Will there be in game communication?”
The forum is also exploding with creative offerings from its members. Wallpapers, fanart and even game inspired music are popping up left and right.
Still, what do we know about the game? Well… other than the speculations and the information found on an in-forum guide, not much.
Even the FAQ isn’t much help. Answers to questions such as when the game is going to be released, when the beta might be, whether it’s level or skill based and how combat will work are all answered the same way: “No one knows yet.”
What we do seem to know about the game is that it will take place relatively close to our own time and that it will be occult based. The clues given by Funcom lead players to believe that the Illuminati will somehow be involved and that it will be influenced by H.P. Lovecraft’s C’thulu works. We also know from the Funcom announcement that the game will be available for both the PC and Xbox 360.
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| London after |
| Funcom |
So, with everything we don’t know about The Secret World, what do we know? Well… we know that Funcom has proven they can be pretty sneaky and keep a secret. This was a long kept secret, too, as the article tells us that the initial conception started almost ten years ago. We also know that even after announcing the game, they can still keep a lid on the real details, instead letting their potential players generate the hype for them with speculation. We know that it’s supposed to be an eerie game and we know from the artwork that cities get destroyed at some point.
Whatever else we do or don’t know, I know one thing for certain. The Secret World has definitely caught my attention and piqued my interest. And whether the beta is released in the next couple of months, as some speculate, or the next year or so as some consider more reasonable, I’ll be checking in to it.