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The guys over at Perfect World Entertainment appear to be getting very good at creating top-notch free to play MMO’s, and with a new wave of MMO’s due, we figured it’s about time we learn their secrets. In our series of upcoming Q&A’s we’ve tasked the DrunkenGamer with getting to the bottom of their success.

In the first in a series of three Q&A’s, I got to fire some questions at Product Manager, Andrew Brown about the upcoming fantasy MMO Forsaken World, we talk about some of the games features, classes & monster AI. Oh and I try to get a promise that their vampires will never sparkle!

For those readers who will only just be hearing about The Forsaken World, Could you give them a quick overview of the game and its back story?

Forsaken World is our upcoming AAA quality MMORPG, which is the first game we’re releasing that’s been developed with Western gamers in mind. The story begins with a trio of benevolent gods, protectors of Eyrda and creators of the five races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Stonemen and the Kindred.

Disaster struck when a god bent on destruction attempts to invade and take Eyrda for himself. In the defense of the world, the good gods are lost and many powerful relics are scattered to the mortals. With evil lurking and threatening the world once more, it’s up the player to find these relics and defeat evil once and for all!

The games classes include some of the classic MMO staples such as warrior & mage, but also some more unique ones such as vampires & bards. How different will each class feel to play?

Each class will definitely be unique and will provide a different gameplay experience. The Vampire class for the Kindred race for example has the ability to sacrifice their own health to either aid an ally or do massive damage to an enemy.

Bards are also able to use their musical instruments/weapons to give members of their parties buffs or debuffs.

A lot has been said about the AI system you have implemented for the Monsters in Forsaken World. Could you tell us a little more about what makes them different from similar titles?

We wanted to add variety to our monster AI.  Giving them more skills such as healing or other types of buffs and debuffs will make them more challenging.  The best way to describe it is, each encounter won’t be the same.

When a player creates a character they will choose its starsign. How big an impact will that choice make on gameplay?

Depending on what Zodiac symbol you choose, your game world will change in different ways. The Zodiac system is just one system that will give each player a completely unique gameplay experience.

With having Merchant as a possible player sub-class, How big a part will trade play in the game and what makes it different in Forsaken World?

Trade and a robust game economy will be a great part of gameplay. Players also don’t need to worry about deciding which occupation, or subclass, to play; there are no restrictions and if a player has the time and inclination, they can be them all.

One feature that we would like to hear a lot more about is the ‘God’ System, that will allow a select number of players become the ‘Gods’ of that server. How will this work in the game?

I can’t say much about that right now, since the North American version is still in development, but this system will create a unique and fluid gameplay progression.

There are also mentions of a cross-server battles, that can be started by these ‘Gods’, could you tell us a bit more about that?

Similar to the God system, the game is still in development as well as in closed beta testing in China, so we’re still finalizing the details.

Finally, one personal question. Could you promise me that your vampires will never, ever sparkle?

Well, the Forsaken World character creator has some pretty intense customization options, so you never know, but we don’t plan to!

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