Mark Jacobs Talks DAoC

EBGames has conducted an interview with Mark Jacobs of Mythic Entertainment about several aspects of the MMORPG industry, and of course talking about the just-released Dark Age of Camelot. Here’s a taste:

Q: Dark Age of Camelot shares many similarities with EverQuest and Asheron’s Call, but it also has some significant differences. Could you talk about the things that make Dark Age of Camelot unique?

A: Oh, sure. Let’s start with our trade skill system. We looked at all the trade skill systems in all the other games, not only the online games, but other games, and said, (O.K., what are these guys doing wrong?) Frankly, we thought that the trade skill systems in each of the games could be improved upon. So, we spent a lot of time coming up with the system.

I think our trade skill system is far more robust than anything out there. It offers the opportunity for a player to make money simply being a crafter; they don’t have to fight. You do not have to kill one single monster in order to have success as a merchant. We thought that would be very attractive to players who enjoy trade skills as something to do in a spare moment, to help sharpen a sword or repair armor, but also for the people who really just like crafting and socializing. That’s one of the things we have done better.