New World – War Mode PvP and Developer Interviews

A few days back, we got a chance to check out a fresh combat trailer for Amazon Game Studios’ upcoming conquistador-themed MMORPG New World. We can now follow that up with this IGN interview featuring Amazon’s Mike Willette and David Verfaillie where they talk about some of the features that set New World apart from all the other MMOs:

IGN also brings us this exclusive look at the game’s 50 v 50 War Mode PvP battles:

And if you’re someone who enjoys player housing, you may also want to read this recent PC Gamer article that sheds some light on that particular feature. An excerpt:

Where you construct your house will have real consequences in Amazon’s forthcoming MMO, New World. If the settlement you choose is a quiet, low tax haven, that’s great—but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way if a rival faction comes stomping in.

“You’ll keep your house,” when the territory you live in changes hands, says game design lead Mike Willitte. “But the controlling company that takes over a territory, they’ll set the tax rates for property, for trade, for property and refining. If an evil company comes in, and they want to raise all the taxes, depending on how lucrative your own businesses are, you might want to think about moving or overthrowing them. I’m really interested to see what’s going to happen when the game is being played by a large group of people.”

MMOs, by their nature, create their own culture. So much of the metatextual, human-to-human interaction on a 10,000-pop server is determined by the leeway in the game’s mechanics. Some MMOs, like World of Warcraft, are entirely predetermined. You are simply residents of its world, with no substantial say in its politics, map, or territory holdings. New World’s developers intend to diverge from that pattern.