Worlds in Motion's latest interview sits down with Christian Müller, CEO of
Empire of Sports, Infront's upcoming MMO game based entirely on the world of competitive athletics.
Initially, it doesn't seem like the most likely pick for an MMO setting -- but in an era where many companies are developing casual alternatives to the
Warcraft universe, the MMO model whereby individuals train and compete against one another to get stronger makes it a natural environment for a sports game.
Explains Müller:
“We are a casual MMO, in the sense that sports is casual... We don’t want people to have to spend five hours to do a football match, and the ski races take only minutes. Nevertheless, we want to attract casual players; at the same time, we can appeal also to the hardcore.”
Müller also feels that more "casual" MMOs have strong social potential:
“Through the Internet, Facebook, I think we are in a cultural change. Generally we seem to be more willing to communicate – or, its easier -- through the Internet. It’s kind of a special social life, but I think that when we use virtual worlds, the big power is in the 3D environment. We’re still visual animals, I think, and this environment -- we can relate to it, and it helps us in communicating better through the Internet. So I think that’s a very strong appeal. If this is sufficient to keep in all the players? I don’t think so, but definitely you have to have it to be successful.”
You can now
read the full interview -- notably, Muller explains Empire of Sports' built-in Web browser and planned mobile access to key in-world elements -- at Worlds in Motion.
