Empire & State

Last updated
Empire & State
Moby EnS Marketing 292x136 01-27-2012.jpg
Developer(s) Novel, Inc.
Publisher(s) Novel, Inc.
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseNovember 28, 2011
Genre(s) MOBA, MMORPG
Mode(s) Massively multiplayer online game

Empire & State is a browser-based, free-to-play political strategy MMORPG developed by Novel. [1] [2] [3] Empire & State was released as an open beta in April 2011 and was fully released in November 2011. In addition to being available through Empire & States website, the game became available to play through a game portal at Bigpoint Games in November 2011. The Lead Designers were Mike Marr and Toby Ragaini with Paul Furio as Technical Director and Keenan Purk as Lead Artist. [4] The game involves the exploration and conquest of a new planet and is designed to appeal to both casual and hard core gamers. [5]

Contents

Gameplay

Empire & State allows players to immigrate to other player-run empires to set up their home territory. Like citizens of an empire players can do jobs, collect resources, own property, build vehicles, and earn currency. Players can support the leader of an empire, start rebellions to overthrow governments or attempt to build their own empire by taking control of a city and fighting for the surrounding land. [6]

For an empire to survive, players collaborate during rebellions or development of new empires. This creates a constantly evolving political environment where players form alliances or make enemies while facing honorable or corrupt governments. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.

Funcom Norwegian video game developer

Funcom Oslo AS is a Norwegian video game developer that specializes in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and The Secret World – and The Longest Journey series of adventure games. The company has offices in Oslo, Norway, and North Carolina, US. It also had offices in Beijing, Dublin, and Montreal previously. It is now owned by the Chinese media conglomerate Tencent.

A massively multiplayer online game is an online game with large numbers of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games that differ. These games can be found for most network-capable platforms, including the personal computer, video game console, or smartphones and other mobile devices.

Jagex Limited is a British video game developer and publisher based at the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, England. It is best known for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, collectively known as the world's largest free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The company's name is derived from the company's original slogan, "Java Gaming Experts". In addition to RuneScape, Jagex has released multiple casual games on its FunOrb portal, as well as other titles. Jagex was owned by U.S. investors between 2012 and 2016, by Chinese investors from 2016–2020, by Macarthur Fortune Holding LLC for about a year in 2020, and is presently owned by The Carlyle Group.

<i>Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning</i> 2008 video game

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting, developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in 2008. The game revolved around the continual worldwide conflict that the Warhammer Fantasy setting is known for, and the game is geared toward ongoing, constant war laced with dark humour. Age of Reckoning ended up selling over a million copies and peaking at 800,000 subscribers, but dropped to 300,000 subscribers several months later. The game received generally positive reviews from critics but shut down in 2013. Since at least 2014, an active private server called Return of Reckoning has been run by fans, and it remains active as of July 2021.

Sigil Games Online, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Carlsbad, California founded in January 2002 by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, key development team members who created EverQuest, the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game before World of Warcraft. McQuaid and Butler left Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the publisher of EverQuest, and formed Sigil Games Online to develop "the next big thing". McQuaid told the video game website IGN, "I find myself much happier at the results of assembling an all-star team of MMOG developers and focusing on making one ground-breaking, unprecedented project, as opposed to being spread thin like I was as VP/CCO at Verant/SOE.". Sigil released their only game "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" on January 30, 2007 after several well publicized delays and a last minute switch from publishing with Microsoft to publishing again with SOE. On May 15, 2007, SOE announced that they had completed a transaction to purchase key assets of Sigil Games Online. As a result, SOE now owns Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, described as Sigil's "tent pole property".

<i>Vendetta Online</i> MMORPG by Guild Software launched in 2004

Vendetta Online is a twitch-based, science fiction massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Guild Software for the operating systems Android, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, and Microsoft Windows. It uses the NAOS game engine, a fully real-time flight model and combat system, to offer first-person/third-person shooter-style player versus player and player versus environment battle action against the backdrop of a massively multiplayer universe. Vendetta Online shipped as a commercial MMORPG on November 1, 2004 with a subscription-based business model, although it has been running continuously since April 2002. Vendetta Online is available to play across a wide array of platforms, including the Oculus Rift virtual reality display, allowing all users to directly interact in a single, contiguous galaxy. It is also notable for its twitch combat and fidelity to real physics.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons Online</i> 2006 video game

Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game was originally marketed as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, then renamed Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited upon switching to a hybrid free to play model, and was finally rebranded Dungeons & Dragons Online, with the introduction of Forgotten Realms-related content. Turbine developed DDO as an online adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), originally based loosely on the D&D 3.5 rule set. The game is set on the unexplored continent of Xen'drik within the Eberron campaign setting, and in the Kingdom of Cormyr within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Paul Barnett (video game designer)

Paul Barnett is an English game designer who is a Global Product Director at Wargaming, working on their game World of Tanks. Before that he worked at Electronic Arts' Office of the Chief Creative Officer and was the General Manager of Mythic Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA. Barnett had a lead role in developing EA's Warhammer Online MMO in Europe.

OGPlanet was a publisher of free-to-play, massively multiplayer online (MMO), downloadable PC games, based in Torrance, California, with offices in Vancouver, Berlin, London and Seoul. Although their games were free-to-play, OGPlanet offered "Astros", an in-game currency that players could purchase online through Xsolla using a variety of payment methods including credit and debit cards and PayPal; Astros were used for in-game enhancements. On 29 September 2017, the final game being published by OGPlanet, Uncharted Waters Online, was shut down for transfer to Papaya Play and the OGPlanet website taken offline.

<i>Star Wars: The Old Republic</i> 2011 video game

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based in the Star Wars universe. Developed by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, the game was announced on October 21, 2008. The video game was released for the Microsoft Windows platform on December 20, 2011 in North America and part of Europe.

<i>Rift</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Rift is a fantasy free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Trion Worlds. Rift takes place within the fantasy world of Telara. Two competing factions, composed of a selection of races and classes, battle each other and the enemies who emerge from dynamic "rifts". The game was released in March 2011.

<i>Dust 514</i> 2013 video game

Dust 514 was a free-to-play first-person shooter developed by CCP Games for the PlayStation 3. Dust 514 took place in New Eden and was directly connected to CCP's game Eve Online. There was direct interaction between the two; player actions in one game affected the political, economic, legal, environmental, and social status of the other. The two games were officially connected on January 10, 2013 in preparation for the open beta on January 22. The full game was released worldwide on May 14, 2013. While previews of the game were highly positive, the full game received a mixed reception upon its initial release. It received constant updates and hotfixes deployed after release. The game was shut down by CCP on May 30, 2016 due to low player counts.

<i>Neverwinter</i> (video game) 2013 video game

Neverwinter is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios and released by Perfect World Entertainment for Microsoft Windows in 2013, Xbox One in 2015, and PlayStation 4 in 2016. Based on the fictional Forgotten Realms city of Neverwinter from Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter is a standalone game and not part of the previous Neverwinter Nights series.

<i>Dead Frontier</i> 2008 video game

Dead Frontier is a free-to-play, browser-based massively multiplayer online game which takes place in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested setting. It is operated by Creaky Corpse Ltd. Dead Frontier was released for open beta on April 21, 2008, and has over ten million registered accounts.

Novel, Inc. is a video game studio and enterprise simulation developer, based in Kirkland, Washington, United States. Novel is known for being both a traditional video game developer and bridging the gaming and business world with enterprise simulations.

Mike Marr is the Director of Product Development for Novel, Inc. a videogame and enterprise simulation developer in the Seattle area. As Director of Product Development, he is responsible for management of the design team, company direction, culture, and creation of new intellectual properties.

Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms was a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) under development by Bigpoint and Artplant, in collaboration with HBO. The game was based on the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, which is itself an adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R. R. Martin.

Star Sonata is a space-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMO) by American studio Star Sonata LLC released in 2004 that combines elements of action games and real-time strategy games such as real-time ship-to-ship combat and galactic conquest.

<i>World of Darkness</i> (video game) Canceled massively multiplayer online role-playing game

World of Darkness, also known as World of Darkness Online, was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in development by CCP Games from 2006 until its cancellation in 2014. It was based on the World of Darkness series' setting, which several of White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing games take place in.

References

  1. "Empire & State Interviews: Novel, Inc. Interview at". Mmorpg.com. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  2. Dean Takahashi (2011-01-19). "Novel will jump from games to business simulations". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  3. "Novel Is Bridging the Business and Gaming Worlds With "Empire & State"". Fast Company. 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  4. "Empire & State Interviews: Update Interview at". Mmorpg.com. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  5. "Novel Seeks to Marry Casual Games With MMOs in "Empire & State"". Xconomy. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  6. Nick Kolan. "Empire and State Preview - Web Games Preview at IGN". Pc.ign.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  7. Hindman, Beau (2011-01-21). "Massively gets the scoop on Empire & State, a new political MMO". Massively.joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  8. "Gaming Technology: A tool for productivity". Seattle Business Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2012-01-31.