Onlinewelten: Hello Apostol, thank you for your time. Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your function at Masthead Studios?

Apostol Apostolov: My name is Apostol Apostolov, and I am a game designer at Masthead Studios, currently working on Earthrise MMORPG project. I’ve been into gaming and game design for over ten years although this is the first big budget project I have been working on.

Onlinewelten: Earthrise takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Would you give us a summary about the background story and the scenario? (Are there important persons, factions, challenges or enemies we will encounter in Earthrise?)

Apostol Apostolov: Earthrise has a very unique take on the post-apocalyptic world; it actually could be classified as a post-post-apocalyptic setting. The world, as we know it, has been consumed in a destructive war for the last remaining resources and our society has been wiped out, but the human race lives on through a cloning project called Continoma, built on the remote Pacific island of Enterra. Brought to life once the environment was considered hospitable, humanity met the dangers of vicious mutants that had been warped by the aftermath. Humanity won over nature, perhaps only temporarily, and the city of Sal Vitas was built as a nexus of technological advancement.

Cloning has become commonplace and new sources of energy are being discovered, causing new turmoil of dominance within Continoma. With growing power concentrated in the hands of the government that can decide who gets cloned back from death and who doesn’t, corruption is inevitable and those who stand against the government gather in a shadowy movement called Noir. But still unable to clone themselves due to the technology remaining in Continoma’s hands, Noir remains weak and unable to strike back. After an unsuccessful coup, rebel scientists bring the technology of cloning to Noir. Nothing stands in the way of Noir to prepare for an open conflict against Continoma, and tension builds up in the new brave world. Players will emerge in a complex political environment, where two factions prepare for war, minor organizations follow their own agenda and struggle for power, and new opportunities rise in the wasteland where rare new resources are being discovered.

Onlinewelten: What is the role of the factions in Earthrise? Do we have to join a faction and is there a difference gameplay wise? When and how do we have to do a decision?

Apostol Apostolov: Factions give players a sense of belonging to a higher cause, a reason to stand together united against a common enemy. While Factions will give players many rewards and gameplay content to experience, as well as a license to strike any player of the opposite Faction, joining a Faction is not mandatory. In fact, many players may build a fortune of holding neutrality towards the conflict and pursue their own personal goals. Even if players join a Faction, they can later change it and move to the other side. Such change won’t be without consequence but it will be temporary consequences that limit Faction-hopping but does not necessarily forbid it.

Onlinewelten: The story of Earthrise takes place on the island of Enterra. How many different areas are accessible at the release? Is the game world split into zones, or do the areas blend into each other?

Apostol Apostolov: There will be over 20 different zones across the island of Enterra, although visually the landscape will organically change from one landscape to a different one without extreme changes that don’t make sense. Enterra is a tropical island and players may expect to see different variations – from peaceful jungles to mutated wastelands – that fit the geographic location.