It’s interesting that everyone who mailed us about this (many thanks, by the way) immediately went for the Oh God No What Are They Thinking angle. Bullfrog fans are purists, perhaps understandably. Me, I’m not going to presume the worst yet, despite being a huge old geeky Dungeon Keeper fan myself.
Absolutely nothing is known about this shock DK sequel/rethink, bar its being an MMO and being handled by a Chinese developer you’ve never heard of. Yeah, ‘Asian MMO’ does set off a few alarm traps, as the Lineage model tends to impress us Westerners about as much as shadow puppetry impresses bears. Clearly, this won’t be Dungeon Keeper 3 – there’s not even a whiff of a single ex-Bullfrog guy around it for starters, and no talk of it being a direct follow-up, but rather of it just using names, themes and characters. Put that Pointy Stick Of Angry Pre-Judgement +3 vs EA down, though. There are hints that this will be much more like the DK of old than folk are presuming…
First up, it’s entirely possible we’ll never see this reach the West. It sounds as though China is the main audience, an EA mouthpiece stating the deal’s part of a Borg-like desire to “extend our product reach throughout the Greater China region.” A number of established Western games are going MMOlike over there, subscriptions being an effective counter-measure for the piracy that runs rife in China – for instance Company of Heroes. This may be a matter of developer NetDragon seeking Western backing for their latest (and first 3D) endeavour, and EA dropping a spare fantasy license on ‘em to ensure their own stake. Or it may be that Dungeon Keeper is absolutely huge in China, but I find it hard to believe a 1997 strategy-management game about building treasure rooms and feeding farting demons really hit that big.
What is contextually interestingly is that Netdragon already has on its CV Heroes of Might & Magic Online, a China-only MMO rethink of the unending, unsmiling strategy-rpg series, which launched this Spring. So that’s, er, HOMMO, then? Er…. It’s made with Ubisoft’s blessing, and presumably shovels some pennies back their way. I can find very little information about it, and especially not about its quality, but what I have gleaned is that it really is HOMM online – as opposed to an MMORPG with HOMM names and skins. This from the press release:
This online game is the first of its kind by combing the classic turn-based game mode of Heroes of Might and Magic with versatile online game features to meet the needs of different players. Inspired by the global perspective of Heroes of Might and Magic chronicles, Heroes of Might and Magic Online allows gamer to play as a hero working for one of the eight races. Players can then build their own castle and recruit a strong army to fight in hundreds of conquests. In addition, the game offers players to play against one another to quench their thirst for victory.
More English details about it here.
Again, I don’t know if it’s any cop or not – but as well as supporting the idea that Netdragon may simply be licensing affordable Western brands to MMOise for China, it actually bodes well for Dungeon Keeper Online being a proper Dungeon Keeper game. It sounds faithful, y’know?
And that’s where I shift from outraged suspicion to very cautious optimism. Yeah, there’s no Bullfrog at the till, but it’s been a long while since we had a really great game in the DK mould. The ingredients – management, combat, comedy monsters, even a drop of roleplaying – are right. If Netdragon really have made HOMMO (giggle) like HOMM, then there’s every chance DKO can be faithful to DK – and not the Lineage or WoW clone with DK skins that many folk seem to presume it’ll be. It might actually be Dungeon Keeper, online – and done right that would be superb.
Sprawling rival dungeons contesting for space, creature populations and gold; fending off dynamic, icky Hero forces that grow in potency as you do; a generous spread of room types and spells… There’s a lot of potential, even if the signs are superficially troubling. God knows I’m as concerned as anyone, but it’s sad that so many folk seem to be entirely writing this off before they even consider what it could be.
That they’re using the DK name specifically is what’s liable to cause the most problems. I mean, why? Doesn’t it just mean angry fans, IP hassle and tiresome business deals? It’s frankly absurd that anyone would hem themselves in by dredging up a license that will mean almost nothing to most of today’s gamers, rather than embarking on something entirely of their own creation. That said, the old foundations of DK are impressive enough and unused enough that there really is scope for someone to build something great on top of them. If it happens to feature Horny and Bile Demons and whatnot too… well, they were hardly one-of-kind creations in the first place. Even if this does turn out to be a horror, it’s not taking anything away from DK1 & 2.
I have no idea if these are the right guys to make good on a job that will inevitably stir up resentment amongst a fanbase EA’s much-abused in the past, and certainly it’s hard to block out the poisonous funk of financial cynicism that seems to surround the project. I am not, however, going to write this game off as a terrible idea until I know something about it. I’m genuinely curious – not least because it sounds like such a ridiculous idea and so should be fun to follow. Hopefully DK fans aren’t as precious as Fallout fans, and we’ll get to hear some proper details about this before they storm EA’s gates.
Finally, here’s the official press bumpf about DK Online:
NetDragon Websoft Inc., a leading game developer and operator in the People’s Republic of China – (”NetDragon” or the “Company”, with its subsidiary collectively know as the “Group”; stock code: 777) announced a new licensing agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS, “EA”) on the development of the Group’s first 3D massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) based on Electronic Arts’ “Dungeon KeeperTM” line of games – including themes, characters and other game content. As part of this agreement, NetDragon will develop the game and obtains the exclusive license to operate and distribute Dungeon Keeper Online throughout the Greater China region, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
“We are delighted to enter into an agreement with EA in the development of our first 3D MMORPG. Our partnership with this internationally renowned game developer is proof of our capabilities in game operations and development as well as a reflection of our market reputation,” said Mr. Liu Dejian, Chairman and Executive Director of NetDragon. “Capitalizing our strength to create a strong gaming experience, powerful operating platform and unmatched expertise within China’s online game market, we are confident that Dungeon Keeper Online will not only become successful in the Greater China region but also achieve remarkable results overseas.”
Jon Niermann, President of EA Asia Pacific said, “The partnership marks a significant milestone for EA as it will enhance our intellectual property and extend our product reach throughout the Greater China region. It will also further enhance our intellectual property with differentiated, high-quality games, particularly in the field of MMORPGs.”
Dungeon KeeperTM is a PC strategy game released by EA in July 1997.
About NetDragon:
NetDragon Websoft Inc. is one of the leading online game developers and operators in the PRC. The Group’s game portfolio comprises of a range of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) that cater to various types of players and gaming preferences. The Group has successfully developed and marketed many popular online titles of various styles. Its current offerings include the games Eudemons Online, Conquer Online, Zero Online, Tou Ming Zhuang Online, Heroes of Might and Magic Online, Era of Faith, and Monster & Me. Some of the games are also available in foreign languages, including English, French and Spanish. The Group also has three games currently in development, including Way of the Five, Tian Yuan and Disney Game, which are expected to be launched by end of 2008 and 2009.
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Next up: System Shock Online. COMING THIS FUCKING FALL.
I’m with Jalf, I’m not so much angry as just plain confused.
Ah well, I can’t say this kind of corporate nonsense surprises me much any more. We still have the first two games, and that’s good enough for me I guess. Although there’s always the slight possibility of a fan-made DK3, though unfortunately I doubt EA would be too happy about outsiders using the license.
Why be angry? It doesn’t actually affect anything. It’s not DK3. It’s something happening in some far off mystical land.
Or like Invisible War or Revenge of the Sith, just try and imagine it never happened.
Less clone, more tribute or spiritual sequel – Bioshock to System Shock if you will.
It was made by Demis Hassabis who had a big hand in a load of Bullfrog stuff (although he’d left by the time Dungeon Keeper was released)
This doesn’t make me angry, it just sounds silly.
Also what marketing man failed to realise the hatred that would be spawned by taking a game with a near-fanatical cult following and then making it into an MMO?
I have just decided that any game they could possibly make would be no good without the voiceover man. Voiceover man was half the fun. It would be like Dawn of War without the narrator guy,
*whispers*I don’t quite understand…
Ah. Voice over man. How i love you, let me count the ways. “It is the witching hour, all curses are half price”. Getting a temple loaded up with undead from sacrificing mistresses. You can overcome the pop cap that way. And with infinite skeletons in a temple comes infinite mana, infinite mana brings infinite horney. Or you can just rush them with 200 undead.
For DK1 in Vista you may have to use Windows XP drivers instead of Vista drivers. (Depends on the video card, for Intel cards you definetly must use the XP drivers.)
This is only if you want to use D3D mode, if you want to use software mode it should work fine but you’ll need to make sure that you are using 95 compatibility mode.
If you don’t want to use XP drivers in Vista and you do want to use D3D mode then you’ll need to use Vmware Workstation 6.5 with Windows XP as a guest OS. Be sure to apply Windows 95 compatibility mode to the game.
As for DK2 in Vista you’ll need to turn off hardware acceleration in the in-game menu, otherwise you’ll experience graphics corruption in the game. Can’t remember if running the game in Vmware 6.5 “fixes” this or not.
“Surely, even Dungeon Keepers must retire to a lair of some description?”
(Ah, everything2: better than Wikipedia.)
“A lost soul has entered your dungeon. Oh, no, now it’s wandered out again.”
DK… the MMO? This concept confuses us greatly. Oh well, not like we’d see a decent sequel nowadays anyway. :[
A lost game have entered your pc o its left agian
what idiots. just make dk3. if its money you want, millions will buy it. just make the thing!
Warning. Incoming wall of text.
Alright, so im new. I have to say that the idea is, not one of the best I have ever heard. In fact, as far as EA goes, its one of the worst. They are handing Dungeon Keeper 2 to not only a foreign company, which in and of its self is not a bad thing, but the fact that EA is just doing it to kiss ass IS, but they are only releasing it in the Far Eastern region. On top of that, its a fucking newbie company, it said in the news article that it was its first 3D mmo. Well, thats…. comforting, sure…. After that there’s the fact that its a GOD-GAME. I am not that big of a gamer, Dungeon Keeper has always been one of my favorites, but has there ever even been a god game MMO? I have never heard of one myself….. Also, am I the only one concerned with Mistresses running around in pigtails and schoolgirl outfits, bile demons with “cute” little :3 smiles, and Horney having platinum bland hair and becoming anerensic?
hurr durr sweary bland anerensic AIM welcome ellipsis stop
What I can’t truly understand is WHY a small rather new game developer company would buy a franchise such as Dungeon Keeper.
I mean, they could make a game including all the same characters and could even name most of them the same, that there would be no room for lawsuits, you can’t TM red horned demons or trolls or imps, so why renounce to a part of your profit just to use cliche character design?
Maybe they will actually make a clone of DK, remember that just because it’s online it doesn’t mean it’s a MMORPG. There are lots of online arcade games, and some online RTS games like Dreamlords and Saga (which are BAAAAD).
That piece of text says they will get access to all materials from the games, do they plan to re-use the models with 64×64 textures and square tiles from the backgrounds? It’s their first 3D game so even those are hard to achieve by begineers.
Its good to be bad!
NOES! not an mmo -.- and from china … may horny get summoned and butcher the development sweatshops!
And here I was, getting my hopes up…*sigh* If they make it an RTS, it’ll essentially be a clone, but if it’s a true MMORPG then I have worries. Many worries.
Not that I’d object to playing as a Dark Angel, or Horny. That could get fun.
I suppose there’s always the ‘win the lottery and buy the rights from EA and make the damn game ourselves’ option…