The Secret World's Secret Screenshots

Two screenshots of Funcom's next MMO, The Secret World, have appeared. Semi-officially put out, they're from Funcom's quarterly report, and they're confirmed as for real by lead dev, Ragnar Tørnquist. In fact, he says on his blog that he took them himself.

For Norwegian readers, there's speculation about what they might mean here. For the rest of us, there's the usual collection of cryptic hints on Rangar's blog.

What's known about The Secret World is very little, beyond lots of rumour and conspiracy. And that's clearly the way Funcom want it. So for those who like playing chase, these are the latest hints:

Herd ringers
Four, three, seven
NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Topic

For anyone who would rather just be told what the heck is going on, for now just take note of quite how fantastic the game's looking. MMO, remember. When was the last time you saw an MMO set in a regular looking town? (Albeit filled with what look like zombies). It all looks pretty spiffy just now. Tørnquist comments,

"I can’t say much (although that day is rapidly approaching) but I’ll say this: It definitely means something. The shots are real and undoctored - I captured them myself from the latest build of the game last Thursday. Yes, that’s a real location in the game, not a proof-of-concept or a demo level. And no, of course it’s not done. I think the game looks absolutely fantastic, but it’s going to look even more absolutely fantastic when it’s released."

TSW followers, for the rest of us, sum up what you know so far in the comments. Catch everyone up to the current thinking. I'm keeping out of it all, because someone, years ago, showed me something I shouldn't have seen, and I already know too much. I think they're coming for me. I can't be sure.