Funcom has broken the silence on its latest MMO, The Secret World, which is inspired by history and mythology, modern conspiracy theories and ancient mysteries. PAX was the show of choice for the firm, who also passed over all the info and first movie to your friendly neighborhood CVG.
Three secret societies will play a fundamental role in The Secret World and this is part of the PAX reveal. Players will join one of three secret societies when they first start playing. These are the Illuminati, the Dragon and the Templars. Each secret society will have their own morals, ambitions and ways of pursuing power. What secret society you choose to join will not only determine where your adventure starts in the world but it will also have several other major gameplay implications.
The Secret World
Official trailer
1:28Secret World Societies revealed at PAX
The Secret World
Official trailer
1:28Secret World Societies revealed at PAX
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To help you find out what secret society you should be part of Funcom is hosting an Initiation Test to see which society suits you best. Hit this link to the test. Based on your answers to a series of questions, your personality will be evaluated and you'll be told if you should sign up to the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars. After the test you'll also get the opportunity to win beta access to the game.
Below this article you'll find the first ever artwork for each secret society; the Templars in London, the Illuminati in New York, and the Dragon in Seoul. We've also got the new CGI movie straight from PAX. Here's more info on the secret societies.
Templars
"Deliverance From Evil"
Crusaders. Judges. The Holy Terror. The Templars are the world's least secretive secret society. Their military-ideological machine has operated in plain sight since Babylon - a matter of pride, or moral superiority.
Conspiracy theorists, obsessed with the minor 'Knights Templar' offshoot, underestimate the Templars' true European empire. Private armies. Members of parliaments. Royal families. The Templars believe they will deliver the world from evil by force, and even their opponents - who call them zealots and warmongers - cannot deny that force. As an agent of the Templars you are not just fighting the war on darkness, you are the war on darkness. Suave and sophisticated, but brutal and uncompromising, you use history as a weapon to shape the future.
Few will stand in the way of the Templars' banner. Do you have the will to stand behind it?
Illuminati
"Sex, Drugs & Rockefeller"
Notorious bad boys and girls of the secret world, the Illuminati are also the most ambitious, cut-throat and furtive of secret societies.
From the gilded halls of the ancient pharaohs to the private clubs and decadent parties of the famously rich and egocentrically famous, from leaders of industry and Hollywood agents to presidents and popes, the Illuminati have weaved their intricate web with ruthless cunning and acute skill.
They rule their corporate pyramid with cold opportunism, and only the strongest members survive. Their secrets can make you rich and powerful beyond compare - or they may destroy your soul and sanity with it.
The Illuminati seek to plunder heaven and hell by any means necessary, and god help those who stand in their way.
As a member of the Illuminati, you don't play by anybody's rules. There are no rules. There is no honour.
There is only victory.
Dragon
"The Art of Deception"
Manipulators and conspirators, the Dragon have survived for millennia by playing their enemies against each other. Since before the first empire, through the aggression of the Mongol Khans and the ebb and tide of political change, a whisper in the right ear, a strategic assassination, alliances carefully crafted and broken - and the world eventually bends to the patient will of the immortal Dragon.
With a spiritual and philosophical approach to the secret crafts, as an acolyte of the Dragon you are taught to listen, shown how to teach others, and expected to respect the balance of the universe and to be humble in the face of fate. Yours is not the path of force, though force is often needed to clear the path. Few know of the Dragon and their long history, and that is how the Dragon want it. You are invisible but pervasive, silent but all-knowing, and when the other secret societies have decimated each other, you will rebuild the world from the ruins of their arrogance.
The Dragon is too easily underestimated, and those who do so live to regret it - or die before they have the chance.
Now this sounds interesting to me. I'm a steadfast opponent of MMOs with monthly-subscriptions, so it would be lovely if this one takes its cue from "Guild Wars" and has no monthly fees. If that were to be the case, it might actually be the first MMO I sink my proverbial teeth in to.
Im a steadfast opponent of people who want all mmo's to be free, especially the good looking ones, when we all know free mmo's suck beyond belief when compared to mmo's that have a monthly subscription fee, with the fee you know you'll have full time support and regular new updates and content.
Nothing that is any decent is ever free, thats life unfortunately.
Im a steadfast opponent of people who want all mmo's to be free, especially the good looking ones, when we all know free mmo's suck beyond belief when compared to mmo's that have a monthly subscription fee, with the fee you know you'll have full time support and regular new updates and content.
Nothing that is any decent is ever free, thats life unfortunately.
Go play guild wars 2 when thats released.
Indeed, which is why one pays the RRP of the game. See? That's not free. Perhaps you are quite content to be led around by the nose like some hapless cow being milked at every turn, I however strongly resent having to pay a full retail price for the game and a monthly subscription! It's got to be one or the other (i.e. 1. You pay a one time payment, or 2. You gain access to the installation package free of charge and then pay a monthly subscription).
Doing both is just plain greedy and I for one will not be suckered in to a nightmare scenario of near endless micro transactions similar to what is developing in various online gaming worlds in regards to buying "special gear" that has absolutely zero value outside of a fictional online world yet are paid for with real-term capital. Budget airliners are doing it too in regards to hand luggage and which seat you want to sit in (regardless of whether it's in the same class you would have been placed in if the system picked your seat) and there's now talk of charging for the use of toilets on planes which quite frankly could likely be challenged on grounds of violation of basic human rights since there are few alternatives to going to the bathroom once in mid-flight (that said, bearing witness to the budget airliners' reaction should passengers decide to fore-go the pleasantries and simply answer nature's call while in their seats might prove idly amusing), but I digress. Feel free to pay out the nose if you choose, I prefer to make my money work for me and not some games company I own no stock in.
I think you underestimate the costs of maintaining SLA'd uptime on a large cluster of servers for several years- The RRP of the game usually covers the initial cost of development, and perhaps if they're lucky a small slice ontop for the shareholders. This isn't even considering any further free updates outside the scope of paid for expansions.
Guild Wars subverts this by being a pseudo MMO from a tecnological standpoint- heavily instanced, the only real persistence is from permenant stat tracking and friends lists and a few small shared areas.
Something like WoW, or LOTR online for example is a much bigger undertaking- servers holding thousands of clients at a time with little to no latency are a nightmare from a technological and funding standpoint. Feel free to support "free to play" MMOs all you want, but they trumpet "massive, open worlds" when they're really a collection of boxes with load times in between.
Anyway this looks interesting, I'm loving the concept and my mind is teeming with possibilities. However, I've been burnt by rushing out and buying a Funcom MMO on launch day before so I shall skulk patiently until enough people say this is worth it.
Oh, and as I mentioned above if it's heavily instanced I'll be p**sed, that was the first bad news I've heard about The Old Republic.
I think you underestimate the costs of maintaining SLA'd uptime on a large cluster of servers for several years- The RRP of the game usually covers the initial cost of development, and perhaps if they're lucky a small slice ontop for the shareholders. This isn't even considering any further free updates outside the scope of paid for expansions.
Guild Wars subverts this by being a pseudo MMO from a tecnological standpoint- heavily instanced, the only real persistence is from permenant stat tracking and friends lists and a few small shared areas.
Something like WoW, or LOTR online for example is a much bigger undertaking- servers holding thousands of clients at a time with little to no latency are a nightmare from a technological and funding standpoint. Feel free to support "free to play" MMOs all you want, but they trumpet "massive, open worlds" when they're really a collection of boxes with load times in between.
Anyway this looks interesting, I'm loving the concept and my mind is teeming with possibilities. However, I've been burnt by rushing out and buying a Funcom MMO on launch day before so I shall skulk patiently until enough people say this is worth it.
Oh, and as I mentioned above if it's heavily instanced I'll be p**sed, that was the first bad news I've heard about The Old Republic.
Like I said, it's about greed and personally I do not much fancy being ripped off. On a side-note I immensely prefer single-player games as opposed to being forced to deal with all manner of people, some of whom - let's face it - act like boneheads and Neanderthal morons.
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favourite film and book ever is Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, being able to play as the Illuminati is a good enough reason to play this game for me!
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