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Joystiq interview: Huxley project manager Andy Hong

by Ben Gilbert { May 14th 2009 at 3:30PM }

You remember Huxley, right? It's that Webzen-developed MMOFPS we first heard about way back in 2005. We even played it ... in 2006. Not ringing any bells?

Huxley was billed as the first MMOFPS to hit the Xbox 360 and PC, and it was to offer cross-platform multiplayer and promised 100-vs-100 online battles. Sounds to good to be true, right? Apparently. The game suddenly disappeared from public eye -- for years! And then, just as sudden, Huxley re-emerged from hiding through a handful of new screens and is now under the (hopefully!) steady hand of ijji.com (owned by NHN America).

We caught up with Andy Hong, project manager for Huxley: The Dystopia, to see where the game has been and where it's going:

How different is Huxley now, as compared to the original coverage (back in 2006)?

There's been a real focus on polish and that really shows in the current version. There haven't been any major changes to the game, but the gameplay has changed a lot, it's a lot faster ...

Continued →

Huxley's Xbox 360 fate still in the air

by Xav de Matos { Jun 2nd 2008 at 5:00PM }

One of the first MMOs announced in the new generation of consoles, Huxley, is having a difficult time making its way to consoles. While Huxley developer Webzen has announced that the PC title will finally make its way to North America after signing a new deal with publisher NHN USA, the Xbox 360 version continues its release limbo.

Other items that need to be ironed out of for the Unreal Engine 3 MMO/FPS include the business model approach for the title and a firm release date, as Webzen only specifies an expected PC release in late 2008 for North America and Western Europe.

[via Big Download]

Realtime Worlds buys back rights to APB franchise

by Dustin Burg { Apr 21st 2008 at 4:30PM }

Big news comes from Realtime Worlds today with word that they are putting their recently acquired $50 million to work, acquiring the global distribution rights to their upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin.

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Realtime Worlds purchased the APB distribution rights back from Webzen to "ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned when we first began creating the property." We aren't sure exactly what their global release plans entail or how much they had to put up for the rights, but we're sure they didn't come cheap. Lesson learned kids. When sleeping with Webzen and things turn sour, know that you'll have to buy your way out of the relationship. That said, you could probably apply that lesson to all relationships you encounter.

Realtime Worlds takes APB distribution rights from Webzen

by Kyle Orland { Apr 21st 2008 at 3:45PM }

It always seemed to us that MMO-maker Webzen had a bit too much on its plate, what with working on APB, Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation year after year with no signs of any actual releases. Well, Webzen's plate got a little less full today, as developer Realtime Worlds announced it has regained the global distribution rights to APB.

Realtime Worlds' announcement follows a an intriguing demo of APB at February's Game Developer's Conference and a $50 million cash infusion for the Crackdown developer in March. As for Webzen, maybe this disquisition will finally give it the focus it needs to finish up the long-dormant Huxley.

Huxley's character creation in action

by Xav de Matos { Mar 7th 2008 at 7:00PM }

We won't lie when we say Webzen's upcoming first-person MMO Huxley had dropped off our radar, and when new details came out about their Real Time Worlds developed All Points Bulletin (APB) we thought Huxley got the quiet ax. Well, while details are still light on the title we do know that the game is still slated to come out between now and the next leap year. However, the latest news comes to us from a Game Trailers user who swiped some footage of the character creation menus. In the video, the user goes through some of the various options available for those interested in creating a female warrior within Huxley, which is actually comes Stateside in 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360. We were joking about the leap year thing.

[Thanks, Chris]

Huxley's back! You know, Huxley ... that MMOFPS?

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 5th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Ah, the prodigal son returns. IGN reports that long-dormant MMOFPS Huxley has fully popped back up on radar (following a random blip in December) since making a splash at E3 2005 and then flat-out disappearing after E3 2006. Publisher Webzen now plans on releasing Huxley on PC in the US by the end of this year and on Xbox 360 an "expected" six months later.

The Xbox 360 version of Huxley will also be different from what PC players experience. Beyond the obvious changes in interface, the PC version will focus on a story about the missing Dr. Huxley, while the console story will take place 50 years later and center around a terrorist group. Despite the different times, there will be "cross-platform interaction" according to the developer. As for the pricing structure of the MMOFPS? That still hasn't been determined. Expect the Huxley info to slowly drip from here on in.

Huxley is still alive! Screenshots, video and more

by Dustin Burg { Mar 5th 2008 at 3:00PM }

For those of you who (including us) who questioned whether Webzen would ever release their MMOFPS Huxley or if it'd be forgotten vaporware know that it's real, it's alive and it's coming. Who knew?

IGN posted their in-depth Huxley Progress Report which features a bunch of new screenshots, some new video footage and interesting Huxley factoids. Webzen is promising a lot, allowing 5000 players being able to interact at once, intense 100 versus 100 battles on each server, Unreal Tournament style gameplay and a substantial MMO following. They also dropped a nega-bomb confirming that Huxley will release to the Xbox 360 6 months after its PC debut which means no MMOFPS for 360 fanboys until at least 2009. But things aren't all that bad for 360 owners as the 360 version of Huxley will take place in a different world / time and allow for cross platform battling and trading of items. It's good to hear that Huxley hasn't turned into a Duke Nukem Forever, but the overly long development time sort of killed a lot of the game's hype. Here's to seeing Huxley by 2011.

GDC08: Realtime Worlds' MMO darling, All Points Bulletin

by Dustin Burg { Feb 22nd 2008 at 10:00AM }

Realtime Worlds and Webzen dropped an MMO bombshell today during their "My first MMO" GDC panel, officially revealing (for the first time) All Points Bulletin. And it's impressive.

APB is a cops and robbers, Crackdown / GTAIV hybrid, open world MMO that'll do away with the tediousness (or the "grind") that traditional RPG based MMOs are known for, focusing more on the community and the world. Customization will be key, as every player will be able to completely makeover their in-game character, changing things from hairstyle to eye color to whether or not a tshirt is tucked in. That same level of customization lends itself to vehicles as well. Realtime Worlds also revealed that APB will not have a leveling up system, instead players will be rewarded by gaining more and more character customization options. Realtime then showed off a quick pursuit demo where a group of cops had to band together to take apprehend some TV stealing thugs. The placeholder graphics aren't great, but we get the idea and yes ... it's delicious. Make the jump to read Joystiq's APB impressions and learn why APB is where you'll wanna be.

[Thanks, xenocidic]

Huxley returns from the abyss with video

by Justin McElroy { Dec 17th 2007 at 3:40PM }

We hope this doesn't make us negative people, but we had basically written MMOFPS Huxley off after not hearing much about it for more than a year. Now though, it's made its (semi) triumphant return from the grave with a new video captured in the Korean-developed game's closed beta accompanied by a truly, almost epically excruciating techno soundtrack.

What we see so far is a pretty, frenetic shooter in the vein of a Painkiller or Unreal, that seems just a tad bit uninspired. That said, we don't know how the MMO elements are playing into it, as what we have here is straight-up action. What say you? Has your interest been piqued? Or have the last, dying embers of your desire for Huxley been fully doused?

Huxley scored by Gears of War composer

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 3rd 2007 at 7:00PM }

GameDaily reports that Gears of War composer Kevin Riepl has provided the score for the upcoming MMO FPS Huxley. The score reportedly took 2 days to record with the help of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at Warner Bros. Studios. Riepl says he's "proud" to have worked on Webzen's Huxley, the varied themes of which demand a "gripping soundtrack" according to the composer. We're quite fond of the Gears of War soundtrack, so we have high hopes for the soundscape of Huxley. Here's hoping the actual game can live up to it. We'll find out when the game hits retailers in 2008.

Video: Huxley has a lot to prove

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 10th 2006 at 5:30PM }

Let's make one thing clear: I've been pimping Huxley since before I began working for 360 Fanboy. The idea of a massively multiplayer first person shooter is almost too delicious to contemplate. In the intervening months, with the release of several AAA 360 titles, Huxley has been all but forgotten. As fate would have it, a new video of the game popped up on the net today, and Xboxyde was kind enough to create a streaming version of it, as is their wont. Call me jaded, but the video is uninspiring. It's just a generic montage of blasting things with a tiny bit of the actual MMO aspect of the game thrown in. Considering the main selling point of Huxley is its MMO nature, you'd think they'd make more use of it in a promotional video. But, I digress. Check out the video and make your own judgments. Does it look like it can stand up against the likes of Gears, COD3, or Vegas?

Shaiya, Guild Wars most anticipated in China

by Alan Rose { Nov 6th 2006 at 3:58PM }

According to new research from Chinese gaming portal 17173.com, Guangdong-based distributor Optisp (EVE Online) is home to the most anticipated online game in China, the Korean import Shaiya: Light and Darkness. WoW distributor The9 is hosting two of China's other highly anticipated Korean titles, Guild Wars and Soul of the Ultimate Nation.

The fever over Shaiya is reportedly due to some racy ads that prompted Chinese censors to request less suggestive promos. I'm sure the two half-naked women prominently featured in the game's propaganda had nothing to do with that. 17173 has collected some in-game screen shots and wallpapers of Shaiya's physical embodiments of "light" and "darkness" (can you guess who's who?).

See also: China online gaming trends

Webzen ends Endless Saga

by Alan Rose { Jul 25th 2006 at 1:00PM }

Turns out Endless Saga wasn't so endless after all, although the mystery surrounding the game's development certainly felt neverending. Webzen has pulled the plug on their Unreal 3-powered MMO, which had been scheduled to launch next year for the PlayStation 3 and PC. While this move thins out the PS3's initial MMO offerings, the Korean developer insists they are still committed to Sony's next gen platform. For now, however, Webzen will concentrate on finishing APB, Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation -- the first two projects being Xbox 360 titles.

See also:

PS3's MMO, Endless Saga, truly becomes Endless

by Nick Doerr { Jul 20th 2006 at 6:00PM }

For those who had been following the next-gen MMORPG circuit, perhaps you had heard of Endless Saga. Developed by Webzen and for the PS3, Endless Saga was to be the next step in MMO gaming which utilized the Unreal Engine 3. The Saga stopped short, though. It was canned recently and according to Webzen because "after some rigorous development effort, we found the gameplay of Endless Saga to be short of innovation and creativity we seek to achieve in online gaming space."

Good. The last thing we need is another generic, formulaic, achieve-nothing MMO. While it would've still been a neat idea, it gives the lovers of WoW, FFXI, and for the cheapskates in all of us, Guild Wars or Maple Story more time to clock into their worlds. Sorry Endless Saga, but thank you at the same time. For now, Webzen has nothing in the works for PS3, but perhaps they'll try again later. A question, though: would you rather see a port of an existing MMO, or a brand new creation pop up for the PS3? Some people do like familiarity, plus they might have some badass equipment. What do you think?

SUN is most anticipated game in China

by Alan Rose { Jun 7th 2006 at 12:45PM }

According to the latest poll from Chinese gaming site, 17173.com, Korean developer Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation is the most anticipated game in China. Other titles in the top ten include Guild Wars and Granado Espada (both will be operated by WoW host The9), as well as Kingdom of Warriors, Ragnarok Online 2, and Rohan.

Analysts are predicting China's online gaming market will approach $1 billion in annual revenue within the next year, surpassing Korea. In response to this gaming boom, major publishers such as Electronic Arts, NCsoft, Take-Two, and Ubisoft have opened development offices in Shanghai. Webzen is currently putting the finishing touches on MMO-shooter Huxley for the North American market, but has also opened an office in Shanghai to produce Kingdom of Warriors.

See also: Disney, Shanda bring online content to China