[GDN] What was the inspiration for The Agency? Was it some film or story or just one of those spontaneous moments?

[SOE-MS] There was no specific inspiration for The Agency. The team wanted to create an MMO, but we also wanted to try something new. You don’t want to create something so unique crazy that no one will understand it though, so we restricted ourselves to well-understood genres. I figure a genre is “well understood” if there are parodies of it—the spy genre definitely passes that test.

From that list, the spy-action genre really stood out as having a lot of potential. It’s got cool weapons, fast cars, exotic locations, deadly supervillains, high technology, intrigue, and beautiful people. What’s not to like? And though it is popular and well understood, it hasn’t been done to death, giving us a chance to serve a new part of the market. If you suffer from elf fatigue as I do, The Agency may be the game for you.

The spy-action genre also works beautifully with Operatives, our system of collectible NPCs.

Every day we take inspiration from the good stuff in the spy genre. Properties like James Bond, Bourne, Burn Notice, Alias, Chuck, and even xXx—the first one, anyway—all influence what we are doing. 

[GDN] The game is set to launch with 2 hub cities. Will most hub cities be developed over time to continue the game world’s expansion?

[SOE-MS] Think of them more as two locales.  For example, you won’t just be stuck in Prague, you’ll visit Warsaw, Kiev, and more. Every part of the game world will grow over time, though each locale has an endpoint planned. You can’t add on to an area indefinitely, so we will also be launching new cities in expansion packs. A big theme in The Agency is the feel of being in the jet set, so we want players to travel to exciting destinations all over the world.  We are nesting plenty of return content in the spaces so elder players will always have a reason to visit an area they’ve been before.

[GDN] Has the business model been set yet or is there still ongoing discussion and wait-and-see how Free Realms is received by the gamers?

[SOE-MS] There is still a lot of discussion about the business model, though I don’t get invited to those meetings. Certainly, everyone is curious how Free Realms will play out and we’ll learn as much from it as we can.

[GDN] How is character development set to be done? I understand that skills are contextual in the world so I’m curious how it ties into experience and increasing the capabilities of one’s character

[SOE-MS] One of our design goals is: “Get dressed. Go play. Get better.” That means that if you want your character to get better at something, put on the right gear and go do that thing. You are not locked into a role chosen at character creation. Tired of being on the front lines? Want to spend some time as a medic? Hit the locker room and gear up for that job.

As you spend time in a role, you’ll gain experience that unlocks more of its abilities, and you will find better gear for it. You’ll also gain experience with specific weapons, and that unlocks abilities for those weapons. Diversify yourself! We will reward you for it.