By Linda "Brasse" Carlson

MPOGD:  Thank you for taking the time to answer our burning questions! Please tell us who you are and what your position is within the Agency project.

No problem!  My name is Hal Milton, I’m the lead designer on the project.

The unveiling of The Agency came as a surprise to most, who thought SoE might be working on a game involving the DC comic license. It is certainly a departure for the company from any project that has been offered before.

MPOGD:  Whose brainchild is this game? Where did the inspiration come from?

One thing we love about the game industry is that, given the number of disciplines involved, it’s an inherently collaborative process. I joined the former Fireant team after they had been acquired by SOE, and contributed a number of treatments for different games. The one that seemed to resonate with everyone involved a persistent online world of Agents and Intrigues. The game then underwent a great number of changes, as these things are prone to do, from the original treatment as it filtered through us and down to SOE-San Diego. It finally evolved into what The Agency is today.

The inspiration came from the rich number of stories and lore surrounding secret and not-so-secret Agents. Bond, Bourne, Bauer, Bristow, Baracus, and plenty of other characters with a prominent B in their name, gave us a number of models for activities, stories, and ongoing interests that would make for a wonderful online world.

MPOGD:  How long has The Agency been in development, and how many people are working on the team now? Can you tell us who some of the Leads are?

The game entered into pre-production in the fall of 2005. At that point, we were a couple folks shy of twenty people. We’ve since been in active development for a little under two years and have grown to a little over fifty people as the game’s production ramps up.

Our studio manager/executive producer/overlord extraordinaire is Matt Wilson. Our Art Director is the inimitably fashionable Corey Dangel. We have the big brains of Chad Barry, Alex Pfaffe, Tim Thibault, and Jeff Close and more leading up other brilliant people in the complex development required for our title. Jerry Schroeder is in charge of developing The Agency’s sounds and music. Then there’s…phew…too many to list here. Great people, doing great things!

MPOGD:  Is the choice between ParaGON and UNITE a stylistic one, or are there significant differences to the way they play and the equipment they use? I don't mean just adding new art to the same weapon and calling it something else, but rather this faction can use "x", while the other cannot, but get to use "y" instead.

Astute question! There will be differences between UNITE and ParaGON beyond the distinct aesthetics of each side. The story arcs are different between the two sides and there will be items, Operatives and more that will be exclusive to one side versus the other.

MPOGD:  What sort of interaction will take place between the two factions, UNITE and ParaGON? Will there be a PvP component to the game? If so, how extensive or pervasive will it be?

It’s important to note that UNITE and ParaGON are rivals, not enemies. Normally, the two sides will have their own separate paths through the game world. However, there will be points in the player’s career that they will come upon a challenge that allow UNITE and ParaGON to join together to combat a common enemy. There will be other points in which the two sides may be competing for similar objectives. This concept leads into PvP.

Our PvP system is always up front and optional. You won’t have to worry about a ParaGON agent camping a UNITE field office and shooting everyone that exits the door. Instead, we’re introducing the player to a PvP Anytime concept where they can take a break from their game and participate in a series of casual and official matches on familiar and unique maps. In addition to this, peppered throughout the player’s career, there will be optional crossover missions in which they may want to watch their backs for any rival Agents in the area.

MPOGD:  Is the world environment based on existing real world locales, with cities we would recognize, or is this an alternate world? Can you tell us anything about the setting?

We’ve based the world of the Agency off of the real world, but it is in the end our own construction. Players will visit exotic locales within Eastern Europe, Central America and more. They will also visit places we’ve made up while interacting with a world of imaginary agencies and corporations.

One big decision we made was not to realistically model the game off of the world or any current ideological conflict. There are more than enough games that cover that very well, and, frankly, the real world is a little too depressing for our tastes. We want to create a fun title that folks want to run to, not away from.

MPOGD:  One of the major downfalls of many near-future based games is that combat just doesn't feel "right" – standing two feet apart and blasting away with firearms seems very awkward. How will the combat play out in The Agency? Will it be a twitch-based first person shooter game, more along the lines of a standard MMOG, or something altogether different?

We are making a real action shooter for PS3 and PC. In other words, a bullet to the head is a bullet to the head. You may have armor, or a gadget, or have unlocked some special skills and abilities that allow you to avoid some threat, but in the end every player is vulnerable to every other player.

In this respect, our power progression is very different from a standard MMO. In a traditional MMO, the curve works such that a max level player could mow down hundreds of entry level players and never take a single point of damage. In our game, that Agent will be taken down by superior numbers, but he or she may be able to take out a few extra thanks to their collected items, skills, abilities, and Operatives.

We’ve got a few other tricks up our sleeves to allow folks without the best shooter skills to get by, they may just take a little longer to build up the access and influence needed to become a truly elite Agent. We’ll share more on that as development moves forward.

MPOGD:  I noticed mention in the press release of a "sports car" that Operatives can build for the Agent. Does The Agency offer use of vehicles, either as temporary or permanent equipment for the characters, within the world, or are these just display trophies? Will driving/piloting skills be employed to any great extent? If player-driven vehicles are used in game, will they be ground, air, water or…other super-secret transportation technologies?

We do plan on supporting passive and active vehicle use by the player. Passive is a lot like a griffin ride, to make it from one part of the world to another. Active are full vehicle challenges, where players can race/chase/fight enemies and possibly unlock PvP versions to challenge other players in PvP Anytime. Our plan is to allow players to collect and upgrade a variety of vehicles to make getting the best rating on a challenge possible, and to simply show off their cool stuff. As to the types of super-secret and standard transportation technologies…well, there are so many vehicles and so little time … Expect us to provide the full details on this system as we get farther along in development.

MPOGD:  I noted the "fun now, no waiting" game-play touted in the press release – will the game follow the same sort of model used in say, Planetside, where you log in and can immediately find hotspots and travel to them?

We’re a very different game than Planetside, but the basic idea is there. Players will be able to take a break from their career and jump into casual and official game types, from the second they log into the game world. They will unlock access to more maps as they advance their character, and there will be some in-world fun that I’m not allowed to talk about yet.

MPOGD:  MMOG players tend to invest a lot of interest in their personal avatar. How much customization in appearance will be offered at character creation? Can I make a short, stout, bearded female, for instance? I always wondered if a Dwarf would make a good Agent – mercenary of course!

ParaGON Agent Brunhilda HammerHands? That’s a fun one. She would, of course, have a huge advantage in shooter gameplay being so tiny…unless we made her much slower or, say, wider than a standard model.

For the time being, we’re concentrating on good ole fashioned humans. You’ll be able to choose your parent Agency, set your gender, and then select from a variety of body types, heads, hair, colors, skin tones, and more to create your Agent of choice. There will be additional customization options offered throughout the play experience (find that tattoo parlor in Prague’s District 23 for a fun new design). We also plan on allowing people to optionally change most of what they determined for their character. We’re a secret agent game after all and plastic surgery is quite a common occurrence.

MPOGD:  Operatives appear to be background employees of each agent, not really seen in game. Are there any plans, either at release or post-release, for maintaining support pets - call them squad members, minions or whatever - that travel with you?

At the moment, we don’t have plans for player controlled Operative team mates. If Operatives appear in the game as controllable team mates, we want them to be better than good. That requires more than a little work to not just get in, but get right.

To that end, we decided to not include them as controllable team mates up front. Instead, we want to make the experience of collecting and using Operatives as solid and interesting as possible. We are giving you the option to have Operatives provide skills you can use during missions (calling up for security bypass, an armor boost, a sat scan to ping enemies and more) and we have a few other elements we’re developing that should pleasantly surprise people.

Post-ship, we are definitely considering developing more team based Operatives fun.

MPOGD:  With the absence of classes to define a player's approach to the game after the initial creation, what will encourage them to differentiate at all? How will you avoid the pitfall of players coming up with the "ultimate build", making all other characters inferior unless they equip exactly the same gear? I'd hate to see the Agent Smith syndrome come into play, where all players are virtually identical in stats and equipment.

We agree completely. The player has a series of specialties they can equip and improve over time. This provides similar constraints to a traditional class based system without forcing them to always be exclusively one class. Not every specialty has access to the same outfits. Not every specialty has access to the same weapons and/or gadgets. Not every specialty has access to the same skills. Folks may come up with their optimal strategies for a given specialty, but there is always another specialty that will balance out the field.

MPOGD:  Is The Agency level-based, or is advancement through racking up additional skills, money, prestige and so on?

It’s a little bit of both. Our goal was to create a system that gave players the most flexibility from day to day play. The game is largely about shooting and collecting people and things with an eye towards becoming the highest ranked agent within your parent Agency with the most elite titles for your specialties. Here’s a quick summary of standard progression:

To improve their Agents, players will take on missions for their parent Agency. They’ll pick a specialty, put on an outfit, load up some weapons and gadgets to use and then go out and do their job. At the end of the mission, players will gain experience towards their overall Rank within their parent Agency and possibly a new title for their specialty. New Ranks unlock access to outfits, weapons, gadgets, Operatives and more. New titles unlock new skills and abilities for your specialties. Finally, as you use your weapons and gadgets in the field, you’ll gain experience that will unlock new skills and abilities for those weapons and gadgets.

One way to sum that up is: Get dressed, go play, get better.

Operatives also grow over time based on the assignments you put them on. Higher ranked Operatives will be able to provide more valuable goods and services.

In addition, a number of other activities and progression elements I’d talk about, but it just doesn’t read nearly as well as we hope it will play. We’ll share more in the future.

MPOGD:  Players may create "Joint Agencies" with others, which I will take to being the game's equivalent of a clan or guild. Are there limits to how many players can band together? What are the benefits to doing so?

We’re not quite ready to let loose all the details regarding Joint Agencies. Yes, they’re our variation on traditional guilds. One bit I can leak is that you’ll have the ability to share your Operatives on special Joint Agency assignments that will unlock some very interesting elements.

MPOGD:  With all the Operatives in our employ, will players have access to private headquarters? Will they be very customizable with in-game items and features?

We’re still working out a number of elements related to this feature. Sorry, can’t talk about this yet!

MPOGD:  Tell us a little about the casino games. I have really enjoyed the gaming tables in Puzzle Pirates, for instance. Will there be rankings, tournaments, and so on?

Well, we’re trying to make sure that our mini-games function both as a casual diversion for players and as an element for us to use for storytelling and missions. I hate to do this, but we’re just not prepared to spill the beans on this feature quite yet.

MPOGD:  I see that your ESRB rating is pending, but you are clearly aiming for a more mature audience, given that the flash introduction to the game at http://theagency.station.sony.com requires you to enter your age to proceed. What rating are you eventually aiming for?

The fact that we’re an action shooter may require us to have a particular rating. Our internal goal is to make a game that is no more intense than the average James Bond movie. However, being an action shooter brings along a host of issues for us to work through. Our hope is to reach as many players as possible with some fun, persistent entertainment.

MPOGD:  Will this be a cross-platform game by chance, or will the PC and PS3 versions be forever isolated?

There aren’t many technical reasons that the two platforms can’t play together. However, our primary concern is making sure that we’re not compromising the game play for one platform just so both can play together. We’ll keep everybody up to date on this as this has been a question we’ve gotten quite a bit.

MPOGD:  Will The Agency become a part of the Station Access program?

I’d love to confirm or deny this, but we’re still developing the business model for The Agency. Until we know which model is best for getting the most people into our game, we’ll let you know.

MPOGD:  What is your target release date?

When it’s ready. Terrible answer, but as a designer I’m required by law to say that.

SOE is committed to making a quality title, and is giving us the time and resources we need to realize all the cool elements we’ve been sharing (and the others we’re keeping up our sleeves).

MPOGD:  Here's a question I bet you didn't see coming – will you have an open Beta, and if so, what is the best way to get on-board?

We will most definitely be having a public Beta. I recommend sending me large amounts of untraceable gold bullion with the message, “The Monkey Is Under The Hedge”. I’ll know what you mean. Trust me.

The other, more practical, option (yet far less interesting to me) involves visiting our website and signing up for information.

When the time comes, we want as many people as we can get stressing all of our servers and design assumptions to their respective limits. I can’t wait to see you in there!

MPOGD:  Thank you for bringing us this information!

Thanks for asking!