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Sometimes playing video games can be challenging and even downright frustrating in trying to accomplish a particular goal or in trying to fight hordes of wild looking aliens. But there are times when a game's concept alone will attract your attention immediately. For some reason, you just can't stop thinking about it. A game that's so intriguing that you want to learn more about its development, technology and overall game design.
Independent game developer Cosmic Origins created a stir with their MMORPG game called Frontier 1859. The game would be more than the usual shooter or role playing game. Frontier 1859 would put a player directly into Western Nevada during the 1850s. Players could develop their characters within various heritages such as the Nez Perce, Englishman or the French and take them along the different paths.
Making your own video game based on your own ideas and designs sounds like a lot of fun and for the most part it is. Every day, thousands of avid players dream about the creating the perfect game. When Cosmic Origins' founder Daniel McMillan decided on Frontier 1859, he knew there would be a tremendous amount of work ahead of him. Beyond the game's concepts and design, he was also faced with the business side of games. Daniel McMillan shared his vision for Frontier 1859 and what he's doing to make this game a reality.
Digital Media Net (DMN): Please provide some info on your education and your professional background?
Daniel McMillan (DM): I was a super-8 filmmaker throughout high school, and simply fell in love with filmmaking. After graduation, I began designing and building sets, props, and miniatures to local Detroit-Metropolitan Producers. In those early days, I met Sam Raimi, and Bruce Campbell, and did some concept/miniature work for them when they were still in Ferndale Michigan. During that time, I also began attending Center for Creative Studies as an advertising design major, and Macomb Community College under the Graphic Communications program. Three years later, I was serving an internship as storyboard artist through Universal Images Productions, and training on the Aurora CG system. They hired me full-time, and my professional production house career began. Four years later I was lead FX artist for Geoffrey & Jeffrey, and then Illuminations, the top FX house in Detroit. During those years we were the cutting-edge of the TV commercial business. My dream to make films by route of learning the various stages of production continued until 1994, when there was a job in Truckee, California, as a game artist. They needed someone who was able to stage game play with movie-like continuity and elaborate detail. They liked the board-game/700 card system I had designed in my spare time and hired me. Thus my career in game development began building upon a foundation of twelve years experience in film/TV production. Over the last ten years, I have contributed to ten published titles, for both PC and console, as well as three cancelled projects. Around November 2000, I felt that it was time to launch my own studio, and offer some new experiences while also creating jobs and giving back what I have learned.
DMN: Why did you choose to create a game based on American history in 1859? What was your inspiration or motivation? Frontier 1859 is classified as a MMORPG but will it look something like EverQuest in the Old West?
DM: It's kind of a strange progression. In 1993, I visited Virginia City, Nevada, and was captivated (like so many others) about the "what was it like" question. So I began studying all about it, beginning with Dan De'Quilles "The Big Bonanza," the leading social commentary written by someone who was there. In 1996, after relocating back to Michigan to work for Outrage Entertainment on the "Descent" series of PC games, multi-player games began to stay on my mind a lot. I recall the day I told myself I would focus upon them one-day. After several years of Everquest, and then Dark Age of Camelot, and hundreds of hours playing those games, there was a growing need to evolve the game-play more towards being able to set forth into the land, and do whatever you would do in real life, as opposed to simply killing over and over again. Technology, and the knowledge and historical data I had gathered for all those years had suddenly hitched a ride on the MMORPG enterprise. I knew that, giuven the resources, I could indeed bring the frontier wilderness to life once again, and give anyone, anywhere in the world the chance to share in the adventure, spirit, and lifestyle of the last frontier. After a couple years presenting the concept to the world, and working through the various questions and problems that came up in our early community, the concept sharpened, and was able to better ascertain where some of the biggest challenges will be, as well as assess the market. 2004 was the year that the project translated from "MMORPG" to "Online Virtual World." The Native American Community who joined us, helped us realize that this project was bigger than "just a game" and the direction was set to recreate some of the Native American tribes as well as the Emigrant settlers.
DMN: Frontier 1859 has some very ambitious features to offer the gamer, how do you plan to accomplish these?
Will you be creating the game technology in-house or will you be looking to use a third party technology? Why?
DM: I've taken everything I've learned in the last twenty years, and designed a system by which we will approach production using both in-house developed technology as well as licensed technology. Picture a project structured as modules, giving streamlining access for change over the long-run, so that both customer service and in-house development can be as efficient as possible. At the core of the project, is a database that will enable each member of the team to have instant access to all of the information they need - both artists and coders, in order to build and manage their assets, and have some "foresight" (rather than hindsight) in the area they are working on as it specifically interacts with other modules. Each module is prioritized for first, second, and third release, and so on. The main engine will most likely need to be developed inhouse, since we plan on allowing people to alter the landscape. Other areas will utilize cutting-edge technologies such as Nat FX, who will author botanical growth algortithms, so that we will have growing trees, sage brush, and crops. There are at least six other third-party licenses that the pre-production team will look into before making the final decision.
DMN: Because you?re doing extensive research on the people and times around 1859, do you think that this game might be considered as an educational tool as well as a video game?
DM: Without a doubt. I believe this is the reason that God inspired people to develop such technology - to make learning more fun, to communicate across many cultures, create jobs, involve the whole family, and tap a deeper purpose for entertainment. Like any good film, there is detailed research that goes into it, and in the end, it is still a very immaculately beautiful and passive experience. Virtual Reality layers in another dimension of audience participation (with production structure very similar to film) that allows people the chance to see how they would act under as many of the same conditions that real life counterparts faced. Of course this wouldn't happen in "just a game" so that required me to invent the "Dynamic Conscience Inventory Tracking System" in order to build an environment of accountability.
DMN: There are so many fascinating stories to be told about the people and times during the West?s settlement, I?m sure this would make it difficult to cover all of it in one game. Will you attempt to possibly build an entire series of video games covering other major points in American history after Frontier 1859 is completed?
DM: The long term goal is to build upon the technology and knowledge of this project in order to evolve as the public evolves, and thereby be equipped for growth and change. We plan to do something different after Frontier 1859. Once set into motion, Frontier 1859 can be enjoyed and updated for as long as there are participants from communities around the world. The same virtual world environment that is planned for this project, will be adaptable for other worlds. Cosmic Origins long range plan calls for a very progressive (and realistic) science-fiction virtual world setting based upon a feature film project called "TQ", where participants will play a role across several terrestrial and extra-terrestrial races in the Milky Way Galaxy. "TQ" introduces new and exciting opportunities where landmark worlds such as "Star Wars, and Star Trek" left off.
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