Jonric: In overview, what is the layout of the game universe? How large is it, and is it divided into regions in some way? How quick and easy will it be for players to travel about, especially across long distances? John Bergman: The game takes place entirely in space. We intend to have ongoing story elements driving the direction of the universe, and it is our plan to have the direction determined passively by the behavior and choices of the user base. Understanding it is not required for play, but it does make some political alignments and faction behavior a little clearer for those who would prefer to frame the present against the events of history. There is a significant backstory to the game. The third faction, a loosely knit group of corporations and other interests, has adapted an existence for itself apart from the war, on the fringes of deep space. The two most powerful of these factions, the Itani and the Serco, have been at war for millennia. Over a period of time, due to various human frailties of arrogance, pride and misdirected hatred, humanity in Exile has split into three major factions. Jonric: What's the setting in which Vendetta Online takes place? How much of a backstory element is there, and will the live game have any form of ongoing narrative? John Bergman: The game takes place several thousand years after an unforeseen natural incident cut off a large population of colonists in a solar system very far from Earth. While peaceful roles are possible within Vendetta Online, the universe is never entirely a safe place. Trading is also primarily non-combative however, there are always pirates and other possible dangers. Missions are one form of character progression, with both combative and non-combative types to choose from. The basic tenets of the game, at release, will be combat, missions and trading. One of our bigger goals has been to integrate the real-time twitch-style (first-person shooter-like) combat model with the character progression and other role-playing aspects traditionally associated with an RPG. In part, it draws upon several aspects of the classic single-player space games of the past, but places them in a massively multiplayer setting. Fundamentally, it melds the concepts of fast-paced space combat with the backdrop of an extensive RPG universe. Jonric: As an introductory overview, what kind of game is Vendetta Online? With respect to its high-level design goals, what types and balance of gameplay can we expect? John Bergman: Vendetta Online is a persistent space-based massively multiplayer online game for Windows, MacOS X and Linux.

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