Posts Tagged ‘Mytheon’

True Games’ Mytheon to commence open beta starting April 28th

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Almost a year and a half since it’s initial announcement, True Games’ epic free to play Strategy/RPG title Mytheon is getting ready for a public showing. Starting April 28th, True Games will open the doors to the general public. Although not an official release, this period will serve as a “soft launch”, as players will have unlimited access to the game.

Doing a bit of a celebratory dance, True Games will be offering what they’ve dubbed the “Champions of Mytheon” package to a very exclusive group of just 2000 players. The first 2000 to get on board and plunk their cash down will receive lifetime access to discount currency, premium offers, exclusive, one-time only items, as well as sneak previews of new content before its release. The package goes on sale in early May (no official word from True Games on an exact date), and will also allow purchasers access to an early play period before the games’ official launch. And if that wasn’t enough, True Games will also be chucking in some Mytheon Coins to be used in the cash shop, vitality elixirs, stone bundles, limited edition Mytheon shirts and autographed posters, and the option to include players’ real name in the game credits under “Champions of Mytheon”.

As noted above, during this open beta, Mytheon’s cash shop will be open for business for the first time. At various times throughout the beta, players will receive “Mytheon Coins” that they’ll be able to spend at the cash shop. Items up for sale include armor and weapons, power stones, potions, and more.

“This is an exciting time for all of us and for Mytheon as we prepare to open the flood gates and let everyone experience mythology come to life in an action setting,” said Peter Cesario, director of new business and product development at True Games Interactive. “We have already witnessed the development of a thriving community and we are proud to offer them the Champions of Mytheon package which allows them to get an ever-important head start on play, exclusive goodies, and access to never before seen content that will truly make them feel like the gods.”

As a reminder, Mytheon is a free-to-play multiplayer Strategy/RPG/Action game where players battle in classic mythology scenarios, challenging gods to determine they players’ fate. Mytheon players, or “Stonecasters” as they’re known, are über humans with the ability to cast spells, summon minions, and build structures to aid them in battle. Naturally, a various assortment of classes are available, each offering it’s own unique combat abilities.

To signup for the open (or closed) beta, and learn more, visit the official Mytheon site.

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True Games snags yet another Top EA exec, moves to Lone Star State

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

(Formerly) Irvine, CA based True Games has recently announced that they’ve appointed former EA, Turbine, and SOE veteran Mick Giles as their new Chief Technology Officer. Giles brings 13 years of industry experience to the table, having most recently served as Senior Director of Online Operation for North America and Asia and Senior Director of Technology for Worldwide Studios at Electronic Arts. Pardon me…what? That actually bears repeating – EA’s chief of Online Ops and director of global Tech – just joined a relative startup, with a business model based on free-to-play titles supported by microtransactions. To say this is big might be selling the concept short.

If Giles’ most recent position didn’t warrant enough street cred, he also served as Execvutive Director of Technology at Turbine, where he oversaw core development projects, operations, IT, and Biz Dev efforts for Asheron’s Call, DDO, and LotRO. And rounding out the ‘Wow, this guy’s been a major player in a lot of stuff’ category, from 2003-2006, Giles filled the role of Director of Platform Technology at Sony Online Entertainment, meaning he was deeply involved in development and technology efforts in titles including EverQuest, EverQuest2, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, and Planetside.

“Mick brings to the team an extensive background in technology, operations, platform management and more, and we look forward to adding his expertise to our management team,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and CEO of True Games Interactive. “With one live game in Warrior Epic and one game about to go into beta in Mytheon, as well as multiple games in development, his expertise and experience is a welcome addition to the team.”

This announcement follows True Games’ rather recent appointment of 15 year industry vet Frank Lucero. And lest we forget, K2, Namco, and Vivendi vet Peter Cesario is now with True Games, as well as former NCSoft and EA exec Peter Jarvis. It looks as through True Games has truly managed to attract some very powerful people all under one roof.

And it looks like that roof in the Golden State isn’t going to be big enough.

Bundled with the announcement of Giles joining the True Games team, they’ve also announced that they’re officially moving their HQ from Irvine, CA to Austin, TX. Not exactly a surprise move, as only this past October, the company announced that they’ve opened a development studio in Austin. Slated for an official closure in March 2010, many of True Games employees will soon be relocating to Texas. The company cites continued growth, stronger internal communication, and a heavier focus on game development, as well as the excellent talent pool in Austin as primary motivators to move.

“Once we were doing our planning for the next several years, it just made more sense for us to combine offices in Austin, as opposed to moving everybody here to Irvine,” Cesario said.

It’s also fair to say that economic conditions are a factor in True Games’ decision. Cesario relates, “Last week, a company official was in town looking at potential office locations. An agent quoted the monthly rent on one of the spaces.”

Confused, the company rep. replied, “No, not square footage, what’s the rent?”

“That’s the best quote I’ve heard,” said Ceario. “It kind of sums it all up.”

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New details and screens from Petroglyph/True Games’ Mytheon

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Free-to-play games have been hitting the market at record pace lately, and while a number of them offer entertainment at a wide range of levels, there’s one in particular that’s got a ton of potential and promise; Mytheon. In the works for quite a while now, it looks like the Petroglyph folks are getting might close to a closed beta date.

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Mytheon will be an online title that combines elements of action, strategy, and RPG game play, with a heavy focus on collectability and combat. As a free-to-play title, the game will be microtransactions supported, falling perfectly inline with True Games’ business model; an exclusive deal they signed back in August of 2008.

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As the name suggests, Mytheon is heavily steeped in unique, ancient mythologies from around the world. Building upon players’ first supposition of Greek mythology, players start out their adventure by delving into the rich lore of ancient Greece. Future expansions are planned for further journeys through various different mythological pasts of assorted civilizations. As with many, if not all free-to-play/microtransaction supported titles, Mytheon will feature vast character customization options. Recognizing the need to keep players interested, the Petroglyph team is already focusing on ways to replay the game, while offering a unique experience each time. To accomplish this, Mytheon features a number of group, PVP and solo play options and varieties, each capped off with a fully featured, integrated social networking system.

And while the title is still in development, the folks at True Games are starting to warm up the plates, by encouraging the existing community to create their own fan sites, by way of a contest. The best Mytheon fan site creators will receive prizes and top honors, including closed beta access, and a $50 in-game currency credit to spend any way they choose. In addition, bragging rights also go a long way in online gaming, and the winning creator will have a link to his or her creation coming directly from the official Mytheon site. And if this wasn’t enough, the winner will also receive an exclusive interview with on the the Petroglyph developers.

“We can’t wait to see what our creative fans come up with for this contest and who can build the most compelling fan site,” said Peter Cesario, Director of New Business and Product Development at True Games Interactive. “Mytheon is such a unique game in itself that we think our community will have a lot of fun coming up with fun and interesting fan sites.”

True Games has now made the official fan site kit available for download via the official mytheon forums. Interested parties have until October 23rd to submit their entries, with winners being announced in early November.

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True Games and Petroglyph announce new free-to-play: Mytheon

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

The new free-to-play, microtransaction based Action Strategy/RPG Mytheon is the title of the upcoming offering from the True Games/Petroglyph partnership we first reported back in August.

Petroglyph is best known for their award winning work with Star Wars: Empire At War and Universe At War real time strategy games.  Key members of the Petroglyph team were also involved in the development of the original Command and Conquer series while at Westwood Studios.  Mytheon hails as uncharted territory for Petroglyph, as this is their first microtransaction game.

Mytheon has a planned launch date of Fall 2009, and is slated to combine the best elements of action, strategy, and RPG game-play with a heavy emphasis on collectability and combat (read – blow shit up!).  Players will find themselves in a fantasy universe heavily laden with mythology themes.  The starting area turns out to be a no-surprises-here-isn’t-this-where-it-all-started Greece.  Ongoing expansions will follow that will further adventurers into exotic mythologies from every corner of the world and historical time period.  Designed with ‘not just once’ playability in mind, Mytheon seeks to offer players real-time combat and customizations that will invite them to play the same scenarios in a wide variety of ways via group, PVP, and solo play, an addition to an integrated social networking component.

“There really isn’t a game on the market today that someone could compare to Mytheon,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “The game truly creates an entirely new genre offering a combination of features that gamers would normally have to play several different games to get. There is no doubt it is an ambitious project, but Petroglyph has routinely delivered AAA quality, genre-defining games and Mytheon continues that pedigree.”

Thus far, Mytheon is offering three different character classes each with it’s own specific “power stone” specialty.  These power stones are collected throughout the game and offer players unique abilities including the abilities to conjure spells and summon minions.

“The passion and energy behind Mytheon has been tremendous at Petroglyph. This is exciting new territory for Petroglyph to explore,” said Chuck Kroegel, CEO and General Manager of Petroglyph. “We are making a compelling and addictive new genre that will have you fully immersed and entertained. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner than True Games to take this journey with us and I’m certain that together we’ll deliver a long-lasting new franchise.”

Again, Mytheon is slated for a Fall 2009 release, and something tells me, there’ll definitely be a True Games/Petroglyph presence at this coming summer’s GDC in Cologne.

For further info about this exciting up coming free-to-play, visit the True Games/Petroglyph team at www.mytheongame.com.

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