Were there any other surprises during the preview?
We've been in closed beta for a while now and we've gotten lots of great feedback from our beta testers, so I can't say that we were honestly surprised by anything in the Sneak Peek weekend.
Did anything "wow" players that developers didn't expect would be considered cool?
I think one thing unexpected is how many of our adult closed beta testers are getting into the story and lore of the game. Also how closely their feedback mirrors feedback from kids during the Sneak Peek weekend. Since so much of the feedback on our beta forums and from our survey is positive, we see that as a very good sign.
The next preview is scheduled for December 5-7th. What will be different between the first weekend and this one?
The main difference is that, with the first one under our belt, we are advertising this second one more heavily. Given the preliminary feedback we've seen so far, we expect even more players to be jumping in to try out FusionFall this weekend.
Will players be able to see any new areas or characters?
The whole game is open for the players. While it's unlikely that players will be able to get to some of the highest level zones in FusionFall in just a weekend, we're not closing anything off to them. It's an open house!
What about the open beta?
Our open beta is going to start on December 27th and our commercial launch is January 14th. It will be 24/7, just like the Sneak Peek weekends, but obviously for a longer period of time. Players in the open beta will have lots of time to explore FusionFall.
What have been the most challenging aspects in development?
In general, probably the most challenging part of developing FusionFall was balancing traditional MMO mechanics that can be enjoyed by a younger audience. For FusionFall we have created an expansive and dynamic world with action, challenges, and interactive community, but it's also a game that families can play together in small increments of time and players still get the satisfaction of advancing.
What have been the most satisfying aspects in development?
Definitely seeing it all coming together as we approach our commercial launch in January is very satisfying. We have been working on FusionFall for a while now and have had some major direction changes along the way to improve the game, such as switching to the Unity engine to make the game browser-based. Seeing everything together as a whole after looking at pieces for so long is an amazing feeling.
