Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,604,530 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Atari to Publish Artifact Entertainment's ``Horizons''; Highly-Anticipated Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Available for PC in Fall 2003.


Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2003

Atari today announced that it will publish Artifact Entertainment's "Horizons," one of the most closely-followed and highly-anticipated massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG (Massively Multiuser Online Role Playing Game) A role playing game on the computer played by many people. An MMORPG differs from a regular computer role playing game because its environment is perpetual. ) in years. Currently in development for the PC by Artifact Entertainment, Horizons will allow players to experience online gaming See gaming.  like never before in a single massive online world primed for exploration, brimming with adventure and rife with danger.

"Artifact Entertainment has spent the last few years making sure that `Horizons' will present MMORPG players with an experience like none other," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and head of Infogrames, Inc.'s Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850.  studio. "Just imagine beautiful, massive, zone-free environments, epic-level combat encounters on a scale never seen before, an extremely intuitive, deep and self-sustaining trade skill system, extensive support for player run communities and guilds within the game world and, for the first time in any MMORPG, playable dragons!"

"Horizons" takes place within the world of Istaria -- filled with cities and towns, castles and strongholds, villages and mystical structures, in environments ranging from tropical jungle and arctic tundra to windswept wind·swept  
adj.
Exposed to or swept by winds: windswept moors.


windswept
Adjective

1.
 plains and mountainous wilderness. Whether adventuring by themselves or questing with a group of friends, players are free to choose their own path and encouraged to create their own stories. Fierce warriors, arcane spell casters and challenging combat will rule the frontier lands, but skilled craftspeople crafts·people  
pl.n.
People who practice a craft; artisans.
 will play an absolutely critical role in overall character and world development.

"With `Horizons' we wanted to create a world where players would have a massive impact on their environment -- a dynamic place where cataclysmic cat·a·clysm  
n.
1. A violent upheaval that causes great destruction or brings about a fundamental change.

2. A violent and sudden change in the earth's crust.

3. A devastating flood.
 events could change the appearance and function of the world in real time right before your eyes," said David Bowman This article is about the Space Odyssey character. For the Scottish football (soccer) player, see David Bowman (footballer).
David Bowman is a character in the Space Odyssey series.
, Creative Director and Co-President of Artifact Entertainment. "And, that's exactly what players can expect. Our advanced world-building capabilities, the seamless integration of changes into the `Horizons' universe and, most importantly, the inherently dynamic nature of extensive player-run communities are sure to deliver a level of immersion and interaction not seen before."

Nine playable character races will be available when "Horizons" launches this Fall; Humans, Dwarves dwarves  
n.
A plural of dwarf.
, Elves, Fiends and yes, Dragons, are among them. Each player character can be further customized with a near endless variety of visual tweaks, including gender, ethnicity, age, skin color, body and facial types, hair styles and color as well as wings, horns and other exotic alterations associated with select species. In "Horizons," players will be able to select from a number of base adventuring schools such as, Warrior, Healer, Wizard and Scout as well as base crafting schools, including Blacksmith, Gatherer, Outfitter and Scholar. Guilds and player communities have become the lifeblood of today's MMORPG, and "Horizons" will revolutionize support for these critical game-play elements with a number of new and innovative features as well as refined and improved approaches. Friends and guild mates can cooperate to build frontier towns, bustling merchant communities or even mighty defensive castles along the borderlands.

"Horizons" will be available for PC CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc.
CD-ROM
 in full compact disc read-only memory

Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser).
 Fall 2003. Additional information about "Horizons" can be found online at www.istaria.com, which features Istaria history and lore, character race and skill information, downloadable and streaming game play movies, screenshots and much more.

About Artifact Entertainment

Artifact Entertainment, Inc. is a privately held developer of Online Interactive Entertainment Environments and revolutionary Multi-User Networked Simulations for the gaming and military communities. Artifact strives to provide quality entertainment experiences using superior technology, proven design methods, broad market appeal, customer satisfaction and the highest quality staff. Artifact is currently developing the highly anticipated, fantasy-based Massively Multiplayer Game called "Horizons: Empire of Istaria." More information on Artifact Entertainment, Inc. can be found at http://www.artifact-entertainment.com or requested by emailing press@artifact-entertainment.com.

About Infogrames

New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq:IFGM) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles are distributed under two brand lines: ATARI, hard-core, genre-defining games such as "Driver(TM)," "Enter the Matrix(TM)," "Neverwinter Nights(TM)," "Stuntman stunt·man  
n.
A man who substitutes for a performer in scenes requiring physical daring or involving physical risk.

stuntman nespecialista m

stuntman 
(TM)," "Test Drive(R)," "Unreal(R) Tournament 2003," and "Unreal(R) Championship"; and INFOGRAMES, mass-market and children's games such as "Backyard Sports(TM)," "Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM)" and "Dora the Explorer Dora the Explorer is an animated television series that is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network. A pilot episode for the series aired in 1999, and Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. (TM)," "Civilization(R)," "Dragon Ball Z “DBZ” redirects here. For the meteorological term, see dBZ (meteorology).

Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ
(R)" and "RollerCoaster Tycoon(R)." Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary

A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company.
 of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.infogrames.com.

Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2003, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Mar 27, 2003
Words:764
Previous Article:Transocean Inc. to Present at The 31st Annual Howard Weil Energy Conference.
Next Article:Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Suit Against AFC Enterprises, and Others, on Behalf of Investors.
Topics:



Related Articles
NO LONGER GOING SOLO NEW ONLINE GAMES CONNECT PLAYERS WHO LEAVE SOLITAIRE-Y WAYS BEHIND.
LucasArts to Develop Versions of Star Wars Galaxies for Xbox Live and PlayStation 2.
iEntertainment Network Releases HelbreathUSA, Role Playing Game, to US Market; Over 125,000 Players Already Playing This Game Online.
HelbreathUSA.Com Acquires 2,000 Subscribers During First Weeks of Launch.
Atari Introduces ``Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds'' for Xbox and PC.
Atari Partners with Turbine Entertainment to Develop ``Dungeons & Dragons Online''; Companies to Usher in New Era of Massively Multiplayer Gaming in...
Atari Bringing Epic Games' ``Unreal II: The Awakening'' to Xbox for Holiday 2003.
Electronic Arts Announces Development of Next Ultima Online Expansion Pack.
WEBZEN Announces Development of New MMORPG for PlayStation(R)3; Global Online Games Leader Joins Ranks of Top Game Companies to Publish for Next-Gen...
Marvel Entertainment and Cryptic Studios Unveil 'Marvel Universe Online'.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles