Firefall (video game)
Encyclopedia
Firefall is a team-based action shooter
computer game from Red 5 Studios
, a studio founded by Mark Kern
, team lead of World of Warcraft
in 2005. Firefall is set to release online in December 2011 as a free-to-play title supported by an online marketplace.
Players can loot equipment and level up in order to fight better. The guild equivalent that players can join are called armies, an army can grant its members certain advantages and abilities. So far these are mostly rumors however the Thumper, a mining system that is dropped from orbit or by a shuttle, allows a member of an army to gather crystite anywhere in the world, however certain areas appear to be more beneficial for mining than others. When a thumper is deployed it will attract multiple hostile creatures. This was one of a few examples as to events or types of gameplay players will experience. Classes are called Battleframes, and in the playable demo at PAX East 2011 there were three available: Assault, Recon and Medic, with Engineer announced but not playable. It is unknown whether more will be released, but it has been strongly hinted at. Another aspect to the game are modules, or packs, which the player can use to customize their weapons and abilities to fit their play style. For further information see the Firefall site.
in Seattle. It was available to the public for the first time at PAX East 2011, where Red 5 held a live multiplayer tournament. As of September 2nd, the game has entered its first closed beta.
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
computer game from Red 5 Studios
Red 5 Studios
Red 5 Studios is a computer game company currently most known for their high ratio of former employees of Blizzard Entertainment. The founders previously worked on World of Warcraft. Mark Kern was Team Lead, William Petras was Art Director, and Taewon Yun was part of the company's Korean operation...
, a studio founded by Mark Kern
Mark Kern
Mark E. Kern is best known for being Team lead on the Massively Multiplayer Online game World of Warcraft and a founder of Red 5 Studios.-Career history:* World of Warcraft , Blizzard Entertainment Inc....
, team lead of World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
in 2005. Firefall is set to release online in December 2011 as a free-to-play title supported by an online marketplace.
Plot
Firefall takes place on Earth set 200 years in the future. A new energy source called Crystite was discovered and became the main form of power used by humans. The overuse of Crystite led to the disastrous arrival of an aggressive energy storm called the Melding. The Melding engulfed nearly the entire planet, leaving only a pocket of the Earth livable in the eye of the Melding storm. The Melding mutates and transforms all life and even the terrain of the planet. Recently, humanity has come under attack by a race calling themselves the Chosen who have emerged from the Melding. The player takes on the role of a surviving member of the human race in the fight to push back both the Chosen and rid the Earth of the Melding.Gameplay
Firefall features both a large, open-world cooperative campaign that can be shared with hundreds of other players as well as a competitive multiplayer component that incorporates things like ladders, tournaments, clans and leagues.Players can loot equipment and level up in order to fight better. The guild equivalent that players can join are called armies, an army can grant its members certain advantages and abilities. So far these are mostly rumors however the Thumper, a mining system that is dropped from orbit or by a shuttle, allows a member of an army to gather crystite anywhere in the world, however certain areas appear to be more beneficial for mining than others. When a thumper is deployed it will attract multiple hostile creatures. This was one of a few examples as to events or types of gameplay players will experience. Classes are called Battleframes, and in the playable demo at PAX East 2011 there were three available: Assault, Recon and Medic, with Engineer announced but not playable. It is unknown whether more will be released, but it has been strongly hinted at. Another aspect to the game are modules, or packs, which the player can use to customize their weapons and abilities to fit their play style. For further information see the Firefall site.
Development
The title has been under development in secret for many years, only recently being announced at the September 2010 Penny Arcade ExpoPenny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
in Seattle. It was available to the public for the first time at PAX East 2011, where Red 5 held a live multiplayer tournament. As of September 2nd, the game has entered its first closed beta.