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Today, I had the opportunity at GenCon Indy to speak with developers and representatives of the Fallen Earth MMOG. This online role-playing game is not yet released. It’s set in a distant future apocalyptic world where much of mankind has perished in a biological holocaust. The survivors have broken into 6 factions, each of which has a different view of how the world should be restructured in the aftermath.

Unlike many MMOGs, Fallen Earth doesn’t limit characters to a specific rigid type. Characters can develop into virtually anything in the game world they want to, based on the way the player chooses to develop them. The skills they actually practice and use are the ones that eventually define them.

There is a crafting element to the game. Characters can band together to build a factory, and when they have logged off, the game continues to do the crafting for them. When the player logs in later, their character has continued earning experience and making items as requested by the player before logging off. The developers describe this as what the character is doing while you aren’t playing.

Characters scavenge for the resources they use to perform crafting. Scavenging is a skill that can be developed as well.

The game allows for both third-person and first-person views. First-person view may be best for things like combat, while third-person view may be better suited to things like scavenging for resources.

The graphics and sound in the demonstration version being shown at the convention were at least as good as any other game I’ve seen in a while. The play seemed smooth and fluid, controls resembled those in World of Warcraft and other similar games.

A release date hasn’t been set yet, but we’ll keep you informed as we learn more.

For more information, see the Fallen Earth web site.