Q&A - Atanas Atanasov, Masthead Studios CEO

We recently had a chance to catch up with Atanas Atanasov of Masthead Studios to find out what's currently going on and future plans for Earthrise.

MMOABC: Can you tell us a little bit about Earthrise?

Atanas Atanasov: Earthrise is a post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi MMORPG, which takes place after the Third World War when only a handful of survivors are left in a remote pacific island.

MMOABC: How does Earthrise differentiate itself from other MMORPG games?

Atanas Atanasov: The sandbox design behind the game with features such as skill-based system, advanced crafting mechanics and player-run economics will make Earthrise quite different than the popular MMO titles nowadays. The players will have a great deal of freedom in all aspects of the game.



MMOABC: Online hacking and spamming are widely evident in the MMORPG realm, how does Earthrise handle these disruptions?

Atanas Atanasov: We will be enforcing strict rules against these actions, by developing internal tools to help us identify issues and using a team of game masters to assist as well.

MMOABC: Many MMORPG operators/publishers are currently hosting many games in different geographic regions. Some are "free to play" while others are "pay to play." What is your take on this?

Atanas Atanasov: Earthrise will be a pay to play game. The subscription based model will make the game available to everyone, and everyone will be put on equal grounds rather than those people who have the money to pay for items.

In addition we want our fans to expect that Earthrise will be comparable to any popular subscription based game currently on the market in terms of player experience.



MMOABC: Are you guys planning to do any Earthrise contest events in the next coming weeks or months?

Atanas Atanasov: Yes, we actually just announced our fan art contest. Everyone who is interested in it can visit our forums and learn more.

MMOABC: Will the Earthrise development team be attending any Video/MMORPG gaming events for 2008?

Atanas Atanasov: Yes, a small team of us from Masthead Studios are planning to visit Leipzig GC and Austin GDC this year.

MMOABC: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to talk with us. We wish the best of luck on Earthrise!

You can check out Earthrise here:

http://www.play-earthrise.com