Project Copernicus
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| Project Copernicus | |
|---|---|
 Working title logo | |
| Developer | 38 Studios |
| Director | Steve Danuser |
| Designer | Travis McGeathy |
| Artists |
|
| Writer | R. A. Salvatore |
| Composers |
|
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Release | Canceled |
| Genre | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Mode | Multiplayer |
Project Copernicus was a canceled massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was in development at 38 Studios. The project was created by studio founder Curt Schilling, with writer R. A. Salvatore and artist Todd McFarlane being deeply involved in its development. Other notable staff included creative director Steve Danuser, art director Thom Ang, and co-composer Aubrey Hodges.
The game was set in Amalur, a fantasy universe shared with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (2012), a game in development at Big Huge Games from 2009. The storyline would have seen the world's races, having achieved immortality through a device dubbed the Well of Souls, banding together to defeat a great evil. Developer comments compared the gameplay to World of Warcraft, and participation would have been based on a free-to-play model.
Project Copernicus was first mentioned in 2006 when 38 Studios was founded, initially planned for a 2011 release. The game was teased with artwork and a short trailer released in May 2012, but production ceased that same year following the studio's bankruptcy. Reactions to its cancellation were varied from employees, associated parties, and journalists covering the incident. Its overly high ambitions and place within the changing MMO market were noted. In 2018, the assets of Project Copernicus were acquired by THQ Nordic along with the Amalur intellectual property.
Project Copernicus was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the fantasy world of Amalur, a world subject to a cycle of death and rebirth.[1][2] One staff member later described Amalur as a version of Earth in a "post-apocalyptic magical future".[3] Players would have influenced the story, with different servers potentially having different versions of the world after a key narrative choice.[4]
Players would have inhabited a member of one of four playable races − humans, elves, gnomes, and ogres − and explored different environments, accepting quests and fighting enemies.[5][6] The team aimed for a large environment that players could explore in its entirety, including large-scale landmarks.[7] The gameplay was internally compared to World of Warcraft, with a focus on exploration, real-time combat using multiple abilities, and character classes and traits.[5]
Project Copernicus was planned to use a free-to-play model, a growing industry trend at the time.[8] While the base game would have been free, microtransactions would have been incorporated offering optional perks and items to players such as cosmetic armor sets, house furnishings, and in-game pets.[4] Chat functions were also planned, with the concept of using different fonts to distinguish the player races.[9] The final name and target platforms were to be announced later.[6]
Production
Project Copernicus was being produced by 38 Studios, a studio founded by Curt Schilling in 2006 as Green Monster Games. Schilling, a former baseball player and avid gamer, wanted to create an MMORPG based on a new intellectual property (IP). He partnered with writer R. A. Salvatore and artist Todd McFarlane to create the Amalur universe, which would provide the basis for Project Copernicus.[8][9][11] The game was intended to be a market rival to World of Warcraft, aiming for a "deeper" narrative and distinct art style. Its world and lore would be the basis for a multimedia franchise.[8] Project Copernicus was initially scheduled to be released in 2011,[12] with 38 Studios projecting annual profits of over $100 million from its revenue.[13]
Schilling wanted to gather high-profile game developers for the production, with it later being compared to gathering a "super star" group.[12] Creative director Steve Danuser previously served as a designer and community manager for EverQuest II.[14] The lead designer was Travis McGeathy, who had served in that role on the original EverQuest.[15] 38 Studios' art director Thom Ang shared duties with McFarlane.[15][16] The user interface (UI) was being designed by Irena Pereira, known for her work on World of Warcraft and its expansions The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.[17] A team of three composers−Aubrey Hodges, Duncan Watt, and Gene Rozenberg−were working on the music and sound design.[18] Hodges was known for his work on the King's Quest series,[17] Watt had previously been the lead composer of League of Legends,[19] and Rozenberg had composed for a variety of games and went on to work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.[20]
Early concept art was noted for a lack of corners and angles, a conscious artistic and technical choice by Ang to set it apart from other similar games.[21] Pereira described the universe's visual identity as inspired by ancient texts and historical drawings.[3] The original logo was based on the Ouroboros symbol, tying into the game's themes of death and rebirth, but it was dropped due to similarities with the logo of The Elder Scrolls Online.[2] Salvatore created the 10,000 years of backstory and history for the Amalur setting with some friends in a Dungeons & Dragons group, and he worked with McFarlane to ensure his art design matched the story.[10] Salvatore insisted on the backstory's large scope, wanting a cohesive and compelling setting.[22] The game's story, which had a planned four-year arc, would have focused on different factions within Amalur banding together to fight a common enemy.[7][1] A central theme was the social and psychological effects of the Well of Souls, an artifact that grants immortality to Amalur's population.[23] Schilling had been eager to include centaurs as a playable race, but they were left out due to their added workload.[24]
Schilling sought to develop a large-scale title in the MMO genre,[8][11] although he noted in 2009 that it might have been easier to design in another genre.[25] He encountered difficulties finding investors for the company and game, using much of his fortune alongside smaller loans. In late 2010, 38 Studios negotiated an agreement with the state of Rhode Island in which the company secured a $75 million loan in exchange for moving to the region to help grow the local tech industry. The agreement and move were completed in early 2011.[8][26][27] Project Copernicus was being built using Unreal Engine 3,[28] while the BigWorld middleware tools were licensed for development.[29] For voice chat and related communications both in-game and within the company, they licensed software from Vivox.[30]