Elixir working on massively multiplayer Republic sequel

The sequel to Elixir Studios' political strategy experiment Republic will be a massively multiplayer game developed as a joint venture with Time of Defiance scribes Nicely Crafted Entertainment, the two companies announced this week, and it sounds just as ambitious as its predecessor.

Republic Dawn: The Chronicles of the Seven (working title) will be a first-person perspective space-based MMOG that thrusts players into an emerging civilisation devastated by attack and charges them with rebuilding it and balancing political, economic and military elements as a society.

Players will act out the human struggle in the republic's first stuttering steps, challenging decisions and progressively shaping the society through their actions. "Will they rise up as one in the name of revenge or will they let the already unstable Republic fall?" the blurb asks.

Due for release in 2007, it promises a rich storyline in a distant galaxy built on Nicely Crafted's AliceServer technology, brought to life by Elixir's graphical know-how and the two companies' new and developing Artificial Life engine.

Elixir creative director Demis Hassabis paid tribute to his development partners, stating, "Nicely Crafted is at the forefront of MMOG gaming technology. I'm really excited that my vision of thousands of players building a Republic together is finally going to happen," he commented. "This is the perfect way for Elixir to enter the MMOG arena."

Nicely Crafted's managing director Toby Simpson said that teaming up with Elixir was "a fantastic way to start 2005". "Republic 2 is going to provide great gameplay and visual experiences - offering players freedom and flexibility that is unparalleled in today's MMOG marketplace," he said. "With our server technology, we're creating a world where hundreds of thousands of people will be able to take part in building a republic."

More details should be made available through the game's website, www.republicdawn.com, in the near future.