Geekcheck

As usual I like to keep abreast of the latest gaming news and through my research came across the game Allods Online. As a F2P MMO, many players will simply overlook it due to perceived bias, but one thing I found interesting was the developers choice of particular classes: the Gibberlings and the Arisen.

Gibberlings
The Gibberlings are creatures from a destroyed part of Sarnaut. Due to their curiosity, peacefulness and friendliness, they quickly adjusted to the new conditions. They are trusted, reliable friends for their allies and a dangerous foe for those that don’t take them seriously. However, unlike other races, they have no ambitions for this world. Their greatest desire is to return to the times of Isa, when the whole world was open to them for exploration. Will the Gibberlings find a way to be as happy as they were before, or will they think of something new? With everything developing so fast, there is little doubt that they will get an answer, and unlock brand new questions soon.

...The Gibberlings are exceptionally fertile. Giving birth to twins can be a cause of disappointment to expectant parents. Triples are the typical brood, and there is even a name for three siblings: a sprout. They rarely live apart as they miss each other if apart for short periods of time. It is often the case that if one dies; their siblings will also pass away soon afterwards.

What I like about this race is that it's not a singular character, but rather 3 different characters played as one. As a racial type, the Gibberlings are actually 3 individual creatures which are played as one unit. From what I can tell through screenshots and videos, each one can be customized through appearance and gender. They even have their own individual animation when idle and during combat.

This is the first time I have seen such a unique take on a player character and hope to see such innovations in HoT.

Arisen
The Arisen are strange and alien to the world of Sarnaut. They have returned to Sarnaut two thousand years after their death. Destiny has granted them immortality to ensure that the future of the world will belong to them.

The Arisen is the official and commonly given name for this race. They are often referred to as “people of Zem” or more simply “Zems”. Their distinct appearance, combined with the fact that they have come back from the dead has given reason to nickname them “Returners”, “Zombies” or even “Ironmen”.

...Zems were once mortals, who were tall, slim, and dark skinned with amber eyes. While their mortal bodies have long past their prime, mechanical parts and a face mark ensure that the Arisen continue to live and survive in Sarnaut. The cause for these changes and the adoption of mechanical parts in their bodies is part of their deep history, and it allows those who died thousands of years ago to rise again.

Two words for you: Iron Zombie. If that doesn't illicit all kinds of cool visual imagery or make you want to listen to some death metal, I don't know what to say about you, other than you must be dead inside.

The undead have been used in many an MMO, but this is the first time where I have seen a cybernetic undead in any MMO. The visual design of this race alone is enough to capture the eye of any gamer as they communicate more of a mysterious and stoic race of creatures as opposed to their typical brain-sucking, monolithic brethren. I particularly like how they all wear an iron mask which hides their natural appearance, and yet gives them a unique look that is almost "eternal."

After seeing races such as these, it makes me wonder why MMOs have continued to farm out the typical "Racial Trinity" of Human, Dwarf, Elf, and nothing more. Not that I have anything against the use of these races, as they are cornerstones of the RPG world. But I would really love to see more unique races for more variety, choice, and innovation. The Gibberlings design alone brings small innovative elements due to the animation and customizations garnered from having 3 individual characters playing one class.

So will HoT have any other unique races other than the Human, Dwarf, Elf trifecta? Or are we going to be inundated with yet more vanilla choices?

Raive

would be best to assume those 3 unless a dev or announcement says otherwise. As for "new" races, more than likely it'll be the typicals.

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niarasolarris

I can do without the uniqueness or different types of races as long as i can customize my chars look to be unique and the game play is good.

Vanguard left emotional scars lol (j/k) I tend to be hesistant to ask too much too soon from game devs.

But all in all it would be cool to have something like what geek was saying

souper

Rockjaw chewed me out for asking that question. He's gone now though, so it should be safe...

Best answer you'll get is: "Just FYI: we have a lot more than three races in the game. Will they all be playable at launch? No. Am I going to confirm exactly how many will be - no, because we're still in development and things change."

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Geekcheck

I was sure they were considering it, but I just had to throw the question out there since I don't remember Rockjaw responding to the earlier ones. As i said, I'm not against the races at all, but after seeing several other MMOs start to get more creative with the choices players have, it's hard not to want to see that variety in HoT.

Another game that I feel has some unique racial choices is TERA - The Exiled Realm of Arborea. This MMO is another Korean MMO, but is planning a US release next year as well. The 3 races that stand out are the Aman, Popori, Baraka, and Castanics. I really like the fact that they have 2 large, "bestial" classes that differ from typical use of orcs or half-giants. So far I would say the Aman are my favorite just on looks alone. You can check out some screenshots and video of the races below after the jump.

TERA (Korean)
TERA (English)

Ciovala

More races does not necessarily add that much 'variety'... I guess it does on a superficial level, but personally I'll just be happy as long as there is a large variety of customisation available within whatever races we can choose. I do wish they had at least one race that was a bit less 'human', though. I guess it's harder to make a large variance available for multiple races and still let them look quite obviously different from the other races even when you do the extreme of whatever available customisation you have.

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squid808

Heck, I'd be happy with changing the names and looks of the three main races slightly. It's a step.

Most likely though you don't see MMOs doing this for a good reason. The 'main three' are already a hardcoded stereotype that people know it's easy to play off of. Why create something from scratch that could potentially alienate your players? Risk risk risk.

In hindsight, though that was probably the exact reason I loved the Taurens in WoW - they were unique.

Geekcheck

Allods Online has really impressed with 2 of their races: The Arisen and Gibberlings. I'm still working on the write-up for my blog dealing with the UI of the game (something I am focusing on as a side project as I study), but I will be sure to post some screenshots of the races.

By far the Arisen are one of the most unique races I have seen in any MMO. They are basically Egyptian Cyberpunk Undead. The modeling is extremely detailed, where you can even see the gears in the animation of the gears in their elbow joints spinning.

And the Gibberlings...Well how can you not like 3 fuzzy little Ewok-looking, rabid Care Bears with knives in their hands!

Dmyankee

I will always hav e human ranger type as a main, but my alt will be something different.

Everquest and VG had some interesting races ...

I never played Allods ... i might look into it.

Vesavius

I don't mind this if they are at least handled differently and have a flavour of their own.

Make dwarves more like Morlocks for instance, evil tunnel dwellers that steal the surface children, and elves like the sidhe... Anything to get away from the LotR cliches please.

We don't need another game of elvish bowmen forest dwellers and dwarves that speak with scottish accents while eating meat off the bone.