A little over a week ago, GameSpot News was told part of the team responsible for Ultima Online and its successor product UO: The Second Age had left the comfortable walls of Origin for a chance at creating their own development house. The three had started Wombat Games. We contacted Wombat Games' three founders - former lead programmer of UO, Rick Delashmit; former lead programmer of UO: The Second Age, Jason Spangler; and Ragnar Scheuermann, former programmer on UO and The Second Age - in their new Austin, Texas, offices to find out how the company's first title is shaping up and what's in store for the new company.

　　GameSpot News: How does it feel to be on your own?Delashmit: It's an interesting change, and a lot of work, but in the long run I think it will be worth it. Being able to see our product through from inception to the end, remaining in control of the fundamental ideas of the game, and still being able to work on the product will be very rewarding for us.Scheuermann: Right now, it's pretty exciting! But for the future, we'll let you know.Spangler: The independence is great! Worrying about cash flow isn't. ;-)

　　GSN: Have you been watching other developers in the gaming industry, and did their leaving and starting their own companies influence you?Scheuermann: The reasons why we left are more personal than industry related. But we believe that sooner is certainly better than later when it comes to forming a company. The first generation of MMPORPG's (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) have just come out, and we were a large part of that. Wombat Games will be a large part of the second generation, and blaze some new paths of its own.

　　GSN: We've heard that the company's first task would be to help Origin with maintenance for Ultima Online - including patches, programming, networking, and other tasks. Delashmit: Due to the nature of our contract with Origin, we can't reveal anything beyond the specifics on our web site (http://www.wombatgames.com/).

　　GSN: Since Wombat is now set to sign a deal with a publisher for the first title, any hints on what that title will be? Will it be anything like UO?Spangler: Our first title is a massively multiplayer RPG (surprise :-). The game will be player driven, meaning players will be able to create every object and do every action that exists in the game. The world will be dynamic and changeable by players. Scheuermann: UO did many things right and we will do those things right again. However, we had some fundamental design and vision problems with UO. We want to make a game that focuses on player interaction, both with other players in the game and the world in which they live. People will be the actors in our game, not just the audience.

　　GSN: How close is the design to completion? If you were to get a publisher today, how long do you think it would take to finish development of the game?Scheuermann: The most amazing thing about the core members of Wombat Games is that we share a common vision of the game we're creating. We've actually found that writing up the design, which is mostly complete, to be quite easy.Delashmit: We're planning on a two-year development cycle for the initial release of the game. Since it's an online game, we expect there to be development time after the initial release as well.

　　GSN: Considering that Wombat has a very singular focus on massively multiplayer games, what do you think of the current massively multiplayers already in the marketplace? What would you improve?Scheuermann: UO: Suffers from a lack of a clear vision. They need to decide what type of game they're trying to create, and put as many resources as possible into it. Everquest: The title says it all, but will they manage to build a real community? Will their world evolve?Spangler: Asheron's Call: The character creation system looks very cool.Delashmit: Every online game out there so far is very static and gives very limited power to the players to determine what the world is like and how it develops (if it even develops at all). Those two points are the biggest things we're shooting for, and the most neglected in the current crop out there and in development.

　　GSN: What's been the best and worst experience you've had with building the company? And how did Origin take the news that all of you were leaving?Delashmit: I'd have to say one of the best experiences I've had is working with many of the people either at or formerly at Origin - there are a lot of talented people there. I think it best not to elaborate on the worst experiences I've had in working up to this point - let us just say that many mistakes were made, and I don't enjoy dwelling on the details.Spangler: My best experiences were creating gameplay elements for UO and watching the players enjoy those gameplay elements I made or help make, and working with people dedicated to the game and the players like Ragnar and Rick. Among the worst experiences were being on call 24/7 for 10 months straight, along with others I won't talk about. Scheuermann: I'd say both were part of the same experience... when I moved from the Ultima Ascension team to the Ultima Online Team. It was all done so suddenly, we were expected to make major contributions to a project where we didn't know any of the team members. A lot of toes ended up getting stepped on, and a lot of animosity occurred between the two teams. The concept of the game really appealed to me though and I worked hard to make it the game I wanted to play. It was frustrating, challenging, painful, and fun all at the same time. The climax was when I made the decision to stick with the Ultima Online team, rather than going back to Ultima Ascension. I was the only team member to do this.

　　GSN: Do you think the past few weeks have been way too busy or have you had a good amount of time to think about your upcoming game (or play ball in house, check out all the web sites you couldn't view at work, etc.)?Delashmit: Well, for myself, the past few weeks have been way too busy, since I'm currently out of the state working with SegaSoft, as well as doing contract work for Origin, keeping up with Wombat, etc.Scheuermann: I've been thinking about and designing parts of this game for the last 2 years, I certainly haven't stopped in the last few weeks :) But yes, we've all been pretty busy.Spangler: Way too busy. :-) Working on Wombat's first game, business details, and UO:T2A at once is daunting, but I'm getting used to it.

　　GSN: Who first came up with the idea to start Wombat? Is there any significance to the name (or do one of you just have a fascination for wombats)?Spangler: Rick and I had been making plans for a while, and Ragnar joined us a couple of months ago.Delashmit: The name comes from a few ideas - first, of course, cute fuzzy (if somewhat ugly) critters. :) Second, wombats are one of the creatures that appear on most MUDs, and third, wombats are fiercely independent, which suits us quite well.Scheuermann: The wombat also looks cute on a roadsign. :)