GC08: Entropia Universe Interview With Marco Berhmann

Mindark’s Entropia Universe has been making waves in the MMO genre lately with the release of screenshots from its upcoming CryEngine 2 upgrade to the veteran title. Siam Choudhury had the opportunity to sit down with Marco Behrmann from Mindark to talk about the company and the game’s future.

The MMO Gamer: We’re here with Marco Berhmann to talk about Entropia Universe. Could you please begin by introducing yourself and telling us what you do at MindArk?

Marco Berhmann: My name is Marco Berhmann. I’m the Information Director and also Community Director for Entropia Universe, this means I have one foot in the marketing camp and one foot in the development camp of Entropia Universe.

The MMO Gamer: We’d like to start off with a few business questions about MindArk. There was talk about an IPO, what is the status of that?

Marco Berhmann: It’s still ongoing and being evaluated, I don’t have deep information about what is going on with it right now. But I know it’s an ongoing conversation between MindArk the company and Credit Suisse, the bank who is holding it all together.

The MMO Gamer: What kind of effect would the IPO have on the company and the game in the future?

Marco Berhmann: It will supply us with resources in order to grow a lot and also [turn] us into a really big player on the market

The MMO Gamer: We spoke about this a year ago, about MindArk’s expansion into China with Entropia Universe. How is that going?

Marco Berhmann: It’s going well, [there are] a lot of things to do. We are currently developing the SDK kit, and our Chinese partners, CRD, are currently estimating how they want to pursue in detail with their endeavor. They have a more trade focus, and a more e-commerce focus using the Entropia Universe platform than an ordinary MMO like it has been used up until today. And things are moving along.

The MMO Gamer: What can you tell us about the implementation of CryEngine 2?

Marco Berhmann: It’s an ongoing process, our main workforce is working non-stop in order to get it ready, it will probably take a few more months but we’re getting there. And the test results are truly amazing.

The MMO Gamer: When can we expect the implementation to launch?

Marco Berhmann: I dare not say, but at the end of the year, hopefully.

The MMO Gamer: So, in our last interview a year ago, we talked about MindArk’s goal of reaching 150 million users worldwide with its expansion into China. What steps are being taken to reach that goal?

Marco Berhmann: Well, the first step is to get the CryEngine release up and running. And the 150 million [user] goal is a couple of years into the future. We expect 2-4 million [users] within the first 18 months of release of the Chinese portal planet.

The MMO Gamer: When will the first partner systems, portal planets, hit the game?

Marco Berhmann: Sometime during 2009, probably earlier [rather] than later.

The MMO Gamer: What can we expect from the first planets in terms of their gameplay, their focus? Will they differ from Calypso (Editor’s note: Calypso is the current game world/planet of Entropia Universe), the more regular MMO-type game?

Marco Berhmann: Currently we have three confirmed partners [who] are going to develop planets within Entropia Universe. We have about 10-15 more [parties] in discussion. One of the partners, called Creative Kingdom, they are doing a very much hard core MMO with story-lines and quests and so on.

And then the CRD, the Chinese partner, is doing the e-commerce point of view on the planet. And the third company is a media company in the US that has tie-in with Hollywood and broadcast networks and so on in order to get a more entertainment and media approach. So it is a great mix of various planets. I mean, once you have an avatar in Entropia Universe you can join any of these planets.

The MMO Gamer: It seems like the world of Entropia Universe is growing into more than just Calypso and the game and more as a platform for other people to create games in as well?

Marco Berhmann: That’s our vision. MindArk supplies a genuine platform that has been in development for 10 years, we have invested $40 million US dollars into it and it’s a secure platform for handling micro transactions and real cash economy systems, exchange rates and the artificial supply and demand system and payment providers.

Everything in the structure together with the CryEngine 2 development tools, so you get a complete package when you [become] a partner. The thing you need is a content development team and a vision of what you want to do with the platform.

The MMO Gamer: Speaking of CryEngine2, are there any worries that it will keep certain players out because [it is such a] high end game graphics engine?

Marco Berhmann: That’s something of a misunderstanding, because the CryEngine 2 has a lot of configurability, you can configure it to allow for quite an old system and it would still run. Of course it won’t get all the bells and whistles of the graphics engine but it should work.

The MMO Gamer: So you won’t need a Crysis-capable computer to be able to play Entropia?

Marco Berhmann: No.

The MMO Gamer: As a last question, is there anything we haven’t brought up that you’d like to highlight about MindArk and Entropia Universe?

Marco Berhmann: Well I think it’s pretty funny that we are sitting here now, 5 years after the release of a completely novel concept. Not many people believed in the business model that we use.

MindArk the company has been profitable since 2004. We’re here and have a platform in development and that we’re taking on new partners. Our vision is to present Entropia Universe as a three-dimensional browser.

The MMO Gamer: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us and we’re looking forward to hearing more about Entropia Universe.