Microsoft announces Mythica

Microsoft has announced that its internal studios are working on an online RPG called Mythica. In the game, the player assumes the role of a fallen hero who has arrived in the afterlife and seeks to achieve godhood in the Norse realms. The game employs what Microsoft calls "private realm technology" to personalize players' adventures while maintaining the social dynamic that is central to online gaming.

In Mythica, players can adventure with a group of other immortals into vastly populated public spaces or enter a private realm. The private realms are designed to engage players in storylines and environments that react to their actions. In these private spaces, players will become the central characters in a heroic tale, and the consequences of their actions will persist in their version of the gameworld.

Mythica's private realms represent settings taken from several planes of existence in traditional Norse mythology, including the eternal spring of Asgard and the fiery heart of Muspellheim. Players will possess godlike powers that they might use to destroy throngs of monsters in a single blow or to battle massive mythic creatures, such as the Midgard Serpent.

"When playing Mythica, players will feel like genuine Norse heroes on a personalized journey unique to them," said Adam Waalkes, studio manager for role-playing games at Microsoft. "Through Mythica, Microsoft Game Studios will revitalize the massively multiplayer genre by putting the focus where it belongs: on gameplay."

Mythica is scheduled to be released in 2004. The game's first public showing will come at next month's E3.