DO IT WITH STYLE

"One of the main reasons for the visual and gameplay style is that if you're not into the level-grinding mindset, then what you're looking for is the minute-by-minute experience to be fun," explains Jeff Strain, the game's producer and ArenaNet's founder. "We have a mantra: 'What am I doing right now?' It's not about 'what am I working for?' or 'what will I be doing when I finally get to level X?' Whatever the answer is, it should be fun."

Part of this is down to the fast nature of the game's combat system. Don't expect to find any drawn-out automated fighting here (as seen in other MMOGs). "We've designed it to be very fast and quick," explains Jeff, "and we wanted to strike a balance between twitch games or 3D fighting games and MMO games where you set a target, click a few buttons and see how it comes out. We wanted combat to be something you managed - something you felt like you were doing."