The Secret World: "It'll be a sh!t game, don't buy it."

The Secret World: "It'll be a sh!t game, don't buy it."
- Ragnar Tornquist on The Secret World

Posted by Jonathan (Ardua) Doyle OnRPG Journalist on his weblog.

Conspiracies... myths... half truths, careful lies and dark places. All of these are in The Secret World. All myths are true, for a given value. All conspiracies are being played out by the major factions, so long as it suits them.

Templar, Dragon, Illuminati. A world beneath and a game on the horizon. Whatever you know about The Secret World, game creator Ragnar Tornquist says it best on twitter.

"RagnarTornquist @RarePc No, it'll be a shit game, don't buy it. OF COURSE it's going to be a good game, worth every penny, cross my heart, etc. Peace. #TSW"

Of course he's joking. This game is his baby and soon we will all get to witness its birth onto the AAA MMO gaming scene. If you haven't been following the rise and reveals of The Secret World, then more than any other game before you are missing a treat. Sure there is the normal hype surrounding it. Where there are fans, there are huge expectations and opinions. Where there are fans, there are detractors and naysayers. All of that we're used to, heck for some of us it's how we got our start in the MMO blog scene. Hype breeds excitement, excitement breeds word of mouth and we all know what word of mouth can do for, or in darker cases to, a game.

This game though, it has been creeping around in all the dark places. It has been waiting, growing. Spinning tales and weaving webs. I speak of course of the many ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) related to The Secret World. Even if you aren't a fan of MMOs, and if not I'd wonder why you're reading this, it has been quite an experience.

I personally have followed the tweets of some of the unwitting souls of Kingsmouth. I have read of the Monsters of Maine and the Sanctuary Of Secrets. All of these things are being played out on the internet. Sometimes in bursts, full of action and teases. Other times subtly and over a period of time. Unlike any other game I have watched come from concept art, through the teasing trailers and into the market, The Secret World has won my adulation and interest through its mystery. Through the fact that the more I know, the more I want to. All the conspiracies and myths await, all the promises of a secret world, a hidden war and a story unlike any I personally have played with before are just ahead of me.

For people who are left looking at this entry, wanting more, expecting something other than the gushing of a proclaimed fan, there is plenty to be found. There is information close at hand and on the official game forums. Ragnar himself is answering questions every so often on Formspring.me.  The Alternate Reality Games get picked apart by a rabid and dedicated fanbase on more than one occasion. Of course the best information comes from community questions on the forums themselves here, here and here.

Will it be, as Ragnar joked, a sh-oh look a kitty-t game? I for one am happy with my expectations. I think it will be every bit as deep, every bit as enthralling and mysterious as advertised. In the end, every game has fans and detractors. Every game will have nay-sayers and rabid supporters. I am going for the game whose manner and mystery caught my imagination... not with pretty graphics or insane gameplay. They weren't shown yet when I first was snared by it. No, they made me imagine all the possibilities and that, the promise of the mind, is why I will follow the Templar into the darkness of Argartha. Into The Secret World.