In the first installment of our exclusive Rift: Planes of Telara dev blog series, Trion Worlds CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman explains why the fantasy setting appeals to the game's creators.

Welcome to the first installment of ZAM's exclusive Rift: Planes of Telara dev blog series! Throughout the coming months, members of the Trion Worlds team will be giving you an in-depth look at the design process behind the upcoming fantasy MMO.

For the inaugural entry, Trion Worlds CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman took the time to answer a question that many players may ask when they hear about the game's setting: "why make a fantasy MMO?" Keep reading after the jump for his answer.

Also, we had the opportunity to attend Trion's Gamer Day last week and get some hands-on time with Rift. Keep an eye on ZAM throughout the week for our impressions, and check back regularly for future editions of the dev blog!

"So, Why Make a Fantasy MMO?"

Short answer?  As creators, we have the freedom to take the setting in all kinds of unique and interesting directions.  As consumers, we love it. 

Why do we love it? That's where it gets interesting. When we're kids, we start out life being told amazing stories of adventure, heroism, and downright cartoonish villainy. We call some of them "fairy tales," and others that have lessons get called "fables."

Later in life, we start reading stories on our own. More grown up, more nuanced tales of intrigue and treachery.  We start growing attached to characters and settings. We explore these fantastic places through others' words. We crave to explore further. 

At some level, almost everyone out there has the basic familiarity with at least some of the elements we use in building these worlds.  They come for all reasons - To explore, to socialize, to escape, or just to take on a role and achieve in a way that simply doesn't exist in the real world. People bring with them some common level of understanding, and they can get straight to enjoying the things that make our world different.

Among all the exhausting work, it can be a hell of a lot of fun. Knowing that your work made someone's day that much brighter, and given them a great experience they can share with their friends, no matter where they live? That's the real payoff.

Scott Hartsman is chief creative officer and general manager of Trion Worlds' Redwood Shores studio and is also executive producer of Rift: Planes of Telara. As an executive at Sony Online Entertainment, Hartsman spent more than six years managing both technical and overall development for products in the EverQuest franchise. Hartsman's career in game development began with his design and development roles with the GemStone series, one of the first virtual worlds. Hartsman was later vice president for Interplay Online's platform and games, shipping titles across a number of online services, and was also technical director for MM3d, Inc.