Chad "Pappy" Moore and Mike Donatelli introduce us to the new WildStar races

Though identity is important for character creation and creating resonance that lasts with the player; it cannot be done by design, animation, dialogue and voice over without also creating a persistent presence in the game world. The Chua and Mordesh will certainly be influential for all players in the ongoing story of Nexus.

Moore: “For both of these [races] because they have such unique back-stories—and I would say compelling back stories—it is also been reflected in some really cool personality-laden content in our game. They’re both fun, in the case of the Mordesh, dark to a certain degree, so when you run into both of these [races], and the content associated with them, that content I think is some of the coolest and most unique content in the game.”

Donatelli outlined his view on the strength of identity across WildStar’s eight races and revealed something to look forward to in Cologne next month.

“I think all of the races have a good deal of personality about them and I think the thing I like about them is that it isn’t black and white. The Exiles are not the “goody good guys.” You’ll see. One of the things we’re taking to Gamescom is an area called Whitevale. It’s a very interesting story where the Exiles may have been the ones who did the “badness.” The Dominion is shocked by this. We don’t shy away from that. There’s not a good guy side versus a bad guy side, both sides tend to do what they feel like.”

That kind of narrative complexity, in regard to the two factions, is a welcome sign of the depth and complexity of the story set to unfold on Nexus. Mike and Chad both stated that having a moral ambiguity in the game was something they focused on, ensuring that their sci-fi trip through the fantastic is grounded in a recognizable, resonating reality.

Responding to a question on whether the Chua would be the “short, irritating” race, Moore dispelled any illusions that the furry maniacs would be easily dismissed.

“The reason that I like the Chua as a race is because even though they’re not necessarily well liked by their allies, you can’t live without them.  To a certain degree, the attitude of the Chua, and the way that the Chua goes about things, reflect that they understand that. They’re not the downtrodden small race with a Napoleon complex that’s just trying to find its way through the world.

To tell you the truth, they almost have the most power in the Dominion. It’s just a different kind of power. I think that gives them a very unique perception and we reflect that in the content.”

Mike felt that an iconic character from a different universe was a good example of the Chua’s motivation and personality types.

“One of the main protagonists of the Chua, Mondo Zax, reminds me of the Joker. His voice and mannerisms are very Joker-esque. He’s like an insane genius, I don’t consider him annoying.”

Speaking of annoying, small races are the bane of PvP fanatics—except those who immediately roll them—and it was confirmed that though the Chua are smaller, their hit boxes would be the same size as the rest of the races. In fact the scale of the Chua had been iterated upon so that they’re not so tiny to be difficult to see on the battlefield.

Back to the Mordesh, when asked about the age of their population, Moore revealed another reason why they are the most sullen members of the Exiles.
“The Mordesh can’t procreate because of the Contagion. All of the Mordesh are survivors of Grismara and the outbreak. That happened about 80 years ago from the point at which the game begins.

The Exiles have been smuggling them out of the blockade around Grismara for the last 20 or 30 years.

I was just playing through some content last night, in one of our zones that we haven’t talked about, but it’s very much entwined with the Mordesh and the issues they have to deal with, with this disease. It’s pretty dark, which is kind of cool, right? Our content runs the gamut, sometimes it’s light hearted, what I was playing last night was some pretty serious stuff, which is a cool break once in a while.”

Donatelli interjected ominously: “If you want to turn around and save your race, some people may have to sacrifice.”

Click through to Page 3 for why the Mordesh spell danger to the Mechari and much more>>>