Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming pseudo-MMO shooter, The Agency, is catching the attention of some gamers - not to mention advertisers too. Though the game might opt to do away with monthly subscription fees (a big sigh of relief there), SOE's still got to make some revenue - that's where in-game advertising and microtransactions come in. Yeah, not everything in life is free. People still need to make money. Life goes on. Golden arches are everywhere now.

We've heard a lot about the possibility of cross-platform play in Sony Online Entertainment's The Agency (PlayStation 3, PC). This time, it's senior game designer Kevin O'Hara's turn to sound off on the matter. Long story short, he thinks that contrary to what they say on Internet forums, gamers don't really like cross-platform play.

Here's word from the senior game designer of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, Kevin O'Hara on how the game came to be Dark Kingdom.

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom will have players assume the character of elite mystical warriors who have been sent out to the Kingdom of Dureth to fight off the Iron Tribes barbarians. Upon returning, these warriors realize that their ruler, King Halaskar, has turned to dark magic and has enslaved his own people. He's using human anguish and converting that into raw power which in turn is used to transform his soldiers into monsters. As soldiers, players will have to betray the power-hungry king and save the entire kingdom.

The story is interesting, and you can gauge by the simplicity of the story that the developers took time to craft this into an interesting game. The process of putting the story together was all work. As with making most games, the developers also had ideas - a lot of them, actually - about what the game should have in terms of gameplay, characters, etc., which a good story could put together.

"A good story should give context and direction to help the player" in the game. And this is what exactly the developers of the game did. Once they've (almost) put together what the game's story would be, they employed a professional writer to help them bring the elements of the game together.

Keith Baker, who also worked on the D&D Eberron series, spent several months communicating with the dev team to get exactly what they wanted the game to have, story-wise. He helped establish character motives, plot points, and story arcs for the game, all the while incorporating the team's current designs for the game. Keith Baker made the first draft of the dialogue and the story of Dark Kingdom.

Like all games in development, several changes had to be made during the production - characters cut out of the game or moved to certain levels, pace of the game adjusted, levels created or scrapped. And because the game had to be more action adventure than an RPG, Kevin O'Hara had to make a second draft of the game's script, making a more concise and faster-paced dialogue.

The designer of Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code story, Amanda Flock, was also brought in to help rewrite the final script and to write all the in-game lore books (not all players read but might want to if they have time). She also helped make Dark Kingdom officially part of the Untold Legends world.

Casting the characters and doing the voice over recording are also integral parts in creating the game. The right motivations for both the voice talents and the actors were needed as these would manifest in the final product. Writers were in hand to help with motivating them and to make quick adjustments to the scripts whenever needed.

The senior game designer admits that the creation of the game was hard work, but that the end product was worth all of it. Now all that gamers will is a fast-paced action adventure as they take on the roles of Dragon Shade warriors who will do everything to save their kingdom from the ruthless ruler in Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom.

Sony Online Entertainment has been busy promoting their project for the PS3, the fantasy action-RPG-- Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. It has been quite a while since we have featured something new about this game, but now, Kevin O'Hara, senior producer of the game was able to shine some light on the game which is known for now as an extension of two previous games for the PSP.

When asked about the storyline of the game, Mr. O'Hara said that in this PS3 goody, "you play a member of an elite squad of warriors in the Kingdom of Dureth. You're essentially Spec Ops for the kingdom; going off on dangerous missions abroad. The game starts right in the action with you bringing a final end to a barbarian incursion. Unfortunately while you've been away, the king has begun to experiment with dark powers. With external guidance, he has found a source of power in the suffering of his people. When you return, your homeland is a changed place. In order to save your kingdom, you'll need to betray your king."

Basically, the game isn't just about your character's physical prowess but it would also give you an idea who you are-- the type who follows the leader no matter what or the type who instigates change when you see that there's something utterly wrong about the scenario. Mr. O'Hara also mentions that it was very challenging to develop a game exclusively for the PS3. But it has its really exciting moments that are also very educational and applicable to their future projects.

He also mentions that they have plans on adding new and downloadable content. In his own words, "after the game ships, we'll create additional content for download. At this time, we have not announced what that will be." Pretty interesting.