Interviews// World of Tanks

One thing that truly impresses is the camaraderie of the masses playing online. Gamers take to the forums, discuss tactics and vehicles, what the best modifications are. They welcome new blood, helping out those who have never fired a shell in anger previously. The team at Wargaming.net have really worked hard to foster this sense of community, so much so that many know Kislyi by name.

They’ll walk up to him at an event, shake his hand and ask him what’s planned for the future. Even better, he’ll answer them honestly, listening to their points and adding their suggestions to a list he carries around with him everywhere. He’s a guy who is totally invested in his baby and understands that a game is nothing without the support of its players.

I asked Victor what he attributes this community spirit to. Again, hard graft seems to be its basis. “We have meetings with people all over the world,” he says.

“We brought Chinese players to our offices in Minsk, got them to tell us what they think. You just can’t exist apart from your community, so we have to get them involved. We listen, we sit down and drink a beer with them, we read the forums and find out what they have to say. It’s like campaigning to win an election every two months.”

The various teams at Wargaming.net aren’t sitting on their hands. As well as plans for the introduction of British vehicles (“Soon!” says Kislyi when pressed) and new maps on World of Tanks, the company are taking to the skies and seas with two entirely new projects: World of Warplanes and World of Battleships.

Warplanes will be first off the line and promises an arcade-like dogfight experience while Battleships – hopefully due sometime in 2013 – should be a bit more considered, focusing on planning and strategy.

Interestingly, the games will work in tandem with each other. Though there’s no crossover planned as yet – tanks can’t be bombed from the air, for example – moves are being made where players will be able to indulge in large scale clan battles where one campaign will affect another.

“Imagine this,” he says, “before my clan fights a tank battle for Moscow, I have to take part in a dogfight. If my team wins, I may get one or two extra tank units, perhaps even the ability to call in an airstrike or launch a recon plane to try and spot the enemy’s positions. That would be cool.”

One element that is being introduced immediately is the ability to build up XP in one game and use it in another. “Instead of just buying yet another top level tank, you’ll be able to spend it on warplanes and ships,” he explains.

“That’s what I’m going to do, anyway.” (Yes, Victor Kislyi plays his own game, and he’s very proud of some of his accomplishments, happily discussing his wartime stories on the virtual battlefield like some grizzled general…)

As well as the new games, the company are looking to expand into a huge market: China and South Korea. “It’s half of the world’s online market, but they play games that are suited more to an internet café culture,” Kislyi says.

“Breaking into any well defended market is hard but World of Tanks is already growing in popularity. For us, it’s not about having a massive amount of players at the start. We’re OK with having a smaller, more focused community to begin who will help us grow the numbers steadily.”

All of this is wrapped up in a unified system where players log in once, then pick and choose their weapons of choice. If they want a speedy game, warplanes are the way to go. Should they prefer a more cerebral affair, they’ll choose battleships, while tanks are pitched somewhere in the middle.

Add in access to all your online information on your mobile and you’ll soon see that the company have big plans for the future. Kislyi does let it slip that they may have plans for a fourth World to play in at some point but is cagey as to what will be involved.

“You could ask any six-year old and they’ll say exactly what kind of games would be good. I like submarines, helicopters, more modern tanks, spacecraft… but we’d have to be historically accurate.

“That brings in its own level of fanaticism but whatever we decide to do is way down the road. For now, we’re focusing on making these three games as great as possible.”

With a fourth World to look forward to, and tanks to play on right now... I'm off.