"We are looking forward to seeing crowds of players experiencing our game world as well as stressing and testing our systems to the limit," said Lars Kroll Kristensen, CEO of Runestone Game Development. “This will mark the home stretch of the development process as we prepare for next month’s launch.”

Everyone is invited to enter the Open Beta Week. Players need only apply at www.seedthegame.com no later than Monday, April 24th.

This open testing phase will end just prior to the Seed launch on May 2nd, 2006.

The client will then be available for free download, along with its 14-day free trial, at www.seedthegame.com.

On an alien world in the far future, desperate human settlers must work together to ensure the survival of their colony and the whole human race. In Seed you will…

Use your intellect rather than your brawn.

“By trading in weapons for wit, we’ve truly created a simulated society and developed a game that engages you on an entirely different level than any MMG before,” said Lars Kroll, CEO of Runestone. “We have really taken the simulated society idea a big step further, where players can ascend to great political heights within the Seed world, but only if NPCs and players alike allow it through a robust democratic system.”

“NPCs play a significant part in Seed,” added Kroll. “We have focused on making the NPCs varied and interesting to work with. All NPCs in Seed have their own behaviors, motivations and goals, powered by a sophisticated AI engine with distinct emotion, knowledge, and event response systems. They remember, and they judge.”

“Seed uses a unique story template system to create stories according to the playing style and role of each player, whether that be searching for a mono-wrapper for a construction project or greasing a scientist for his vote,” continued Kroll. “You are free to choose how you fulfill your objectives, and no matter how you pull it of, the story will follow your lead, good or bad.”

Decide the fate of the colony.

“Seed is built as an evolving game world, and expanding the game world is an integrated part of the Seed design,” explained Kroll. “When Seed launches, the players find themselves in a colony on the distant planet Da Vinci. The terraforming process has ground to a halt, the space elevator to the orbiting space station has broken, and contact with Earth was ended long ago. What happens from there will entirely depend on the choices of the players. Should the terraforming process be restarted at all cost, or is it wiser to admit defeat and use the limited resources to extend the living areas of the tower? Is contact with Earth all-important or unimportant? The players will decide, all the while permanently shaping the environment around them, voting in their leaders and working together as they choose.

With groundbreaking gameplay powered by next-generation artificial intelligence poured into a rich, comic-book-style 3D world, Seed is like nothing else on Earth. Beta signups will begin January 9th, 2006 with the Beta starting February 1st.

Learn more about this revolutionary MMG and get ready for beta test sign ups at www.seedthegame.com.