Twentieth Century Fox has announced that Family Guy Online, a free-to-play browser-based MMO game, has entered open beta. In order to enter the open beta you first need to get the keys to Quahog. Here’s the snippet from the website:
We?re opening the doors to Quahog today and want to make sure the onslaught of ?Family Guy? fans worldwide can enter the game without trampling all over each other, so we?ve devised the Keys to Quahog program. Essentially, it means we?re queuing you up and bringing you into the game in waves in order to ensure the best possible user experience. Here are the details:
Each ?Key? will provide a registered player with the time and date they can enter the Family Guy Online open beta. Once players receive their ?Keys,? they can enter the open beta any time on or after the date and time listed on the ?Key.?
Family Guy Online registered players will be the first to receive their ?Key.? As new players register for the game, they will receive an email with the approximate wait time for their ?Key.? Access is on a first come basis, so the players who have already registered will receive their Keys first, then, as new players register, they will be placed in the Keys queue. The program will begin today and continue for a short period after the open beta goes live with regularly scheduled releases of ?Keys? to increase the number of fans in the game.
I’ve already signed up to be able to enter the open beta, and you can too! Players can sign up for the open beta at: http://www.familyguyonline.com/.
The game will feature full 3D graphics, a quest-based gameplay style and tons of awesome Family Guy humor.
‘We’re going to deliver the essence of the show,” said Gary Rosenfeld of Fox, “The development team includes two writers from the show, because we know that Family Guy has to be funny… I think we’ll definitely attract core gamers, and we’ll also attract a more casual gamer who’s a fan of the show.”
Family Guy Online offers cel-shaded characters and is scripted and voiced by the show?s writers and talent. Players will be able to choose one of four classes based on the Griffen family architypes and, equipped with the Peter-class burp, or the Stewie-class ray-gun. You won’t be able to play directly as Peter or Stewie, but the character creation will allow you to make character’s that remind you of your favorite Griffen, or anyone on the show. I hope I can make something similar to the Chicken Guy.
The game is built on the Unity engine, and aims to hit the sweetspot between a core game like Halo and casual games like Farmville. “It’s a difficult balance,” Verchere said. “We’re really happy with how the Unity Engine makes the game accessible to basically anyone with an online connection but also delivers a good quality graphical experience.”