Gunfights in the Internet corral

Tenderfoot Games has announced plans for Wild West Online, a new Massively Multiplayer Online Game -- or MMOG, to use gamer lingo -- designed to give players the opportunity to create their own Wild West mythology using a wide array of digitalized settings, goods, and weapons.

According to a Tenderfoot company spokewsperson, the new MMOG "will appeal to a diverse player base, with a strong focus on accessibility to mainstream consumers who may never have played an [online game] before. Wild West Online will attract a range of players, from aficionados of Westerns who have long dreamt of immersing themselves in the Old West, to those who simply want a good shootout. Game settings range from frontier camps on the edge of civilization, to prosperously growing towns and cities. "

The game will feature scenarios based on Old West history and myth. Permanent and pick-up teams can join forces to seek wealth and notoriety, but there's also a place for solo play by lone wolves seeking individual fame. But wait, there's more: Players can advance their abilities to open up new game play options. They can buy goods, important objects -- and, while doing so, gain new skills and abilities.

Wild West Online "will be faithful to the Western mystique we all grew up with as kids,” says Mike Reynolds, game designer at Tenderfoot Games. “The American frontier culture is an important part of our history, so we are working hard to re-create that atmosphere and to honor the mythology from which so many modern fiction settings drew inspiration.”

The shooting is set to start in the fourth quarter of 2008.