Becoming a Time Lord's Assistant in Dr. Who

There have been many attempts to recreate the Doctor Who experience for gamers over the years, with very mixed results. Tie-ins like last year's DS and Wii outings proved to be shameless cash-in exploiting fans by simply being bad puzzle games with the Doctor's face plastered on the box art. In stark contrast, the BBC-produced free-to-play The Adventure Games were a much more pleasant experience, offering Whovians the chance to live out an episode of the show - albeit in a slow moving flash-based point and click.

The dilemma with trying to craft an authentic Doctor Who game lies with the nature of the show. Its non-violent, anti-confrontational stance makes creating tension fairly difficult, with puzzle-based play a more natural fit for the show. But with nearly 50 years of rich heritage to mine, surely someone, somewhere, with a passion for the show, should be able to create a satisfying Doctor Who experience for gamers?

That's what BBC Worldwide is currently tasked with doing in time for the show's 50th anniversary in 2013. With details scarce on PS3, Vita and PC tie-in The Eternity Clock, Doctor Who: Worlds In Time is the next outing where Dr Who fans can get their fix. One name sprang to mind for Robert Nashak, executive vice president of BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games, to provide that fix. "Daniel James of Three Rings is like the Doctor Who of video game developers," he told IGN. "He's even built a life-size TARDIS in their studio!"


Developer Three Rings Designs (the studio behind MMORPG Puzzle Pirates) was brought on board for its expertise in the freemium market to build a persistent online community around the Doctor Who brand, with fans of the world's longest-running sci-fi show at the forefront of their minds. "We've worked to provide Doctor Who fans an experience that matches the quality and imagination of the TV show," said Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings Design, "and [to create] a forum to introduce casual gamers to this remarkable world with an experience accessible to players of all levels."

Doctor Who: Worlds In Time is a browser-based MMO that puts you in the role of the Time Lord's assistant. The game begins with the Doctor appearing in your bedroom ready to whisk you away for adventures in time and space. Here you create your character: you can select from human, cheem, catkind, or silurian before embarking on your journey.


There are ten recognisable worlds including Skaro, Messaline, The Library and New New York to explore, with ten iconic Who monsters to defeat at launch including Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels and Autons, with updates promised along the game's proposed four to eight year life span.

Using the TARDIS to reach each invaded location, the Doctor sets missions in order to restore the devastated world back to its former glory. There's a suitably timey-wimey storyline involving shattered timelines and such, but the emphasis with Worlds In Time is on community. You can party up with up to 30 people and jump into missions, working together to piece each broken world back together through puzzle-solving confrontations ranging from pipe-rewiring tasks to 'match three'-style block dropping.

Another major part of the game is collecting contraptions from rescued worlds in order to craft your own sonic screwdriver back on the TARDIS, through levelling up your tech-tree using points earned by solving puzzles. If it all sounds a bit RPG-ey, that's because it is.


With its cutesy art style, puzzle-based play and easy to grasp mechanics, BBC Worldwide is hoping to hit as large an audience as possible - from Who fans to casual gamers to the hardcore, with 'King of the Hill' style Guild-play (which they're dubbing 'aggressive altruism' to stay in line with Who's pacifist theme) being introduced at launch next year.

As with all 'freemium' games, there's an energy system to squeeze the cash from your wallet. You can buy things called Chronons which help you through missions more quickly, enabling you to upgrade your 'gadget', customise your avatar, and buy furniture for your room in the TARDIS. Of course, the BBC is keen to stress that the game is 100% finishable without spending a penny.

As the Who universe expands on TV, the developer hopes to keep the game up to date, introducing new monsters to the game as they appear in the show whilst adding in classic monsters from its rich 50 year history. Executive producers and script editors from the show have been drafted in to map out the game's storyline in a bid to stay true to what's happening on telly.

"It's a great collaboration with the creative team behind Doctor Who, they're fully behind it," Robert Nashak told IGN. "We've dipped into the entire universe of Who, and we hope to act as an encyclopaedia of the show."

You can find out how successful the team have been in recreating that unique Who experience in the open preview with starts today at DoctorWhoWIT.com.

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