BigPoint and Artplant's upcoming browser-based, free-to-play MMO set in George R.R. Martin's fantasy world sounds like it could be really good. Though the live game wasn't shown off at GDC 2012, Artplant did give an overview of what to expect. It'll be set during the events of the first book in Martin's series just after the fall of a particularly important character. The realm of Westeros is in chaos, and you fight alongside one of three major factions for control of the realm.

The playable area will span from the Wall in the north to the south beyond King's Landing, and at launch will feature three major factions. You'll get the Lannisters, the Baratheons and the Starks, and all are trying to install a Hand at King's Landing. You won't actually join directly with a faction, though. Instead, you'll join a lesser house in Westeros – your guild – that can align with one of the three great houses. Using this system, it'll be possible to swap the allegiance of your guild between factions. So if the Lannisters are closer to installing a Hand, you can defect. Other guilds can even offer bribes to entice others to switch sides.If your faction happens to win control of the high-ranking Hand position at King's Landing, the entire faction gets bonuses for a limited time. The road to installing someone in this position is, naturally, a long one. Martin's fiction is full of violence and backstabbing, after all, which is why the game is being built as primarily a PvP game.Though your initial starting position will be protected from invaders, it won't be long until you're out in the open in Westeros and vulnerable to attacks from players aligned with other factions. Player versus environment content will be included, so you don't necessarily need to join with a guild or participate in PvP combat to level, but there won't be any dungeons or raids. All the high level gameplay sounds like it'll be PvP-focused.PvP will take place in small arenas, across the open world, and in skirmishes. Skirmishes occur dynamically in the world and challenge you to compete over specific objectives, such as defending and attacking a wagon train rolling across Westeros. Artplant wants to implement an alert system so that when a skirmish starts up, you can travel there instantly to join the fight. Toward the end of the game there will be siege battles for control of forts, keeps and castles. If captured, you gain resources, the ability to tax citizens and plenty more, as well as voting power to install a new Hand.In terms of the actual mechanics of combat, there will be no auto-attack. You'll move with WASD and attack with 1, 2 and 3 keys, which correspond to light, medium and heavy attacks. If you combine the attacks in the right ways you'll trigger combos and attack faster, and can perform special combo finishers. There isn't really a strict class system. Instead, you select skills as you go, and there'll be around 60 available at launch. There'll also be a weapon leveling system, which should help out if you happen to find a weapon you really like.Artplant is working closely with HBO to ensure the look of the game closely resembles the look of the show. They're actually sharing assets, so armor and special effects you see in the show will be in the game. The game's world map is the map used in the opening credits of HBO's series, and many of the show's sound effects will be used as well. Though Artplant's game will stay true to the style of the show, the explicit nature of the content will be scaled back – there likely won't be nudity and the level of violence won't be quite as extreme as what's seen on HBO.A few early concept video showed the game in motion, and it looks pretty so far, with impressive weather effects throughout the full day-night cycle in Westeros. There'll likely be a closed beta test in the fall, and Artplant and BigPoint are hoping to launch by the end of 2012.