Wow, I can't believe my last post was in July. I guess I owe Slickjack another thanks for poking me out of my procrastination!
I was chitchatting with some of the Devs from Warhammer and Dark Age of Camelot after a town hall meeting. We ended up discussing the importance of the "social" factor in MMOs and of building community going from the chat system, crafting and trading, to guilds, alliances, group quests and epic encounters. The whole time, I kept thinking that these are things developers use to facilitate (all to often "force") community. But to me, that is not what community is about.
In most MMOs, the fact that Joe decided to take an extended break, quit, sold his account or passed away in real life isn't likely to make much of a difference. If he was the GM of his guild, it will probably fall apart and everyone will scatter. The folks with the best gear will be picked up by current "flavor of the day" guilds, the rest will PUG their way into their next guild. Some will stick together, but those were often friends before they started playing the game to begin with.
And therein lies a significant part of the issue. When a game is heavily level and gear dependant, it destroys its own community by dictating who gets to play with who, when and where. You cannot build a solid sense of community by being exclusive. Yet exclusion is at the foundation of many class based games. You want to raid with us? Would be nice except you're a tank and we just don't need another one. Better luck next time! Oh that's your best friend? Yeah sorry, his gear sucks too much and his level is too low, he'll pull too much aggro. Tell him to look us up in a few weeks/month when he's up to our level. Auction houses? Awesome! I have no idea who the seller is, and frankly I don't care: I didn't even look at their name, I just checked the lowest price.
Then I remembered a thread that started not too long ago on Stratics about Atlantic's History. And I thought: see, THAT's what community is about. To me, it's not forcing people to group up with other folks they don't know and probably don't even like just so they can partake in some of the better content. It's giving players the chance of being part of something, to leave a lasting mark in the world, to make history.
Community isn't spamming the Looking For Group channel for the first person that can do 3K+ DPS. It's people from all walks of life gathering on a ghost infested beach, year after year, to commemorate the real life passing of a player who made his mark in the world by becoming UO's greatest librarian. It's hanging out at player run establishments like the wild and crazy Odyssey's Club was. It's the RP towns like Paxlair and Sanctus built from the ground up by the players. It's when other players ask for you and your shop by name when they want quality goods. It's the fear, awe, admiration, love and even hatred inspired by the mere mention of the name of a player or a guild. It's when reminiscing about the old days is more about the people come and gone, than about boss mobs and class nerfs.
While it is true that promoting social interactions in games increases player retention, I think most games miss the mark. What kept me playing this game was knowing that my presence made a difference. I had an impact on the world. I had something to call my own. I can quit any other MMO today, go back in a few months or a year, and after a bit of a grind, it will be the same it always was. While I'm gone, not a whole lot of people will miss me as there will be plenty of other DPS, Tanks or Healers to pick up where I left off. As a UO player, if I quit tomorrow, I feel like I have a lot to lose: the house I worked so hard to acquire, the clientele I took so long to establish, the guild or the player town I devoted years to build. And in turn, my absence will affect those who knew me.
In my humble opinion, true Community is when the individual matters and when the only limit to the fame, influence and accomplishments you can achieve are only those you set for yourself.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Enemy Mine
Sorry, I've been neglecting my blog, but we're crunching big time with Beta. Not to mention I pulled a disappearing act and went to Montreal to get majorly pampered by Mom! And while enjoying some much needed R&R, I couldn't help but check out the Beta forums and catch up on various games I hadn't had a chance to play. While reading the boards, there was a post about players PKing during beta which made me go hmmm.
There simply never seems to be any way around the irreconcilable differences between PvMers and PvPers. The hatred and venom between them is mind boggling at times. So while chilling at my parents' house, I stumbled on an old movie I had loved when I was a teenager called Enemy Mine and I couldn't help but draw the parallel. The story is about this human pilot fighting an alien enemy. Both end up crashing on a hostile, abandoned planet and are forced to cooperate in order to survive. Through their hardships, they get to know each other, understand and respect their differences. From mortal enemies they became more than brothers because they learned to view the world through the other one's eyes and realized being different doesn't mean being bad.
PvP isn't for everyone but it's not because you do that you're necessarily a jerk. And it's not because you don't that you're automatically a wimp. Some people are vegetarians, others love meat. They're still people and one isn't better than the other. Trying to walk in the other guy's shoes doesn't mean it will grow on you. Some things aren't meant for everyone, but it could at least help you realize that the other guy is your normal every day Joe, cool friend, good brother, good husband, good neighbor. Just a dude who is different, like that Drac from the movie was.
Being mainly a PvPer myself, every time I see these threads, I systematically have to fight back the "here comes the whine" (+ rolls eyes) reaction. Especially in a game like UO where 75% of the content is exclusively PvP-free. It blows my mind when PvMers begrudge any crumbs tossed the PvPers' way. Of course there should be PvP-exclusive rewards, otherwise where is the gratification? Would a PvMer fight a challenging (though fun) boss mob more than once if there was no reward at the end of the day?
When it comes to PvP, and in the case on the forums, PKing, it's usually up to the designers to provide their players with ways to limit the "inconvenience" to those who do not wish to PvP or to set up a smooth learning curve so the barrier to entry isn't too brutal. Some games succeed at it better than others. And some, by design, not so much. Darkfall is the perfect example.
I want to believe I'm not wimp when it comes to taking a beating (in game!). But when I tried Darkfall, I experienced exactly what PvMers describe feeling when forced into a PvP situation (that they usually lose) when simply trying to PvM. In Darkfall, there are no safe zones even in noob towns, anywhere, period. When you die, you lose absolutely everything (except your noobie weapon that you can't gain skills with). And every time I would step out of town to fight the (much too rare) goblins or trolls to level a bit, one or two PKs would show up and rape 10 noobs in the blink of an eye with us barely doing a scratch to him/them. Some nights, you couldn't even reach the goblins without getting PKed again. It was the most frustrating experience ever. I felt like the sacrificial lamb offered to slaughter for the greater amusement of relentless bullies.
I toughed it out for a while, knowing from the get go I wouldn't renew my subscription. It was shocking to see myself cussing out those PKs. But in truth, what bothered me wasn't getting PKed. It was the fact that I was helpless, the fact that I had no way of honing my skills before I was thrown to the wolves. The fact that these guys knew it and abused the heck out of it. Those PKs were a minority, but their presence was overwhelming. And because Darkfall's UI is so different (quite unique and interesting), it's an extra barrier that made things even harder.
In the end, it just reaffirmed (to me) what I've always believed. When it comes to PvM and PvP it's always about choices. I chose not to be farmed by the PKs in Darkfall and cancelled my subscription. It's both my gain and my loss. Many others have toughed it out and experienced some of the cool other content in the game. To me, it wasn't worth the aggravation and I'm ok with that "loss". Similarly, players in UO and most other MMOs out there, can make the choice to exclusively PvM or to PvP as well. It is your choice whether or not to expose yourself to danger. If you choose not to, then you also choose not to have access to certain rewards (other than buying them where applicable). But be grateful that in those other games you at least have a safe environment where you can learn and grow before you face the beast. Because at the end of the day, the beast is really just another Joe who has been doing it a bit longer than you and has learned a few tricks along the way.
There simply never seems to be any way around the irreconcilable differences between PvMers and PvPers. The hatred and venom between them is mind boggling at times. So while chilling at my parents' house, I stumbled on an old movie I had loved when I was a teenager called Enemy Mine and I couldn't help but draw the parallel. The story is about this human pilot fighting an alien enemy. Both end up crashing on a hostile, abandoned planet and are forced to cooperate in order to survive. Through their hardships, they get to know each other, understand and respect their differences. From mortal enemies they became more than brothers because they learned to view the world through the other one's eyes and realized being different doesn't mean being bad.
PvP isn't for everyone but it's not because you do that you're necessarily a jerk. And it's not because you don't that you're automatically a wimp. Some people are vegetarians, others love meat. They're still people and one isn't better than the other. Trying to walk in the other guy's shoes doesn't mean it will grow on you. Some things aren't meant for everyone, but it could at least help you realize that the other guy is your normal every day Joe, cool friend, good brother, good husband, good neighbor. Just a dude who is different, like that Drac from the movie was.
Being mainly a PvPer myself, every time I see these threads, I systematically have to fight back the "here comes the whine" (+ rolls eyes) reaction. Especially in a game like UO where 75% of the content is exclusively PvP-free. It blows my mind when PvMers begrudge any crumbs tossed the PvPers' way. Of course there should be PvP-exclusive rewards, otherwise where is the gratification? Would a PvMer fight a challenging (though fun) boss mob more than once if there was no reward at the end of the day?
When it comes to PvP, and in the case on the forums, PKing, it's usually up to the designers to provide their players with ways to limit the "inconvenience" to those who do not wish to PvP or to set up a smooth learning curve so the barrier to entry isn't too brutal. Some games succeed at it better than others. And some, by design, not so much. Darkfall is the perfect example.
I want to believe I'm not wimp when it comes to taking a beating (in game!). But when I tried Darkfall, I experienced exactly what PvMers describe feeling when forced into a PvP situation (that they usually lose) when simply trying to PvM. In Darkfall, there are no safe zones even in noob towns, anywhere, period. When you die, you lose absolutely everything (except your noobie weapon that you can't gain skills with). And every time I would step out of town to fight the (much too rare) goblins or trolls to level a bit, one or two PKs would show up and rape 10 noobs in the blink of an eye with us barely doing a scratch to him/them. Some nights, you couldn't even reach the goblins without getting PKed again. It was the most frustrating experience ever. I felt like the sacrificial lamb offered to slaughter for the greater amusement of relentless bullies.
I toughed it out for a while, knowing from the get go I wouldn't renew my subscription. It was shocking to see myself cussing out those PKs. But in truth, what bothered me wasn't getting PKed. It was the fact that I was helpless, the fact that I had no way of honing my skills before I was thrown to the wolves. The fact that these guys knew it and abused the heck out of it. Those PKs were a minority, but their presence was overwhelming. And because Darkfall's UI is so different (quite unique and interesting), it's an extra barrier that made things even harder.
In the end, it just reaffirmed (to me) what I've always believed. When it comes to PvM and PvP it's always about choices. I chose not to be farmed by the PKs in Darkfall and cancelled my subscription. It's both my gain and my loss. Many others have toughed it out and experienced some of the cool other content in the game. To me, it wasn't worth the aggravation and I'm ok with that "loss". Similarly, players in UO and most other MMOs out there, can make the choice to exclusively PvM or to PvP as well. It is your choice whether or not to expose yourself to danger. If you choose not to, then you also choose not to have access to certain rewards (other than buying them where applicable). But be grateful that in those other games you at least have a safe environment where you can learn and grow before you face the beast. Because at the end of the day, the beast is really just another Joe who has been doing it a bit longer than you and has learned a few tricks along the way.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Anticipation
Whenever a new game or expansion is about to be released, fans are always dying with curiosity and anticipation. Will it be as good as we hope or worse than we expect? But one thing people often don't realize is that the Devs are just as excited and anxious, for pretty much the same reasons!
Players complain about being bound by the NDA when they wish they could share what they're testing with their buddies, but imagine designing something for months and having to keep quiet about it? This is when we finally get to show off those (hopefully!) cool features we secretly worked on. It's also when we find out if it was a hit or a miss.
Since we're still frantically working on finishing some of the features, the content is being delivered in stages. I can tell you that there's nothing worse than realizing that one of your features isn't going to make the next publish because of whatever bug. Whether the bug is your fault or someone else's is totally irrelevant. It's just disappointing. You know annoyed you feel when you're waiting for a highly anticipated patch just to be told the Devs delayed by another week? However valid or not the reason for the delay, you still feel cheated. So we're all in the same boat, just for different reasons.
But for our features that do make it, there's a mix of dread and excitement about how it will be received. I won't lie, after the last publish I was all over the forums reading players' comments about their first impression of the latest additions. Did we live up to their expectations? Exceeded or majorly failed?
After that though comes the "time to bang your head on the wall". Silly things such as "we would love to test this but you guys forgot to give us the tool to craft it with". Or better yet, "sure, I'll fight the boss monster if you guys would be so kind to put a doorway in". And we're like: how the heck did we forget that?! Silly stuff that makes you want to kick yourself. We're just as frustrated that you're not able to try some of the stuff. More so even, because our oversight caused it.
I spent the week-end beta testing on my normal player account. There's nothing more enlightening than to be down in the trenches with the rest of the guys, especially when they have no idea who you are. You share their pain on the mobs that are way overpowered or so easy they bore you to death. I've said this before and this week-end reinforced that conviction further: you cannot understand your players' pain unless you experience it first hand. You HAVE to play your own game.
Next week will be crazy. There are a lot of bugs to fix from the previous push. And from my own experience this week-end, a lot of tweaks and balance are needed to get some of the features to go from functional to fun. But there are also more features I want to get in so I better find a way to meet the cut off date somehow! Because I'm a big kid, and I just can't wait to show off the new toys we get to play with! :D
Players complain about being bound by the NDA when they wish they could share what they're testing with their buddies, but imagine designing something for months and having to keep quiet about it? This is when we finally get to show off those (hopefully!) cool features we secretly worked on. It's also when we find out if it was a hit or a miss.
Since we're still frantically working on finishing some of the features, the content is being delivered in stages. I can tell you that there's nothing worse than realizing that one of your features isn't going to make the next publish because of whatever bug. Whether the bug is your fault or someone else's is totally irrelevant. It's just disappointing. You know annoyed you feel when you're waiting for a highly anticipated patch just to be told the Devs delayed by another week? However valid or not the reason for the delay, you still feel cheated. So we're all in the same boat, just for different reasons.
But for our features that do make it, there's a mix of dread and excitement about how it will be received. I won't lie, after the last publish I was all over the forums reading players' comments about their first impression of the latest additions. Did we live up to their expectations? Exceeded or majorly failed?
After that though comes the "time to bang your head on the wall". Silly things such as "we would love to test this but you guys forgot to give us the tool to craft it with". Or better yet, "sure, I'll fight the boss monster if you guys would be so kind to put a doorway in". And we're like: how the heck did we forget that?! Silly stuff that makes you want to kick yourself. We're just as frustrated that you're not able to try some of the stuff. More so even, because our oversight caused it.
I spent the week-end beta testing on my normal player account. There's nothing more enlightening than to be down in the trenches with the rest of the guys, especially when they have no idea who you are. You share their pain on the mobs that are way overpowered or so easy they bore you to death. I've said this before and this week-end reinforced that conviction further: you cannot understand your players' pain unless you experience it first hand. You HAVE to play your own game.
Next week will be crazy. There are a lot of bugs to fix from the previous push. And from my own experience this week-end, a lot of tweaks and balance are needed to get some of the features to go from functional to fun. But there are also more features I want to get in so I better find a way to meet the cut off date somehow! Because I'm a big kid, and I just can't wait to show off the new toys we get to play with! :D
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dilemma
Design vision and player wishes often seem to clash. Sometimes it's a minor difference in opinion/expectation, sometimes it's fairly significant. And that can be seen in some of the heated posts on game forums. Players wonder why the heck we don't just give them what they want. Some designers will take the "cuz I said so" approach while some will take the "there's a good reason, just trust me" approach.
I personally believe in the honest, open dialog approach. But I understand why so many don't. Frankly, players chew you up regardless so it's reasonable to ask yourself: why bother?
As designers, we have to strive not to fall into the: I'm gonna do this because I can, I got the power and because that's what "I" like. Which is somewhat paradoxical as I also consider designers to be artists and I do not believe an artist should bastardize his art to please others. He should be true to his vision and let others discover its beauty.
But then, we're not truly artists, are we? I guess we're more like scriptwriters on a TV series who have this (hopefully) awesome story to deliver in so many episodes. Sometimes we need to adjust some characters or events based on our audience's response. I remember thinking that when I watched the cast interviews of Battle Star Galactica before the finale. They were saying how Anders (who was only meant to have a small 2-3 episode role) was turned into a main character in reaction to the fans hating him so much for hooking up with Kara (I hated him for it too and ended up loving him by the end of the series!).
Like scriptwriters, we cater to an audience that gives almost instant feedback throughout the creation process. Sometimes our response will go against their wishes and still work out for the best (as in BSG) and sometimes it won't. But invariably, the fans' voices will influence the direction we take, sometimes steering us in a different path than originally intended.
In UO, I've been facing that same dilemma, namely with the gardeners. My vision as a designer, which was also shared by many on the team, isn't shared by quite a few of the gardeners. A bug introduced a way for players to grow some plants in hues we didn't want them because frankly they are an eye sore. While the bug was quickly fixed, we decided not to revert the few "ugly plants" they had obtained during the bug, since we figured that would be the end of it. But turns out players remained with a number of colored seeds that allow them to keep growing those horrors and cross-pollinating them, which makes me cringe beyond words.
So I looked into the code on how to revert all existing ones and neuter the remaining offensive seeds. Once I found the solution, I went to the gardeners forums to make a post telling them the fix for these abominations was on its way! But what I found was a really long thread of excited players sharing their experiments results, building up cross-pollination charts, giving each other tips on how to achieve certain hues and certain breeds. It was like watching a bunch of kids in a toy store. I had this strange mix of major annoyance, amusement and pride at how nice the kids were playing with each other.
And I just didn't have the heart to post... After thinking about it long and hard, I just reverted the "fix". It's still a hard to swallow humble pie but if it doesn't create imbalances and is just a matter of personal preferences, sometimes it's ok to let design vision take the backseat.
I personally believe in the honest, open dialog approach. But I understand why so many don't. Frankly, players chew you up regardless so it's reasonable to ask yourself: why bother?
As designers, we have to strive not to fall into the: I'm gonna do this because I can, I got the power and because that's what "I" like. Which is somewhat paradoxical as I also consider designers to be artists and I do not believe an artist should bastardize his art to please others. He should be true to his vision and let others discover its beauty.
But then, we're not truly artists, are we? I guess we're more like scriptwriters on a TV series who have this (hopefully) awesome story to deliver in so many episodes. Sometimes we need to adjust some characters or events based on our audience's response. I remember thinking that when I watched the cast interviews of Battle Star Galactica before the finale. They were saying how Anders (who was only meant to have a small 2-3 episode role) was turned into a main character in reaction to the fans hating him so much for hooking up with Kara (I hated him for it too and ended up loving him by the end of the series!).
Like scriptwriters, we cater to an audience that gives almost instant feedback throughout the creation process. Sometimes our response will go against their wishes and still work out for the best (as in BSG) and sometimes it won't. But invariably, the fans' voices will influence the direction we take, sometimes steering us in a different path than originally intended.
In UO, I've been facing that same dilemma, namely with the gardeners. My vision as a designer, which was also shared by many on the team, isn't shared by quite a few of the gardeners. A bug introduced a way for players to grow some plants in hues we didn't want them because frankly they are an eye sore. While the bug was quickly fixed, we decided not to revert the few "ugly plants" they had obtained during the bug, since we figured that would be the end of it. But turns out players remained with a number of colored seeds that allow them to keep growing those horrors and cross-pollinating them, which makes me cringe beyond words.
So I looked into the code on how to revert all existing ones and neuter the remaining offensive seeds. Once I found the solution, I went to the gardeners forums to make a post telling them the fix for these abominations was on its way! But what I found was a really long thread of excited players sharing their experiments results, building up cross-pollination charts, giving each other tips on how to achieve certain hues and certain breeds. It was like watching a bunch of kids in a toy store. I had this strange mix of major annoyance, amusement and pride at how nice the kids were playing with each other.
And I just didn't have the heart to post... After thinking about it long and hard, I just reverted the "fix". It's still a hard to swallow humble pie but if it doesn't create imbalances and is just a matter of personal preferences, sometimes it's ok to let design vision take the backseat.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Beta Testing
Now that ours is but a few days away, people are getting even antsier and desperately hoping to make it into the beta. I know the feeling all too well. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Everyone and their brother is spamming me for beta code requests. Some I know will rock it, others... not so sure. So the question is: are you truly beta test material?
Beta is a critical phase for us. This is when months and months (sometimes years) of hard work finally get handed over to players for thorough scrutiny. This is when we first find out if this ship will sink or sail, if it has holes and where is the water leaking in from. Water we don't see because we're too busy on the deck. Unless our testers take the time to explore every nook and cranny in the hold, there is a chance we'll only realize we're sinking once we're way far in high seas.
The truth is a lot of people sign up for beta not to test but just to quench their curiosity and for bragging rights. I can't blame them either, because I've done it too. But knowing that the number of codes issued is limited, it is important for people who sign up to understand that as much as we try to account for every silly things players will do during normal gameplay, we can't catch them all. Testing is what allows for the issues from such behavior to be addressed. If new skills or systems are way overpowered or unbalancing, if the UI isn't overly friendly, if some of the content needs some tweaking, beta is the time to bring it up so they can be fixed before the game ships. There's no damage in a closed environment, once it hits production shards, it's a whole different story.
So if you sign up, try stuff and use that feedback form or the in-game bug report feature. Nobody expects you to do as thorough a job as a QA Tester would. We only expect you to play as you normally would and bring up what doesn't work. Nobody knows better than you how you enjoy your specific game style. If you mainly play a crafter, we don't expect PvP feedback from you, but we sure as hell would like to know if the new content works for you. Don't get a code just to let it rot.
Beta testers have tremendous power. There is no other time you will have the Devs as attentive to your every word as during beta. It doesn't mean you will get everything you want (especially if your request would require massive system changes), but now is your best chance of having a real impact. I beta tested a few games myself and often heard people just randomly bitch about this or that but when asked if they submitted a bug they would just say "why bother?", which blew my mind. Or some would say things like "I'm sure someone else already reported it". Do not worry about submitting duplicates. Never assume someone already submitted, and don't just sulk about what you don't like.
Beta isn't about you finding out whether or not you like the new expansion. It isn't about status. It isn't about just hanging out with the Devs and participating in the few events. It's about making sure the expansion will launch as smoothly as possible. So don't take up the place of someone who would truly help polish the game through this critical phase. If you sign up and get a code (for UO or any other game), please log on often, play and use the heck out of the bug report feature.
PS: details and ways to replicate is a Dev's best friend. :)
Beta is a critical phase for us. This is when months and months (sometimes years) of hard work finally get handed over to players for thorough scrutiny. This is when we first find out if this ship will sink or sail, if it has holes and where is the water leaking in from. Water we don't see because we're too busy on the deck. Unless our testers take the time to explore every nook and cranny in the hold, there is a chance we'll only realize we're sinking once we're way far in high seas.
The truth is a lot of people sign up for beta not to test but just to quench their curiosity and for bragging rights. I can't blame them either, because I've done it too. But knowing that the number of codes issued is limited, it is important for people who sign up to understand that as much as we try to account for every silly things players will do during normal gameplay, we can't catch them all. Testing is what allows for the issues from such behavior to be addressed. If new skills or systems are way overpowered or unbalancing, if the UI isn't overly friendly, if some of the content needs some tweaking, beta is the time to bring it up so they can be fixed before the game ships. There's no damage in a closed environment, once it hits production shards, it's a whole different story.
So if you sign up, try stuff and use that feedback form or the in-game bug report feature. Nobody expects you to do as thorough a job as a QA Tester would. We only expect you to play as you normally would and bring up what doesn't work. Nobody knows better than you how you enjoy your specific game style. If you mainly play a crafter, we don't expect PvP feedback from you, but we sure as hell would like to know if the new content works for you. Don't get a code just to let it rot.
Beta testers have tremendous power. There is no other time you will have the Devs as attentive to your every word as during beta. It doesn't mean you will get everything you want (especially if your request would require massive system changes), but now is your best chance of having a real impact. I beta tested a few games myself and often heard people just randomly bitch about this or that but when asked if they submitted a bug they would just say "why bother?", which blew my mind. Or some would say things like "I'm sure someone else already reported it". Do not worry about submitting duplicates. Never assume someone already submitted, and don't just sulk about what you don't like.
Beta isn't about you finding out whether or not you like the new expansion. It isn't about status. It isn't about just hanging out with the Devs and participating in the few events. It's about making sure the expansion will launch as smoothly as possible. So don't take up the place of someone who would truly help polish the game through this critical phase. If you sign up and get a code (for UO or any other game), please log on often, play and use the heck out of the bug report feature.
PS: details and ways to replicate is a Dev's best friend. :)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Expansions
So as most of you now, we're currently in the last miles of our next, more than long overdue, UO expansion. I'm not going to discuss the details of that specific expansion here, but I wanted to share my thoughts about expansions in general and my issues with them; namely the fact that they make old content obsolete and raise even higher the barrier to entry for new players.
One of my biggest problem with expansions is that they usually rhyme with new lands and dungeons. How is that bad? Because new expansion doesn't mean new players. While they tend to bring a certain amount of new players, they're usually aimed towards player retention, so your currently bored players have something new to chew on. The influx of new players isn't significant enough to offset the exodus of existing players into the new areas.
In a game like UO, it just means that perfectly good systems are going to waste. The impact on our players is fairly minimal. But in a level-based game like WoW though, it's a different story. Looking at their latest expansion (which had quite a few really good things in it), I couldn't help but sigh. Another skill cap increase, meaning a noobie will have 80 levels to grind through before they can start playing with high level friends. New uber epic gear for level 80s to strive for, meaning once noobie manages level 80, his gear will still be too weaksauce to play with his friends in the cool instances. Even though they reshuffled the points required so that it takes you the same amount of time to reach 80 as it would have taken to reach 70 before the expansion, there are less people around to help you level or do those low level instances because everyone is in the new lands. So noobie is once again SOL.
Then look at resources and crafting materials. All the new cool recipes involve new mats that drop only on the new mobs. Why ever bother with old mobs then, especially since the old recipes using the old mats are trash compared to the new ones? Granted, they have the whole Achievements system put in, which seems to be all the rage these days with every game (I'll make a blog entry specifically about that at some point). But that only makes you go back once then never again.
I took WoW as an example because most people know it or of it and it covers the majority of the issues I find with expansions. But UO has had many of the same issues through its various expansion. I'm not against adding new lands. I just find that generally it's not done in the most efficient way. You shouldn't sabotage your own previous designs by making it useless or obsolete. I don't think the size of the playground matters as much as the quality and the number of the things you can do in it. I don't believe in having perfectly fine game systems just go to waste because we're pushing players towards the new shinies.
If an old system has become a little stale, give it a bit of a face lift. Even if you create new areas, mobs and resources, you should tie them to the old lands. Your new uber recipe should use mats from both worlds. You don't need to create an entire new dungeon with mostly useless critters just to have a new epic encounter. You could simply add cool new features to an existing dungeon that will grant you access to a new boss, and only create a new area in that dungeon for the boss' lair.
Instead of spending months/years building new regions so old ones can be abandoned, I would rather see all that time devoted to making new art assets and new badass creatures. As a player who just bought an expansion, when I receive the new "sword of ultimate pwnage", I want to see a wicked cool sword with awesome effects. Not the same old, rehued rename lame sword I've been using the past 5 years. Having a sexy looking new world populated with the same tired renamed/rehued creatures with a bit more stats is quite the turn off.
I was discussing this with a friend who said he wants new lands with an expansion because he gets tired of seeing the old places. My response to him was that if he's having fun, he won't care whether the land is old or new. Players aren't a grasshoppers swarm that needs to move from region to region once all sustenance has been drained out of it. It is our job as designers to make sure food doesn't run out in any given region. Period.
In my humble opinion, expansions should be about optimizing existing content and adding more content that will enhance player's experience. Not creating new areas to be cannibalized.
One of my biggest problem with expansions is that they usually rhyme with new lands and dungeons. How is that bad? Because new expansion doesn't mean new players. While they tend to bring a certain amount of new players, they're usually aimed towards player retention, so your currently bored players have something new to chew on. The influx of new players isn't significant enough to offset the exodus of existing players into the new areas.
In a game like UO, it just means that perfectly good systems are going to waste. The impact on our players is fairly minimal. But in a level-based game like WoW though, it's a different story. Looking at their latest expansion (which had quite a few really good things in it), I couldn't help but sigh. Another skill cap increase, meaning a noobie will have 80 levels to grind through before they can start playing with high level friends. New uber epic gear for level 80s to strive for, meaning once noobie manages level 80, his gear will still be too weaksauce to play with his friends in the cool instances. Even though they reshuffled the points required so that it takes you the same amount of time to reach 80 as it would have taken to reach 70 before the expansion, there are less people around to help you level or do those low level instances because everyone is in the new lands. So noobie is once again SOL.
Then look at resources and crafting materials. All the new cool recipes involve new mats that drop only on the new mobs. Why ever bother with old mobs then, especially since the old recipes using the old mats are trash compared to the new ones? Granted, they have the whole Achievements system put in, which seems to be all the rage these days with every game (I'll make a blog entry specifically about that at some point). But that only makes you go back once then never again.
I took WoW as an example because most people know it or of it and it covers the majority of the issues I find with expansions. But UO has had many of the same issues through its various expansion. I'm not against adding new lands. I just find that generally it's not done in the most efficient way. You shouldn't sabotage your own previous designs by making it useless or obsolete. I don't think the size of the playground matters as much as the quality and the number of the things you can do in it. I don't believe in having perfectly fine game systems just go to waste because we're pushing players towards the new shinies.
If an old system has become a little stale, give it a bit of a face lift. Even if you create new areas, mobs and resources, you should tie them to the old lands. Your new uber recipe should use mats from both worlds. You don't need to create an entire new dungeon with mostly useless critters just to have a new epic encounter. You could simply add cool new features to an existing dungeon that will grant you access to a new boss, and only create a new area in that dungeon for the boss' lair.
Instead of spending months/years building new regions so old ones can be abandoned, I would rather see all that time devoted to making new art assets and new badass creatures. As a player who just bought an expansion, when I receive the new "sword of ultimate pwnage", I want to see a wicked cool sword with awesome effects. Not the same old, rehued rename lame sword I've been using the past 5 years. Having a sexy looking new world populated with the same tired renamed/rehued creatures with a bit more stats is quite the turn off.
I was discussing this with a friend who said he wants new lands with an expansion because he gets tired of seeing the old places. My response to him was that if he's having fun, he won't care whether the land is old or new. Players aren't a grasshoppers swarm that needs to move from region to region once all sustenance has been drained out of it. It is our job as designers to make sure food doesn't run out in any given region. Period.
In my humble opinion, expansions should be about optimizing existing content and adding more content that will enhance player's experience. Not creating new areas to be cannibalized.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Random (Rated M!)
Haven't posted in a while since I was in the middle of moving. Thankfully, this painful process is mostly done. So for my "comeback" post, I figured I would give you a little insight into some of the conversations of your devoted Dev Team. Please be forewarned, as stated in the title, that this is rated M. So if you are easily offended by crude words or nudity, you might want to skip this one altogether!
In order to protect the identity of the (not so) innocent, I will refer to the everyone based on their role on the team, ie Artist, Designer, Worldbuilder, Engineer, QA, Admin (for Producer, MD, and ADM) and DAoC for members of the Camelot team. Having no shame whatsoever, I will not hide my own contribution to the following!
Artsy Pants
1. I go over to the artists to request some new art, knowing my chances are slim.
Me: Hey, I know you guys are busy, but what are the chances you guys could make me a crack tile.
Artist 1: A what?!
Me: You know, like a crack on the ground. We have one already but it's tiny and I need a big one.
Artist 1: You want a big crack?
Me: Yeah, a very big one. You know, a "big ass" crack.
Artist 2: Did she just say she wanted a big... "ass crack".
Me: *blushing furiously* NO!! NO! I'm sorry, I just meant, a big hole!
Artist 1: Oooh you want a big hole? And what you want to do with that hole?
Me: I just want a big hole, crack, fissure, w/e you want to call it for stuff to come out of.
Artist 2: A fissure now is it? So you want a big orifice that has something coming out of it? And you would like us to provide you with that?
Me: I'm not gonna win this one am I?
Artist 1 & 2: Nope.
Me: I hate you all! *walks away*
Artists 1 & 2: ROFL
2. We're commenting about the SA poster were the female gargoyles have boobs bigger than their head and where the male gargoyles frankly don't give us women much eye candy to drool over.
Engineer: Nah, they aren't too big!
Me: Dude, seriously, compare their size to her head!
Engineer: They're not... errr... oh wow!
Me: Told ya!
Engineer: Bah, still looks fine.
Admin and Me: *roll eyes and mumble something like "typical male"*
Artist: LOL
DAoC: Frankly, I don't care about the boob thing, but something else bothers me.
Artist: Oh?
DAoC: If gargoyles are hatched, how come she's got a navel?
All of us: OH SHIT! LOL!
3. We're having our weekly team meeting to update everyone on our current progress, what we've accomplished this weeks, hurdles and other tidbits.
Artist: Gargoyles finally have underwear!
All of us: *cheers and applause*
Me: So now that you're done playing with panties, you can get some real work done?
Admin: REGINE!
Everyone else: LOL!
Me: *with a not so innocent look* What? He said he was fiddling with undies!
Admin: *shakes head*
4. But nope, the underwear fiddling is far from over! I'm passing by the artists' desks when I overhear QA and Artist 1 discussing gargoyle undies issues.
Me: Dang brother, are you seriously still messing around with those undies?
Artist: No ma'am! I've done all the fiddling I could do, and passed them on to the next guy.
QA: And the next guy (*raises hand*) passed it on to the other guy.
Artist: Who is now trying to pass them on to someone else. You interested?
Me: Oh hell no! Them undies have been around too much for my liking. They must have all kinds of bugs by now.
QA: Quite the understatement!
Me: You can keep those to yourself, tyvm!
QA Woes
1. I'm talking with the artists about the new monsters when a QA passing by spots me and calls out my name.
Me: Go away, I don't want to talk to you!
QA: WTF? What did I do?
Me: I hate you! You're always giving me bugs!
*Moment of silence*
QA: You know, that kinda sounded wrong.
Me: Huh? Ohh?! OMG, I didn't mean it like that!!!
Artist: Dang QA, I thought you guys were supposed to help squash bugs. Not pass them around!
QA: I thought that's what I was doing!
Me: You guys suck... -_-
2. QA comes to my desk while I'm discussing with Admin
QA: Hey Reg, you know that word you used for your new system for SA?
Me: Yeah, what about it?
QA: Well you used it as a noun, but it's actually a verb so (suggestions) would fit better.
Me: Really? One of you guys suggested that word!
QA: Maybe, but it's not cuz English is our first language that we all speak it right!
Me: So I see.
QA: So can we bug it?
Me: Yeah, fine.
Admin: Wow, you just got vocabulary bugged!
QA: Bug write up: Designer language skills - FAILED!
Me: Haters! :(
3. Just when you thought it was over, the bugged undies come back with a vengeance. I go over to QA's desk to give him some extra info to help him test my latest contribution to the game. He's in the middle of explaining to Admin some of the undies issue. So I peek in!
QA: Female gargoyle for some reason has see through panties. But the male is just fine
Me: Oh wow!
QA: Yeah, that's pretty bad.
Admin: I don't think that would go down too well for our Teen rating.
Me: No kidding. That's quite the bush!
QA & Admin: LOL!
Admin: You haven't heard what he named her when she was hued all red!
Me: Huh?
QA: *hues the gargoyle red* Meet Ms. Firecrotch!
Admin & Me: ROFL
Me: You guys are so bad. *starts walking away*
Me: I guess we'll have to make craftable razors for Tinkers and shaving cream for Alchies!
Fails
1. An engineer drops by my desk to show me the latest improvements to the SA Map. I go to the link he provided me which loads a screenshot of it.
Me: Oh nice! I like this very much. A million times better than the old KR one.
Engineer: Yeah, it's pretty cool. Now lets see if we can get the other features in.
Me: *tries to click the X on the map to close the gump*
Engineer: OMG, did you just try to close a gump on a JPG?
Me: *blushes*
Engineer: LOL, epic fail! *walks off*
Engineer: Guys, guess what Sak just did?
Me: ugh!
2. We're having another weekly meeting
Engineer: So among you non-KR users, how many will start using the SA client when we launch?
Admin: I definitely will to macro.
Everyone: WHAT!? WTF?!
Admin: *blushes furiously* NO!! NO!! I meant, I like how you can set up macros with it. And it's much more user friendly than 2D for crafting!
Everyone: LOL.
Me: mmmmhmmm, you just so outted yourself! *eyes Admin suspiciouly*
Admin: You can all bite me!
In order to protect the identity of the (not so) innocent, I will refer to the everyone based on their role on the team, ie Artist, Designer, Worldbuilder, Engineer, QA, Admin (for Producer, MD, and ADM) and DAoC for members of the Camelot team. Having no shame whatsoever, I will not hide my own contribution to the following!
Artsy Pants
1. I go over to the artists to request some new art, knowing my chances are slim.
Me: Hey, I know you guys are busy, but what are the chances you guys could make me a crack tile.
Artist 1: A what?!
Me: You know, like a crack on the ground. We have one already but it's tiny and I need a big one.
Artist 1: You want a big crack?
Me: Yeah, a very big one. You know, a "big ass" crack.
Artist 2: Did she just say she wanted a big... "ass crack".
Me: *blushing furiously* NO!! NO! I'm sorry, I just meant, a big hole!
Artist 1: Oooh you want a big hole? And what you want to do with that hole?
Me: I just want a big hole, crack, fissure, w/e you want to call it for stuff to come out of.
Artist 2: A fissure now is it? So you want a big orifice that has something coming out of it? And you would like us to provide you with that?
Me: I'm not gonna win this one am I?
Artist 1 & 2: Nope.
Me: I hate you all! *walks away*
Artists 1 & 2: ROFL
2. We're commenting about the SA poster were the female gargoyles have boobs bigger than their head and where the male gargoyles frankly don't give us women much eye candy to drool over.
Engineer: Nah, they aren't too big!
Me: Dude, seriously, compare their size to her head!
Engineer: They're not... errr... oh wow!
Me: Told ya!
Engineer: Bah, still looks fine.
Admin and Me: *roll eyes and mumble something like "typical male"*
Artist: LOL
DAoC: Frankly, I don't care about the boob thing, but something else bothers me.
Artist: Oh?
DAoC: If gargoyles are hatched, how come she's got a navel?
All of us: OH SHIT! LOL!
3. We're having our weekly team meeting to update everyone on our current progress, what we've accomplished this weeks, hurdles and other tidbits.
Artist: Gargoyles finally have underwear!
All of us: *cheers and applause*
Me: So now that you're done playing with panties, you can get some real work done?
Admin: REGINE!
Everyone else: LOL!
Me: *with a not so innocent look* What? He said he was fiddling with undies!
Admin: *shakes head*
4. But nope, the underwear fiddling is far from over! I'm passing by the artists' desks when I overhear QA and Artist 1 discussing gargoyle undies issues.
Me: Dang brother, are you seriously still messing around with those undies?
Artist: No ma'am! I've done all the fiddling I could do, and passed them on to the next guy.
QA: And the next guy (*raises hand*) passed it on to the other guy.
Artist: Who is now trying to pass them on to someone else. You interested?
Me: Oh hell no! Them undies have been around too much for my liking. They must have all kinds of bugs by now.
QA: Quite the understatement!
Me: You can keep those to yourself, tyvm!
QA Woes
1. I'm talking with the artists about the new monsters when a QA passing by spots me and calls out my name.
Me: Go away, I don't want to talk to you!
QA: WTF? What did I do?
Me: I hate you! You're always giving me bugs!
*Moment of silence*
QA: You know, that kinda sounded wrong.
Me: Huh? Ohh?! OMG, I didn't mean it like that!!!
Artist: Dang QA, I thought you guys were supposed to help squash bugs. Not pass them around!
QA: I thought that's what I was doing!
Me: You guys suck... -_-
2. QA comes to my desk while I'm discussing with Admin
QA: Hey Reg, you know that word you used for your new system for SA?
Me: Yeah, what about it?
QA: Well you used it as a noun, but it's actually a verb so (suggestions) would fit better.
Me: Really? One of you guys suggested that word!
QA: Maybe, but it's not cuz English is our first language that we all speak it right!
Me: So I see.
QA: So can we bug it?
Me: Yeah, fine.
Admin: Wow, you just got vocabulary bugged!
QA: Bug write up: Designer language skills - FAILED!
Me: Haters! :(
3. Just when you thought it was over, the bugged undies come back with a vengeance. I go over to QA's desk to give him some extra info to help him test my latest contribution to the game. He's in the middle of explaining to Admin some of the undies issue. So I peek in!
QA: Female gargoyle for some reason has see through panties. But the male is just fine
Me: Oh wow!
QA: Yeah, that's pretty bad.
Admin: I don't think that would go down too well for our Teen rating.
Me: No kidding. That's quite the bush!
QA & Admin: LOL!
Admin: You haven't heard what he named her when she was hued all red!
Me: Huh?
QA: *hues the gargoyle red* Meet Ms. Firecrotch!
Admin & Me: ROFL
Me: You guys are so bad. *starts walking away*
Me: I guess we'll have to make craftable razors for Tinkers and shaving cream for Alchies!
Fails
1. An engineer drops by my desk to show me the latest improvements to the SA Map. I go to the link he provided me which loads a screenshot of it.
Me: Oh nice! I like this very much. A million times better than the old KR one.
Engineer: Yeah, it's pretty cool. Now lets see if we can get the other features in.
Me: *tries to click the X on the map to close the gump*
Engineer: OMG, did you just try to close a gump on a JPG?
Me: *blushes*
Engineer: LOL, epic fail! *walks off*
Engineer: Guys, guess what Sak just did?
Me: ugh!
2. We're having another weekly meeting
Engineer: So among you non-KR users, how many will start using the SA client when we launch?
Admin: I definitely will to macro.
Everyone: WHAT!? WTF?!
Admin: *blushes furiously* NO!! NO!! I meant, I like how you can set up macros with it. And it's much more user friendly than 2D for crafting!
Everyone: LOL.
Me: mmmmhmmm, you just so outted yourself! *eyes Admin suspiciouly*
Admin: You can all bite me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)