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Funcom's Bylos named creative director on AoC, AO, and TSW
Funcom has announced that The Secret World creative director Joel Bylos is now the creator director for all three of the firm's MMORPGs. This includes TSW, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online. Bylos has penned letters from the game director for TSW and AoC, while AO's Dave "Ilaliya" Williams passes the torch via a forum post. Bylos' TSW letter talks additional content plans up to and including Issue #12 (the live game currently sits on Issue #5, with #6 scheduled for early March). Bylos has a special place in his heart for AoC stemming from his time as the lead designer on the Rise of the Godslayer expansion, and his initial game director letter reflects on both coming home and the opportunities for expanding Hyboria. He also talks a bit about the pros and cons of having a single production team working on three live titles. Finally, outgoing AoC producer Craig "Silirrion" Morrison recaps his four years at the helm and hints at a "new opportunity within the MMO world." [Thanks to David for the tip.]
Funcom game directors talk relocation, effects on TSW, AoC, and AO development [Updated]
Funcom has published game director letters for all three of its MMOs this morning, and one of the topics on everyone's mind is of course the studio's reorganization. As it turns out, the dev teams for The Secret World, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online will all be operating out of the company's Raleigh, North Carolina facility which was previously the sole domain of the Funcom customer service team. TSW's Joel Bylos notes that the move will cause some "development turbulence," and that the game's DLC and update schedule will slow down temporarily as a result. He has more details on both the game's Issue #6 update and veteran rewards in his letter. AoC's Craig Morrison says that the fantasy title isn't going anywhere, although he also acknowledges some staff turnover due to the relocation. He also notes that having the game's dev team and community team in the same building will be a huge benefit. Finally, Anarchy Online's update echoes the first two, but game director Dave "Ilaliya" Williams writes that the engine upgrade, server migration, and new player experience are all still on the table. [Update]: Funcom has also published an update on the restructuring process on its main website. [Thanks to David for the tip!]
Age of Conan's Dragon's Spine content on test servers
Funcom released its traditional end-of-the-month Age of Conan update over the weekend, and it revealed that the dev team is crunching hard on the Secrets of the Dragon's Spine content update. Executive producer Craig Morrison says that some of the new stuff is starting to appear on the game's test servers, so players are free to poke around provided they can't wait for the official release. And when, exactly, is that official release? "It's getting down to the wire now in terms of the release window, so we are currently working hard to bring the first Dragon's Spine updates to the live servers before the holidays. In all honesty it is very tight right now, and as we write this we can't say for certain which side things will fall on," Morrison explains. He also touches on the status of the crafting revamp and post-Dragon's Spine PvP updates, though the nature of the latter is very much up in the air at this point.
Hyperspace Beacon: Advantages and disadvantages of SWTOR's free-to-play
In a recent Gamasutra article, Funcom's Craig Morrison argued that most games that have moved from subscription to free-to-play are "using a hybrid model, where the free-to-play is a trial and then what they really want is the users to move on to whatever they've called what used to be a subscription." You don't have to look too deeply to realize that was BioWare's intention when it shifted Star Wars: The Old Republic to a free-to-play model. But is there still some advantage to just playing free-to-play? Also, the Cartel Market, SWTOR's cash shop, both opened up a new real-money economic arena and transformed the in-game market. Most free-to-play cash shops offer cosmetic items or items that don't give players a clear advantage over other players. There are certainly no endgame items available on the market, but what about other buy-to-win items?
Funcom's Morrison: F2P hesitation 'not something we want as game developers'
The games media and cash-strapped gamers may delight in declaring paid-for entertainment dead, but the reality is a little different according to Funcom producer Craig Morrison. Gamasutra recently interviewed Morrison regarding free-to-play and the expectations it generates, and while he acknowledged the model's recent success in the West, he noted that most western titles aren't designed to be experienced for free. "They're using a hybrid model, where the free-to-play is a trial and then what they really want is the users to move on to whatever they've called what used to be a subscription," Morrison explained. Even though Funcom pioneered free-to-play in the West with Anarchy Online in 2005, Morrison expresses concern about what the model is doing to games like The Secret World. "Eventually it only stands to reason that people's thought process is 'oh, well, I'll wait till it's free-to-play,' and that's not something we want as game developers. You don't want players to be going, 'I really want to play that game... but I'm going to wait.'" Ultimately, Morrison concludes that F2P is just another tool in the toolbox as opposed to the one true way. "I think we see subscription and free-to-play as tools. And tools can be used well, they can be used badly... it depends on the game. We don't categorically go, 'subscriptions are dead; there will never be subscriptions anymore,' or, 'free-to-play is the only way to monetize your games.' I think it depends on the game and it depends on your project," he said.
Funcom may incorporate new Schwarzenegger Conan film elements into AoC
Remember last year's Conan the Barbarian film reboot starring Khal Drogo? Well, forget all about it, apparently. Universal and Arnold Schwarzenegger are hoping to recapture some of Conan's early movie magic with a reboot of the reboot. Yep, the Governator is set to play everyone's favorite Cimmerian savage for the first time in 30 years, and ostensibly this latest flick will take its cue from the quick shot of an older Conan atop the Aquilonian throne at the end of 1981's Conan the Barbarian. Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison responded to the announcement by saying that Funcom has a great relationship with license distributor Paradox and so some sort of AoC tie-in could well happen. Funcom's Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack expanded on the ideas and locations presented in last year's Conan film, and the firm also made gear from the picture available in-game. "It's a little too early to tell what form that [a new movie tie-in] will take, but we will have some great opportunities with this as it all comes together," Morrison wrote on the AoC forums. "We are definitely looking forward to seeing what we will be able to do alongside it. With a 2014 release we will have plenty of time to be working on how to best take advantage of another movie." [Thanks to Duffy for the tip!]
Morrison on system-driven MMOs and Funcom's future
Is the MMO genre poised to go back to its emergent future? It's very possible, particularly given recent big-budget disappointments. Funcom producer Craig Morrison tackles the subject head-on in a new interview at Gamasutra. Morrison cites system-driven games as the way forward, though he bristles at any mention of the terms "themepark" and "sandbox." "You need to build an ecosystem. You need to build a collaborative set of systems which give the players the ability to tell their own stories alongside yours," he says. Morrison also hints at the shape of potential Funcom projects. "We could make a great systems-driven MMO for 10 or 15 million dollars. Which by the standards of Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, The Old Republic, is a very small budget, but we could bring it to market in three years with that kind of budget and hopefully have a chance of them growing organically from there. And we haven't got the huge expectation of, 'Oh my God, you spent 50, 100, 200 million dollars on this game, and it has to succeed,'" he explains.
Age of Conan dev letter talks new content, scheduling
Age of Conan's monthly dev update is here, and Funcom's Craig Morrison uses the latest installment to talk about the fantasy title's content release schedule. The near future will bring an update to the Amphitheatre of Karutonia aimed at level 80 players. Tweaks for the Conqueror and Bear Shaman classes should make the cut as well. After that it's on to The Secrets of the Dragon's Spine updates, which Morrison says will release in stages over the end of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. The long-awaited tradeskill update also falls into this release window. Finally, Funcom is planning to revamp several of AoC's old-world dungeons as well as add a new PvP minigame and a new raid. More updates are in the planning stages, too, but you'll need to head to the official AoC website for more details.
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's bright (player-driven?) future
Apologies for not following through with part three of my crafting guide this week. I fully intended to do so, but a couple of interesting things happened over the past few days that merit some discussion. First off, Ragnar Tornquist published what can only be called a defiant state of the game letter. The Secret World's creative director engaged in some rabble-rousing penmanship that managed to inspire a metaphorical fist-pump from yours truly, even though I've been covering games long enough to cast a cynical eye toward similar rally-the-troops developer rhetoric. Tornquist admitted that TSW's competition is stiff, in particular new releases like Guild Wars 2 and Mists of Pandaria, but he didn't shy away from singing his game's praises. More importantly, he reiterated what early adopters have known for a while now: The Secret World is that increasingly rare MMO horse of a different color, and despite financial and personnel losses, Funcom knows it has a winner on its hands and is fighting to keep it.
Age of Conan heralds Secrets of Dragon's Spine update series
Hyboria's about to get a lot more rowdy, as if that was possible. Funcom announced that it is planning a series of updates for Age of Conan called Secrets of Dragon's Spine, with the first update coming in the next few months. The key focus for this content will be in the titular desert region of the Dragon's Spine, located southwest of Pteion. These updates will not only introduce a new zone, but also plenty of additional quests, dungeons, challenges, and even a new mount type. Funcom says that the Dragon's Spine will be around the same size as the coast of Ardashir, and will feature a new raid and PvP area. The three dungeons to be introduced are the Coils of Ubah Kan, the Sepulchral of the Wyrm and the Slithering Chaos. Creative Director Craig Morrison hopes that this announcement gets fans pumped up: "Our version of Hyboria has grown into a vast online world since we launched back in 2008. With the Secrets of Dragon's Spine update, we are moving into an incredibly exciting part of Robert E. Howard's work, and I think both Age of Conan players and fans of Howard's work alike will find a lot to enjoy once they get to explore this new content." [Source: Funcom press release]
Massively Exclusive: Funcom's Morrison on player-driven games, new Age of Conan content
This month's Age of Conan development update had the potential to be quite depressing in light of Funcom's recent layoffs. There's actually a lot of good news, though, as game director Craig Morrison reveals some juicy bits about AoC's upcoming content release plans. Due to the downsizing, what was once an adventure pack on par with last year's Savage Coast of Turan will now be released in installments over the next few months. The collective title for all the new content is Secrets of the Dragon Spine, and it will take place in various new playfields along the border of Stygia and Keshan. There will be a new raid, a new outdoor playfield (approximately the same size as Turan), several new dungeons, a new mount type, and a new PvP area. We had the chance to ask Morrison about the new stuff as well as Funcom's future, and he had some interesting things to say regarding player-driven content and the kind of games the company plans to make going forward. Join us after the cut for the full interview.
GDC Europe 2012: Funcom's Morrison says focus on the why, not the what
MMOs as a rule tend to have a focus on providing content for us, the players. It makes sense; they want us to play their games, so they give us as much stuff to do as possible so that we'll keep playing. But why do we want to do that stuff in the first place? Craig Morrison, creative director at Funcom Montreal, posed that question at his GDC Europe talk, saying that MMO design needs to shift to consider that option. Gamasutra covered what he has to say: "Everytime a player logs in, they need a 'why'," noted Morrison. "What we really need to be thinking about is the why -- it's the bit that we don't really consider enough. Players need a reason to be playing it. What is motivating them?" Referencing both Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Simon Simek's work on motivation, Morrison's talk ranged from discussing how games go wrong by focusing on only one kind of player to encouraging the development and fostering of community. "Unless you expose the players to the community and encourage community interactions, there's not that much difference between your game and a single-player game," he opined.
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's single-server tech
Something went missing during this month's launch of The Secret World. Do you know what it was? No, snarkonauts, it wasn't "fun." The game is certainly an acquired taste, but it's nonetheless doing pretty well for itself in terms of word-of-mouth and happy early adopters. No, what was missing was a parade of lengthy launch-week queues (and QQs for that matter). I've been present for every AAA MMO kickoff since Star Wars Galaxies in 2003, and The Secret World marks the first time I've been able to log in when (and where) I wanted to log in on day one. RIFT, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online -- all of these were "polished" launches by most accounts, and yet all of them featured horrendous launch queues that often stretched from minutes to hours. Why was The Secret World so different?
Age of Conan survey respondents prefer PvE by a wide margin
It may be early release day for The Secret World, but that doesn't mean Funcom is throwing in the towel on its other MMORPG projects. Case in point is Age of Conan, which is sporting a brand-new game director update as of this morning. Craig "Silirrion" Morrison presents the findings from AoC's annual summer survey, which amount to an unsurprising PvE-is-way-more-popular-than-PvP conclusion. The scores are weighted, so we don't get to see exactly how many players voted and what they voted for, but it's an interesting peek into the minds of AoC's community in any event. Morrison says that "overall, 70% of responders listed one form of PvE as their primary interest, with the remaining 30% listing a form of PvP." He also takes a moment to tease AoC's forthcoming adventure pack, which is as-yet unnamed and supposedly set somewhere in the Hyborian south. Full details are at the official website.
Funcom soliciting Age of Conan feedback via annual summer survey
If you've ever wanted to give Funcom a piece of your mind when it comes to Age of Conan's development, now's your chance. The latest monthly development update is live, and with it comes the annual AoC summer survey questionnaire. It's a pretty lengthy set of questions, and it covers everything from item store prices to PvP to potential player housing. And lest you think the survey is just for show, AoC game director Craig Morrison begs to differ. "It genuinely does have an impact. Many of the answers in the previous surveys became the templates for specific additions, features and new content. People voted for a 12v12 minigame two years ago, and that was what we made for the next minigame. People wanted more solo instances, those arrived as well," he writes.
The Anvil of Crom: Age of Conan turns four, taps SWG for crafting inspiration
The last time I did an anniversary retrospective for Age of Conan, we had a recent expansion, some new dungeon content, and several class revamps fresh on our minds. The year before that, we had the earth-shaking combat and itemization changes. This past year, the major development was, of course, the switch to a freemium business model, followed closely by the game's first adventure pack. Join me after the break for a quick rundown on the last 12 months as they happened in Hyboria, as well as an anniversary interview with game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison that sheds a bit of light on the crafting revamp.
The Daily Grind: Should veterans and newbs be on equal footing?
Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison recently tweeted a frank reply to one of his followers. The reader asked why Funcom doesn't revamp PvP items to make everyone's minigame stats equal, thereby relegating grindtastic PvP gear to the game's vanity armor slots and providing theoretical balance. Morrison's response: "Not everyone wants a new player and a two-year veteran to be on equal footing. Many want that to count, aside from knowledge." By "that," Morrison meant time spent playing the game and paying your character dues, as it were. This brings up an interesting debate, since MMOs have a reputation for rewarding geared players over skilled players in both PvP and PvE. What say you, Massively readers? Should veterans and newbs be on equal footing? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Age of Conan dev blog outlines stamina changes, multi-spec functionality
Funcom may be gearing up for The Secret World's imminent launch, but the company hasn't abandoned its other Dreamworld-powered MMO. Yes, Age of Conan is still going strong, as it's closing in on its fourth anniversary and pumping out updates on a semi-regular basis. Today's traditional end-of-the-month development letter focuses on said updates, in particular a few systems changes slated for the near future. Funcom's Craig Morrison gives us an update on extensive changes to AoC's stamina mechanics, which have long been a thorn in the side of PvPers and PvEers engaged in lengthy battles. The new system boasts "a new personal resource that will be used just for sprinting. It is also not observable by other players," the dev blog states. Stamina will now be used exclusively for combos, and caster classes no longer have stamina at all. Age of Conan is also getting multi-spec functionality with respect to the game's feat system. Switching between specs can be done almost anywhere in the game world (aside from raids and group instances). Look for these changes on the live servers "later in the summer," Funcom says. Finally, class updates are in the works, beginning with the Tempest of Set and continuing on to the Bear Shaman, the Herald of Xotli, and the Necromancer. There's more too, so head to the official AoC site to read it all.
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities
It's been a little while since we've interviewed Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison. In the intervening months, Funcom's bloody fantasy MMO has added developers, new content, and fresh ideas at a fairly steady pace. This week sees the introduction of tier four raiding content in Khitai as well as a lengthy Morrison-authored update letter that provides a roadmap for the rest of 2012. Follow along after the break as we talk raiding, the upcoming crafting revamp, and the community potential (and perils) of Funcom's spiffy new single-server technology.
Age of Conan dev update details free content, spiffy server tech
Hullo Hyboria fans, and welcome to the traditional end-of-the-month update letter recap. What's the update letter, you ask? It's Funcom executive producer Craig Morrison's way of keeping players abreast of development happenings on Age of Conan. This month there are quite a few interesting tidbits, including a mention of the game's next adventure pack, the crafting update, and of course, the new tier four Khitai raids in and around the Jade Citadel. Also noteworthy is the latest mention of Funcom's single-server tech. You may recall that Morrison mentioned this in 2011 as a way for players to form their own niche communities within the larger server community. Not much has been said about it since, but Funcom's Dreamworld engineers have been working on it behind the scenes to get it ready for its debut in The Secret World. After that, Morrison says, the tech will make its way into AoC, and chances are you'll have a chance to vote on the implementation. "This will most likely be the main subject of our summer surveys this year given how radically we could change the experience with this technology," Morrison explains. "It is one of those things that could be implemented in a way that you don't even notice, or it could be deployed to make things work in ways that are not typical for MMO games (like potentially allowing players to define their own communities, or even, at the furthest fringes of what's possible, defining their own rulesets!)." Look for our exclusive interview with Morrison later this afternoon.
