armchair-developer
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Stick and Rudder: Star Citizen's backlash effect
Can someone help me understand the Star Citizen backlash effect? I mean, seriously. If Chris Roberts and his Cloud Imperium developers announced that the game's next stretch goal was a cure for cancer, the first comment on the resulting news article would be some variation on "bullsh#@!" Followed closely by "that's not possible" and "feature creep!" My question, though, is why?
The Think Tank: Let's play armchair developers
Sometimes it's fun to imagine what we might do if given the chance to take over an MMO's development or community management teams for a month. Sure, a month might not be long in the scope of a game's development, but it might be long enough to get the ball rolling on some new and innovative ideas -- especially with a limitless budget. Hey, we're dreaming here, folks! So I asked the Massively team what they would do to their favorite MMO(s) if given the keys for a month.
Stick and Rudder: On Star Citizen's so-called 'feature creep'
I'm going to address the allegations of "feature creep" in Star Citizen this week before misperceptions get further out of hand. If you haven't been following the sci-fi space sandbox in recent weeks, note that Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium unveiled the title's $20 million stretch goal several days ago. Said goal is FPS combat on select lawless planets, but to hear some armchair developers tell it, Roberts is jumping the shark and gunning for PlanetSide 2 instead of simply adding some instanced bells and whistles onto what's affectionately known as the best damn space sim ever (BDSSE). If you're a Star Citizen backer or enthusiast, you already know everything I'm about to type. If you're casually lurking on the periphery of the game's fandom, though, join me after the cut for the most complete SC crash course that 1,700 words can buy.
The Daily Grind: If you could design a class, what would it be?
"Hey you!" hisses a voice from a nearby dark alley. "How would you like to be a game designer for a day? It'll just cost you one kidney!" "Well golly, mister," you reply, stepping into the shadows. "I have two of those, and I've always wanted to try my hand at fixing everything that's wrong with the industry, starting with the snow zone in Mutant Hamsters Online. The pixel shading for the Blue Spruce trees has never been right..." "I'll let you make a class. Just one class," the voice interrupts. "And you get unlimited snack bar access." "Deal!" you exclaim. "Now where do you want this kidney?" Believe it or not, that could happen to you! But let's hope it doesn't and instead let's engage in hypothetical daydreaming: If you could design a class for your MMO, what would it be? 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!
Some Assembly Required: A look at EQII's dungeon maker
So you're an armchair game designer, eh? Well, EverQuest II invites you to put your money where your mouth is -- at least as it relates to dungeon creation. While Sony Online Entertainment's venerable fantasy title is no stranger to player-generated content given its spectacular player- and guild-housing mechanics, this winter's Age of Discovery expansion upped the ante a little bit in the form of the new dungeon maker toolset. The system is a bit rough around the edges, but it's nonetheless a fantastic first iteration that adds a lot of fun and replay value to an MMO that was already chock-full of both.
Indie sandbox Embers of Caerus needs your support
Play MMOs long enough and chances are you'll become something of an armchair developer. I could make a better game than that, you might say, or why the heck are they doing it this way? While most of us don't have the programming chops to make the transition from imagined prototype to working code, Forsaken Studios is offering the next best thing. Call it an armchair supporter opportunity. The indie devs behind Embers of Caerus are asking for your donations, as the fantasy title is in need of a bit of capital to offset the fact that the team is working for free. What exactly is Forsaken Studios working on? It's a safe bet that it isn't your average fantasy themepark clone if the prose on the game's official forum is any indication. Forsaken is "made up of gamers who are tired of companies not quite getting it right, or worse, selling out in order to earn more money from what producers deem to be the more lucrative markets (easier content, real money item shops, etc)." What will become of your donations? The EoC support plan page lists everything from software and licensing costs to hosting, technical equipment, and various legal/company expenses. "Even when you don't have to pay anyone, it's still not a cheap business," Forsaken says. You can get a look at a nine-minute engine test in the video after the cut.
The Daily Grind: How would you design an expansion?
Everyone differs on his opinion of what makes up a good expansion. For some it's the traditional raised level cap, additional zones, and a new race and/or class. Others clamor for radical additions to gameplay features that haven't been seen in the game before. Size matters, as does quality, but there are those who would sacrifice both to see a quicker expansion release schedule. Today we're going to engage in another one of my fits of community think-tanking. Sure, I could've said "brainstorming," but I like to give our Massively editors nervous eye twitches. In any case, I want you to imagine that you've been given the power and resources to make the dream expansion to your favorite MMO -- within reason, of course. What would this hypothetical expansion look like? How would you design it? Would you fix existing problems as you see them in the game or concentrate on new systems? Would you expand the game horizontally or vertically? Would you add a new class or race you've been dying to play? And most importantly: What would you call it? 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!
The Daily Grind: If you designed a quest, what would it be like?
Every once in a while, I like to turn the tables on the longstanding love/hate relationship players have with devs -- you know, "We totally love and appreciate you until you screw up, and then we'll eat your bones for dinner!" That sort of thing. From the outside looking in, it's often easy (and quite tempting) to play armchair-developer, to tell the world on forums and blogs just how it would be done if someone had the superior wisdom to put you in charge. You know what? I believe in you. And I'm not even being sarcastic here -- I truly believe that there's a huge well of boundless creativity amongst gamers that's itching to come out (I mean, heck, look at what everyone's doing with the tools that Minecraft gives you). Not to mention that most devs and CMs are gamers first and foremost themselves. So today I'm using the powers vested in me by the state of Massively to empower you to create one quest. If you could create an immersive, interesting, interactive, memorable quest for your MMO of choice, what would it be like? How would you make it stand out from all of the others? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: What do you think of crafting?
Crafting is one of those staples of the MMO genre that rarely gets altered, yet it makes an appearance in almost every game on the market. From the early days of inserting random objects into a crafting bag and hoping they combine to the more modern list of recipes with a "create item" button, crafting has always been the one button wonder. So what do you guys think of this MMO pillar? Is it fine the way it is and not deserving of something new, or would you like to see a game expand on this time-tested, player approved formula? Would you like it to take a more center stage role, or are you more comfortable with crafting tagging along as a side kick system? So take all of those thoughts you have on crafting, throw them into the box below, and then hit the "make comment" button. Maybe, if you're lucky, your comment will craft into a critical success!
Champions Online wants your feedback!
Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to making your own superheroic persona to represent you in things like City of Heroes. Cryptic Studios learned this from their experiences and they're taking player feedback into consideration as they continue their work on Champions Online. That's right, you too can be an armchair developer for Champions!If you have some ideas for what you'd like to see in Champions, just drop by the Cryptic website, log in, and fill out their feedback form. Really, it's just that simple. No beating up any thugs or avoiding super death rays. Plus, if you're lucky, you might just find some of your suggestions in the game. Sounds like a good deal to us. We've already stuffed the ballot box asking for rocket launchers that fire flaming chainsaws.
