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Inquisitive blogging series delves into why we play MMOs
Why do we play MMOs? What is it about them that inspires us to pay a monthly subscription fee or whip out the credit card for a few microtransactions? This is an extremely valid and important question because the answers are key drivers of success for the genre. Without these answers, developers are simply throwing darts in a dark and empty pub.Popular MMO blogger Tobold is back from a short hiatus and asking this very question in order to disover the basic elements and motivations that make us choose to play these types of games. His introduction piece talks about some of the components he may cover, including: storytelling, character development, social interaction, polish, challenge, and achevements.Since the introduction piece, he has written two articles in the series: Storytelling and Gameplay. Based on the quality of stories found in MMOs, tools and design iterations that all but allow players to skip over quest text, and the fact that pure MMO environments don't facilitate epic storytelling very well, he doesn't feel as though storytelling is a major reason for why we play MMOs. With a little effort (read: a lot), it could be. As for gameplay, he believes that unless new quality titles start releasing with gameplay that diverges from basic hotbar button-mashing combat and simple crafting, MMOs will be forever stuck in a rut and compared to World of Warcraft.
EVE Online: The Butterfly Effect
The sci-fi MMO EVE Online has proven to be a popular game among some of the writers at Massively, and with good reason. After having spent years playing in sharded environments, plus the simple fact that it's a break from the fantasy genre, the single-server design of EVE is refreshing. Putting all of the players in this "sandbox" setting -- the galaxy of New Eden -- also creates a unique world dynamic where the actions of pilots on both individual and collective levels can have an impact on the rest of the game's players. Anyone who's played EVE Online for any length of time is aware of the benefits of the sandbox, but CCP Games has decided to visualize the game's social dynamic with a project called "The Butterfly Effect." This video is a theoretical and beautifully-presented look at how the actions of a lone assault frigate pilot can resonate throughout New Eden. The Butterfly Effect starts out at the smallest level where a choice is made by the solo pilot, to either aid or kill another player in distress, and how that individual's actions and choices in EVE ripple outwards, ultimately affecting the game on a galactic scale, and thus thousands of other players. While there's more we could say about EVE's open world game design, we'll just let the video speak for itself. We hope you enjoy Massively's video embed of The Butterfly Effect.
Is WoW being run by its B-team? Is that bad?
This post by Eric Heimburg on the excellent MMO design blog Elder Game, alleging that WoW is currently run by Blizzard's B-team, has ignited a fair amount of controversy around the blogosphere. The general argument appears to be that the people previously in charge of WoW, like Jeff Kaplan, have moved on to other projects. As a consequence knee-jerk changes are being pushed through very fast, without being sufficiently tested first. "Back in the day," claims the article, "QA held the game to a higher standard." My reaction to these claims are mixed. Kaplan may not be in charge of WoW anymore, but I don't think that "the steady hand has left the rudder," or if it has, maybe a less straight-ahead course is a good thing. Changes may be getting pushed through very quickly - Ghostcrawler routinely refers to players getting whiplash from the frequency of balance changes - but in many cases, I think this is for the best.
Being a WoW fan doesn't mean you're an MMO fan
Syncaine posted an interesting article on his blog discussing why he thinks there hasn't been much uptake in the majority of MMOs released since World of Warcraft. Basically, he believes that just because you enjoy playing WoW, it doesn't mean you'll enjoy other MMOs.The post goes on to say that there are many more non-MMO gamers than MMO gamers out there who simply can't fathom spending a monthly fee to repeatedly kill ten rats or grind out the perfect PvP character over several months time. They have much more accessible and engaging singleplayer RPGs or FPS games for that, right?The main point he aims to make is that designers should stop chasing non-MMO gamers and focus on those who are already fans. On the other hand, hasn't our genre become a bit pigeon-holed as of late? Isn't the biggest and best part of an MMO the community aspect and not the DIKU-based über-grind? We hope so! Couldn't we maybe expand our acceptance of what MMOs are and challenge the boundaries of what they could be? Maybe that's a viable route toward making those who do not care actually care.
All Points Bulletin players to help determine game's evolution
The team at Massively is pretty happy to see that Realtime Worlds has broken radio silence with All Points Bulletin, first with the E3 2009 announcement and a video podcast, and now with some in-depth interviews about the urban crime game. Gamasutra's Christian Nutt recently spoke with APB lead designer EJ Moreland about some of the elements that could make this game different from most anything else presently on the market. The game is clearly a departure from some of the conventions and game mechanics typical of an MMO. The game's emphasis is on dynamic action; Moreland describes APB as "an online action game with persistence." And, of course, there's that incredible potential for customization they've shown off.
NCsoft aims to bridge the East-West divide with Aion
Stereotypes and ingrained perceptions can be frustrating to deal with, but let's face it -- some stereotypes do exist for a reason, and this can certainly apply to games as much as to anything else. There have been no small amount of Asian import MMOs that have been localized poorly for the western market, and this has certainly left a bad taste in gamers' mouths. Localization is a major challenge for any developer, and there's a rather wide chasm between what makes a game popular in an Asian market like Korea and what players embrace in the west. The westward-bound MMO that many people are focusing on right now is Aion, from NCsoft. The westernization of Aion is the subject of another solid interview at The MMO Gamer by Steven Crews, who sat down with Aion producer Brian "Xaen" Knox, the person largely responsible for NC West's localization of this title. Knox talks about what he sees as being the best aspects of both East and West in terms of game development, and how some western influences on Aion's design have actually proven to be successful in Korea. It's a fairly in-depth interview and hits on a number of Knox's ideas about how a game can begin to bridge the game culture divide between East and West, seen in the context of Aion. Check it out over at The MMO Gamer.
Black Prophecy creators reach out to the community
Black Prophecy is a space-based science fiction MMO in development at Reakktor Media in Germany, which we've covered a bit here at Massively. But the fact is that Reakktor may not be a company that many MMO gamers are all that familiar with. The Black Prophecy team has decided to try and remedy this, with a Q&A in their community forums that introduces a bit about CEO Kirk Lenke and development director Simon Bachmann, as well as their approach to the game.Ultimately, the Q&A answers some of the questions that people have about Black Prophecy, both in terms of game mechanics and the business decisions behind getting the title published.
The Queue: Waterfalls
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today. There's a bunch of good questions in today's Queue: gold cap (including a little extrapolation by yours truly), boss level hit cap design, and voicing of a certain King of Stormwind.(In my Casey Kasem voice) As for today's reading music, take a listen to the 1990's classic by TLC, Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls. They totally turn into water elementals too, around 3:40 in the video.Outdps asked..."Is the gold cap per character or per account? Is there a gold cap for guild banks?" Bonus question: "What should the gold cap be?"
Anti-Aliased: Final Fantasy XIV is a good, good thing
So, unless you've been under a rock, you probably heard Sony squeeing in happiness about Final Fantasy XIV Online, otherwise known as just FFXIV. This is indeed the next MMO that Square-Enix has been hiding from prying eyes, and unlike the indications we got from the company a year ago, this is another Final Fantasy Online.The reception, however, is quite mixed. Some people, like myself, are really psyched up for this next release in the online series. Others, however, are questioning why make a game like FFXIV when you already have FFXI. Why not just keep on working on FFXI? Don't we all remember how bad sequels work out in the MMO market? Why tempt fate by making a sequel?Personally, I think the creation of this game is a good idea with all things considered. Final Fantasy brings a different perspective of play to the market -- one that it desperately needs at this point in time. What am I jabbering on about? Come on, follow me, and let's talk about why FFXIV is a good, good thing.
Anti-Aliased: Final Fantasy XIV is a good, good thing pt. 2
The real beauty of all of this is that a Final Fantasy game is never truly a sequel. Each world that they create in the series is unique and tells its own story. They don't copy the same battle system from game to game, they're always looking to innovate, and they're always pushing their own boundaries. The "Final Fantasy" name is more of a pedigree than it is a continuous set of works. With all of that in mind, we can be sure that 14 and 11 will be different enough to work side by side. For these guys, it's not about the grind -- it's about the story. I think we can be certain that the new world we're about to explore will be very different than Vana'diel and follow a completely different line of thought with a new twist on their own battle system. It's not about an MMO If there's any point that makes me want this game the most, it's the fact that this game isn't being developed to be an MMO. This game is being developed to be a Final Fantasy title. I may have lost you on that, so let me explain. When many developers begin to approach their new MMO, they approach it as an MMO. They look at it and think about the grind, the world, the interactions, and the other titles in the market. They stare at World of Warcraft for hours and analyze the market so they can capture their audience. Because of this, all games seem to follow this "MMO formula." Grind, level, grind, level, grind, level, endgame. Emphasis is being put on the game and not on the experience. Final Fantasy XIV is not being developed from the perspective of an MMO -- it's being developed from the perspective of a Final Fantasy console game that just happens to be online. When you pick up Final Fantasy XI, you feel the presence of an MMO, but you also feel the presence of a Final Fantasy game. Storylines, adventuring, characters, and a rich world all seem to pop to the forefront. Even the battle system, which is an MMO battle system, screams Final Fantasy because of the way abilities, camera angles, and party dynamics work. This is what our genre needs. We do not need to make another MMO for the sake of making another MMO. We're done with MMOs. We want games that feature a massively multiplayer online component. Instead of breaking the Final Fantasy series apart so it fits into the context of an MMO, we're breaking MMO components apart to fit in the context of Final Fantasy. It will feature systems that are unlike any other MMO because they don't come from another MMO -- they come from Final Fantasy.Two other games are attempting to do this right now -- Star Wars: The Old Republic and All Points Bulletin. Part of the reason we're all excited for these two is because they don't look to be another MMO for MMOs sake. SWTOR is grabbing from Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect's playbook. APB is grabbing from GTA's playbook. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a very, very good thing. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who owns Final Fantasy XI for way too many platforms. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.
Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage pt. 2
3. Because almost every game has a silver lining This is a sentence that I abide by in almost everything I do. Even in games I don't like, I can usually find something that really wows me and makes me appreciate the developer's work. I know Darkfall is one of those games that many people just really don't like. I'm the same way -- I don't care for the way the game handles itself. But where it failed in game design, it didn't fail on unique vistas and sharp combat. Sure, the graphics aren't top notch, but there are still areas in the game where you just have to go, "Wow, that's an incredible sight." Plus, it's real time combat in a MMO. That's really, really hard to do and kudos to an independent developer for pulling it off. "You've heard that everyone's a critic, yes? Well everyone's also apparently a game designer." Even when you completely hate a game, I urge you to look back at it and consider your experiences. You wouldn't have played it for a while unless there was something that made you enjoy the experience even a little bit. Then again, maybe you hate it all. But if you do, see the piece of advice above before you begin nerd vomiting all over forum threads.Although... there certainly are gaming exceptions to this rule...2. Because it doesn't help anybodyThis is the part where people seem to totally and completely miss the boat. And when I say miss the boat I mean that the boat as totally pulled away from the dock, is 500 feet away, and people still run off the dock and jump into the sea holding their suitcases.Nobody benefits from aimless criticism that amounts of nothing more than the screaming of biased opinions. You get to look like an inconsiderate idiot, the community gets irritated at your groundless claims, and the developers learn nothing about how to improve their game. Bad criticism isn't bad as long as it's appropriately constructive. It's actually some of the best stuff you can possibly get in regards to your product. Positive feedback means you're going the right way, but constructive feedback shows exactly what's going wrong with your current design and where you can improve. "If you think making any game is easy, then I challenge you to sit down and start making your own pen and paper roleplaying game, or a board game, or a card game." My favorite comment in this regard was made by a Bungie developer during the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. A journalist asked him, "What did you learn from this beta test?" and I recall the developer responding that all he got from the bug reports was that the level sucked. He didn't know why the levels sucked because everyone just wrote that they sucked.1. Because you may not know what it's like to make a gameYou've heard that everyone's a critic, yes? Well everyone's also apparently a game designer. Everyone knows what's best for a game, how to balance the design, and how to make it so "X class doesn't suck."I think that many people think it's super easy to make a game. Slap some abilities in, render a few areas, get a server, and you have an MMO, right? Heck no! You have programming bugs, design bugs, art asset bugs, pathing to worry about, scripts to run, a whole set of connections between servers to worry about, and much, much more. So here's my challenge. If you think making any game is easy, then I challenge you to sit down and start making your own pen and paper roleplaying game, or a board game, or a card game. Share it with your friends and see what they say. But, above all, see how long it takes you to make a "simple" game. Include with that the testing you do with your friends, the fine tuning you may make to the rules. You'll find it's more work than you probably through it was. Believe me, I know, I'm doing it. So next time before you rocket fire your hate mail out onto the intarwebz, think about a couple of these things before you trash someone's game. You might just find yourself holding back, just because you understand a little bit more about gaming and a little bit more about how frivolous it is to hold such pointless grudges. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who hates aimless hate. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.
Earthrise interview explains Masthead Studios approach to sandbox design
Bulgarian game developer Masthead Studios has been putting a lot of effort into spreading the word about their upcoming post-apocalytic MMO Earthrise. Massively had a chance to sit down with Masthead Studios CEO Atanas Atanasov at GDC 2009 for a preview of Earthrise which gave us a taste of what to expect from the title, but we're always on the lookout for more info about the game. We've come across a short interview at QJ.NET with Atanasov that might be worth a read if you're excited about the dystopian MMO. He discusses some of the major game design decisions Masthead Studios made with Earthrise in respect to character progression (both online and offline) as well as departing from a few of the tried-and-true systems found in other MMOs on the market. Have a look at the Earthrise interview over at QJ.NET for more on the sandbox elements of this first release from Masthead Studios.
NetDevil producer Hermann Peterscheck on Jumpgate Evolution's ship design
Fast, dynamic, joystick-style space combat is coming to MMOs soon with Jumpgate Evolution from NetDevil. Jumpgate Evolution producer Hermann Peterscheck has written a dev blog for MMORPG.com titled "Iteration on Ship Design", which focuses on a crucial aspect of creating the game -- defining the roles that ships should fill and how they should handle in performing these tasks. He explains how NetDevil went from having 'a multitude' of ships with different capabilities but with minor differences between them, to a more complete system where ships have clearly defined roles, but don't lock a player into that role, as a class-based system would. However, this clearer separation between ships entailed scrapping some of the designs they'd created.
Hi-Rez Studios executive producer Todd Harris on Global Agenda's gameplay tiers
One of the new breed of sci-fi MMOs that crosses a first person shooter with an MMO is Global Agenda from Hi-Rez Studios. For those fans of class-based FPS games like Team Fortress 2, Hi-Rez Studios has emphasized that TF2 has been a major influence on Global Agenda's development. While the game's release date hasn't been announced yet, Hi-Rez has been fairly active in terms of promoting Global Agenda. Hi-Rez Studios executive producer Todd Harris has written a dev blog for MMORPG.com titled "A Minute To Learn, A Lifetime To Master", a motto which is very much the spirit behind Global Agenda's game design. Harris breaks down the major tiers of Global Agenda's gameplay as: Action/shooter mechanics and reflexes; RPG/build; Team tactics and cooperation - per mission instance; and Domination strategy and coordination - per alliance vs. alliance campaign. Harris goes into detail in each of these facets of the game, and explains how these tiers have played out with the roughly 1000 Global Agenda alpha testers. For more on the game design decisions Hi-Rez Studios has made with Global Agenda, see "A Minute To Learn, A Lifetime to Master" at MMORPG.com.
Warhammer: Where are all the gank groups?
You will commonly find gank groups in many PvP games. Gank groups are simply organized, pre-made groups, usually formed by members of the same guild that work extremely well together. Usually, a gank group will destroy a pick-up group (PuG) and zerg because they employ smarter tactics, keep cooler heads, and communicate more effectively.Gank groups were very common back when I played Dark Age of Camelot from 2001-2004. These 8-man special-ops teams would sweep in at high speed, disable as many enemies as they could with crowd control, and then quickly pick off targets one or two at a time. Most PuGs and zerglings would panic, which made the job that much easier.The true challenge would come when your gank group met an enemy gank group in the open field. The outcome would come down to a combination of skill, gear, timing, communication, ability timers (realm and master level), and even luck. Taking part in a gank group vs. gank group skirmish was probably the most adrenaline-inducing MMO experience I have had in an MMO and one I have been searching for in every new PvP MMO I try.
Warhammer: Where are all the gank groups (part 2)?
I'm sure many players are applauding the fact that Mythic has systematically eradicated gank groups from the RvR experience in WAR, however, it is saddening for many others. Gank groups were the elite of the elite in DAOC, and whether you liked them or not (or died to them or not), they played a huge part in the RvR scene. Put aside for a moment all the crashing cities and fortresses, overpowered crowd control abilities, class balance issues, and general bugs and performance problems in WAR. Does it not seem that for a game that was supposed to take RvR to the next level, it actually seems to have devolved it? If the holy trinity of class-balance is healing, tanking, and DPSing, it is my humble opinion that the holy trinity of RvR is the zerg, PuG, and gank group. I'm simply left wondering, where have all the gank groups gone? The previous paragraphs illustrate what is hindering gank groups from gaining traction in WAR. With a few minor shifts in design, I believe it is possible to reunite the RvR trinity. Step one is to overhaul crowd control. Every class should not have an arsenal of debilitating CC abilities like they currently do because combat becomes less about strategy and more about button-mashing CC when many players gather together. Step two is to place fewer rewards on objectives and more rewards on player kills. Step three will arrive with Land of the Dead if properly implemented. Hopefully, the zergs and PuGs fight over the main RvR campaign and there will be incentives for gank groups to do well in Nehekhara. Either way, the dual-endgame focus should split up the zergs substantially. The final step lies with the players. Mythic can only guide us so far and unless more guilds are willing to organize 6-12-man gank groups, they simply won't happen in WAR. A PR push from Mythic might help but the best chance for this to blossom will come when a few pioneering guilds take up the mantle and own it. Open challenges on server forums are highly encouraged! << Where are all the gank groups?
Anti-Aliased: You don't need PvP to be successful, honest
Player vs. player combat has always been a double-edged sword, in my opinion. While it has the ability to be an amazing part of a game, I find that it usually falls flat thanks to a few loudmouthed jerks and people who exploit their way to "fame." Please note the use of fame in quotation marks, as fame through PvP isn't exactly fame as we understand it by dictionary definition. It is something far less desirable.So, I knew my stance on the issue. I like well executed PvP, but I don't like PvP in general. But I wanted your opinion, readers of Massively, and I got it thanks to a spot on The Daily Grind this week. What resulted from that story was a very interesting discussion on the place of PvP in MMOs, and if PvP is really the staple we think it is as a community.
Anti-Aliased: From Captain America to the whirling dervish, dual-specs discussed
It's not too often that I actually get mail dropped in my box. My column is usually so loudmouthed that people just usually complain in the comment box instead of taking the time to send me a well worded e-mail. However, one of our intrepid readers, Patrick, actually sent along a question to my inbox, which I'll happily relate to you now."Do you have any thoughts on dual specs in WoW? I thought this was ugly towards the *World* of Warcraft - anyone could be anything at any time with no real choice / consequences for those choices. Blizzard is moving further and further away from an immersive game to being a game about 'gaming the system' behind the game. Additionally, it seems like Blizz spends more time on shifting mechanics (and keeping players occupied with adapting) than in making really interesting and rewarding (not loot, but the more ephemeral 'rewards') content for their players."Actually Patrick, I've been milling over this for some time now. While the initial concepts of dual-specs were put in place to alleviate the gold crunch and hassle of re-specs, the system has evolved much further beyond its initial structure. Some of those things I wholeheartedly welcome, but others I'm wary of. So let's talk about dual-specs, and why the system is beginning to really, really break.
Anti-Aliased: From Captain America to the whirling dervish, dual-specs discussed pt. 2
While Warcraft's original dual-spec system, which required a lexicon of power to be present to change specs, had the same restriction, the final system removed that restriction. Now, players will lose all energy/mana when changing specs, and they also can't do it in battlegrounds, arenas, or in combat, they can still switch while in instances and in world PvP. If Blizzard believes that a 5 second cast time and a loss of all mana/rage/energy is enough of a detriment to prevent people from abusing the system, then they are pretty wrong. Already, as a paladin, I could easily switch specs, switch weapons with short cuts on my hotbars, use divine plea to gain back 25% of my mana, and rush right back into combat. Rogues regenerate energy back at a quick pace, giving them the ability to switch between combat when they feel confident and subtlety when they feel they might lose a fight. As long as you can gain a breather and have the gear on you, you can switch. "Why take the hunter when you have a paladin who can do protection and retribution and has the gear to outclass the hunter in both cases?" I feel quite certain that players will find ways to abuse the new system when in instances as well. Groups will find that they can do dungeon easier with less people, as players will be able to switch across multiple roles. This means pure classes, such as the mage, priest, and hunter will also have a tougher time finding groups. Why take the hunter when you have a paladin who can do protection and retribution and has the gear to outclass the hunter in both cases? Certainly it's bad now, but it can get even worse because now the paladin can fulfill both roles while in the dungeon, when the hunter cannot. My personal opinion is to have left the requirement to be with a lexicon of power in place. This would have allowed the system to function in the capacity it was designed for -- ease of talent changes. Now the system may have a potential impact on the PvE and world PvP side of the game, one that I and the developers may not be able to guess. And the news that's in the middle It really does seem like Warcraft has completely forgotten about rewarding gameplay in favor of tangible asset rewards, but that's something the game has been doing for a long, long time. While the leveling game is more focused on exploring the world and solving problems, the endgame comes down to number crunching and gameplay theory. Is this good or bad? I'm going to clarify that it's neither, and simply the direction that Warcraft wishes to take at this current time. This is the part that comes down to player preference -- if the player doesn't enjoy what Warcraft wishes the player to do, then just don't play. Are dual specs going to destroy the game? No, probably not. Will they complicate things and cause new areas of stress for the player culture? Oh, absolutely. As to what those stresses may be, we'll only find out once the system is fully introduced and the impacts on each server can be witnessed. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is taking a "wait and see" attitude towards dual-specs. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.
LOVE creator Eskil Steenberg on how his game differs from other MMOs
It would be an understatement to say we're excited about the upcoming massively multiplayer online game titled LOVE, and we've certainly given the title some mention here in the past. It's an MMO being developed by one person, Eskil Steenberg, featuring a rather unique art style and some interesting gameplay elements. We're always looking out for more info about the title and came across an interview with Steenberg conducted by Phill Cameron from Gamasutra, just before the LOVE creator's Independent Games Summit lecture at GDC 2009. Steenberg discusses his choice to adopt procedural generation for LOVE, which was actually the only way forward on this project. "Working alone, you simply just can't build a massive world all by yourself, so you need to do something smarter," he says. "Given that I am forced to solve this problem, I get some added bonuses like being able to constantly generate new content while the game is running." Steenberg points out another benefit to this type of game design."As it turns out I think this could be the key to gaming in the future, as the game is able to develop and change in response to the player's actions," he says. "Rather then having a few binary plot choices, the world becomes far more dynamic and responsive to your actions."
