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The negative impact of complexity on MMOs and virtual worlds
The relative complexity of MMOs in comparison with more standard PC and console titles is a major draw for many of us. We like the crafting systems, the economic underpinnings, and many of the other trappings of massively multiplayer online titles. Complexity can be a core strength of a solid MMO title, but at what point does it become a detriment? Sometimes, emergent complexity changes the environment and the rules which govern it in some negative ways. Likewise, too much complexity-by-design can be equally problematic. This is the focus of a recent discussion at Terra Nova -- "Irreparable Complexity, Game and World" -- kicked off by Timothy Burke. Burke writes, "I've found that virtual worlds, massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs) have provided some great examples of Rube-Goldberg complexity-by-design, and have also demonstrated why this phenomenon can be a source of so much trouble, that you can end up with systems which are painfully indispensable and permanently dysfunctional, beyond the ability of any agent or interest to repair." Burke explores this complexity in depth, through analysis of Star Wars: Galaxies and Warhammer Online, but also how this plays out in virtual worlds. This leads him to the dilemma of developers wanting to keep their game design opaque enough to players so that systems aren't easily exploited, at the risk of becoming ensnared in broken systems and overly complicated game mechanics -- where even the developers themselves can't figure it all out. Have a look at Timothy Burke's "Irreparable Complexity, Game and World" over at Terra Nova for his views on how game designers should handle both emergent complexity and complexity-by-design.
When is it fair for classes to share?
Recently an interesting thing happened in the world of game design. To non-WoW players, it may seem like a minor detail, but it really shows an insight into the way that Blizzard designs their games.Rogues have, of course, been stealthy for a long time, and when word first dropped that hunters might be getting Camouflage in Wrath of the Lich King, we were pretty excited that some element of stealth might be added to our class too. Blizzard went back and forth on this ability, first putting it in, then taking it out, then putting it in again, and finally taking it out again. In the end they decided that it was just too similar to the rogue ability, and they didn't want to blend the classes together too much. This was about the same time that they gave rogues a new ability, called Tricks of the Trade, which looks a lot like the hunter's ability, Misdirection.To one player who asked what was up with this unfairness, Ghostcrawler spoke up and explained some of their design philosophy. She started by saying that they have 10 classes now, and they have to add more in every expansion. The "lazy-designer" way to handle this kind of situation is just to find an ability that works for one class and just give it to another. This would end up leaving the classes without enough to distinguish them all individually, and it's something they wanted to avoid. So why was Misdirection an okay ability to share, while Stealth was not?...
Anti-Aliased: PvPissed
It's in the nature of every MMO player to snap at change -- it's what we do. When the patch notes reveal that Class X got a decrease in DPS to make them of a "more balanced power", you can expect all players of Class X to lead a revolt across the forums with pitchforks and torches. This behavior has become so commonplace that we tend to just ignore it after a while.But for once, the intense flaming power of the World of Warcraft forums is being put to good use, if you ask me. Blizzard has announced that they are letting players transfer from standard servers onto their Player vs. Player servers in an outstanding reversal of their original policy on the matter. Now anyone on a normal server can just waltz up past the Gumdrop Mountains to find Queen Frostine and ask her to use her transporting powers to send them to what could be construed as MMO 4chan. (That Candy Land reference was for you, James Egan.)
Mythic's Paul Barnett on believers and heretics
Paul Barnett, the Creative Director at Mythic Entertainment, is not a man who minces his words, particularly when it comes to Warhammer Online. We covered how Barnett envisions Warhammer Online being free of the 'corruptive' influences of World of Warcraft. Gamasutra expanded on Barnett's talk at the Develop Conference and Expo in Brighton, distilling other aspects of the speech down to his top lessons learned. Barnett emphasized the importance of simplicity in game design, citing other titles that became mired in complexity. "People like the illusion of choice... they like a long menu at a restaurant despite the fact they will always order from the same three things," he said. On the topic of having a singular vision, given the time and cost involved, he stressed that game developers tend to fall into two camps: heretics and believers. Mythic hasn't "got time for people who have no morale or don't think we're going to succeed, and mess around in palace intrigue. Heretics must be burned publicly. It doesn't matter how talented they are. If they're a heretic, they go, because cancer spreads." Conversely, he stated his preference to hire less-talented 'believers' with intense drive over those talented 'heretics' whose skills come with limitations. Have a look at the Gamasutra piece for more of Barnett's views on game design and a little more of what we can expect from Warhammer Online. Some of his ideas are bold and intended to stir up controversy, but the man definitely has some memorable lines.
Rob Pardo's insight on WoW's development and why PC gaming isn't dead
What's one of the most powerful game design positions in the games industry today? Executive Vice President of Game Design at Blizzard Entertainment, and the monumental role is filled by Rob Pardo. In this sit-down interview with PC Gamer, Pardo addresses various topics including why PC Gaming is far from dead. An easy position to take considering World of Warcraft has 11 million active subscribers. But Pardo understands the pressures companies face when developing on the PC platform. His line of thinking is that PC gaming won't die, but that it's evolving. When it comes to decision making and managing 140 creative staff members that work on World of Warcraft, Pardo describes an organic and collaborative process. The team is cohesive and there is no dictatorship over creative control as anyone on the team has the power to veto. Pardo admits that this may sound like nothing is accomplished with so many differing perspectives, but the key to content competition is in the team's dynamics, communication and of course compromise. Blizzard also eschews the monolithic design document. Instead Blizzard's creative process is more iterative and chunks of content are scraped but it pushes the whole team to do better with the overall objective to deliver a better product. The interview covers various other topics including a disagreement in viewpoints with Raph Koster, and why anyone looking to break into game design should second-think their college education choice if majoring in the specialized field. [Via WoW Insider]
Would emotional value improve the leveling experience in MMOGs?
Grats on your ding, wait, why are you crying? Not again. That last level really hurt your feelings didn't it. Well, some game developers like Indigo Prophecy creator, David Cage believe there is a missing component in the MMOG leveling experience. Cage's own feeling on the matter is that the interconnection is lacking when it comes to invoking a broader reaction from the player. "What's the real narrative or emotional value? Sometimes it's really interesting when you're in the guild in a massively multiplayer game and you attack the fortress or whatever. Some great things can be told, but it's not guaranteed. The value is not always there."Wow, that's deep but in all seriousness there is a certain truth to his sentiment. Leveling can be a painfully dull experience and usually MMOG use the same formula and mimic the same rags-to-riches journey. While there is nothing wrong with that, it can become tiresome and insipid if you no longer care for the redundant leveling experience. So maybe developers do need to instill a sense of danger, a sense of importance and meaning to the leveling experience. Fun is most important, and MMOGs should be enjoyed and not an emotional rollercoaster into dystopia.
Anti-Aliased: Dr. Podlove, or how I learned to stop worrying and enjoy EVE Online
I've really been stuck in a rut lately. The only game that really appeals to me anymore is World of Warcraft because of the polish and spit shine that Blizzard put into it over the past few years. When you look at the pinnacle of game design that is WoW, most other games sadly pale in comparison. That, or they blatantly rip off of WoW in such a spectacular fashion that it makes the game almost unplayable due to the fact you will constantly compare it to the original, better source material.Lucky for me that a month back, Valve struck a deal with CCP and put EVE Online on sale for a weekend via Steam. With cash in my pocket and a song in my heart, I finally dropped the cash to pick up a game that I played at least 10 two-week trials of. It's here that I'm going to finally introduce the catch to this entire article -- I, up until about a week ago, absolutely, positively, hated EVE Online.
BattleClinic's exclusive Factional Warfare guide by CCP Games
BattleClinic, a popular EVE Online web resource run by players, now has another thing going in its favor. Matthew Woodward, a Game Designer from CCP Games, has put together an in-character factional warfare guide, which is exclusive to the site. Woodward writes under the guise of one 'Sergeant-Major Illivia', and tries to whip the reader into shape as if they were a new recruit in Boot Camp. Sergeant-Major Illivia's ranting introduction to factional warfare in the Empyrean Age walks you through militia enlistment, battlefield intelligence, your objectives in the war, and most importantly -- how to stay alive in EVE. It's a clever way of conveying what's involved in factional conflict to a prospective recruit, although Woodward/Illivia does make you feel like a whelp at times. Check out the "Faction Warfare Enlistment Debrief" at BattleClinic for fiction with practical applications.
Off the Grid Special: Game Design 101
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.For nearly two years now, Off the Grid has introduced (and reintroduced) Joystiq's readers to some of the best board and card games on the market. The relationship between our modern video games and their non-digital counterparts is very clear-cut. As Gamelab CEO Eric Zimmerman puts it: "a game is a game is a game."So for those readers who aspire to create games of their own, it should come as no surprise that non-digital games are a great starting place for honing the craft of game design. With no programming skills required, non-digital game design is an easy way to begin thinking creatively about interaction, without the complicated prerequisities of digital game development.The best leaping-off point for non-digital game design is with the tools. Most gamers probably already have some fantastic equipment in their closets. So let's look at the basic tools of the trade.
WarCry interviews EVE Lead Designer Noah Ward about the CSM
EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is the title's first attempt at having elected representatives work with CCP Games on improving the game as well as the company's relations with its player base. The initial idea behind the CSM was that it would act as an oversight committee on behalf of the players, in the wake of the 'T20 incident' when a CCP developer unfairly provided a player corporation with certain resources. But this first CSM is largely tasked with improving the transparency of CCP's inner workings, while shaping the game to better fit the play styles of their constituency. The CSM has met online in recent weeks, and with mixed results, but they've now met in-person in Reykjavik, where they also had face-to-face time with the creators of EVE Online.Jordan Deam from WarCry interviewed EVE Online dev Noah Ward (aka CCP Hammerhead) about what this experiment in 'democratic community management' has yielded thus far, and what it may yet become. The interview focuses heavily on the dynamic between players wanting features added to the game and the undertaking necessary on CCP's part to make these changes a reality. Factional warfare has only just been realized in the game and was four years in the making. Ambulation, or 'Walking in Stations', is slated for a launch in the coming months, after three years of being in the pipeline, Ward said. Have a look at the WarCry interview, and decide for yourself if the CSM is living up to its potential, and if CCP is recapturing the transparency of a small, independent game company as it grows into a much larger entity.
Interview with Chuck Kallenbach, Game Designer on Legends of Norrath
What's this gab we're hearing about Legends of Norrath, it isn't all about the loot cards? Heresy! We're still buying up those virtual packs in hopes to score a rare loot card. Nevertheless, over on IGN's EQ2 Vault we came across this interview with Chuck Kallenbach, Game Designer on Legends of Norrath. Much is discussed gameplay wise about the insight behind the new Monk class, one that doesn't use weapons. One other topic covered includes the conundrum on scaling the game's complexity with new gameplay mechanics with the importance to not veer away from the game's intuitiveness and accessibility.The Oathbreaker set is the latest expansion introduced last week from Sony Online Entertainment. It brings 250 new cards, fresh gameplay mechanics, a new challenging raid scenario, and the following classes: Monk, Coercer, Templar and Beastlord. Many classes from EverQuest and EverQuest II are now represented in the game. If you are interested learning how to play Legends of Norrath but don't want to dump a bunch of cash you can download the client and play through the tutorials and it won't cost a you a dime.
Richard Bartle expands on earlier remarks stated in Massively interview [updated]
In this interview conducted by Michael Zenke, Richard Bartle discussed how to improve World of Warcraft and about MMOGs in general. One comment in particular overshadowed the whole interview: "I've already played Warhammer. It was called World of Warcraft." The comment thread on both Massively and WoW Insider was met with heavy criticism towards what many considered a myopic statement. It didn't stop there; the blogosphere has been running rampant with rambunctious commentary about his remarks all weekend long. This isn't the first time that Bartle has come under scrutiny for one of his outspoken comments. Last year, when asked what he would do if he could control any MMOG Bartle proclaimed he would shut down World of Warcraft. His reasoning behind it was so that other unknown virtual worlds would have the chance to thrive and push new boundaries in the massive genre. One sacrifice for a thousand, but it's definitely something to ponder as the cost of MMO development continues to skyrocket towards the 100 million dollar mark. Big-budget MMOs are less likely to take risks and follow a winning formula. No matter what you think of Richard Bartle, we only felt that it was fair that we share his follow-up comments that may help discern his perspective as a game designer. More on Bartle's controversial statement which may not be as shocking as one might think, in his own words after the jump.
Exclusive: Richard Bartle on how he'd make World of Warcraft better
Or: The Grandfather of MUDs talks the Mother of all MMOsEarlier in the year this blogger had the chance to attend the Independent MMO Game Developer's Conference, the second annual event held in Minneapolis, MN. A number of luminaries in the field made an appearance, such as Scott Hartsman (former Senior Producer for EverQuest 2) and Brian Green (best known for his work on Meridian 59). Also in attendance was Dr. Richard Bartle, the much-admired co-developer of the original MUD1 online environment. Along with Roy Trubshaw, Mr. Bartle essentially pioneered the field of MUDs. As these games gave rise to MMOs as we know them today, we would most likely not be enjoying the Massively.com website without his efforts.Join us as we sit down for a conversation about the big kid on the block: World of Warcraft. Some time ago Dr. Bartle made the crack that he'd "shut down" Blizzard game in an effort to improve the industry. Though he was only making an elaborately illustrative joke at the time, he's gotten a lot of flack for it. Today we have the other side of that coin: what Blizzard could honestly do to make the game even better. Click on through below the cut for Dr. Richard Bartle's view on Karazahn, playing MMOs as a player, and his overall view on the near future of the genre's darlings.
What MMOs can learn from D&D Fourth Edition
Gamasutra is running a great article right now in the wake of the Dungeons and Dragons Fourth release, looking at what videogames can learn from the newest iteration of the tabletop classic. In a way, the possibility of games being informed by 4E is just the latest in the back-and-forth theft that has gone on between pen and paper gaming and the digital form.The article waxes at length about some of the new mechanics in the game, including class powers, skill challenges, and the streamlined way that Wizards of the Coast has defined party roles. One of the most successful elements of Fourth Edition is the new way that encounters can be created -- something that should be kept in mind in every videogame as well, whether MMO or not: "Since most monsters are on-screen only long enough to take a few swings at the players and then die, that's what they should be designed to do. Unless it's the big boss, just give each monster two or three interesting attacks at most. Leave the non-combat design to the individual DM's world. Fourth edition really focuses on designing content to do what it needs to, and nothing else. Develop a clear vision for each piece of content, then cut away everything that doesn't serve that goal."
Player vs. Everything: The MMO clone wars
You can say a lot of things about a game you don't like. You can say that it sucks or that it's poorly balanced. You can say that the art direction is all wrong, or you can say that it's lacking in any number of features a good game should have. But sometimes a game takes flak for committing the most grievous sin of all: copying another game. One of the most commonly cited complaints about any given game is that they copied "feature X" from "game Y." For some reason, MMOG players in particular just love to cite the classic "It's just a clone of (whatever)" when they're trying to challenge the very essence of a particular title. If a game is a copy (the reasoning goes) then clearly the designers are wholly uninspired, worthless, and incapable of creating anything interesting or original. It really seems to irk players who feel that their game is being somehow wronged when another game uses similar ideas. But is this really such a bad thing? Might cloning features, or even cloning games, actually be the best possible thing for the games industry?
Player vs. Everything: The quirks of D&D Online
From the first time I stepped into Turbine's Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach, I was amazed by how well it managed to capture the dungeon crawling feel of the franchise that I knew, loved, and grew up with. With its fast-paced, pulse-pounding, and thoroughly satisfying combat, clever use of hidden doors and traps, and resource management mini-game of health, spells, and abilities, D&D Online provides a unique gameplay experience that no other MMOG can provide right now. One only has to listen to the vehement and impassioned discussion of the hardcore fans, found in any pick-up dungeon group, to realize that Turbine has something special here---something that World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online, EverQuest and Age of Conan, or even EVE Online simply can't offer.However, is being unique and interesting enough to justify the price? On a recent Massively podcast, I mentioned that I've always felt like DDO wasn't worth the monthly fee, despite how much I love the game. The standard $15 per month pricing model is a one-size-fits-all label that looks a little too bulky on the city of Stormreach, for a number of reasons. Today I'm going to examine some of the reasons why a game which I find so interesting, exciting, and fun can't manage to crack my wallet open, and what I think Turbine could do to push the game a little further into the competitive territory of its gaming peers.
The unintended consequences of MMO design (and cars)
Veteran game designer Damion Schubert put up an interesting post to his personal site discussing some of the unintended consequences of design choices. Just as the seemingly simple decision to allow objects to have collision properties resulted in Ultima Online towers being robbed, design elements in other fields can have unexpected results. Schubert points out the dangers of the Prius as a perfect example of these unexpected results. The fact that the hybrid vehicle is incredibly quiet probably didn't seem like a big deal to the Toyota designers. In fact, they may have seen that as a plus. A plus for everyone except those without sight, of course. The result is that the vehicle's designers are now considering how to add more auditory feedback to the vehicle. Check out the post and the attendant comments for some additional MMO design elements that seem, in 20/20 hindsight, kind of obvious.
Player vs. Everything: The retention game
The conventional wisdom in any service-driven industry is that it's far, far cheaper to retain an existing customer than to recruit a new one. This is especially true in the MMOG industry, where your business model is largely dependent on maintaining a long-term subscriber base. The concept also applies to transaction-driven and episodic games, where you need your customers to want to stick around and continue spending money. Box sales are great, but ultimately they're pretty useless except as an indicator of how many people actually bought the game -- returning players are the bread and butter of the MMO world. In fact, that's exactly why companies are so interested in finding out why you're quitting their game. If they can fix issues that are making a lot of people quit, they can retain more customers and drive up their revenue. Surprisingly, Blizzard is the only company I know of which actually makes people fill out an exit survey in order to cancel a subscription. It's not that annoying and it gives them great information about how to make their game better for you (so if you're adamant on copying Blizzard, that's a good thing to copy). Unfortunately, Blizzard keeps notoriously quiet about their internal numbers like that. So why exactly do people quit MMOGs, and what can and should game companies be doing to keep you interested?
Sci Fi Channel creating hybrid TV series and MMO
The Sci Fi Channel plans to air a TV series that simultaneously plays out as a massively multiplayer online game, the Los Angeles Times reports. This pairing of television writers with game designers will allow fans of the series to influence its story arc through their own actions in the virtual space. David Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel, said, "This is the Holy Grail for us, without a doubt... this is groundbreaking, and I don't say that lightly."The large and dedicated player communities attached to various titles in the MMO space are appealing to the Sci Fi Channel. "Bundling a World of Warcraft player community with a series and an on-line social community is something the Sci Fi Channel has tried to puzzle out for several years," according to the Los Angeles Times. The Sci Fi Channel's desire to tap into the MMO market led them to work with Trion World Network, a California-based game company with some major investors standing behind it. The hope is that together, they will achieve a first in interactive entertainment: create a hybrid television series and online game, where players affect or even determine the direction of the show. If successful, this will stand as a milestone in the history of both television and games.
The death penalty and you
No no no, we're not talking about that death penalty. We're talking about the MMO death penalties that seem to cause people to outright quit games. It's a tedious line between what's a good death penalty and what's a bad one; and no one seems to have found the perfect fit just yet.Snipehunter at Dopass.com has the opinion that Age of Conan's tombstone debuff death penalty is too punishing. His argument is that applying a debuff to a player just means that their chances of successfully removing the tombstone from where they died (and subsequently removing the debuff) are now worse. If they couldn't kill the monster the first time round, how can they kill it with the debuff in place?
