game-design
Latest
Age of Conan's Craig Morrison talks conquest vs. competition
PvP is a naturally contentious subject, particularly when focused on its various flavors in the MMO space. Everyone thinks they know best, and whether they're arguing for a three-faction system, full loot, or open-world objectives, the discussion often devolves into verbal throw-downs every bit as violent as their in-game counterparts. Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison recently waded into the fray via his personal blog, and he says that defining PvP in an MMO context involves separating the wish for conquest from the wish for competition. Morrison touches on several interesting aspects of MMO PvP, including a bit of history relating to the arenas and battlegrounds that are usually reviled by hardcore player types. "The needs of accessibility dictated that designers try and find a way to accommodate the appeal of the conquest style of play while also retaining the fairness of the competitive desires of the players," he explains. Ultimately, Morrison offers a bit of hope for those who prefer open-world conflict. "It's great to finish a great story and storm the castle and beat the bad guy. It is something else altogether to get to keep his castle, and for you to become the bad guy for the next would-be hero to try and conquer," he says.
EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare
I think it's safe to say that most EVE Online players have never tried their hands at faction warfare, the state-sponsored bloodbath that pits Minmatar and Gallente pilots against their Amarr and Caldari rivals. When the system launched almost four years ago during 2008's Empyrean Age expansion, it was an immediate and colossal success. CCP ran news stories leading up to the expansion to show the growing tensions between the four nations, with several videos highlighting major flashpoints like the Malkalen incident. The stage was set for the war to end all wars, and players were brought to the front lines to die for their nations. Faction warfare was originally designed to be a stepping stone for empire-dwellers who wanted to get into nullsec and to give fleet-based PvP to pilots without nullsec contacts. The first few months saw some spectacular action, with fleets of over a hundred rookie pilots happily smashing each other to bits. For over a year, faction warfare provided practically instant-action PvP on any scale you could want, from solo roaming and small gang warfare to full-on fleet battles with several capital ships. Unfortunately, CCP didn't iterate on the feature, so after a year with broken capture mechanics and no real purpose or reward for fighting, faction warfare began to grind to a halt. In this week's EVE Evolved, I speculate on how faction warfare could possibly be resurrected.
New York University introduces MFA in 'Game Design,' starting fall 2012
New York University's Game Center, already a bastion of game development in the Northeastern US, announced this week that it will open a Master of Fine Arts program for "Game Design" in fall 2012. The Game Center's blog revealed the new program this week with a tentative description of the program's offerings and faculty, pinning names like Frank Lantz and Eric Zimmerman to the staff. The two-year program is said to focus on "game design, game programming, visual design for games, and game criticism." Wait, "game criticism?" According to the MFA program's website, students can focus on criticism for the game design degree, "which means writing about games with a focus on game design and player experience." The site further adds, "A student with this focus will be well-prepared to become a game journalist or critic, a theorist or researcher, or a scholar or historian." There is no mention, however, of the crushing debt you'll be unable to pay with a game journalist's salary. We kid! Regardless, between creating individual projects and working in groups, the NYU MFA program intends on educating future game devs in a wide variety of disciplines, across a varied spectrum of virtual platforms (from social to console, and everything in between) -- even game journalism, it would seem. Interested parties can find out more info through NYU's graduate program portal, but you'll probably want to read this FAQ first. That thesis sounds like a doozy!
Global Chat: October 30-November 5, 2011
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Global Chat this week touches on some of our most reliable hot topics: free-to-play and game design. Business models, as well as how games are created and whom they're created for, are always good for discussion, so follow along after the jump to see what a few of our readers had to say.
Free for All: An inside look at Illyriad Games
You have to be a bit insane to write your own game, says James Niesewand, Illyriad Games' CEO. When he and a group of friends decided to sit down and list off what they wanted to see in a browser-based game, they decided to go for a game that would not periodically reset like so many browser games, one that featured the complexity and depth of games like EVE Online and would be free to play. Niesewand started with no experience in the gaming industry, but he did have some coding background. He writes the back-end material (the information that is queried), and his co-conspirator Ben Adams writes the front-end (the stuff that you interact with and see). Of course, I am simplifying this, but for the sake of keeping this article under 15,000 words I will attempt to sum up the conversations James and I had at GDC Online last week. They covered the start of his first browser-based game as well as some of the inevitable growing pains that come with being an indie developer. Click past the cut!
Some Assembly Required: How to screw up your sandbox
Between bouts of Global Agenda, Age of Conan, and a stack of single-player games, I've been taking my own advice lately and looking for a new sandbox. The end of Star Wars Galaxies is forcing my hand, and I figured I'd better start now if I don't want to be stuck with nothing to play on December 16th. While there is a veritable ton of different sandboxes to choose from, I must admit to being a bit frustrated with nearly all of them. If it's not one thing, it's another, and most are such glaring deficiencies that I can't help but wonder what was going through the minds of the development teams during the construction process. Join me after the cut for a few things you should consider if you're making an MMORPG sandbox.
The Anvil of Crom: What's wrong with AoC's crafting?
In the wake of Funcom's glorious announcement that Age of Conan is due for an extreme tradeskill makeover in 2012, I thought it might be fun to brainstorm a few crafting-related design ideas. To be frank, I think any change will be an improvement, as it's hard to fathom a more boring and ultimately worthless gameplay system than what currently passes for crafting in Hyboria. This is a pretty huge topic, of course, so join me after the cut for the first part of what will likely be an ongoing discussion over the next few months. Before we can talk about solutions, though, we've got to identify what's wrong with AoC's crafting.
BioWare talks SWTOR testing, post-release content
BioWare project director James Ohlen is apparently on the PR circuit of late, as a new interview at Gamasutra marks his second major gaming publication appearance in the last two days. This time around, there's nary a mention of Star Wars: The Old Republic's companions. There is, however, some interesting chit-chat about polish, post-release content plans, and the necessity of MMORPG playtesting. Ohlen downplays the notion that large-scale fan testing is paramount to a game's success, saying that "the big changes that we've been making were planned from way before." He acknowledges that beta testers have their uses, but says that the BioWare devs would be "terrible game designers" if they didn't figure things out on their own. "It's good for fans to feel like they're having an impact, and sometimes they do," Ohlen says. "There [have] been surprises on the project, but mostly they've come from us playtesting this stuff."
360iDev: Designing iPad specific (and iPad-supported) games
Developer Gareth Jenkins's talk at 360iDev this week in Denver was about designing games specifically for the iPad. He made the distinction early on about two reasons you would design games (or apps) for the iPad. First, they're either iPad-supported, such as a game you designed elsewhere but are bringing to the iPad. Or, second, they're iPad-specific, a game made just for the iPad's unique screen, interface, and use case. Jenkins said he was sorry that we'd seen very little in terms of iPad-specific games so far. Most games simply borrow their interfaces either from other game systems or from the iPhone's much smaller touchscreen. But, as he reiterated many times in his talk, the iPad is different. It's not a game controller, or a phone, or anything else we've seen yet. The demographics are different, the use cases are different, and the use itself is different. He used his own game, Hyperion, as an example. Hyperion was developed at the 360iDev game jam last year, and the game involved a hex battle system that plays kind of like Risk with "some Pac Man-esque AI." The game really only works well on the iPad rather than the iPhone, and Jenkins says that's because your fingers don't cover up the tiny screen. Hyperion depends on multiple areas of gameplay, what Jenkins called "independent areas of action and interaction," where you're playing on one part of the screen but watching what happens on the other. Only the iPad's larger touchscreen allows for that type of dual movement. He also showed off a prototype that his company had worked on, which he called "a cross between Dragon Age and Dawn of War 2" that hadn't been made yet. The game involves guiding a group of four adventures through a top-down world in real time; one action bar on the bottom of the screen corresponds to the four adventurers, while another action bar in the top right deals with their skills and spells. The main part of the screen, as seen above, is used to draw real-time paths for the heroes to take, so players will be watching what happens on the main screen while pressing buttons on the bottom and side of the iPad. The idea sounds wild, but Jenkins said the prototype worked well. Even though the UI was relatively complicated (and he used World of Warcraft's extremely detailed UI as an example), the controls "mapped" well to how the player approached the game, and it's something that could only be done on the iPad's screen. Next, Jenkins gave examples of games that were "iPad-supported" -- games that started out elsewhere, but came to the iPad in either the same form or a different one. Mirror's Edge, Call of Duty: Zombies, Canabalt, and even the recent Machinarium were cited as games that recently arrived on the iPad, and made (mostly) solid use of Apple's tablet while not diverging too much from their original ideas (though Mirror's Edge was probably the exception in Jenkins's mind -- he said he was disappointed the iPad game played so unlike the console version). Finally, Jenkins gave some advice to developers thinking about working for the iPad: Just start doing it. He advised prototyping early and often for the iPad, and also consuming and analyzing other developers' work. Jenkins said he will often do things like taking screenshots and drawing all over them to point out what he does and doesn't like. He also recommended developers use the iPad for content creation, both for creating art and for doing things like using the iPad's synthesizer apps to create sound effects and music. Jenkins's talk offered up a lot of insightful commentary on just what it means to make and play an "iPad game." Here's hoping future developers make even more unique use of this definitely unique device.
Storybricks taking an alternative approach to MMO story
If you've been following MMOs in recent months, you've no doubt been inundated by the new story focus of the genre's upcoming AAA titles. Whether we're talking about Star Wars The Old Republic, The Secret World, or even TERA, story has been the favored industry buzzword for a while now. Enter Storybricks, a new concept from Namaste Entertainment that eschews the big boys' affinity for tacking single-player narratives onto a traditional MMO foundation in favor of player-generated content. Storybricks is more tool than game at this point, and a new post at Kill Ten Rats sheds a bit of light on what makes the software unique. Ravious describes Storybricks as an offshoot of tabletop roleplaying, and as such, a concept that linear gaming and conventional MMO fans may not embrace. It's an interesting read, and it features commentary from developer Brian Green and community manager Kelly Heckman. You can read more about Storybricks via Massively's hands-on impressions piece from this year's GenCon.
EverQuest video features new zone from Veil of Alaris expansion
EverQuest's latest content bomb was announced earlier this summer, and Sony Online Entertainment is slowly trickling out the details for the new Veil of Alaris patch. The game's 18th expansion will take players to a land long hidden by magic, and a new video gives us our first glimpse of the environment itself along with some of its ornerier inhabitants. Players will initially encounter the zone while traveling on a giant airship, and among the challenges are mobs made of molten steel as well as deadly free-floating swords. SOE's video clip features game designer David Stewart and environment artist Shannon Parnell discussing their work on the new zone, as well as various fly-through angles of the finished product. Check out all the details after the break.
GamersFirst states All Points Bulletin had huge future plans
By now, we are all familiar with the sad story of All Points Bulletin by Realtime Worlds. RTW's closing down shop ended not just APB as it was but also the future plans for the game as well. According to GamersFirst, which picked up and relaunched the failed title, Realtime Worlds had ambitious plans for the future of the game that ultimately lead to design issues. As GamersFirst Public Relations Manager Darek Connole stated to VideoGamer.com: I can't give you too much detail because I'm not a coder. But as I understand it they were looking to make APB the entry level to this whole series of games. So like you'd go into the APB district, and the social district would take you to other games and from my world you could take your APB car and drive it into my world and shoot things. They had all these crazy cool ideas that was just very ambitious. But don't get excited just yet. Connole also stated that GamerFirst would not be pursuing that content. However, because APB: Reloaded does not have the extraneous code, the developers can make a smooth, more streamlined game.
The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Talking with Josef Hall and Todd Coleman, part 2
Don't miss the first part of this interview with the makers of Shadowbane, which we posted last week! And now for the thrilling conclusion... The Game Archaeologist: What was the reason behind the free-to-play switch in 2006? Did this help the game's population any? Josef Hall: Todd and I left Wolfpack shortly after it was acquired by Ubisoft, so we don't really have insight into the decision-making process behind the switch. Todd Coleman: From what I have heard, it had a very positive impact on the size of the player population -- but yeah, I have no idea what it meant to the game monetarily.
The Daily Grind: Do you like having the freedom to play solo?
MMOs are social experiences at their core, but there's still something about having freedom on your character of choice. At times, everyone likes to step away from being responsible for other people, and operating solo means that you get to take full credit for your own success and failure. But the quality of that operation depends on the game -- Final Fantasy XI characters were largely helpless solo past a certain point, while there's little in Star Trek Online that a solo player can't handle with some patience. Obviously, being able to get plenty done solo means that you can indulge your time in the game more freely and not have to worry too much about other availability. But it also does detract from the grouping experience, and it can lead to a rahter one-note game where every enemy has to fall prey to the same solo tactics. So do you think solo-friendly game are a good thing? Do you want your games to feature a fair amount of self-reliance, or do you miss the old days where parties were the default for content? 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 Soapbox: Sandparks
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. The war between sandbox and themepark MMOs is being fought now, not just in the hearts and minds of players but in the simple matter of which project is getting funding for development. It's a war in which adherents to one design philosophy loudly decry the other, where both sides sling insults at one another and mourn how the other side has damaged the promise of MMOs or has no idea how to make a compelling gameplay experience. It's a battle of words and of subscription fees. It's also really, really stupid. Setting up the MMO sphere as a battle between two opposing design philosophies probably feels like a great chance to explore a two-faction system in real life, but it's also shortchanging not just MMOs but games on both sides of the nonexistent fence. It sells a number of games short, and it adds nothing useful to the genre as a whole. It's time to stop seeing the onling gaming sphere as a match of opposing forces and start seeing it as a varied and frequently awe-inspiring spectrum.
Guild Wars 2 content designer goes behind the scenes of city creation
Yesterday's flyover of Lion's Arch was a big hit with those anticipating Guild Wars 2, made even better with a follow-up blog post from content designer Matthew Medina. Matthew jumped in to expand on what we saw in the video by giving an extensive look at the design process. It's an interesting combination of virtual architecture, NPC-watching, and attention to details both large and small that works to create such a detailed location. As Matthew puts it, "[W]e're infusing Lion's Arch with all the little touches that we hope will make your downtime between personal story steps and dynamic events as entertaining and immersive as possible!" The blog post, which includes a new map of Lion's Arch, walks readers through the entire process, beginning with the foundation of a city and ending with final touches such as NPC chatter and visual details.
Arena University offers real-world experience for interns
Most industries offer internship programs to help transition potential employees from sitting in a classroom to earning a paycheck, and the gaming industry is no exception. While ArenaNet has offered a type of internship program within the gaming industry since 2010, they've recently progressed into new territory with their Arena University. ArenaNet's SVP of global business, Randall Price, spent some time chatting with Gamasutra about the program, detailing how it prepares graduates for the real world. Participants in Arena University work with the goal of seeing their art in game; for example, some of the bits and pieces in today's Lion's Arch flythrough video came straight from Arena University. The purpose of the program, according to Randall, is much more than just offering a few college credits. The ArenaNet staffers who work with the interns keep a eye toward teaching their interns not only game design, but also office workflow, communication, and creation as it applies to current projects.
9-year-old hangs with PopCap, creates iOS game via Make A Wish Foundation
When you're 9 years old you dream of plenty of things. Thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation, Owain Weinert's dream came true when he got to visit PopCap Games and design his very own video game. Owain's been diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and has spent several weeks working with PopCap to design his game, Allied Star Police. "This is my dream and I finally get to see my dream come true," he says. "It's a real-time strategy game and I really had fun watching it take shape." Owain's mother Heather seemed bowled over by the kindness PopCap has shown her son. "Today is a real high point," she said during a visit to the company. "Being in the hospital for kids with cancer can be a real downer." PopCap presented Owain with an iPad with the development version of the game, which is due in the App Store in the coming months. Profits will go to the Make A Wish foundation. You can watch a video of Owain's visit to PopCap on the next page (sorry iOS users, no Flash-free version available).
ArenaNet talks Guild Wars 2 environment art
There's a new Guild Wars 2 dev blog loose on the interwebs, and ArenaNet's Peter Fries has lots to say about the upcoming sequel's environment art. Fries paints a pretty picture of the game's locations, both literally and in the mind's eye of folks excited about ANet's decision to make Tyria more of an open world. "In the original Guild Wars, a map artist could cheat in places they knew a player could never reach, using unbacked facades or hollow props, but there are few parts of this game world that are inaccessible," Fries notes. The blog entry gives us a high-level overview of the creation of a game map from prototype to finished product, and Fries says that environment artists were involved very early in the process (usually just after a level designer finished up with an initial three-dimensional sketch). We're also let in on the fact that ANet typically uses two environment artists working in tandem on a particular map, the better to shoulder the significant workload inherent in filling the landscape with minutiae. Finally, we get a bit of a tease as to why location and location art matters, as Fries alludes to the history of Tyria and the continuity from the original game to the sequel. "Players who enjoyed the lore of Guild Wars will find plenty of relics from our game's history in the landscape of Guild Wars 2, sometimes tucked into surprising places," he says.
Massively interviews EVE senior producer Arnar Gylfason on Incarna, PvE and more
Some fantastic news came out of this year's EVE Online Fanfest. CCP Soundwave's talk on Incursion provided some insight into past and possible future development of EVE's often-neglected group PvE activities. We also got a first look at the captain's quarters coming this summer as a first massive step toward full-blown avatar-based interaction with Incarna. Finally, CCP presented the company's vision for the future of EVE -- a video showing the potential interaction between Dust514's ground combat, Incarna's station environments and EVE Online's typical space-based PvP. In his keynote speech, EVE senior producer Arnar "CCP Zulu" Gylfason brought together all the new information that had been released at Fanfest over the last year. We caught up with Arnar at the EVE Fanfest to ask some followup questions to his speech. In an EVE Spotlight article last week, he answered questions on the role of live events in future expansions and other topics. In this second interview, we asked Arnar about incursions, the future of PvE, captain's quarters, the new player experience, Incarna gameplay, and more. Skip past the cut to read our full interview with Arnar Glyfason, a man in whose accent the word "awesome" sounds seriously awesome.
