Guild Wars 2
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Massively's interview with Guild Wars CM Regina Buenaobra
ArenaNet and NCSoft are celebrating the fourth anniversary of free-to-play MMO Guild Wars this month so we decided to sit down an chat with Community Manager Regina Buenaobra about the games success and it's beginnings.How did Guild Wars come about?When the ArenaNet founders (Jeff Strain, Mike O'Brien, and Pat Wyatt) were still working at Blizzard, they had a lot of discussions about the design underpinnings of World of Warcraft, which Jeff Strain was working on, and Warcraft III, which Mike O'Brien was working on. They thought that it might be cool to mix the two genres, since there was already a lot of overlap between them. Strategy games are more fun when you've got an emotional connection to not just your character but also the game world, and when roleplaying games are infused with a bit of a competitive dimension, that's exciting for players. What were you looking to achieve when you first launched the game?Even before Guild Wars was launched, the team aimed to do something different from what other online roleplaying games were doing. This uniqueness is at the very core of many of the design decisions-for example, the focus on player skill rather than time spent playing. The team wanted Guild Wars to deliver something different from what was already out there on the market, and have it be a success. At the time, it was a risk to diverge from the route that other online games were taking, both in terms of game design and business model. And of course, the goal was to give players a really fun and enjoyable game.Why do you think gamers have been so attracted to the game?I think there are a lot of reasons for the enduring draw of Guild Wars. Guild Wars provides a skill-based gameplay experience that includes a brilliant solo campaign. Here, a player feels immersed in a game world through fantastic storytelling and questing. The player feels powerful, in control of their destiny and their ability to influence events. Guild Wars also includes a deep profession and skill system which is really compelling from a strategic sense. The business model-buy the box and play online without subscription fees-presents great value for the money, especially in the current economic climate. These are all reasons for why Guild Wars is still really popular.
Free, shiny and simple. A winning recipe for wider audiences?
Scarcely a fraction of gamers are involved in MMOGs. The percentage is a little higher if you're a gamer over 25, but below that, the odds are that only 1-2% of gamers are into MMOGs. But the gamer market is expanding. That is, the number of gamers who are involved in MMOGs is growing at a rate less than a twentieth of the growth of the hobby. Or to put it another way, the pool of potential customers is growing much larger than the customers the industry already has, if only the industry can find a way to make MMO gaming, as a hobby, more attractive to gamers who have hitherto shown little or no interest in it. There are several approaches the industry has and is attempting in order to reach out into that broader pool of would-be players.
ArenaNet artists win Spectrum honors for Guild Wars concept art
Some of us at Massively are quite taken with the art of Guild Wars and it looks like we're not alone in this respect. The ArenaNet artists were recognized at Spectrum last year, an annual showcase of some of the best artwork in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Carrying on in that tradition, ArenaNet's Art Director Daniel Dociu made this year's Spectrum 16 list for "Mole Tunnels", taking the Gold Award in the Concept Art category. ArenaNet artist Kekai Kotaki took the Silver Award for "Snow Battle". The work of both artists is stunning, and we urge you to check out the images found at Spectrum Fantastic Art to see what we mean. Given that the Guild Wars images seen at Spectrum are concept art, does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?
ArenaNet sets record straight on Guild Wars 2 'delay'
How can you delay a game that never had a set release date to begin with? This is the logic ArenaNet's Mike O'Brien pointed out in a recent open letter to Guild Wars 2 fans. Speculation about the 'delay' began late last week when ArenaNet's parent company, NCsoft, released their Q4 2008 financials that scheduled a 2010-2011 release for GW2.Guild Wars 2 was originally announced in March 2007 alongside Guild Wars' first expansion titled Eye of the North. At the time, PC Gamer magazine confirmed that ArenaNet was hoping for GW2 to go into beta in the second half of 2008. When June 2008 rolled around, the official GW2 FAQ was updated to say that a beta would not be commencing in 2008 as originally planned. During NCsoft's earning call, it was stated that while they originally intended to make GW2 a sequel, it really became a whole new game in development. Mike O'Brien stated in his letter that the game will be ready "when it's done" and not any sooner. "Guild Wars 2 is a large and ambitious game, and we're going to take the time to do it right."
Guild Wars 2 release window pushed back to 2010 - 2011
Bad news for folks who've been hotly anticipating NCsoft's upcoming sequel to their subscription-free MMO -- according to a new release schedule buried within an investor finance briefing, the release window for Guild Wars 2 is now a remarkably vague 2010 - 2011. Considering the last tentative launch period for the game we heard was "second half 2008", this 730-day window is more than a little disheartening.Though they did just suffer a few layoffs and are apparently skipping out of E3, NCsoft isn't exactly economically plagued -- their latest title, Aion, sold like hotcakes in Korea during Q4, bringing in a hefty year-end chunk of change. So, if it's not for financial reasons, what's causing this major delay? Is the Guild Wars 2 dev team taking time off to work on their needlepoint? Are they training for the winter olympics? Are they following in the footsteps of their former colleague and becoming idiosyncratic millionaire cosmonauts? We may never know.
NCsoft 2008 profits down and Guild Wars 2 TBA in 2010-2011
After hearing recent news of NCsoft's lay-offs/restructuring at their European studio, it may not come as a surprise that their latest financial report for Q4 2008 is showing a 22% net income loss compared to Q4 2007 even though sales were up 11%. This loss was attributed to higher marketing costs for the quarter. Their overall 2008 net profits plummeted 40% compared to 2007. The high quarterly marketing costs probably had a lot to do with their Korean release of Aion, which accounted for 3% of their overall sales by games in 2008.What does this mean for fans anxiously anticipating the release of Guild Wars 2? It means you'll have to wait a while longer. According to an anonymous source and ex-NCsoft employee, the company is heavily focused on both Aion and GW2 right now. After a successful launch in Korea, NCsoft plans to release Aion in Japan and Taiwan in Q3 2009 and in the US and Europe in Q4 2009. With such a strong Aion push in 2009, it seems to leave little room for GW2 in the calendar year. Their strong dedication to each title might explain why GW2 was pushed into 2010-2011 when many fans were hoping for a 2009 launch. Given the marketing costs of promoting Aion in Korea, it would be quite a financial burden to promote both titles simultaneously around the world.
Official details on the NCsoft Europe layoffs
As the news and confirmations are trickling in from this morning's layoffs at NCsoft Europe, we're happy to report that we were contacted by NCsoft regarding complete information and an official word on the situation. Apparently, according to the press release after the jump, this is more of a restructuring within the company as the NCsoft Europe studio is transitioned into more of a marketing hub for the company.We also had a brief chat with a former NCsoft employee who confirmed the layoffs. This un-named source says that the Community Team, the Creative Services team, the Web Development team, Localization and a handful of others from various teams have been let go. But as confirmed in the official statement, these employees were offered other positions within the company, which is certainly a silver lining to this story. This person also stated that neither Aion nor Guild Wars 2 are in any trouble, as they're actually the largest focus of the company now. Read below the jump for the official word from NCsoft and let us know your opinion in the comments below.
The Digital Continuum: City of Heroes 2
A surprisingly large amount of people didn't believe me at all when I said something to watch out for in 2009 was an announcement for City of Heroes 2. In fact, pretty much everyone has disagreed with me here. That's fine, but they're all wrong, and in this week's Digital Continuum I'll explain why I think as much.
NCsoft NorCal and ArenaNet weigh in on storytelling's future in MMOs
Our sister site Joystiq recently had the chance to speak with several developers about the future hurdles facing storytelling in games. Two members of the MMO industry were in the mix, and their views on how to tell a story in future MMOs are each a very focused snapshot at how City of Heroes and Guild Wars each approach story. With City of Heroes, it's not about the level of tech, but about how much the audience cares about the story. As for Guild Wars, the opposite seems to be the case: it's about learning how to tell interesting stories with new tools.We don't think either method is wrong, as both views are a product of their origin. Namely, of what the developer has learned and their audience has demanded. We're certain that both developers will continue produce story within games that evoke unexpected responses from us, for better or worse.
ArenaNet's Art Director speaks on the artistic direction of Guild Wars
As we anxiously await any morsel of news regarding ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2, it's still nice to hear the occasional interview along the way. Recently, Allakhazam sat down with ArenaNet's Art Director, Daniel Dociu, to talk about his experience in the gaming industry, his evolution at ArenaNet and his visions for Guild Wars. While we get no news of GW2, the interview is interesting nonetheless."We built this art team from a handful of people to somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty people now." Dociu said in the interview. "They have been more or less hand picked from the best talent pool that the industry had to offer. It's a team that I'm personally proud of and very protective of and that's what I would consider that my main contribution to the game."
The Daily Grind: Is no news really good news?
Now that the holiday season is winding down and it's almost back to business in the new year, we're starting to seriously consider our MMO options. I understand that games, especially MMOs, take several years to develop from concept to launch. I understand that the game's entire premise can change dramatically throughout the development process, so revealing early details could prove damaging. I also understand how over-hype can kill a game when it doesn't live up to expectations. Yet, does a complete lack of information and veil of secrecy hurt more than it helps?The most glaring example of this is Guild Wars 2. The sequel was first mentioned in March of 2007, and little else was said about it since then. Human nature takes over and fans who genuinely care about the direction of the game can do nothing but speculate from there.
ArenaNet in complete control of Guild Wars 2 marketing
Earlier this month we made a post speculating -- via Kill Ten Rats -- on how the marketing may be handled for Guild Wars 2. As it turns out, some of those rumors turned out to be untrue. Specifically, the rumor about how the game would be marketed when it eventually comes out. Regina Buenaobra, an ArenaNet community manager, has made it clear that NCsoft allows developers to decide their own marketing strategies for their games in the way that makes sense for them. We're very glad to hear that, as one size certainly does not fit all.Another nice aside here is that it would appear that NCsoft is allowing ArenaNet to do their own thing, which should assuage any worries or fears some may have after the events surrounding Tabula Rasa and Auto Assault. As for that release date? Well, that's still subject for speculation as per usual.
Telling stories: The next hurdle for story telling
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.What's next for in-game story telling? In this, our final segment looking at video game narratives, our collective of industry professionals offer insight into what they believe is the next big challenge facing the evolution of story telling in the games we play.
The Daily Grind: What MMOs are you looking forward to in 2009?
Yesterday, Kyle gave us his impressions of the most anticipated games for 2009. This watch list was based not-only on games that are set to release within the year, but also games that are set to be announced in 2009. This list includes everything from DCUO and The Agency to the speculation of a City of Heroes 2 announcement. The comments were heated, so we thought we'd pose the question officially here for our readers.What is your most anticipated game or game announcement for 2009? What games do you dream about? Do you think Red 5 Studios will reveal their stealth project? Will Darkfall finally be your holy grail? Do you think Guild Wars 2 will finally get a release date by the end of the year? Let us know!
Telling stories: The games that got it right
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.It's rare that story tellers get all of the pieces of their narrative to fit together exactly right in any medium. But in this industry, where story shares a balance with gameplay and endings often get the short end of the development stick, weaving a complete and compelling tale must be a daunting task. Now, gifts unwrapped and bellies full, our panel of industry personalities sound off on those games that they feel were up to the challenge, delivering storytelling experiences above and beyond their peers.
Telling stories: How much is that ending in the window?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.Epic Games' Michael Capps recently caused quite an uproar among gamers with his suggestion to offer the conclusion to games as premium DLC rather than as part of the core experience. As the latest in our continuing week-long feature, we asked our panel of industry personalities what they thought of the proposal. Interestingly, much of the group was noticibly more tight-lipped in their responses than when answering other questions.
Telling stories: What's up with lame endings?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.While narrative has taken on a larger role, time and again we end up being left unsatisfied in the final moments with endings that fail to wrap up stories in interesting or compelling ways. In our continuing week-long feature, we asked our diverse collection of industry personalities why so many endings in the games we play leave us cold.
Telling stories: Balancing gameplay v. narrative
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.How important are stories? How about endings? Over the next week this diverse group of personalities sounds off on these and other story-driven topics, starting today as we open up by asking whether or not narrative shares an equal burden as gameplay in carrying the video game experience.
Guild Wars 2 marketing and release date speculated
When it comes to Guild Wars 2, you could say the folks at Massively are a bit excited about the game. You could also say we're a bit of a MMORPG news and features site, as well. The problem is that there just hasn't been much information to discuss about the sequel. Well, as it turns out, Kill Ten Rats has a little bit of meat for us to chew on -- but only a little.In a conference call held in early November, it turns out there was some discussion about Aion. How is this pertinent to Guild Wars 2? Well, it seems that NCsoft is quite pleased with the marketed generated through buzz and online viral videos for the game. As of right now, the game is having an enormously popular Korean beta. So, the reasoning goes then that they'd like to see this approach taken with Guild Wars 2, as it saves NCsoft money -- something they apparently need a lot of right now -- and created plenty of awareness.As for a release date, after being pestered by an uninhibited analyst about said date, NCsoft was willing to admit their interest in a holiday 2009 launch. The intriguing part of this whole shebang is that there appear to be "options" for the game's release, and the analysts aren't too pleased with the inevitable decline in Guild Wars' business. So, could we see the game earlier than next winter? Maybe next summer? Possibly, just possibly.
The Daily Grind: Has the fantasy genre been addressed?
Warhammer Online is out, Wrath of the Lich King is out and Mines of Moria has also been released into the wild. Each of these games cover a wide range of features and fantasy settings, and World of Warcraft pretty much has the fantasy MMO archetype covered mostly on its own. So until someone figures out "WoW 2.0" -- something that's got all the good parts, but much less of the bad -- should any new fantasy game bother at this point?We think Guild Wars 2 is probably safe because it'll be without a monthly subscription, which is usually a big barrier to entry for a lot of possible players. Beyond that though, have Blizzard, Turbine and Mythic completely monetized the fantasy genre to its fullest potential for the time being or is there room for another title in the next year or two?
