Guild Wars 2
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On the subject of risky MMO sequels
One of the biggest problems an MMO developer faces -- after successfully launching their game and achieving a healthy bases of subscribers -- is keeping their game fresh. In some cases, developers have attempted a sequel, but the problem with that lies in getting the player base to move over. EverQuest 2, Asheron's Call 2 and Linage 2 all faced seemingly lower subscription numbers than their predecessors. It would seem that sequels -- while able to be successful -- don't live up to the same success that the original games had. It's possible there could be an exception to the rule someday, but so far there hasn't been.
It's never too late to start playing Guild Wars
Haven't had a chance to play Guild Wars yet? You're thinking maybe three years after launch is a bit late? Nah, you're just in time! Guild Wars has so many enticements for people who are just getting into this new-fangled MMO scene, but also for people looking for a change from their regular game. We're here now to explain a bit about ArenaNet's masterpiece, targeted at someone who has only heard of Guild Wars, but never actually played it.Guild Wars is different from many of the larger, more popular MMOs we have to choose from today. The main reasons include the fact that it has no monthly fee, it centers around instanced worlds and it is one of the few games that successfully combines PvE with PvP.So let's start from the beginning and explain a bit about the history of the game and why it came into existence. No, this will not be on the test later, but it is an important piece of back story when considering why it is the game that it is.
Guild Wars franchise hits 5 million unit sold mark
NCsoft announced today that its distinctly non pay-for-play MMORPG, Guild Wars, has sold five million units globally in a little under three years. The Guild Wars milestone takes into account the original game plus its three expansions: Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North.Guild Wars 2 is currently in development and (if it's still on track) is expected in the second half of this year. ArenaNet, developers of Guild Wars, says it will continue to support the original game and its "millions of customers." For the sake of semantics it's worth noting that this doesn't mean five million players ever consistently played Guild Wars, just that five million copies from the franchise have sold, but it's still a milestone in an arena dominated by the one.
How Arena.net developed the Guild Wars Mission Pack
Yesterday we discussed the official commercial release of the Guild Wars bonus mission pack. It's been available for certain players since November, but now anyone can snag it for about ten bucks from the NCsoft online story. The pack pits players against some of the most well-known foes in Arena.net's gameworld, like the intimidating Charr above.But how did they make the missions? The official Guild Wars site has up interviews with several of the developers, exploring the process behind this latest addition to the game. Lead designer Colin Johanson explains how the pack fits into the game's fiction, what a player who purchases the pack will find himself doing, and the challenges of working on the current game while working on Guild Wars 2 at the same time.Their second interview sees fellow designers John Stumme and Linsey Murdock joining Johanson to talk a bit about their past experiences on the Arena.net team, as well as the process of actually creating components of the bonus pack. Johanson in particular enjoyed how the team could focus on story in this special contend update: "In a major Guild Wars release, the focus is on the players' characters-the things they do that shape the world around them, and their adventures. With these missions, we could tell more of the story of the world itself by showing the deeds of those who had come before.'
MMORPG.com's Eye of the North review highlights player discontent
A review was recently posted at the MMORPG.com site for Arena.net's latest Guild Wars release, Eye of the North. While I personally have been enjoying some of the new content in the expansion (and the Wintersday event) there are definitely some concerns among the players about the Eye. Beyond reviewing the game, Jeremy Star's piece does a great job of running down some of the biggest issues I've heard in discussions with other players. He specifically calls out Arena on the biggest problem with Eye of the North: that many players don't think this is an adequate stopgap between late 2007 and whenever Guild Wars 2 will be released ... but the whole experience teases the in-development title. Asura, Norn, Dwarves, and Charr are all over the North, but none of them are playable. The Hall of Monuments is a big deal with bonuses you'll get to use at some point in the indeterminate future. The expansion sounds and looks great, but it's just not up to the standards of previous releases (especially Nightfall).With this release and the closing of GuildCast, are these dire signs for Arena's game? Are players going to maintain interest in Guild Wars until the spiritual sequel goes live?
Guild Wars 2 to be bigger and badder than Guild Wars
Prepare to have your mind blown away by design insights that normally don't leave the developer think-tank. James Phinney, the game design team Lead on Guild Wars, shares the genesis, methodology and reasoning for a Guild Wars sequel and the outline details why a traditional campaign or expansion won't work. The gist and core reason why is the Guild Wars team wants to develop a Guild Wars sequel that is closer to a MMORPG while the original Guild Wars is a CORPG. Some major differences that will distinguish Guild Wars 2 from the original is less instancing making the world more persistent with improved freedom of control to move (jump!) around and explore; a higher level cap as the original is capped at level 20, there might even be no level cap; a realm-versus-realm like PvP system. To get all these features in Guild Wars the game would have to be radically altered -- a sequel is the best solution opposite to a "new game experience" that would only end up butchering the original Guild Wars. After mulling over the list, everything proposed looks outstanding. I'm definitely more excited about Guild Wars 2 than Guild Wars, I would love playing a Guild Wars game that was more like a MMORPG with no monthly subscription cost. You heard me right, no monthly subscription cost for a MMORPG.Guild Wars 2 takes place roughly 250 years after the Eye of the North expansion, presumably the last Guild Wars expansion pack. The Guild Wars 2 open beta is currently scheduled sometime for the 2nd half of 2008.
