player-generated-content
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New ArcheAge trailer released, Jake Song talks player content [Updated]
If you're as starved for news about ArcheAge as we are, the new video accompanying XL Games' announcement of ArcheAge China is akin to a desert oasis. The clip features a good amount of new in-game footage as well a bit of narration from lead designer Jake Song. What's the occasion? It seems that XL has partnered with Tencent Games to bring the sprawling fantasy sandbox MMO to the Chinese market, and the new trailer was created to show the game at Tencent's recent annual press conference. If you're an English-speaker, Song's comments (which appear in the video from approximately 1:30 to 2:20) have been translated at MMO Culture, and they illustrate how ArcheAge is being positioned as a third-generation MMORPG that refines the best of all that has come before. "The third generation online games use the previous two generations as the basics, further improving content and visuals. More importantly, players themselves can now create content and playing styles themselves, permanently reshaping the in-game world. When players log into the same place after some time, the place might look totally different," Song says. Click past the cut to watch the video and also note that the video repeats itself around the 7-minute mark. We'll post a higher quality embed as soon as one becomes available. [Update: We've embedded a subtitled 720p version of the video behind the cut. Thanks to ArcheAge-Online.com for sharing the upload!]
The Soapbox: A case for player-generated content (or why MMO story is complete and utter bollocks)
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. I read with great interest Ragnar Tornquist's recent blog posting concerning story in The Secret World. After I got over the initial impulse to roll my eyes at yet another developer jumping on the BioWare-induced story, story, story bandwagon, I found that Tornquist had a couple of interesting points to make. Unfortunately, he also missed an opportunity to strike a blow in favor of player-generated story content. While this is totally unsurprising coming from a man who has built his career on interactive storytelling prowess, it was nonetheless disappointing on several levels. Yes, yes, I know, Tornquist is a wunderkind developer, you'd have his babies, and who am I to question his almighty design wisdom? Regardless, I am questioning portions of this particular blog piece, because MMOs are an exceedingly inadequate vehicle for storytelling of the kind that developers are espousing lately. That's not to say massively multiplayer titles shouldn't have a narrative component, though. Join me after the cut to find out why MMO makers ought to stick to systems and math and leave the storytelling to the folks who do it best.
April Ask Cryptic talks nemesis, heavy weapons, and player-generated content
The nemesis system has long been one of the coolest features of Champions Online -- on paper, at least. The reality of the implementation leaves something to be desired according to players, though, and Cryptic hasn't offered much in the way of concrete details on a possible revamp. Today's Ask Cryptic focuses exclusively on Champions and showcases a number of questions from players keen on divining the future for their favorite costumed alter-egos. In addition to answering a query about nemesis, Champions devs are put to the test regarding a variety of issues including new heavy weapons skins, targeting concerns, lair updates, and the possibility of a player-content system like Star Trek Online's Foundry. "There is a bit of work to get it to fit Champs but we are checking it out. The Foundry is doing great in Star Trek and we have no doubt you can build stories in Champs that can blow theirs out of the stars," Cryptic says.
Star Trek Online pushes its player-generated mission Foundry to live servers
Player-generated content may be the wave of the future. Jeremy Gaffney of Carbine Studios said at PAX East that in 10 years we will see more user-generated content. It seems Cryptic agrees. Executive Producer Dan Stahl proudly announced that Star Trek Online's player-generated content has been pushed to the live server today. The Foundry, as the system is called, will allow players to create missions, test them, and then share those missions with other players. As in similar tools in other games, missions will be tried by players then rated. However, unlike missions in other systems, a Foundry mission will not show up in the player-created mission tab until it has been given its first review. There is a review content button for those who wish to review newly created missions. Stahl does tell us in his post on the official STO forums, "Be warned, with many new players getting their hands on the editor, there may be a lot of 'hello world' missions at first." Cryptic is still going to monitor this feature much like a beta since this is the first time it will be sent out to the general public. The developers will be addressing any issues as soon as possible. However, this is live, so log on to STO and try it out now. Stay tuned to Massively this Thursday as Brandon Felczer gives us an in-depth look at the Foundry in the Captain's Log.
Star Trek Online answers a fleet's worth of questions
The one-year anniversary for Star Trek Online is just around the corner, and the game has quite a number of irons in the fire to go along with that milestone. Player-generated content and weekly episodes are two of the game's big features on deck for the near future, and the latest installment of Ask Cryptic certainly addresses those, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. With nearly three dozen disparate questions answered, this month's offering covers everything from Vulcan ships to an open PvP environment. Among the more interesting answers is the fact that the development team is looking into ways to model rather unique ship traits such as the multi-vector attack mode of the Prometheus class. The team is also hoping to give players the ability to fly shuttles and yachts, along with reasons to do so. The next minigame after dabo is still on the table, but at the moment the team is focused on more meaty content. Take a look at the full rundown for all of the Star Trek Online questions for this month -- there's plenty of information to be found within the lengthy answers.
The Daily Grind: What do you consider "good" player-created content?
Star Trek Online might be the most recent game to prepare for the player-created content bandwagon, but it's far from the only one. Yet every time tools are released to allow players to make their mark, the same complaint arises -- there's no easy way to sort the good content easily from the bad. Which is a fair complaint, until you stop to realize that there's not really a good definition available of what would qualify as good content. After all, when you let players make anything, one man's trash will be another man's treasure. Some people like content that optimizes rewards, making the most efficient use possible of time for leveling a character toward the cap. Others prefer a well-crafted story, with no real consideration for whether or not the content is rewarding. And still others prefer a challenge, something harder than the official content, a chance to really see what players can accomplish when pushed to the limit. Whether it's in City of Heroes or Ryzom, what do you look for out of player-generated content? What do you think of as good content and what do you think of as bad? 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!
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Architect overload
If there's one thing that constantly amazes me, it's how many great ideas exist that I would never have come up with on my own. Playing through Mission Architect in City of Heroes just drives that point home -- as a longtime fan of superheroes in general and the game in particular, it's not as if I don't have ideas of my own. And then I have a stack of arcs sitting on my desk (metaphorically) that don't even use any of the same conceptual space but are filled with even better ideas. That's inspiring. After several sources of delay -- including fatigue, patch releases, internet problems, chupacabra, and continuity resets -- I've finally had enough time to dive into some of the arcs that I've had submitted to me and really give them the attention they deserve. What follows are my sometimes-disconnected thoughts on the various arcs, some tips and opinions, and how I'm going to handle the mountain of arcs I still have left to play through. Plus future arcs, since I can't leave well enough alone.
The Daily Grind: Community or content?
A fan of Star Wars: The Old Republic recently sent an email to this reporter asking Massively to give some press time to a community movement on the SWTOR forums. Although we may do a complete report on it another time, the forum post made us wonder just what is the importance of community in an MMO? There is a monstrous debate about whether community or devs serve as the greater source of in-game content. Dedicated players or professional writers? Massively reporters have been on record supporting both sides of this debate. One in particular seems to waver on this subject. Of course, there is no right answer -- unless having more dollar bills makes you more right. If player-generated content is crap and developers don't know what players want, which is more important: community or content? Which has more impact on you? Do you like the stories and content your friends make? Or would you say the developers need to give you more of the content that you demand? 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!
LEGO Universe publishes new World Build League zones
LEGO Universe hasn't been out that long (it launched on October 26th to be exact), but NetDevil and the LEGO Group are already expanding the family-friendly MMO with three new zones developed by the World Build League. The WBL, formerly known as LEGO Universe Partners, is a group of LEGO fans from around the world who have partnered with NetDevil to create professional-quality player content. To access the new content, travel to Starbase 3001, jump on the launch pad, and select the new area of your choice. DeepFreeze, MoonBase, and Portabello await. As you might expect, DeepFreeze is a winter-themed zone where you can build a snowman or ride a Zamboni. MoonBase is designed to delight your inner sci-fi geek, as the low gravity atmosphere lets you high-jump to your heart's content while you're keeping a wary eye out for alien encounters. Portabello brings a fantasy feel to the game complete with dragon quest-givers and other genre staples. Check out the video after the break, and hit up the official website for more details.
Hyperspace Beacon: Beyond the scope
You only have to go as far as the official forums to see the concern over what Star Wars: The Old Republic is offering. I have a major question: Do the concerns have merit? I had an unofficial discussion with my editor, Bree Royce, about the whole idea of complaining to a large gaming company like BioWare. Although I maintain that there is far too much complaining about features that the game will never have, Bree argued that the potential players of the game should continue to complain at every opportunity. What other way can they motivate a top-tier gaming company to deliver the game they want? After some thought, I agreed, but what happens to player desires that exceed the game's scope? I would like to think that developers would re-evaluate the scope of the project if enough people complained, but in truth, that level of reconstruction is expensive. For a game that is already as expensive as SWTOR, I just don't see it happening. The few things that have been changed, like the size of the lightsaber hilts and the Wizard title, are really small things. However, things like taking space combat out of the tunnel are a bit more time-consuming, not to mention costly, and so they are less likely to be changed. But as Bree suggested to me, what other avenue do players have? What I'd like to talk about this week are a few of the top desires of the community, desires that push the scope of SWTOR. I will give the reasons I believe they are pushing the scope of the game, but I would really like to have your involvement. Why do you think these things were implemented the way they were, or why will they not be implemented? Step beyond the break to see my thoughts.
Star Trek Online preps player-generated content tools
Cryptic Studios is boldly going where only a handful of MMORPGs have gone before: namely, the user-generated content quadrant. The official Star Trek Online forums now sport an additional section dedicated to hosting discussions about The Foundry, a set of mission authoring tools that will be made available to players in short order. The Foundry looks to add a ton of additional content options to a title that has occasionally been criticized for a lack of things to do, and Cryptic hints that more functionality will be forthcoming. "Players can customize pre-made planet surfaces and star systems with their own encounters, objects, and story. They can also create their own star systems from scratch. More map features are planned for future updates," reads the FAQ on the o-boards. The system will also feature peer review, with the aim of ensuring that only the highest quality missions make it into the new community authored content tab. STO players looking to test the new tools should keep an eye on their emails for invites to the upcoming closed beta. [Thanks to Stormwaltz for the tip!]
Hyperspace Beacon: Jef's soapbox smells like a wet Wookiee
Disclaimer: This column is entirely the opinion of the Hyperspace Beacon's writer and does not necessarily reflect that of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, remember: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering -- whatever that means. So, maybe you should skip this column if this opinion is too much for you to handle. I know in my last column I said I would continue the story of Nomi Sunrider, and I will, just not this week. I felt Jef's Soapbox article about the hype surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic required some sort of response. The denotation of "hype" doesn't bother me. Stimulating the audience's excitement about a game is kind of the job of a game's producers. Teasing people with parts of the story or gameplay is common. It's the connotation of "hype" that drives me bats when people apply it to STWOR. Nearly every person, who uses "hype" when talking about SWTOR, seems to indicate that BioWare and LucasArts are attempting to sell the audience something that is not truly what it is. Do they tease? Sure, but the BioWare PR managers are not selling you death sticks. I contest that the people who are selling the death sticks are the fans. Follow after the break and I will explain.
Exploring Eberron: Neverwinter nightcaps
Depending on how much stock you put in the rumors or in Cryptic in general, this past week's announcement of a second Dungeons & Dragons MMO -- pardon me, an "OMG" -- either rocked you back on your heels or cooled off your heels. Something to do with heels, at any rate. In a Daily Grind this past May, I asked readers how they would make another D&D MMO. There were a lot of thoughtful responses, a few instances of keyboard gibberish, and a contingent adamant that the D&D license was locked up in DDO and couldn't be handed out elsewhere. I guess the latter argument is a moot point right now -- obviously, Turbine doesn't have a monopoly on an online D&D -- although its existence brings to mind not just a few questions. Is the world big enough for two online D&D titles? What does this announcement mean for our beloved DDO? Is Neverwinter positioning itself to be direct competition, or a different entity altogether? Has the Cryptic crew learned its lessons? In my final Exploring Eberron (Rubi returns next week, so you may start doing your happy dance... now), I'm going to answer all of these queries in such a way that your world will forever be rocked. On its heels.
Massively Exclusive: Jack Emmert speaks (about Neverwinter and a whole bunch of other stuff)
Tweet var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/No_offline_play_for_new_Neverwinter_says_Jack_Emmert'; It seems everyone's got an opinion about the new Neverwinter online RPG recently announced by Cryptic. Whether you're a fan of the venerable Dungeons and Dragons franchise, a veteran of the classic single- and multi-player Neverwinter Nights titles, or just a fan of online games in general, you'll want to check out Massively's exclusive interview with Cryptic Studios COO Jack Emmert. Our own Sera Brennan sat down to quiz the Cryptic mastermind about everything from the new title, to Cryptic's evolving business model, to some candid insights into the making of both Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Roll your d20 and advance past the cut for more.
The Tattered Notebook: Player-generated content please
Ahhh. You hear that? That is the sound of relief, as the obligatory free-to-play reaction column is safely in the rearview mirror. It feels great to be talking about EverQuest II again as opposed to its payment model. MMORPGs are of course big business, and I don't begrudge developers and executives from trying to take their products to the next level, but damn am I ever tired of reading (and thinking) about subs versus RMT and yada yada blah blah. It sometimes seems as if the industry is putting all of its considerable talent and brainpower behind payment model innovations rather than gameplay innovations, and I for one would love to see stakeholders actually improving and expanding their products rather than devising new ways for people to pay for their products. Speaking of improving products, let's move forward. As my ratonga wizard makes his way slowly but surely towards level 40, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the world of Norrath. So comfortable, in fact, that I can safely start talking about what the game lacks and what would potentially make it even more awesome (because, the following mini-rant notwithstanding, EverQuest II is a pretty awesome MMO). Turn the page for more.
The Daily Grind: How would you like your story?
Story is on the mind of a lot of developers these days, whether it's the wunderkinds over at BioWare or veterans like Funcom's Craig Morrison. Predictably, there are wildly differing viewpoints regarding implementation. You have BioWare trumpeting thousands of lines of (spoken) prose as leading to meaningful narrative gameplay, and then you have people who think that story in MMORPGs is a marketing gimmick unless it is created by the players. Yep, you heard me. EA/BioWare is spending umpteen bazillion Republic credits on voice acting, novel-quality quest dialogue, and who knows what else, but at the end of the day, all of it will pale in comparison to what can be done by a couple of roleplayers using naught but their imagination and a few in-game props. TOR will likely be a well-made game but at some point, the developer-generated stories will run out and repetition will set in. If MMO devs truly cared about advancing storytelling in this genre, don't you think they'd design systems that facilitate player generated content? SWG's Storyteller system in particular should serve as a blueprint for any developer that spouts off about the importance of story. Without it (or a similar system), frankly, it's all just a lot of PR-speak. What say you, Massively readers? Do you prefer developer-crafted stories in MMORPGs, or would you rather players be given creative freedom and robust storytelling tools?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Return of community news
There's quite a bit to crow about in the City of Heroes community of late. Since the last time we've taken a look at the community, we've had a huge amount of new information about the next expansion, a double XP weekend, and the usual regimen of alien invasions and parallel universes. (July's release of Going Rogue will greatly increase the parallel universe portion.) And if you live on the east coast, you also have the opportunity to meet the Paragon Studios crew without traveling to the other side of the country! Have I mentioned that I live on the east coast? So next week, expect a very weary me to be dishing out a whole bunch of news from PAX East, as I'm going to be following the crew around like a forlorn puppy. But that's then and this is now. Today, we're going to be looking at some of the interesting community threads that have popped up over the last month, from the serious to the amusing.
The community of architects in City of Heroes
If there's one thing that City of Heroes has become known for, it's the Mission Architect system. The player-generated content spans a huge number of adventures, ranging from the silly to the sublime. It's also robust enough in its search function that it's essentially added another venue of content into the game. The official site recently highlighted a feature in The Escapist, interviewing a number of community members and acclaimed users of the system about its ups, downs, and the overall experience. The system has faced a few problems -- abuse of it early on led to bans and some content removal, since it's easy when creating content to be too generous with the rewards and too light with the difficulty. There's also the issue of inappropriate content, and of course the possibility that a large portion of what's available just isn't all that good. The full piece highlights some of the better arcs available (including more than a few Developer's Choice missions, which were selected as being good enough to qualify as official content), as well as the efforts and reasoning behind the more popular creators and what they've built. Matt Miller was quoted as saying that players did in one day with the system what it took the developers five years to accomplish. Quite an argument in favor of player-created content, that.
The trouble with goals in MMOs
One of the major problems of a game in which you can do anything is that... well, there's not necessarily much of a reason to do anything. That's a Terrible Idea recently had an interesting piece on the difficulty of generating goals and objectives in MMOs, especially in contrast with single-player games where your goals are equally pre-generated. The difference, as the article notes, is that single-player games have individual characters with a large impact on the game world. There's no issue of making quests compatible with a wide variety of characters of different races and classes, until the individual motivations and goals can no longer fit into the equation. You don't have anything but the end of content to shoot for. So what's the answer? The original post notes that it's not really possible to reconcile anything but achievement-oriented goals within MMOs due to the fact that the character will still inhabit a static world no matter what you do. Certainly, there are attempts to create larger-scale impacts for individual characters, but so long as every character goes through the same content or has the same opportunities, there's less of a sense of distinct accomplishment. Player-generated content in games such as City of Heroes offers an opportunity for a different path for each character, but there's still not much of a difference in the actual process. Procedural generation is also bandied about as a solution to the issue, though it lacks any truly successful implementation at this point. Is there even a solution, or is this simply part of the weakness of the genre?
