Funding ‘Free to Play’ MMOs
A couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of the Guild Wars 2 Art Book…
Fantastic collection of concept art, from the cream of the industry.
… and for the hell of it threw one of the better looking Guild Wars t-shirts in with my order. Hell, why not? There’s some odd pleasure to be found in being such a devoted fan. I imagine people with an interest in professional sports have the same feeling when they buy this years jersey or a signed ball.
Then I went home and threw them on the shelf, next to my Guild Wars Nightfall baseball cap, under my Guild Wars Factions poster, just next to my Guild Wars EotN map… and it struck me that perhaps there is some money to be made here.
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Tags: Guild Wars, merchandise
The Death Of Traditional MMORPGs
So right now there is an interesting debate going on between Tobold and syncaine, on whether the next Blizzard MMO has a shot at getting over one million subscriptions. Syncaine thinks it doesn’t, because WoW’s success is largely down to timing and the sheer amount of work put into it over the years. Tobold does, and blames the failure of more recent MMORPGs on failing to have the same attention to detail and craftsmanship as WoW.
I like the premise of the discussion, and I think there are some very valid points being made, but I wouldn’t quite agree with either of them. I’m a firm believer that the age of traditional MMORPGs is coming to an end. (By ‘traditional’ I mean the standard quest systems, crafting systems, economy, leveling, shoddy PvP… and so on.) I’m not going to go out on a limb and say the next Blizzard MMO will fail, because we don’t know enough about it yet, but it’s quite possible it might.
I will go out on a limb and say I think people are getting tired of grind. I’d say that there’s a huge gap in the market opening up for a non-traditional MMORPG, and there aren’t many who recognize it. Put it this way: You have three restaurants opening up, a good sushi restaurant, an ok sushi restaurant, and ok steakhouse. It doesn’t matter how much you prefer sushi over steak, you are more likely to go to the steakhouse than the ok sushi restaurant. If you want sushi you will go to the one you know is good. People aren’t going to quit playing WoW, with the massive time investment involved in playing it, for a new game that is even just kinda similar.
To continue with the analogies, I’ll respond to Tobold’s analogy from this post. For those who can’t be bothered to open the link, it goes something like this: Sculptor makes great elephant statue (WoW), it sells for a great price, others try to imitate (AoC, WAR, etc) but don’t put in the same effort, are surprised when theirs sell for low prices. The reason why this analogy doesn’t work is simple, 10 million people can play the same MMO; 10 million people can buy the same elephant statue. The lesson for the other sculptors is not that they weren’t doing a good enough job, it’s that they shouldn’t have been making another god damned elephant statue in the first place. It doesn’t even matter if they do as good a job as the original sculptor, because (not only has he been regularly improving it for everyone who bought it) nobody wants two elephant statues in their house anyway.
The next truly successful MMORPG will be something entirely different to the games that define the genre right now. It will follow a new forumla, and offer different challenges. It wont have the same completely meaningless, time consuming and grindy character progression. It wont have ridiculous fed-ex quests, or frustrating time/money sinks. It might not even have levels, or an economy. It almost certainly will not be subscription based. It will have solid and enjoyable casual gameplay, and it will have complex and rewarding gameplay that recognizes the hardcore players with real skill.
Until that game comes along I sincerely doubt any other new MMO will retain over three million active players/subscribers.
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Tags: elephant statue, Hardcore Casual, MMO, MMORPG, syncaine, Tobold, WoW
What I’ve Been Up To
Just a quick note to let you (yes, all two of you) know why my blog hasn’t seen much love recently.
I’m a huge fan of Guild Wars, having played since beta, racked up 6000+ hours over multiple accounts, and so on… (yes, I am trying to improve my image after the last entry). Over the past few years I’ve also helped out a number of Guild Wars fansites, one in particular being Guild Wars Guru.
Guild Wars 2 Guru has been planned ever since the sequel was announced, and over the last few months has finally come together. Just in time, too! ArenaNet opened the gates on Guild Wars 2 at PAX this year, unveiling an awesome trailer and holding developer panels you can view here. They haven’t slowed down since then either, with interviews, Q&As and more concept art coming out every week.
The community at GW2Guru is already quite large (3,000 members and 50,000 posts since it opened about a month ago), and helping to set the right tone and oversee moderation has been no small task – not to mention keeping up with news on the front page. It’s fantastic to be in the position to help grow a community from the ground up again, with new opportunities and fresh challenges. It also helps to have such a great team to work with, having all weathered their fair share of trials and tribulations on the original site.
Things have calmed down a little, for now, and I’m hoping to spend some more time writing here over the next few weeks. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in Guild Wars 2 (and you really should be) head over to GuildWars2Guru.com and see what we are doing.
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Tags: Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars Guru
I finally finished Plants Vs Zombies a couple of days ago. Thoroughly enjoyable game, and perfect for playing on a laptop whilst travelling. It’s nothing particularly ground breaking, just a nice twist on the classic tower defense format with some great humor and creativity.
Plants Vs Zombies
With PvZ finished I found myself staring blankly into the distance, tending to my Zen Garden during occasional periods of cognizance. Thankfully (120 bug sprays and 200 bags of fertilizer later) I snapped out of it, and set forth once more into the Steam store, looking for what to pick up next…
My mouse hovered over Aion for a good few minutes, feeling the temptation to try the ‘latest and greatest’ MMO. I’ve heard so many positive comments about the game, and many friends from previous MMOs have picked it up… but I just can’t bring myself to get into it. Why? Fed-Ex quests and grindy leveling. I’m so tired of both of them. Is killing ten rats in Aion really that different to killing ten rats in WoW? It just reeks of lazy game design, padding out the experience for the less judgmental masses. I’m sure Aion is a great game, but it’s not for me.
So instead, I picked up Trine! Trine is a wonderful little side scroller, with some very interesting physics puzzles to work your way through. You can switch on the fly between three characters (Thief, Mage, Knight), each with very distinct abilities. Gameplay is fluid and fast paced, and feels well polished. The only downside is the lack of online co-op, which apparently was cut from the release version of the game to meet deadlines (damn publishers). Here’s hoping that gets patched in soon to complete this fantastic game.
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Tags: Aion, Plants Vs Zombies, Trine
Second Skin Review
I just got finished watching Second Skin. Here’s the synopsis for anyone unfamiliar with the title:
Second Skin takes an intimate look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by online virtual worlds. An emerging genre of computer software called Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, allows millions of users to interact simultaneously in virtual spaces. Of the 50 million players worldwide, 50 percent consider themselves addicted. From individuals struggling with addiction to couples who have fallen in love without meeting; from disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose to gold farmers, entrepreneurs and widows, Second Skin opens viewers’ eyes to a phenomenon that may permanently change the way human beings interact.
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Casualty of Warhammer
Jeremy Monken (former CSR, Mythic) tells his grim tale to the Escapist.
The story struck a chord with me, having also worked for an MMO developer that circled the drain. Thankfully Mythic is still holding on, and WAR isn’t going anywhere yet.
The article does a wonderful job of describing the school-boyish glee that hits you when you land your first industry job, and an all too accurate description of how morale nosedives when the vultures start circling overhead.
It’s rather unpleasant to hear that many of the initial lay-offs actually had little to do with WAR, but rather EA’s financial troubles. I’d suspected that may have been the case, as the launch went smoothly and the game was well received, though a first hand account from someone in the trenches is all the more jarring.
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Tags: CSR, Jeremy Monken, MMO, Mythic, Warhammer Online
Valve Skeptical of Natal
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who isn’t all that pumped about Natal just yet.
You have to ask yourself exactly how many gamers want to get up off the couch and dance around like an idiot when they play a game? Not too many, I’ll wager…
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Tags: Natal, Valve
Kassem G Does Comic-Con
Kassem G, a popular amature commedian/vlogger on YouTube just put up a video of his experience at Comic-Con. Hillarious stuff.
Warning: Take humor with a grain of salt.
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Tags: Comic-Con, Humor, KassemG, Video
GLAAD
A swift post on this issue, because I’m joining the party late and it’s pretty much all been said. Joshua Meadows summarized some of my thoughts pretty well: Making any kind of crusade against homophobia in MMOs is only ever going to result in a backlash.
I differ significantly from the many that have raised their voices on this issue, because of a strong belief that the root of the problem lies with a massive misconception. People with little understanding are making assumptions of the average teenage MMO player’s mindset and attitude that are blindingly inaccurate.
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Recently (as covered in a previous entry) I picked up a copy of Planescape: Torment, the best game you probably never played.
I’ve probably sunk around 22–26 hours into it so far, and the deeper I get into the game the more astounded I am by how ambitious Black Isle were.
Continue reading ‘Planescape: Torment – General Impressions’
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Tags: Game Design, Planescape Torment
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