| Developer Shakedown Pt.1 |
With
your host - David Moore
Recently
we shook a few MMO game developers by their collars and demanded they answer
a few questions regarding the present and future state of persistent world
gaming. Here now are the responses to our first 2 inquiries. We’ll bring
you pt.2 next Friday. (Oh alright, we actually asked them quite nicely to
participate).
gamebunny:
“How important is it to interest the less-hardcore gamers, blue-haired
grannies, younger kids, etc. in massively multiplayer gaming?”
Personally,
I think blue-haired grannies and younger kids get immersed into virtual
worlds more than they are given credit for. Grannies read a lot...
some grannies avidly read fantasy romance novels, own computers, and browse
the web. So I don't foresee a problem with several generations of
gamers playing the same mmorpg. Given the chance, these demographics could
become a new class of hardcore players.
Rather than making game content that interests these groups stereotypically (i.e.: in-game toy stores or bingo night), mmorpg developers need to focus on making their games not repulsive to other populations. And I don't mean the games need to be dumbed down to attract more people in the general population. That would be the wrong way to go.
Daniel
McMillan (Frontier 1859):
I
think it is very important if your product is designed well enough to offer
the simplistic "touch & go" play-style for the casual and
green player, as well as unlock more hella-intricate content for the
hard-core players. The challenge is coming up with rewards that
satisfy both players - rather than just one kind of content and then another
kind of content, because if the rewards blend seamlessly, then you have done
the best that can be done.
Al
Corey (WWII Online):
Our
game has a wider appeal than some. The WWII subject matter is of interest to
hard-core gamers as well as an older generation who are familiar with the
subject as well as kids who are just becoming aware of it through education.
Jorgen
Tharaldsen (Anarchy Online):
It
depends on how you look at it, and could really be a full report on it's
own.
For Anarchy Online we do not spend time to attract casual gamers. We focus
all our marketing and PR efforts on dedicated gaming places, through print,
online, events etc.. Reaching everyone else is just an added bonus.
In terms of ingame content we have worked hard on the beginner experience,
everything from customer service to character creation and newbie areas.
Even though you are a hardcore gamer you should be met with a rather easy
and understandable game right off the bat. We have also tried to make it so
that players who do not normally play MMO's should get a fairly easy
entrance to the game. Our focus is on existing role-players, as in people
who are already playing some sort of roleplaying game. AO is not for
everyone, since you need to give it time in order to fully understand even
the basic gameplay. 160.000 items says something of the scope I guess, but
it also means that many people never get past level 1.
For our forthcoming online RPG we will try to make the initial experience so
good and simple that even casual gamers will be teased, and that also goes
for core gameplay to a "certain" extent. RPG's players are by
hearth more interested in deeper experiences, and that is what we aim to
give them even though the start is easy. If that also teases casual gamers,
great!
gamebunny:
“Do you foresee a day in the future when console MMO players outnumber
their PC counterparts (and is cross-platform compatibility between consoles
and PCs important?)”
Julia
Howe (Rubies of Eventide):
I
think it's quite possible, yes. From a developer's perspective its
easier to make games for console systems because (aside from the occasional
mod chip) the hardware is guaranteed to be the same.
But there are also other factors working against the consoles… its easier to convince the parental units that you need a new computer "for school" than convincing them you need a new console system =) upgrading your computer is a little less guilt-free in that regard than buying a whole new console system. Plus you can play all your older games on your PC without a CD or having to hook up another system. And if you have a console system in your room and you're 25, its harder to explain THAT to your new date than having a beefy computer on your desk.
On the other hand, the perception is that console games are easier to learn. Cross-platform compatibility is somewhat important for a product's reach but not mandatory.
Al
Corey (WWII Online):
Certainly
for some genre's, consoles will pick up a larger share in the future. A look
at what Sony and other publishers/developers are doing is a good indicator
that they believe that too. When it comes to some games, it may be a harder
road for consoles to travel. Simulations, for one, are really tough to
successfully port to a console platform.
Daniel
McMillan (Frontier 1859):
With
new platforms such as "The Phantom" being announced, and online
consoles being equipped more like PCs' with one common GPU, it appears as
though anything that can play a DVD/CD ROM and connect to the internet might
be a window of opportunity for MMO. It would be silly to monopolize the MMO
market with any notion of one platform ruling all when there are percentages
of users from Macs, PCs, consoles, and etc.
Any MMO developer would want to reach the largest potential audience. This whole console vs. PC thing is passe. If the consoles get large enough to hold MMO content - they will be more like PCs anyways.
If
you are talking about a user base who are addicted to paddle controlers,
well then many MMOs are simply not going to be fun to interface with.
MMOs offer more player options, and the UI would have to be really embedded,
and in that case we are talking about something deeper-layered than say
Final Fantasy Tactics was.
If anything, I see bundled MMO service networks that are modeled like Direct TV - where you pay a monthly subscription and get at least 5 MMOs. In that case, it won't matter if you play them from a PDA or a console. For instance, we've been looking into having certain elements of our Frontier 1859 MMORPG extend to wireless, so that you could invest in game-stocks for in-game mine works, or check the status of your NPC work force, or play a hand of Faro.
The key to all of this is extending the flexibility of the MMO model from the get go. We would love to have a Frontier 1859 console version as well as a PC version. The more people that can come together through whatever method they own already is where we want to be. We don't want to force people to go buy something new just because they want to play our MMO game.
Read
part 2 of gamebunny's Developer Shakedown.
David 'spridal' Moore. © 2003 gamebunny.com. 15/Aug/03
Site Contents ©2004 moorentertainment gamebunny icon by Matt Miller