Virtual World News has a transcript from the Austin Game Developers Conference (AGDC) entitled: What Are the Biggest Online Gaming Opportunities?
The panel featured:
John Blakely (VP of Sony Online Entertainment)
Mark Jacobs (VP EA, Studio GM EA Mythic)
Raph Koster (President Areae)
Erik Bethke (CEO GoPets).
Moderated by: Matt Firor.
Mark Jacobs goes on the defensive and offensive about microtransactions, RMT, and garbage games that think they can make a buck. This is why I will forever be a fan of Mark Jacobs. He has always stuck to his guns about RMT and the "how can we make more money" attitudes. Many people may doubt Mark's look on the market, but few can prove him wrong.
When everyone in the world told him he couldn't make Dark Ages of Camelot, he did it. Not only did he do it, but he spurred Mythic to do it in a 24 month timeline. On top of this, DAoC launched nearly flawlessly. Sure some mistakes happened with expansions, but DAoC has held onto a relative strong player base and provided for Mythic to pursue further endeavors.
In this transcript, Mark Jacob spends a lot of time saying no. Raph Koster stays pretty centered with his ideals on Web 2.0 and his plans to capitalize on a non-traditional game. However, both Blakely and Bethke spend an inordinate amount of time demanding that they are right with no proof whatsoever.
The argument seems to be that just because something makes money it is good for the market. Jacobs smartly informs the panel that isn't the case. What's good for the market is good solid games, not developers nickel and diming customers. All the other trash will be swept under the carpet; where it belongs.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Northrend: No Fly Zone
There has been a lot of talk lately that flying mounts will not be usable in World of Warcraft's next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Blizzard has stated that the use of flying mounts may be restricted until players reach level 78 or higher. The reasoning: flying mounts would allow players to bypass too much content.
Flying mounts were introduced in The Burning Crusade, WoW's first expansion, but were not accessible until players achieved level 70. Therefore, flying mounts had little to no effect on leveling speed. They served as an end game treat for players to zip around the zones in Outlands.
With another expansion in the works, Blizzard seems to be concerned that players on flying mounts would be able to just zip around from quest to quest ignoring the vast amount of content built in between. This is understandable, as Blizzard puts a lot of hard work into building their content.
As a player who does not have a flying mount, I tend to agree with Blizzard. There is an ever growing gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in WoW. Nothing would suck worse than landing on the shores of Northrend and be forced to take the hard road as players with flying mounts zip around at 2-3x your speed while skipping over annoying random aggro.
It is understandable that players with flying mounts would be upset that they have invested large amounts of time into getting something that they can no longer use. Or not use for a certain period time. In this regard, I sympathize with flying mount owners.
However, considerations have to be made. Not just for players without flying mounts, but for the design of the content. With flying mounts, the design of both the static terrain and playable content needs to branch into a third, vertical dimension. It is not feasible that Blizzard places "flying guards" over every single quest location. The question needs to be asked, what do players want Blizzard spending time on? Getting the expansion shipped or double checking the expansion for consistency with flying mounts?
Not only is there game play reasons for turning Northrend into a No Fly Zone, but there are lore reasons as well. Blizzard has already stated they will be involving the Dragonflights heavily within WotLK. So, it may turn out that players who attempt to fly over Northrend will be downed by a "sky guard" until they reach an appropriate level and can become friendly with said "sky guard".
I strongly believe that players will be far more accepting if there is a valid lore-related reason for the restriction of flight. If it turns out that Blizzard just wants to slow leveling speed, then there will be valid room for complaints. Azeroth currently doesn't allow flying mounts, but it was also built before TBC. WotLK does not have that same luxury. Players will expect more.
Flying mounts were introduced in The Burning Crusade, WoW's first expansion, but were not accessible until players achieved level 70. Therefore, flying mounts had little to no effect on leveling speed. They served as an end game treat for players to zip around the zones in Outlands.
With another expansion in the works, Blizzard seems to be concerned that players on flying mounts would be able to just zip around from quest to quest ignoring the vast amount of content built in between. This is understandable, as Blizzard puts a lot of hard work into building their content.
As a player who does not have a flying mount, I tend to agree with Blizzard. There is an ever growing gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in WoW. Nothing would suck worse than landing on the shores of Northrend and be forced to take the hard road as players with flying mounts zip around at 2-3x your speed while skipping over annoying random aggro.
It is understandable that players with flying mounts would be upset that they have invested large amounts of time into getting something that they can no longer use. Or not use for a certain period time. In this regard, I sympathize with flying mount owners.
However, considerations have to be made. Not just for players without flying mounts, but for the design of the content. With flying mounts, the design of both the static terrain and playable content needs to branch into a third, vertical dimension. It is not feasible that Blizzard places "flying guards" over every single quest location. The question needs to be asked, what do players want Blizzard spending time on? Getting the expansion shipped or double checking the expansion for consistency with flying mounts?
Not only is there game play reasons for turning Northrend into a No Fly Zone, but there are lore reasons as well. Blizzard has already stated they will be involving the Dragonflights heavily within WotLK. So, it may turn out that players who attempt to fly over Northrend will be downed by a "sky guard" until they reach an appropriate level and can become friendly with said "sky guard".
I strongly believe that players will be far more accepting if there is a valid lore-related reason for the restriction of flight. If it turns out that Blizzard just wants to slow leveling speed, then there will be valid room for complaints. Azeroth currently doesn't allow flying mounts, but it was also built before TBC. WotLK does not have that same luxury. Players will expect more.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
No One's Talking!
Tabula Rasa is set to launch October 19th, the beta NDA has been lifted, but I can't seem to find anyone that will give a decent post about their beta experience. Hopefully, in the next couple of days we will see some great posts from beta testers.
Sadly, this just confirms my suspicions that the interest in Tabula Rasa is not that big. I'm not interested in the game and I don't know anyone that is actually set on playing it. A few of my "I play every MMORPG" friends may give it a whirl, but they will play anything.
I'm debating whether to give the game a try. It has been a good while since I gave a random game a chance. I normally stick to playing games that I've followed for months (or years) through development, beta, and launch. I have paid almost no attention to Tabula Rasa and that may have set the stage for me to play it. Unfortunately, there is that whole work, school, wife, and dog equation that I need fit gaming back into.
Sadly, this just confirms my suspicions that the interest in Tabula Rasa is not that big. I'm not interested in the game and I don't know anyone that is actually set on playing it. A few of my "I play every MMORPG" friends may give it a whirl, but they will play anything.
I'm debating whether to give the game a try. It has been a good while since I gave a random game a chance. I normally stick to playing games that I've followed for months (or years) through development, beta, and launch. I have paid almost no attention to Tabula Rasa and that may have set the stage for me to play it. Unfortunately, there is that whole work, school, wife, and dog equation that I need fit gaming back into.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Bloggers Roll Call
MMORPG and gaming bloggers, I need you! I need links for a new blog roll I will be putting up. Plus, I want to find new blogs that I don't read. I plan to visit each of these blogs on a daily basis, so please drop your link in a comment.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Bye-Bye Xfire
I have removed Xfire from all of my computers and my Xfire profile link from this blog.
I will miss one-click server joining for my favorite FPS games. I will miss having a running record of what games I've played and for how long I've played them. However, I won't miss the constant desktop crashes, disconnect messages, and annoying key combinations to make Xfire work.
I will be better off without Xfire.
I will miss one-click server joining for my favorite FPS games. I will miss having a running record of what games I've played and for how long I've played them. However, I won't miss the constant desktop crashes, disconnect messages, and annoying key combinations to make Xfire work.
I will be better off without Xfire.
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