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My avatar's so-called life
September 5, 2006 -
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The next step, he said, was ensuring that "WoW" was scalable, from the first level to the 60th. That includes ensuring the gear, activities and tools at each level are appropriate to the players there.
"We really wanted it to be available to everyone," Pardo said. "As you level up, you see a lot more content. You might see players in really elite gear (at lower levels--if the same goods were available at every level), but none of that happens if you get to level 20 and stop."
Meanwhile, the company puts a lot of effort into making sure there are plenty of quests--but not too many--for players to undertake, and that those quests are easy to find.
"In a lot of MMOs, people had to go (onto Web-based game-related sites) to find the quests. We found that even the most casual players go, 'Wow, I need to go over there,' and right away you have a quest," Pardo said.
Also, a major part of questing is killing. And for Blizzard, the slaying of enemies is an integral part of "WoW." But rather than overload players with innumerable beasts to kill, under the guise of seeing an "experience" bar rise, designers of "WoW" try to make the violence integral to the larger game.
"What we thought would be cooler for most people is to give them a reason for killing other than that experience bar," Pardo said, explaining how some of the game's quests will task players with killing beasts in order to accumulate various kinds of loot.
And to be sure, this is not an entirely novel approach to MMOs. But by putting an emphasis on "killing with a purpose," Blizzard is setting in stone some of the key reasoning behind its formulas.
Another element of "WoW" and other Blizzard games is what Pardo called "polish," which he said starts in the design process when designers consider questions like whether game play will be fun; whether there are solid mechanics; and how cool the art will be.
Also, he said, Blizzard places importance on regular communication among everyone involved in the process. Development teams, for instance, don't go off to work on a project as part of a larger game without staying in touch with other teams. The idea, Pardo said, is to avoid "the grand reveal," in which a team returns with a great piece of work that doesn't go well with the rest of a project.
All of these steps--each of which are no doubt practiced by many publishers of other MMOs--helped give Blizzard the means to create "WoW" and to take the online game industry by storm.
And for Pardo to appear onstage at the Austin Game Conference and explain Blizzard's keys to building a successful game was a bold move, especially as many people are wondering what it will take for another company to come along and take Blizzard's crown.
See more CNET content tagged:
Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft, EverQuest, publisher, Electronic Arts Inc.
"This place is just like Disney World."
From that point on I noticed that a lot of the game, particularly the capital cities, seem to take that approach. Even the Horde towns incorporate that feel.
Thinking about it, that makes sense. WDW is designed, down to the minute detail, to make a visitor's experience there to be an extremely pleasant one. The bright colors they use are a big part of that. Who better to copy than them?
I've seen games that go for a more "realistic" feel to their art. Honestly, I find those games to become boring quickly. Everything looks the same. Places blend together in a dull mix of greys and browns. Bleh.
I deal with realism every day in real life. I prefer my fantasy escape to be, well, a bit more fantastic.
them a reason for killing other than that experience bar."
The game isn't that fun after you high level 60 currently the
highest level in the game. Your object just changes from XP bar
to spending 5hours a day running through an area with 40 other
people and trying to get that next piece of shiny armour, than
literally do it again for the Tier 2 set of that shiny armour. PVP is
the same kill as many other players as you can to get that next
piece in the PVP set. Can you say boring?
Since they have added the multi-server battle grounds an reps quests there is a ton to do. joining a guild and helping our the lower levels is great fun also.
Professions are extremely fun also collecing the recipes and loot required is a cool and exciting task most of the time (with a good group)
go flip some more burgers dude! the pimples will leave your face someday!
This has just propelled the WarFEAR generation
They can't skirt their responsibility to the community that they contributed heavily to the 40 percent of the gaming community addiction problem and there is a large drug abuse problem with gaming today as well that's getting worse.
Tom's Hardware:
Gaming's New Drug Culture: Sex, Drugs and Counter-Strike
http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/08/29/gamings_new_drug_culture/
A game shouldn't try to make people addicted to virtual reality. They should open source it in the future and allow content creators to create their own quests to allow more replayability and healthy behavior because they would interact with the game more and not be so addicted.
Playstation 3 is partially doing this by allowing game creators to create their own games for it with the open source hardware they are using but would be nice to have complete open source access to the games that are already on it not just a basic level editor.
I want to know how Blizzard is combating this addiction. Why isn't the government not forcing companies to change their games around to break the cycle?
There is no connection, at all, between the gaming community and drugs.
If people are addicted to WoW then it's a symptom of something wrong with their life. Treating the symptom would be ineffective and a huge waste of time.
.
Good game for rats, October 10, 2001
Reviewer: ira povey (Denver)
>QUOTE
In psychology there is a concept called "variable reinforcement schedule". Basically, if you reward a rat for pressing a bar, say with a food pellet, he will want to press the bar. BUT, if you only reinforce the rat randomly as he pushes the bar, well, he'll push furiously, neglecting socializing, hygiene, and all else. Diablo 2 works exactly like the latter situation. You kill a baddie. Did he drop something good? Maybe, maybe not. Every random time a baddie does drop something good, it inflames your brain to want to repeat that behavior, just like a slot machine, or a rat pressing a bar. The priciple is PROVEN to be elegantly addicting. In one sense, that makes this an incredibly efficient game, based on sound scientific data, with a vicious hook. On the other hand, I could put you in a cage with an IV of endorphins that randomly activated occasionaly after you pressed a bar, and you'd all be giving it 5 star reviews on amazon and wasting your time playing it. Here's an idea: spend time with your loved ones, read a book, draw a picture. Life is short.
>unQUOTE
That article from THG that you link to is horrible. It is riddled with inaccuracies, and the author should be questioned from the start. That author claims to be an expert in drug use, yet is completely befuddled by what was seen, and totally misunderstands all of it. That article was one of the worst written I have seen in a long time.
anymore is just the same old passive experience). At least with
Wow, not only is the world they provide exciting and always
changing (love those constant updates), but the ease at which
you can converse with others and group up for raids and such
makes it a truly interactive experience.
And yes I do like the color scheme of the game, after all its
fantasy.
My character Neye (priest) has been a joy to play.
All MMOG suffer from static content. No one has yet to take an evolutionary step forward. These types of games have so much unrealized potential.
But one reason it did so well is because unlike Everquest, WoW actually has many quests. And most of them don't take thousands of hours to complete. And unlike EQ they are fun.
Essentially, the reason WoW did so well is because SOE can't make a stable, fun game to save their lives. They totally blew a concept that should have been a success(Staw Wars Galaxies), EQ2 is just more of the same, complete with lots of standard SOE timesinks, and ugly graphics that make your system sweat. Camelot, while good for its time, is now behind the times. All the other games range from decent to extremely poor.
I just wonder if any developer will have the guts to make a MMOG that doesn't revolve around static content and gear. Once you get to the end-game all these games are about gear and chasing more gear. When will true player skill, and a dynamic combat system(with no hitpoints) be implemented?
WoW is #1 becuase it is fairly fun, unlike the previous #1 MMOG, but when we it start to come close to its potential?
Like photorealistic graphics or 3d goggles... it's a good idea whose time will come when the technology is able to support it in a reasonable manner.
Then you also have the newest and probably most exciting addition to the ring, Dungeon and Dragons Online. I was a member of the beta team for this, and i must say that it is by far the most detailed MMO that I have seen. It takes everything that the old paper and dice version of D&D had to offer and draws you into the world with 3d rendered characters. I have not played the released version(as I do not have the type of time it would take to maintain 2 online games), but would recommend it to anyone who asked
Then you also have the newest and probably most exciting addition to the ring, Dungeon and Dragons Online. I was a member of the beta team for this, and i must say that it is by far the most detailed MMO that I have seen. It takes everything that the old paper and dice version of D&D had to offer and draws you into the world with 3d rendered characters. I have not played the released version(as I do not have the type of time it would take to maintain 2 online games), but would recommend it to anyone who asked
Nothing was looted and everything had to be crafted. There was content that needed to be unlocked by players building bridges to islands or gateways. Players owned buildings and cities were around, though regular cities were still placed for training and quest markers.
Still, even with their ambitious system things were flawed- instead of looted gear being valuable looted craft components were. Even though players had to interact with the world to drive content being unlocked or events happening it still smacked of being led around by the developers.
It was interesting to see someone trying, though, and it CAN be done. I think of Civilization. You start out with a black map and a settler unit. It'd be pretty interesting if the entire society had to be built. You could make the high-level players the "trainers" and "quest-givers" perhaps. That way at some point the players could work toward adding content to the game beyond just what gear they had.
Do you say "Sorry bud, get a teleport spell next time" or something like that?
If you forgot, there ARE evolving contents in game, or did you miss the Ahn'Quiraji release?
If there was to be an ever evolving world, then that would mean that the producer is selling to a smaller market, and is much more labor intensive.
A world where you are changing every day requires you to be on almost at all times to be successful. I know a few people that could swing it, but how many people never have to leave the screen to go to work/school/family things?
Awe crap! I got the damn attunement crystal, but the boss just called a staff meeting! the other guy is gona kill the lich now!
It would also mean, that if per se, a group of skilled players banded together to do some serious hacking and slashing and casting, then they could concievably devour the content before any other players got a swing in. You've heard of the guild that hit Naxxaramas first, right? They killed Kel'Thuzad, which got them a nice reward, and a plot advancement of sorts, and would you not want your shot at the bony bugger too?
We all pay the same monthly fees, we are all entitled to the same content. If they ran out of content, they would have to grind out more on an hourly basis! Certainly, there is merit to that sort of thing, a new threat to the land every day! But thats entirely unfeasable due to the amount of effort going into a challenging event on a daily basis.
On the topic of Gear, what is a hero other than guts, blood, a magic sword, and a villain to stab at?
Also, the best reward you can give a player is gear, if you just keep leveling up, once again, you are designing content on a dangerously fast basis.
A content developer: "Hmm, that Warrior on Garithos is getting close to 103 now, damn him, Ragnaros isn't putting up much of a fight now, and the leveling increments we have been using for skills now are adding up. If he keeps going at this rate, open PvP with him will be all but mutilated.
Hitting max level is like running out of room to go up, and as such, means that your power does not increace at all for killing junk monsters. Therefore, it is needed to balance other content (such as bosses, which remain their own godly-damn level, which are around lvl 70 right now). If you did not get better gear at max level, you would be stuck in static abilities, and then it does come down to player skills, but thats not a whole lot to do now is it?
Chasing gear gives you two things. 1) More power, which you know you loved as you were going up in level
"Mhuahahaha! My Rank 4 Fireball is far more powerful than that puny Rank 3! Feel my searing hot wrath"
If you didn't get stronger, why play more? Secondly, it majorly slows down the rate at which more content is needed. How long will it take for 40 people to get their full tier 3 sets? Must be atleast a month or so for 1 full set if all resources are devoted to that person.
Plus, they need insentives to lure you to that ever so evil-ly difficult boss fight, which you know is going to cost a pretty penny to pay for repairs and consumables.
Gear gives you an advantage while not unbalancing the world by gaining more raw levels than the challenges.
If you want to let players govern' themselves a city, then look at guilds? How often do you see a new one crop up? If every guild had its own base city, then the world would also be over populated. The ability to temporarily knock out a town is the closest thing, because, once again, if some raid came and blew the crap out of Westfall, and you couldn't turn your quests in because your employer happened to get hacked up, you wouldn't be happy would you?
Making it so that "Real Player Skills" are needed, really does not make the game a breadwinner. Not alot of people have the reflexes of a night elven rogue, and if you attempt to say that only those with those skills should advance, then you'll realize that you and your friends very likely don't have the speed for it.
The removal of hit points would also make it difficult to heal and gauge how long you have till that axe your enemy is swinging finds that sweet spot between your head and your shoulders? That would remove the abstract concept of taking hits without suffering the slightest detriment to your fighting abilities till you hit 0 and drop to the floor?
That would make things very difficult, especially with lag, having to track how many times you have been hit, and other conventions of survival.
You spoke of wanting Evolving Content? The sword cuts on both sides. How would you like it if you got caught on a bad day, and someone decided to make it worse by ambushing you and killing you? Your evolving content would let you rest in your grave, because you've died, it really is quite a small chance you will be walked upon by a random good sumaratin every time you drop to the floor unconcious. The death of a powerful player is just as important as the death of a powerful npc.
People can kill city leaders, like the Stormwind leader is relatively easy to beat, and that means that every time a few orcs got an itchin to do some human chopping with royal limbs, there would be a new king or prince asending to power
Simply put, Evolving content is not a step that a coorporate game is willing to take, one written without the intent to make a profit and be fair (rather emulating the real world), would be better suited for this, but you would not recieve the same quality either. Think of this as a good medium, and if that displeases you, decide whether or not you want to quit your job and write a game that provides content updats around the clock because somebody else has done something relatively simple as compared to programming, say, an entire challenging dungeon with new and unique ideas that will force them to think in a new way, or if you were so lucky as to find someone else doing the writing, got stuck in the web of the ever changing content, missing every big thing because of the call of real life, or just shear inadquecy, you could have done it if you had just gotten the last boss of that last dungeon that was realeased yesterday, but that other group beat you to it, and now they have the bracers of such and such might and stronger than you, and now they are able to kill this boss and get even stronger.
If you evolve, those who aren't gifted with genius level skills and supported entirely by another person or persons, or independantly wealthy, you will find the game far from enjoyable. Be happy you get your shot at all the bosses still, I am sure they all have died a few times already.
http://www.eyrie.org/superguy/index.html for more info on that character.
My point is that I never got on the WoW bandwagon even though I enjoyed warcraft 1&2. If only CoH had LESS of the damn demons and mages you find in every single genre, it might be more fun for folks that don't want to look at that all day long. Quick Tip: A great way to level fast for early players is to team up with 7 other players and do a sewer hunt out of Atlas. Good variety of villians, safe environment to learn your powers, and also the importance of teamwork and interaction.
Side note: I'm not really that negative, but it's an interesting way to look at it.
Side note: I'm not really that negative, but it's an interesting way to look at it.
In WoW, the NPCs have names, and different clothes, and their shops have unique art. It's not distractingly unique, but just enough to show that it wasn't stamped out of a mold. Though many floorplans repeat, you dont find unpainted corners or mindnumbingly repetitive dungeon levels. I remember finding a romantic shadow play on a remote stage which only alliance faction warlocks who complete a particular quest get to watch.
This extra effort, the fit and finish, the polish, and pride, speak of quality that is hard to find in any mass market product.
- The real reason it did so well
- by qwerty75 May 4, 2008 10:02 PM PDT
- I play WoW and it is enjoyable, although extremely flawed. It is static, you can't change the world in any meaningful way. You can't take over cities and towns. You get sent out to kill some guy, and the next day you see him walking around, so what was the point?
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(39 Comments)All MMOG suffer from static content. No one has yet to take an evolutionary step forward. These types of games have so much unrealized potential.
But one reason it did so well is because unlike Everquest, WoW actually has many quests. And most of them don't take thousands of hours to complete. And unlike EQ they are fun.
Essentially, the reason WoW did so well is because SOE can't make a stable, fun game to save their lives. They totally blew a concept that should have been a success(Staw Wars Galaxies), EQ2 is just more of the same, complete with lots of standard SOE timesinks, and ugly graphics that make your system sweat. Camelot, while good for its time, is now behind the times. All the other games range from decent to extremely poor.
I just wonder if any developer will have the guts to make a MMOG that doesn't revolve around static content and gear. Once you get to the end-game all these games are about gear and chasing more gear. When will true player skill, and a dynamic combat system(with no hitpoints) be implemented?
WoW is #1 becuase it is fairly fun, unlike the previous #1 MMOG, but when we it start to come close to its potential?