Take a look-see at this review of the beta for Darkfall - it describes the systems I'm excited about with a perspective I don't yet have :)
MMO Crunch Review: Darkfall Online Beta
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Upstarts: Microtransactions in MMOGs
The pricing for video games is an interesting thing to me. When I was eleven, and I was first exposed to online multiplayer games, I was amazed that they could charge a person 99 cents an hour to play! Even at such a young and impressionable age, the dollars added up in my head as I considered how often I played my favorite games - and that was before I had discovered the addictive nature of the MMO/MUD.
Subscription pricing is still a racket in the fickle-accountant part of my brain: if you've played World of Warcraft since launch on their basic subscription, heaven knows you've spent well over $800. While there are debates as to the value such subscriptions really offer, I see a pricing trend in smaller projects that works very well.
When content is free or ad-supported, a game is more likely to attract a population based on interest. After all, the less risk there is, the more people will feel comfortable signing up. The companies that want to really make money on their "free" games will then offer bonus services for a small fee. These fees are known as "microtransactions," and they allow players who find value in things like additional storage space, exclusive items and exclusive content to pay for them on a need-to-own basis.
I'll not mince words: I like this system. It allows players who genuinely enjoy a game to pay for the better parts of it, thereby supporting the developers. At the same time, it encourages developers to create content that players will feel willing to pay for, thus encouraging a standard of quality on projects with a limited budget. Everybody wins.
The biggest pitfall of such a system is a scenario in which developers don't release enough free content, or implement too many nudges toward purchasing extra content. If players feel pressured, they won't want to buy. That said, microtransactions are a viable option for many games, particularly when the developers might not be able to compete with standard subscription titles in the mainstream.
Subscription pricing is still a racket in the fickle-accountant part of my brain: if you've played World of Warcraft since launch on their basic subscription, heaven knows you've spent well over $800. While there are debates as to the value such subscriptions really offer, I see a pricing trend in smaller projects that works very well.
When content is free or ad-supported, a game is more likely to attract a population based on interest. After all, the less risk there is, the more people will feel comfortable signing up. The companies that want to really make money on their "free" games will then offer bonus services for a small fee. These fees are known as "microtransactions," and they allow players who find value in things like additional storage space, exclusive items and exclusive content to pay for them on a need-to-own basis.
I'll not mince words: I like this system. It allows players who genuinely enjoy a game to pay for the better parts of it, thereby supporting the developers. At the same time, it encourages developers to create content that players will feel willing to pay for, thus encouraging a standard of quality on projects with a limited budget. Everybody wins.
The biggest pitfall of such a system is a scenario in which developers don't release enough free content, or implement too many nudges toward purchasing extra content. If players feel pressured, they won't want to buy. That said, microtransactions are a viable option for many games, particularly when the developers might not be able to compete with standard subscription titles in the mainstream.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Darkfall Online: Skill Based Experience
I have to say, I'm pretty excited about Aventurine's Darkfall Online. While I've never heard of the company up until recently, it looks as if their game is going to be pretty edgy. Currently, Darkfall is promising unrestricted PvP, full empire and town construction, and most importantly, a skill based experience system.
I love skill based experience. The idea of leveling up with a generic EXP meter never really appealed to me at all. This may have to do with my first MMO love, a MUD by Simutronics known as Dragonrealms. This MUD used a skill based system to great effect, and I always wanted the system to work in a graphical game.
With skill based EXP, a player doesn't necessarily level up by killing monsters or completing collection quests. Rather, he or she possesses a set of distinct skills, and each skill corresponds to a certain activity.
For example, in Dragonrealms, my character might know how to swim, climb, use a bow, hide, stalk, and wear leather armor. Each of these things has a corresponding skill. When my character undertakes an acton that might train a skill, such as climbing a steep incline, he would learn a little bit of climbing skill. When he learns enough, the level of climbing skill increases, allowing my character to tackle more difficult climbs.
It sounds very simple, and it is (or at least, it can be). What grips me about the system is the way it realistically rewards the player. I've never liked gaining a level by running errands for goblins in World of Warcraft, or by killing umpteen boars when my character is a druid and wouldn't normally do that. There is no insight in killing boars, unless your chracter is striving to be a world-renown pork butcher.
Now, when you want to be a master of stealth, and you learn how by skulking in shadows all day - or when you want to be a champion swimmer, and you work from streams and brooks to swimming lakes and channels - you feel a more genuine sense of mastery. I think this is the sort of feeling players actually want when they create a finely tailored character.
I'll be keeping an eye on Darkfall. If you find their systems exciting, you should too.
I love skill based experience. The idea of leveling up with a generic EXP meter never really appealed to me at all. This may have to do with my first MMO love, a MUD by Simutronics known as Dragonrealms. This MUD used a skill based system to great effect, and I always wanted the system to work in a graphical game.
With skill based EXP, a player doesn't necessarily level up by killing monsters or completing collection quests. Rather, he or she possesses a set of distinct skills, and each skill corresponds to a certain activity.
For example, in Dragonrealms, my character might know how to swim, climb, use a bow, hide, stalk, and wear leather armor. Each of these things has a corresponding skill. When my character undertakes an acton that might train a skill, such as climbing a steep incline, he would learn a little bit of climbing skill. When he learns enough, the level of climbing skill increases, allowing my character to tackle more difficult climbs.
It sounds very simple, and it is (or at least, it can be). What grips me about the system is the way it realistically rewards the player. I've never liked gaining a level by running errands for goblins in World of Warcraft, or by killing umpteen boars when my character is a druid and wouldn't normally do that. There is no insight in killing boars, unless your chracter is striving to be a world-renown pork butcher.
Now, when you want to be a master of stealth, and you learn how by skulking in shadows all day - or when you want to be a champion swimmer, and you work from streams and brooks to swimming lakes and channels - you feel a more genuine sense of mastery. I think this is the sort of feeling players actually want when they create a finely tailored character.
I'll be keeping an eye on Darkfall. If you find their systems exciting, you should too.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Where Did My Grammar Go...?
It's terrible. There are so many free projects on the web today that have a ton of potential. In truth, there are probably more good games being built than I care to count, and many of them are being designed by young, smart companies (or in some cases, just a few people). The systems and websites look good, the advertisers are in place, the mechanics, graphics and technical issues have all been ironed out; what's keeping these games from really taking off?
In my opinion, it's a lack of writing skill. The grammar and usage issues I see in many of these titles is positively horrid. It's far more important than many people think - especially in any (good) MMORPG, where the development of both a character and a larger story can be narrative driven.
I've said it in the past - I'm a role-player and a story nut, and so maybe this perception of mine is skew. However, as a consumer, I feel that a little proofreading goes a long way in maintaining my enjoyment of a title. I don't think any native English speaker wants to rescue the proverbial princess, only to have her give her thanks in a broken, mis-spelled wall of vomitext (that's a technical term, you know).
I don't really have specific title in mind, but there are some games that could have gripped me for just a little longer had the writing been good - or even adequate - when I played them. Sure, some of it in lost in translation - RF Online had terrible text-wrap and proofreading errors well after its translation from Korean - but that should just make the issue more clear to developers. If you want to grip a target audience, WRITE for them. Make them feel like they're reading a good book, and maybe they'll keep reading after the shine of your innovative combat system has worn down a little.
The funny thing is, while so many games are carbon-copies of other (often better) games, few try to differentiate themselves with a powerful story. Again, as a consumer: hook me with words, and I'll stick around longer.
In my opinion, it's a lack of writing skill. The grammar and usage issues I see in many of these titles is positively horrid. It's far more important than many people think - especially in any (good) MMORPG, where the development of both a character and a larger story can be narrative driven.
I've said it in the past - I'm a role-player and a story nut, and so maybe this perception of mine is skew. However, as a consumer, I feel that a little proofreading goes a long way in maintaining my enjoyment of a title. I don't think any native English speaker wants to rescue the proverbial princess, only to have her give her thanks in a broken, mis-spelled wall of vomitext (that's a technical term, you know).
I don't really have specific title in mind, but there are some games that could have gripped me for just a little longer had the writing been good - or even adequate - when I played them. Sure, some of it in lost in translation - RF Online had terrible text-wrap and proofreading errors well after its translation from Korean - but that should just make the issue more clear to developers. If you want to grip a target audience, WRITE for them. Make them feel like they're reading a good book, and maybe they'll keep reading after the shine of your innovative combat system has worn down a little.
The funny thing is, while so many games are carbon-copies of other (often better) games, few try to differentiate themselves with a powerful story. Again, as a consumer: hook me with words, and I'll stick around longer.
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