Good read. I want to make a couple of points on some stuff in the article though.
During his Devcom talk, McQuaid pointed to his devotion to MMOs as something other developers ought to consider. Not that genre specifically, of course, but focusing on a particular audience - in his case, the abandoned MMO fans - and resisting the temptation to build something that appeals to everyone.
That last paragraph has never been less true than it is today. Indie devs, especially in the PC space, have been killing it in a lot of cases. And many of the games they make are focused on specific parts of the market and not made for mass appeal. Star Citizen is one example of what was intended to be a niche space game, and it blew up far more than anyone expected. Another fine example is Ninja Theory's Hellblade: Sensua's Sacrifice. That game is top quality for the price.Of course, for smaller studios and independent developers, this might seem inherently risky. A broadly appealing game will have a much better chance of recouping costs and growing your audience, whereas targeting a niche requires a much higher awareness (and purchase rate) within whatever limited circle you're aiming for. McQuaid allays such fears by reiterating something else he said during his talk.
Thanks for the link! That was an interesting read. To me, what stood out that I hadn't really thought about before was the idea of having to compete with trailer-based marketing for other games. I have never really been into the streaming thing but I can see the point of how important it is for a true mmorpg, in terms of showing people the game.
Agree -- Great job with the interview, we appreciate the coverage, but that one statement did stick out and doesn't really make sense to me.... How would it be less risky for a smaller studio to jump into the pool of expensive mass market games, most of which are backed by the larger devs and publishers? Especially in this case: making Pantheon for a broader audience wouldn't just mean watering it down but it would also mean we'd be going up against the Destiny 2s of the world -- that would seem unwise, undesirable, and not a good business plan/strategy.
Aradune said:Agree -- Great job with the interview, we appreciate the coverage, but that one statement did stick out and doesn't really make sense to me.... How would it be less risky for a smaller studio to jump into the pool of expensive mass market games, most of which are backed by the larger devs and publishers? Especially in this case: making Pantheon for a broader audience wouldn't just mean watering it down but it would also mean we'd be going up against the Destiny 2s of the world -- that would seem unwise, undesirable, and not a good business plan/strategy.
You'd become just another watered down version of the many post-WoW wannabes, and there are enough of those. Target audiences were a thing for a reason. Focus groups have been the bane of game development for a long time and have done more to stifle creativity than actively help development. It's a useful tool for the toolbox but too many publishers rely far too heavily on it to create some mass market swap meet that is ultimately hollow and boring.
I can think of several indy games that have come out in recent years that were developed on a budget and sold pretty impressively, where on the flipside you have something like Resident Evil 6's mass budget and Capcom screaming failure even with over 5 million copies sold. Budgeting, planning, and target audience; 3 important factors. There's risk in everything.
Streaming will obviously do wonderful things with raising awareness, but another thing that I think should be heavily emphasized is referrals. We want people to play Pantheon ... have a great time, and be unable to resist trying to bring their friends into the world with them. The extra account key that comes with every pledge will certainly help, but the key is just building a fun/cooperative world. Whenever I look at a trailer for a new game, it's usually CGI rather than actual gameplay, and that doesen't particularly appeal to me. I think the recent video that Roenick put together was a good example of how a trailer could be an effective form of advertising for a game like Pantheon. Rather than focusing on the combat (something most people can't relate to or understand the significance of in this twitchy fast paced era) make it known that comradery is key.
Another aspect to focus on would be socialization ... this is a game where you can make friends who can last a lifetime! It isn't a wham bam thank you mam one and done two pump chump operation ... there is value in friendship, and teamwork. This is only my personal opinion ... but the best kind of video would tell a story. It could be a few minutes long ... show the "phases" of a characters life, starting with them being a lonely newb. Show how they grow in power and prestige and meet some friends along the way who helps them start tackling greater obstacles. Continue telling that story, showing off progression, more friends, deeper challenges, and end it with a raid party staring down a dragon. You don't need to show the fight ... the story and suspense would be enough to really get people going.
I made friends in EQ ..online friends, that still communicate with me to this day..that was back in 1999, it IS possible to do that again. And I think Brad is the one to create that new world with that old familiar feel. Forget making a clone of any other game out there. We need fresh, new challenging stuff that most of us have been hankering for ..for a long time. I think VR will deliver. :) One more thing..EQ was the only game that scared the heck out of me at times. We banded together..sometimes took one for the group in order to get where we wanted/needed to go. I didn't mind that at all, even lost a level a few times doing exactly that. Because those were my friends and I wanted them to succeed and in doing that I would too. :)
Cana
CanadinaXegony said:I made friends in EQ ..online friends, that still communicate with me to this day..that was back in 1999, it IS possible to do that again. And I think Brad is the one to create that new world with that old familiar feel. Forget making a clone of any other game out there. We need fresh, new challenging stuff that most of us have been hankering for ..for a long time. I think VR will deliver. :) One more thing..EQ was the only game that scared the heck out of me at times. We banded together..sometimes took one for the group in order to get where we wanted/needed to go. I didn't mind that at all, even lost a level a few times doing exactly that. Because those were my friends and I wanted them to succeed and in doing that I would too. :)
Cana
For the night is dark and full of terrors. #RememberKithicor
Just wow.
The Matchmaking system? Social networking? Brilliant!
"Don't make a game for only the 3-5% that monetize"...that sounds like crazy artist talk! #Games_for_players_not_payers
May we feel the artists pains when we consume each brush stroke; its depth, its arc, and its steady path foward with a singular goal, to extend the dream beyond its dreamer.
I've been thinking about the whole world vs. game thing a bit recently and so, selfishly, I wanted to sort of restart this discussion.
In another MMO that I play (which shall remain nameless), I was recently very dismayed when some of my own guildmates complained about how they wanted to just skip the story and lore bits of some recent content and get to the fight at the end so that they could "do the fun part", which for them was the fight. It made me wonder, what's wrong with me that I care so much about the integrity of the game world, about immersion, about lore and story, when most other players I meet just care about bashing monsters and getting shiny loots?
What made the situation even more confusing was that I recently ran an event in that same game, and some of those same people were involved. In that event, we simply walked from one side of the game world to the other on a sightseeing trip. There was no gameplay objective. No prizes. No incentive to do it. I just did it to make a statement about the world mattering, and to take time out and appreciate it. And you know what? People came along with me for five hours of that. They even had fun, lining up for pictures along the way, commenting on the cool things they'd never noticed before. A few of them streamed it.
I think I might need a degree in psychology to really understand how that could happen. But what it has made me realize is that a great many people playing MMOs don't currently appreciate the larger context of the world they're playing in - and that's probably because they're not forced to. They focus on the immediate goal. The fight, the loot, the dungeon, the quest. They miss the larger narrative being spun around them. Even when another player points it out, it's just a distraction. It's background, not foreground. It's not important.
I would really like to see Pantheon change that paradigm somehow. I think it has the opportunity. I do not want to see the entire experience revolve around simply bashing monsters and getting loot. There needs to be far more to it than that. When we talk about our memories of Pantheon 10 or 20 years from now, I want to be able to tell stories about the amazing places I saw, the amazing people that I met, the stories I was a part of, and the epic quests and struggles that took place - not simply anecdotes about how this or that fight was super hard or super fun.
I am not saying that gameplay isn't important - it absolutely is. A world without gameplay aspects isn't very exciting. But to take a narrow scope, to focus on gameplay and nothing else, is to lose the essence of what makes an MMORPG unique and special. One of my great fears for Pantheon is that we will focus so much on challenge and progression and making things "fun" that we will forget that sometimes the "fun" is in simply being able to go spend time in a fully realized virtual world.
A game is something that I eventually finish. A world is a place where I live.
Because of my recent experience, I would like to see us talking more about how to make Terminus feel like a real, living world for everyone, and still provide fun gameplay experiences, and I hope that people will indulge me.
I think the story and lore bits are things that shouldn't really be forced upon the player like most post-WoW MMOs tend to do. The whole "hero" of the story thing. Those people who didn't want the story but also did the event you set up likely didn't ask to be whomever the game pretends they are, nor do they care about the specific struggles of the virtual people involved, they just want to be adventurers in a world and do the things that interest them because they want to and not because the game tells them they have to.
@Iksar good point and I think that probably does apply to the game it happened in (as with many others). I don't think it's the whole explanation though. What I mean by that is that if you took away the forced narrative from that other game, I think people would still end up largely ignoring the world as a whole. There have to be things that can be done in place of a forced narrative in order to get people to start appreciating the world around them.
Nephele said:@Iksar good point and I think that probably does apply to the game it happened in (as with many others). I don't think it's the whole explanation though. What I mean by that is that if you took away the forced narrative from that other game, I think people would still end up largely ignoring the world as a whole. There have to be things that can be done in place of a forced narrative in order to get people to start appreciating the world around them.
I'm not so sure there is anything to be done there. Some people are just more interested in stories/lore and the world they are playing in and others are just there for the mechanics/gameplay. Like all things in life people enjoy the same activities in different ways and for different reasons.
Love Brad McQuaid. There will always be the persistent tiny minority of whiners, that's even seen right here on forums. I've been following his vision since 1999. He sure knows how to make one hell of a damn GOOD game.
Nephele - very well put and I agree in all respects.
Iksar - You are entirely right as well. I mind less than most playing games like LOTRO or SWTOR or Rift where the character is a great hero saving the world and darn well better act like it. But in a D&D campaign or AD&D campaign it wasn't like that at all - not with a good GM. The party decided what to do. Decisions had consequences and it often didn't end well - but we weren't almost forced to be heros ...or villains. I hope Pantheon goes back to those roots. Roots that EQ was truer to - at least at first - than many games coming later.
While I am at it - Syrif I agree with you too.
Nephele said:@Iksar good point and I think that probably does apply to the game it happened in (as with many others). I don't think it's the whole explanation though. What I mean by that is that if you took away the forced narrative from that other game, I think people would still end up largely ignoring the world as a whole. There have to be things that can be done in place of a forced narrative in order to get people to start appreciating the world around them.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it smell the roses :P Different playstyles..long as we play together, as a community, I am sure all the territories will be covered. And maybe...you can coax your friends to come explore an out of the way area or small hidden dungeon that hasn't been seen before get them experiencing game play they wouldn't normally do.
Cana