MMORPG SotA Column: Concerns Worthy of Note

I agree with this 100%! Richard proved this to me way back in the 1980s with his amazing games. I will always be a fan of his stories and thought provoking simulators. I think playing his games makes me a better person.


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Still, if Portalarium banks on romanticizing one person who is playing only one role in the development of this game, they risk alienating people who don't share that nostalgia. The game can't survive on just those who worship RG, and saying a game will be good because one of the guys in charge of it did some awesome stuff in 1985 isn't too compelling of an argument. A consequence of this, however unfair, is that when people express their confidence in this product because RG is in charge, it can have a net negative impact on the cynical audience, which can be disenchanting. It's healthier for the community if people openly and constructively discuss their criticisms.

 

This is not 1980.
And i am 100% happy that Portalarium including Richard are aware how important game conventions and pre release reviews of influential game sites are.

 

Sorry, I meant to quote you too with my previous post.

 

I don't think Portalarium is banking on people will flock to the game because Richard is in charge. If they were, no changes in the past year would of been done because of player feedback. Tons of changes occurred that were not planned.

I think Richard has had plenty of people openly criticizing his work for the past 30 years. History has shown his vision means lots of fun and adventure.

 

Reading the thread from the OP.

Oops. Gj portalarium.


and some more

Outside of this forum people seem to be REALLY INTERESTED in SotA. Yeah.
Should have added card based crafting too. That would surely make 'em all fans swarm in.
Including hold'em poker fans.

And my favourite:

I haven't rasied this subject on the forums yet but it's true. The art is generic and dull. there's absolutely nothing cool about it. It's what I could rip off any deviantArt fantasy account in a few minutes, drawn by some closet fantasy fan.

 

Also, I would like to add something.
That thread shows very well the opinion of the general audience about SotA.
While this forum consists mainly of devoted fanboys and backers, the true crowd, the huge crowd is out there, on forums like that one. So if you want to hear different opinions and see what the people out there think about sota, you guys better visit forums like that one.
Zealous fanboyism ain't ever a good thing. If the dev team is to know our opinions, it should hear ALL kinds of opinions. And here on these forums mostly they can hear stuff like " Оооh its so great keep going YAAAY DEV TEAM HOOORAY I donated 500 bucks so I gotta make myself believe I like everything the dev team does!".

p.s.

gotta quote some more, that forum is brilliant. I like it. People are really saying what I've been thinking but didn't have the time to say myself.

LOL

And here comes some cards fan:

Ah, and in normal-combat mode (no cards, all spells and skills avialable at any time) you can't manipulate your skills, right? Damn.

Here's some more. Don't feel embarrased, guys.

 

People know I'm not a fan of RG, but was a huge fan of UO for 10 years. I think, if anything, I was a fan of the development team. Even after EA bought out UO. Sure, they ruined some things, but the basic game still stood, and still does. But the real reason I was a fan for so long is the lasting friendships and fun I had on a social level.

Socially speaking here, there are too many people who have views utterly opposed to mine (and they're more than happy if I go away even if they lose out on development dollars). That is not fun for me. It's because an ideology is encouraged in the game development - the cash backers and the level of entitlement they appear to have. The "housing" needs and collectibles are obscene to me - I don't live like that irl, and I surely would not in a game.

I mean, all of them are bonding and having a great time together. But it really is leaving out a huge population. And I guess that's just great if you want to play a game with others who think just like you do, and limit your market.

When I hear the dev team is looking towards the longest-standing guild from UO (Syndicate) from 1996, for input, it is definitely going to influence the game in ways that today's market will scoff at.

Think about how old some of those people are now. I'm old but I have flexible views and keep up with technology. You can't say that for most old folks though.

Catering to a long-standing fan base will limit the game to a niche market. When I invested, I definitely did not think or know it would be such a market, otherwise I would not have invested.

We see the forums have downsized considerably in this past year. Some days, the forums are nearly a ghost town. I only jump in now and then (and when my husband hears my comments or rants, he jumps in too). Otherwise I would've stopped coming here like so very many others.

When you see the needs of those who invested heavily are being catered to, it's not something I look forward to. It's looking too much like all the problems that the US has gone through politically. And frankly, I've had my fill of politics.

You never know, the game might really catch on and take off. I'm not holding my breath, but I also haven't sold my pledge account.

 

I wasn't a fan of RG's before following SOTA. But I've come respect him and the rest of the dev team as a group trying their best to make an excellent game. They seem like good people to me. I'm not really sure how anyone else could come to a different conclusion. Even on the days when I'm upset about something in the game design or I don't like recent events, I still think the dev team is top notch.

 

Oh, and as Raph Koster was mentioned on that mmo forum, you guys should google him. Might learn somthin new, eh.

 

THAT is a developer/designer I aspire to emulate from the "old" days.

He went on from (lead designer yo!) UO to do SW Galaxies and EQ2 MMOs (we know those suck huh?). He is active about posting design thoughts on his blog (for over a decade) and just seems to know how to adapt to the changing market with game design.

His book "A theory of fun for game design" is an excellent read for anyone interested in really making what he coins "edutainment" software.

 

What are the latest game projects hes involved in, tho?

 

Smartly, none!

He sold a platform for games developed @ Meta to Playdom which got snatched up by Disney.

I am sure if something interesting came along he might jump in, doesn't look like he left design forever kind of thing.

He gave a great pre-GDC presentation this year all about criticism in games.

Kind of topical for this thread

 

Wow, that was really good.

 

Do you have any idea the time, effort, and cost involved in coding multiple ways to complete every single quest? The point, as has been articulated by various people in this thread, is that regardless of whatever you type into the chat you still end up with the same canned quest responses and mechanics.

 

If they make it so there is only one way to do everything they have successfuly recreated world of warcraft, which is not what they are doing. Maybe not every quest needs a ton of different ways, however I didn't pay to play a simple MMO.

 

Right. You don't really know what you paid for because it wasn't done when you paid for it. That's one of the big problems with Kickstarter campaigns.

I do hope they can pull this particular feature off, but I worry about the practical challenges implicit to actually implementing it in a cohesive and well done kind of way.

 

It all sounds very nice, but it effectively doubles or even triples the development time for these quests.

Also, Trenyc makes a valid point.

 

Well geez, don't do it then...I mean if it takes away from more housing or PVP obviously it isn't a valid area of concern.