What Happened to MMORPG Design?

Asheron's Call got me excited for MMORPGs for the first time.

I've been a huge fan of MMORPGs since I was 13 years old, back in the days when having a 56k modem made me the envy of all my nerdy friends. Since then I've played a number of MMOs, most recently culminating in my experiences with SWTOR, which I've written about several times. Recently, a friend and I have started playing the first MMORPG I ever played, Asheron's Call. Released in 1999, this game is actually still running, and has a robust population on its most popular servers.

The experience of playing Asheron's Call again has awakened something in me that I forgot existed: the pure joy of playing with others in a virtual world. The slow evolution of the genre had numbed me to the numerous failings of modern MMO design, and playing this gem has revealed gaping disconnects between modern MMOs and the fundamental concept of an open, virtual world.

These days, playing SWTOR (and almost any modern MMO) feels more exclusive than inclusive, more antagonistic than friendly. Modern endgames are designed to encourage people to treat each other with disdain and disrespect, and other players have become expendable at all levels of the game. Forced class roles and the requirements that every player be perfect in every way have made raids and group quests tense and hostile. PVP groups must be perfect in every way, and anyone who plays less than 8 hours a day is summarily booted from any high-level groups.  People who are slightly under-geared are kicked out of groups as if they don't matter, and silence has actually become a rule in raid voice chat.

I'd like to repeat that last sentence -- silence has actually become a rule in raid voice chat. When did the MMORPG experience become as tense and important as heart surgery? When was the sense of exploration and camaraderie designed out of the genre entirely? When did completing high level raids become about angrily insulting someone for being 1-hit, or having hostile arguments about aggro or healing? And when in the wide world of eSports did silence become a rule in raid voice chat!?

I don't want this post to be an advertisement about Asheron's Call (although I highly recommend it as a once-in-a-lifetime gem of MMO design), but let's contrast the way that this game from '99 works to the way that SWTOR works.

In Asheron's Call (AC), any player can train any skill at any time. No one is forced to play any role. Every character can handle tanking, dealing damage and healing to certain extents. This means that groups can consist of as few or as many players as desired, and there is no incentive to exclude people simply because their role has already been filled.

In AC, players are rewarded generously for taking new players under their wings, whereas in SWTOR the answer to every noob question is "Google it, you idiot," followed by "Shut up, troll," followed by "Ignored and reported."

In AC's high-level dungeons, any player can die and return at any time without halting the group's progress. This prevents the necessity that every player be perfect in every way. In SWTOR, if your healer dies, all progress stops, meaning that any casual healers will be insulted and eventually booted from groups.

In AC, everyone's armor is different, and the sky is the limit to the possibilities. In SWTOR, you must have the exact gear that the designers intend for you to have to even participate in a group raid. SWTOR's group finder allows players to que for raids that they are not geared for, in which case the other group members will kick the player immediately. In SWTOR, group members check each other's gear immediately to determine who they have to kick out; in AC, group members check each other's gear out of curiosity and a sense of discovery.

I could go on for days about the huge shortcomings in modern MMO design that I'm discovering by playing one of the originals in the genre. The bottom line is that the first MMO's were designed as virtual worlds to explore, and in which to adventure with friends met along the way. Modern MMO's are designed to exclude people in every way possible, and to force players into following prescribed paths in every area, whether leveling, crafting or gearing up. Modern MMOs are designed to force silence to be a rule in raid voice chat (I know I've said it three times, but it's just insane to me). It has created a cynical elitist culture that excludes anyone who does not wish to spend hours each day grinding through the same boring things just to be able to try and fail at a high level raid several times in a row.

Who has the courage to design an MMO that brings people together in a spirit of adventure? Whoever can achieve that will find my money shoved in their wallet! Until then, I'm going to be on a quest of my own, to discover whether any MMORPGs on the market today are designed to be fun. I'll keep you posted on what I find!

Free Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams

I've just finished my first full-scale game development project, from design all the way through post-launch marketing, and I've learned a great deal in the process. My development partner and I started from scratch to develop a new Hangman app for Android and the Web called Classic Hangman Game (very original name, I know, but it's necessary for discoverability on Google Play until genres and descriptive terms can be searched for).

One of the things we had to tackle right away was to put together a viable workflow and a suite of tools that would allow us to work together, even though we live on different sides of the country. After a few hours of trial and error, we found a group of tools that allowed us to work efficiently throughout the project, whether we were working independently or at the same time.

Dropbox

The first challenge we faced was figuring out how to share and concurrently access project files and resources. We both needed continually up-to-date access to source files, images, sounds and all of the supporting files that Unity produces on its own. We found Dropbox to be an excellent solution, and we've since used it at the Global Game Jam 2013 in Denver.

Dropbox is a free cloud file-storage system with options for premium upgrades. The service allows users to synch folders on any PC or mobile device to any other, while also being able to access the folders and their contents on the web. After a quick download, we both had Dropbox folders on our machines, and we could both access the same files at will. As an added bonus, we regularly received notifications when files in Dropbox folders had been changed, so we always knew when the other person had worked on something.

Google Drive

Google Drive works in much the same way as Dropbox, but with the added bonus of having Google Docs built in. Dropbox takes a bit of time to synch files, whereas shared Google Docs are updated almost instantly for all users. We used Google Drive and Docs to share text files -- mainly our design document. We found that we could both have the design doc open, and changes made by one of us would immediately be reflected on the other's screen. We revisited the design doc frequently, and usually designated one of us to make changes to the doc while we spoke over Google Talk.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is an excellent tool for remote collaboration and communication. The things we found most useful were the speed and ease of setting up a conference, and the ability to share our screens with each other. Using Hangouts, one of us could view the other's screen, if needed, while we worked. This proved invaluable for solving engineering problems together, or walking through administrative processes such as setting up various developer accounts online. The one drawback to Hangouts is that it tends to be processor intensive compared to other voice chat services. To solve that problem, we turned to Google Talk.

Google Talk

Talk is a much more lightweight and simple voice chat program than Hangouts. Whenever we needed to free up resources, such as during play tests or project building, we would switch from Hangouts to Talk for a smoother experience. This is also our go-to program for Starcraft 2 breaks, again to free up system resources.

With this suite of tools in hand, we were able to successfully see our project through to completion, from design to publishing and post-launch support. If you've found this article helpful, please take a moment to check out the fruit of our labor: our first game, Hangman for Android! If you would rather play on the web, come on over to my portfolio website at www.davesingram.com.

Play Classic Hangman Game (Free) Now on Android!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Volume.Hangman.Free

How Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) Does Free-to-Play

Since my earlier post on Lessons Learned from Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is the most popular post on the blog, I'd like to follow it up with a sort of "post-mortem" of the game's transition from a solely subscription-based MMORPG to a hybrid model that mixes a Free-to-Play (f2p) service with the existing subscription service. The way that SWTOR does f2p is quite intelligent, and solves its monetization and population challenges in unique and thoughtful ways. As the debate over the validity and ethics of the f2p business model rages in industry discussion forums, we can all benefit from analyzing how BioWare has successfully integrated a f2p scheme that is fair, balanced and anything but "pay-to-win."

I won't go into the specific details of SWTOR's f2p service here -- you can check their official website for the details. Rather, I'll cover the conceptual aspects of the decisions that BioWare made to implement the service, and how these decisions impact the relationship between subscribers and free players, as well as the impressions they give to new players choosing which service to use.

To conceptualize the way that f2p works in SWTOR, start by thinking of the entire game, as a whole, and all of the features that go along with it. Imagine that each feature is like a faucet nozzle, and that all of the nozzles were turned on full blast at launch. What the f2p service does is turn some of the nozzles down to a smaller flow, turn others down to a trickle and leave the rest at full blast. An f2p player can pay small amounts to control the flow through any nozzle, turning this one or that one higher or lower at will, while all of the nozzles remain at full blast for subscribers. The most that an f2p player can do is to purchase enough feature unlocks to be playing the same game as a subscriber, in which case the f2p player will be paying roughly the same amount as a subscriber (theoretically). Therein lies the genius of the scheme -- there is no opportunity for a player to buy his way to greater power than everyone else. The most a player can buy is a set of full-blast feature nozzles that makes the player equal to subscribers.

For example, a f2p player only has access to play two pvp warzones per week, while subscribers have access to an unlimited number. In this instance, the pvp "nozzle" is at full blast for subscribers, and at a trickle for free players. However, free players can purchase a weekly pass to enjoy the same unlimited rights as subscribers for this particular feature. Another example is playable races. Subscribers have access to the entire range of playable races in the game -- a full blast feature nozzle. Free players, on the other hand, only have access to a few. Again, f2p players can spend money to unlock additional playable races, allowing them the same experience as subscribers for a small fee.

Vanity goods are another integral piece of SWTOR's f2p strategy, and in this case the challenge was to avoid unfairness toward subscribers, rather than making things fair for free players. BioWare continues to add interesting vanity goods to their f2p store, including unique mounts, pets, costumes and entertaining consumables (things like fireworks). Since these items are only available in the shop, BioWare doles out a healthy allowance of f2p currency to subscribers each month, essentially allowing them the right to choose whatever vanity goods they would like without having to pay more than their existing subscription fee.

It's refreshing to see a company create a viable and robust f2p service, and impressive to see it done post-launch alongside an existing subscription service. SWTOR continues to be one of my favorite games, and I can't wait for the new expansion to continue my Sith Juggernaut's story.

Video (Mega)Review - AltDev Student Summit 2012

I'm really excited about this post, and I've been waiting for a while to post it. Today I present my first Video (Mega)Review, covering about 12 hours of excellent and informative content that can benefit anyone interested in breaking into the video games industry.

The AltDev Student Summit, brought to you by the folks behind AltDevBlogADay, was an entirely online conference aimed at students in technical universities working towards game-development degrees, although, as I said, the lectures and presentations can benefit people of any age. This series of 22 presentations by industry insiders covers nearly all aspects of game development, from programming to art to marketing, and covers equal ground in the AA and Indie spaces. No matter where you want to land in the industry, I can almost guarantee that there is a video here for you.

I waited to make this post because I wanted to watch each and every video beforehand, and I was never disappointed along the way. Although the event was hosted live, all of the sessions are hosted online, and can be viewed at your convenience on the Watch Sessions page.

As a programmer, designer and marketer, sessions of particular note for me included:

A Day in the Life of a Tools Programmer/Buildmaster – Alex Crouzen
A Day in the Life of a Solo Developer – Mitu Khandaker
Being the Voice of an Indie Company – Andrea Schmoll
DIY Development Jay Margalus and Phil Tibitoski
Creating Games for Global Players- Kate Edwards
Starting and Running a Company, From a Programmer’s Perspective – Rebecca Fernandez

I like to keep these reviews short, so I'll leave you with one powerful observation before embedding the opening keynote presentation. One theme that resounded throughout almost all of the presentations was the following gem of wisdom: The most important thing to do to break into the games industry is to make games! Period! Time and again, presenter after presenter made the point that building a portfolio of finished projects is more important than educational credentials, more important than job experience and more important than personal connections. The resounding theme of all 22 presentations is that creating and finishing games is the #1 thing that will give you an advantage over everyone else when it comes to breaking into the industry. Can you feel the inspiration?

Without further ado, I present the opening keynote of the AltDev Student Summit 2012:




http://www.altdevblogaday.com/altdev-student-summit-2012/videos/

Motivate Gamers to Buy Your Products Using the Fogg Behavior Model

The Fogg Behavior Model is one of many models designed to understand exactly what motivates specific behaviors in individuals and groups. This simple yet powerful model can reveal strategies for motivating behavior in almost any context, whether it be changing behavior within a workplace, working with your kids, or motivating consumers to buy products. Of course, we are chiefly interested in how this model can apply to motivating video-game consumers to try a product or service, which can include games, peripherals, platforms or virtually any other product in our industry.

Stated simply, the model presents behavior as the result of a combination of ability, motivation and triggers:

Behavior = Ability + Motivation + Triggers

This simple model can reveal tactics for:

- Increasing the number of microtransactions in a f2p game
- Influencing people to try product demos
- Gaining and maintaining subscriptions
- Increasing retail purchases
- Influencing platform decsions (hardware or software)
- Motivating employees in gaming companies (developers, publishers, retail, etc.)
- Motivating potential investors (traditional or crowdfunded)

Let's go through the three components of the model one at a time, and explore ways that your company can gain leverage in each area.

Ability
The ability component relates to the ease (or possibility) of performing a desired behavior. The key to leveraging this component is to make your products as easy as possible to find, try, and purchase. Using the traditional example of retail, if your game is not on the shelf, customers have no ability to buy it.

The retail model has obviously changed in the last 10 years, as digital distribution continues to gain ground over traditional outlets. Still, making your games available online is not as simple as hosting a download link on your website. How easy is it to actually find your download link? Does the link always work? Is there an annoying registration process or other gateway slowing people down as they look for your game? Is the download fast enough (direct download vs. download client vs. torrent, etc.). All of these considerations come into play for this component.

Motivation
The key question here is, "why should anyone want your product?" What have you done to motivate people to search for your game in the first place? The first, most important, and most often overlooked factor in building motivation is the quality of your product. If you release another genre stereotype, all the marketing in the world won't do much to motivate people to seek out your game. If you've created something unique and compelling, on the other hand, a little marketing spending will go a long way.

Marketing is still very important, even with a game that spawns viral word-of-mouth advertising just by being epic. Carefully craft all of your marketing messages throughout the campaign with the goal of building motivation in mind. Don't just let players know about your

upcoming release; make them want it so bad they need it! What are you doing to drive people crazy over wanting your game?

Triggers
The trigger component can be the most elusive, but it is no less important than the others. A trigger is something that ties motivation and ability together, and acts as the catalyst that puts behavior into motion. Consider, for example, that your pre-launch marketing campaign has people drooling over your game before it comes out, and that you have set up a solid digital distribution platform. What is going to tell your customers that it is time to satiate their desire and make a purchase? The answer to that question is the trigger. A trigger could be an email blast that tells pre-launch subscribers that a new update is ready to play, or it could be one final push in your advertising schedule that lets people know the game is on store shelves.

Whatever you do in this area, just do something! Do not think that your pre-launch announcements of release dates will be enough to move massive amounts of product on day one. Be just as active in the first few weeks after launch as you were in the weeks prior, letting people know that they now have the ability to satisfy their motivation.

Putting It All Together
I've focused on publishers in the above examples, but I hope this quick summary gets you thinking about ways that you can influence motivation, ability and triggers to achieve desired behaviors in whatever industry segment you may operate, and with whatever target groups you may seek to influence.

For more information on the Fogg Behavior Model, see the whitepaper below:

A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design, BJ Fogg

Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos.net: imagerymajestic

Video Review: John Lasseter - A Day in a Life

Last night I watched a very inspirational short documentary that follows Pixar/Walt Disney Animation Studio director and chief creator John Lasseter through a typical day in his life. Specifically, the video shows John making numerous directorial decisions regarding the movie Cars 2.

At first, I found the video to be a bit shallow -- while it was entertaining to see John's model trains and a bit disgusting to see his collection of nearly 400 shirts, I felt that the video lacked the substance that I was hoping for. However, that all changed when I caught a true gem of inspiration near the end of the video. At it's core, this is a video about a man who truly loves what he does each day. He is truly passionate about what he creates, and he says that every day he is thrilled to go to work and see what new things he can discover. This quick documentary is a must watch for anyone who needs a bit of inspiration and motivation to leave a dead-end job and follow a dream!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HN3-l_f-U&feature=youtu.be

Video Review - "Game Design with Will Wright"

My last video review met with excellent reviews, so I'm going to charge ahead with another! In this post I review "Game Design with Will Wright," from a speech Mr. Wright gave at SD Forum in 2003. Even though the video and examples contained therein are a bit dated, the concepts shared in the video are timeless.

In this lecture, Will goes into detail about what it takes to achieve emergence in game design. Simply put, emergence refers to a paradoxical concept that arises when a system with a simple and straightforward ruleset and constraints can provide seemingly limitless opportunities for unique experiences. Will Wright is the king of emergence, creating franchises like SimCity and the Sims, which can be learned in a single day and yet can continue to surprise players with new experiences after months or years of play. This is a definate must-watch for anyone strategizing on ways to take their gameplay design to a higher level.



http://youtu.be/CdgQyq3hEPo