In an article today on the Destructoid Blog, it was reported that EA has asked all business units, specifically including EA Mythic and their Redwood Shores Studio to "Align costs with revenue". It's been reported that some of the remaining UO staffers have already been let go, effective Thursday. More cuts are expected through attrition, "performance management," and layoffs according to the article.
This is a major problem when a big company like EA purchases smaller studios which then become business units. If the whole of the business is suffering, then the smaller business units have to bear some of the pain, whether the shortfalls are theirs or not. Ironic that this comes on the heels of the suspension of the Warhammer beta until December and the announcement from the head of Mythic that (paraphrased) "EA has been a great partner, and hasn't meddled in our business." Hope you got the new memo, man. The rules have changed. Again.
This is becoming more and more of a pattern, as major publishing houses get their camel's noses under the tent, and before you know it, the whole damn camel is inside there with you. I'm predicting that the "publishing" relationship that SOE has for the upcoming Pirates MMO is a precursor to SOE eventually owning the IP. You read it here first. Well maybe not first, but most recently.
Is there any chance that a major MMO can come to market any more without the involvement of SOE (customer? fuck you.), MS (It's over budget, cancel it), NCSoft (Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa; are you fucking kidding me?), Blizzard (Sorry, we're too busy printing money to make any more MMO at the moment. Maybe after Starcraft II is entrenched we can think about it), or EA (Hmm, can we make John Madden into an MMO?)? There have to be more ways than these to get a salable product to market.
I sure as hell hope so. And to those displaced by this most recent display of poor business acumen in the MMO business, my heart goes out to you. You guys are some of the best people I have ever met and you deserve better. Maybe some day you will get treated correctly and have the stability and creative influence you deserve.
Best to all of you.
Showing posts with label MMO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMO. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
MMO Development Reaches it's Stale Phase
One month.
That's how long it's been (to the day) since I felt moved to write here. That's a long time. Now, I have been busy with work, so that means travel. Travel takes it out of you once you have done it for a while, but I digress.
The reason that I haven't been writing is that I haven't found much to be writing about. Sure I could do all kinds of theoretical babbling about games and what people want in game design. I'm probably not qualified to do that and so I'll leave that to the Ryan Schwaders (it's not babbling when he does it) of the world (Nerfbat.) I can speak with authority from the user's viewpoint. That is where the wicket gets sticky.
Here is where I am right now, and I have to believe that some of you are here with me. I currently have 4 MMO's installed on my gaming rig. Five if you include a particular beta which I can't talk about so for the sake of this discussion doesn't exist. The other 4 are EQ (yeah, yeah, I know,) WoW, LOTRO, and Vanguard. I have let my EQ2 sub lapse, but it's still installed.
Branyanu has been missing EQ so we reinstalled it and started playing it again. We quit not too long after the level cap was raised above 60, so I had a barely 61 Druid (Genda) and she has her 58 'chanter. After an evening wrestling with the damn game to get it to run without CTD on her system, we sat down to play. Our 2 hours resulted in a level change. Genda is now 60. It was also a stark reminder for me that you can't go home again. As much as we loved EQ at the time, everywhere we could hunt at that level was a ghost town, and there isn't much going on that we could see.
I'd probably enjoy getting going with WoW again. Once again, we had quit soon after the level cap was raised, so my 60 Orc Resto Shaman (Akhan) and her 60 Troll Hunter (Tarkheena) are behind the times. She's had enough of WoW, and I've learned not to press my duo partner too hard, lest I not have one. It's still just another fantasy MMO, although I do appreciate the "amusement park" style of design.
Vanguard. It's problems are well-documented. Programming-wise, it's still a mess. Maybe the server merges (from 13 servers down to 4) will help spur the community there and make it easier to find a group.
LOTRO. See WoW.
I've seen a little on the upcoming games in the pipeline, and there isn't anything revolutionary out there. Tabula Rasa looks like Guild Wars or DDO. AOC looks like a refined version of Lineage ][. WAR is like a cross between WoW (questing) and DAOC RvR.)
I am starting to think that the genre is at a standstill, and really has been since WoW. As a matter of fact, I am starting to believe that WoW killed PC gaming. Just go have a look at the PC games out there on the shelves, and tell me 10 good titles that have shipped since WoW that aren't ports to or from consoles. I rest my case.
I'm hoping that we see some new developments soon, although with what it costs to fund and develop one of these monsters, the irony may be that no one is willing to take a risk that big. And by not taking a risk, we aren't getting the benefit as gamers.
Hmm, I hear that UO just got a graphical face lift.
Naaaaa.
That's how long it's been (to the day) since I felt moved to write here. That's a long time. Now, I have been busy with work, so that means travel. Travel takes it out of you once you have done it for a while, but I digress.
The reason that I haven't been writing is that I haven't found much to be writing about. Sure I could do all kinds of theoretical babbling about games and what people want in game design. I'm probably not qualified to do that and so I'll leave that to the Ryan Schwaders (it's not babbling when he does it) of the world (Nerfbat.) I can speak with authority from the user's viewpoint. That is where the wicket gets sticky.
Here is where I am right now, and I have to believe that some of you are here with me. I currently have 4 MMO's installed on my gaming rig. Five if you include a particular beta which I can't talk about so for the sake of this discussion doesn't exist. The other 4 are EQ (yeah, yeah, I know,) WoW, LOTRO, and Vanguard. I have let my EQ2 sub lapse, but it's still installed.
Branyanu has been missing EQ so we reinstalled it and started playing it again. We quit not too long after the level cap was raised above 60, so I had a barely 61 Druid (Genda) and she has her 58 'chanter. After an evening wrestling with the damn game to get it to run without CTD on her system, we sat down to play. Our 2 hours resulted in a level change. Genda is now 60. It was also a stark reminder for me that you can't go home again. As much as we loved EQ at the time, everywhere we could hunt at that level was a ghost town, and there isn't much going on that we could see.
I'd probably enjoy getting going with WoW again. Once again, we had quit soon after the level cap was raised, so my 60 Orc Resto Shaman (Akhan) and her 60 Troll Hunter (Tarkheena) are behind the times. She's had enough of WoW, and I've learned not to press my duo partner too hard, lest I not have one. It's still just another fantasy MMO, although I do appreciate the "amusement park" style of design.
Vanguard. It's problems are well-documented. Programming-wise, it's still a mess. Maybe the server merges (from 13 servers down to 4) will help spur the community there and make it easier to find a group.
LOTRO. See WoW.
I've seen a little on the upcoming games in the pipeline, and there isn't anything revolutionary out there. Tabula Rasa looks like Guild Wars or DDO. AOC looks like a refined version of Lineage ][. WAR is like a cross between WoW (questing) and DAOC RvR.)
I am starting to think that the genre is at a standstill, and really has been since WoW. As a matter of fact, I am starting to believe that WoW killed PC gaming. Just go have a look at the PC games out there on the shelves, and tell me 10 good titles that have shipped since WoW that aren't ports to or from consoles. I rest my case.
I'm hoping that we see some new developments soon, although with what it costs to fund and develop one of these monsters, the irony may be that no one is willing to take a risk that big. And by not taking a risk, we aren't getting the benefit as gamers.
Hmm, I hear that UO just got a graphical face lift.
Naaaaa.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Is Character Customization Worth the Overhead?
I’m noticing more and more that people have different words for things in MMO’s. For example, people call client side low frame rates “lag,” even thought that is not what it is. Lag does occur in MMO, and if you played WoW during the first months that is was out, you know very well what that is. Another thing that I hear a lot of people talking about is character customization.
Now, before I go into a Genda-tangent, let me give you a little background. When I was playing EQ, Genda’s nickname was “GQ,” because he always had to look cool in his gear. If I got a piece of gear that wasn’t as good but looked great I would definitely wear it. I killed to get my epic so I wouldn’t have to carry around a blunt weapon any more. If you knew me in real life you would know that I’m anything but GQ. Picture a 6’7” offensive tackle from a football team, but without the difficult-to-obtain body and muscle tone. I used to care a lot about how I dressed, but I’ve developed what I like to call a casual style. At work, I don’t have to wear a coat or tie, so I’m usually in loafers, khakis, and a white company oxford. Classic, if not fashion-conscious. When I’m not working you can usually find me in a t-shirt or polo and jeans or shorts. Basic.
I’ve thought about what made me so particular about the character’s appearance in MMO. What I’ve come to realize is that there is nothing that drives me more toward accomplishment in a game than how cool my character will look once I get there. I’ve rarely played pure casters in the games, and I think I have just realized why. I don’t like how casters look in robes. They just aren’t as cool as armor.
OK, back on track. One thing that I’ve noticed is that once you have started playing a game for a while, you don’t notice the finer differences in a character’s appearance. In SWG, you would notice if someone was a blue Twi’lek or a red one. You would notice the fur pattern or color on a Wookie, but you don’t notice if their nose is narrower or wider. All of those little details are taking proc cycles, though.
One of the more visually stunning games I’ve seen to date is Lineage ][. All the characters look pretty much the same. Depending on your aesthetic, you could argue that all of them are beautiful. You cold tell people apart by their armor and weapons. And it ran a lot better than most of the current MMO at the time. Getting back to the SWG example, that game STILL doesn’t run well on my system. I’ve got a system that is way beyond what was available at the time that the game shipped. If I turn on most of the options, it’s an effing slide show. Wow didn’t allow major customizations and it runs like a champ.
What I’m getting at is this. Where is the line for trade-off worth it? At what point is that extra detail on your character’s face worth 4-5 FPS (Frames Per Second?) I’m getting to the point where I say that you should make your models look as good as they can, make them scalable for size, and let the character get his “GQ” from how he is dressed. I LOVE how smooth WoW scrolls on my box, even with all the options on.
I’ll take that.
Now, before I go into a Genda-tangent, let me give you a little background. When I was playing EQ, Genda’s nickname was “GQ,” because he always had to look cool in his gear. If I got a piece of gear that wasn’t as good but looked great I would definitely wear it. I killed to get my epic so I wouldn’t have to carry around a blunt weapon any more. If you knew me in real life you would know that I’m anything but GQ. Picture a 6’7” offensive tackle from a football team, but without the difficult-to-obtain body and muscle tone. I used to care a lot about how I dressed, but I’ve developed what I like to call a casual style. At work, I don’t have to wear a coat or tie, so I’m usually in loafers, khakis, and a white company oxford. Classic, if not fashion-conscious. When I’m not working you can usually find me in a t-shirt or polo and jeans or shorts. Basic.
I’ve thought about what made me so particular about the character’s appearance in MMO. What I’ve come to realize is that there is nothing that drives me more toward accomplishment in a game than how cool my character will look once I get there. I’ve rarely played pure casters in the games, and I think I have just realized why. I don’t like how casters look in robes. They just aren’t as cool as armor.
OK, back on track. One thing that I’ve noticed is that once you have started playing a game for a while, you don’t notice the finer differences in a character’s appearance. In SWG, you would notice if someone was a blue Twi’lek or a red one. You would notice the fur pattern or color on a Wookie, but you don’t notice if their nose is narrower or wider. All of those little details are taking proc cycles, though.
One of the more visually stunning games I’ve seen to date is Lineage ][. All the characters look pretty much the same. Depending on your aesthetic, you could argue that all of them are beautiful. You cold tell people apart by their armor and weapons. And it ran a lot better than most of the current MMO at the time. Getting back to the SWG example, that game STILL doesn’t run well on my system. I’ve got a system that is way beyond what was available at the time that the game shipped. If I turn on most of the options, it’s an effing slide show. Wow didn’t allow major customizations and it runs like a champ.
What I’m getting at is this. Where is the line for trade-off worth it? At what point is that extra detail on your character’s face worth 4-5 FPS (Frames Per Second?) I’m getting to the point where I say that you should make your models look as good as they can, make them scalable for size, and let the character get his “GQ” from how he is dressed. I LOVE how smooth WoW scrolls on my box, even with all the options on.
I’ll take that.
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