The Elder Scrolls Online

For those that missed it, this past week Zenimax Online, the parent of Bethesda Softworks announced that they were bringing the popular Elder Scrolls to the MMO audience. Elder Scrolls has long been a popular single player RPG, and has a massive following, so one might suspect that this announcement would be greated with cheers so players could explore the world with friends, instead the announcement has been met with derision, and has many fans of both The Elder Scrolls and MMO's up in arms. I'm tempted to say that this is the worst reception to an announcement of a "beloved" IP that I've ever seen, and I think it is happening for a couple of reasons.

In addition to the announcement, there was info on a leaked article in the June issue of Game Informer. Knowing how beloved the IP is, the fact that Matt Firor, the Dark Age of Camelot Producer is at the helm, and promises a three faction game that many disenfranchised fans seem to want, where have things gone wrong?


Loss of identity

I think it all starts with a loss of identity. Fans of The Elder Scrolls enjoy the series deliver a fairly open sandbox for you to play in. Going back in time, to where I was introduced to the series, Daggerfall, boasted an impressive 487,000 sq km to explore, which is nearly twice the size of Great Britian, and this was merely two provinces of Tamriel. Daggerfall had 15,000 towns, villages and dungeons for a player to visit along with 750,000 NPC's. Those are impressive numbers, even if they were randomly generated. Putting it in perspective, Oblivion had a mere 41.4 sq km to explore. Daggerfall is available for a free download and granted it is a 16 year old DOS game, it is a true classic, especially for those of us who want worlds to explore.

The Elder Scrolls has deep roots in giving players a huge sandbox where your main quest may be directed, but you are encouraged to go off the beaten path and explore the world and everything that there is to do in the world. First person combat, a political and guild system, the ability to buy property, and act as you wish. Dont like the person across the street? Shoot him in the ear with an arrow, but reap the consequences if you are seen. Where a developer like Bioware usually gives a story to experience, Bethesda gives players a place to create their own story. Imagine Bioware doing Call of Duty, and understand why fans feel that Zenimax is taking the IP in a different direction.

So where is all of this going? Well, in the leaked article, Zenimax appears to be developing a game that lacks many of the traits that made The Elder Scrolls successful and popular. It will be a class based game, with a fairly traditional leveling system, no housing and generally is giving the feeling of another re-skinned themepark experience, which are available by the boat load today. The only difference is that it is taking place in the world of Tamriel.

Where were you in 2008?

The second part of the equation, as I see it, is the World of Warcraft effect. Back in November of 2008, they announced that they had 11.5 million subscribers, and were the benchmark game in the industry. The model that every developer wanted to meet and exceed was the one that WoW had earned. For a general frame of reference, most AAA MMO's seem to take between 4-6 years of development, so to understand what TES is announcing today, we need to go back 4 years to understand why they set out to make what they did.

I think it is fairly obvious that WoW was the 300lb gorilla, and games like SWTOR, Rift, and TES were heavily influenced by that model. Granted each of them may be trying to put a unique stamp on their game, and on the genre, story, dynamic events, return of 3-faction PvP, but they have all failed to accurately perceive the changing tastes of the genre's fanbase thru their crystal balls. While the first two titles met with initial box sale success, they have failed to dethrone the heavy weight, and have had their own issues with jaded fans, especially when compared to a game that has been around for 7+ years and has 7+ years of development and content available.

These days games like The Secret World and Guild Wars 2 are both trying to break away from some typical conventions of the genre, but having spent some time in GW2, I realize that there are only so many ways you can hide a quest to go kill 10 spiders. Dont get me wrong I like GW2 quite a bit, but it doesnt completely break the chains and doesnt offer a completely new experience. I have not seen TSW, but my hunch is that it'll give some new takes on current ideas, but wont be an entirely new experience either.

Really, TES should bring back a true 3-faction PvP game and do it in the world of Tamriel, which is enough for someone like me, but I hazzard a guess that people will be even more burnt out, and more jaded, and you can see it in the reception TES is getting today. People do want something different, they want games to break ground, or at least stay true to their roots. The problem is that game development cycles are not short, and when Blizzard was boasting yearly about how many new subscriptions they were earning, it was far easier for developers to push a tried a true path for their own titles.  With Blizzard admitting that they have seen a subscriber decrease in the past year or so, it may not be until 2014 or 2015 when we start to see the impact on titles in development.

I geuninely believe that many titles in late development now are going to leave people feeling disappointed because they cannot and will not entirely break the current WoW inspired MMO formula. I can only hope that in a few years we'll start to see more companies willing to take some chances and go in new directions.

Beyond The Old Republic

I've spent 5 months playing Star Wars: The Old Republic and with 5 level 50's, multiple raids done, a character who is a battlemaster, I'm finally at a crossroads with the game. Dont misunderstand me, the game is pretty much exactly what I thought it would be, so I'm not suggesting Bioware did something wrong. (They did, but that's a long post for another day.) I am suggesting that the low population server that I happen to play on convinced me to sit down and examine what really matters to me in an MMO. SWTOR sold me on both story, and IP, but it turns out, there are other things that actually matter more to me, and if my choice to to find a game that has those things, or to continue to play a game with a declining population that prevents me from doing things that I'd like to do, then just maybe it's time for me to stop, and take a look around.

1) Meaningful World PvP:

Nobody did this better than Dark Age of Camelot, and to a lesser extent Warhammer Online. My personal definition of meaningful, which I realize is open to debate, is World PvP that has a tangible impact on the world, or the gameplay. I loved the Tarren Mill versus Southshore PvP in World of Warcraft as much as anyone, but ultimately winning or losing was determined by who left last, there was no lasting impact on the game world. Games like DAoC and WHO had reasons to world PvP, capturing keeps, turning a zone. It isnt a permanent impact, but it is a short term impact, and you do notice it.

Above and beyond what I've already said, meaningful world PvP is largely player created content. Think about that for a second. Look at all the things that can impact it, from class balance to class nerfs, from server population to player skill. It's players who are determining what is happen in given zones. This is content that developers dont have to create, and dont have to worry about players out leveling. Meaningful world PvP is a sandbox element that fits into most games, gives players something to enjoy, and is ongoing content that developers dont have to invest countless hours into building.

Gordon Walton who worked on titles like UO:Renissance, SWTOR, and Star Wars Galaxies gave a speech at GDC Austin in 2007 where he talked about the lessons people should learn building MMO's in a post World of Warcraft environment. One of the things he said that stuck, is that "Content sucks. Content takes people to build." I take that to mean that people eat up content faster than developers can create it. Taking that to the next step, meaningful world PvP is content that changes daily, and its a system that players build content. I'm a little amazed he is the one who said that, and was involved with SWTOR which is clearly a PvE content driven title.

Gordon Walton 2007 GDC Speech, coverage by Gamastura


2) Instanced PvP:

Yes, I like instanced PvP as well as world PvP, in fact I like most types of PvP with the exception of Arena PvP, but that too is a whole 'nother blog. Back in the mid 90's, I enjoyed FPS games, and I do today as well. The difference between the two experiences is that I'm now 38 years old, and there are 13 year olds who have reflexes on a different level than I do. Back then I would be all over a leaderboard, these days it's a fight every single game I play to break even. MMO's to me, havent been about just reflexes, they are about knowing not only your class, but knowing your opponents class as well. Sure, being quick is great, but I can combat some of that reflex loss with savvy, smarts, and skill. That's a big reason I enjoy instanced PvP as well, more outlets to test myself and compete with other people is content that doesnt have an endpoint.


3) Public Quests:

Warhammer Online was my first real exposure to public quests as a form of content. Sure, other games had small events, but Warhammer  presented it so multiple people could come participate, group, and win rewards somewhat loosely based on contribution. Rift took it a step further and polished the idea, and now Guild Wars 2 is selling it as the main offering to it's PvE.

I think only a fool believes that the results really change the game world. Guild Wars is saying that depending on what happens the path can go "up" or "down", and different things will happen until the tide is stopped and the players overcome, or dont. Here's the catch, overcome or dont, eventually, that is going to reset back to neutral and start all over again. In fact, I saw some people saying that in Guild Wars 2 beta the event was re-setting so often it was like it had never been stopped at all.

Granted GW2 is in beta, and they are tuning it, and that there is a fine line between having events often enough so people can do them (is it fair to make someone wait an hour after one ends to see it start again? What is the right balance?) but they seem to have the right idea.

Game worlds should be part of the experience, not just a setting to tell a story. Having some kind of public quests that makes me care, or gets me involved makes me experience the world in a different way.

4) Punishment:

This is pretty simple, dont do it.

There are all kinds of punishment in MMO's, from looting to death penalties, with massive time sinks and grinds in the middle. Look, I dont mind a certain amount of grinding, but when it's excessive then I've got an issue. Back when I was 20 odd years old, I could invest more time, so I cared far less, but at 38, with a job, a wife, a daughter, and other events in my life, I just dont have the time, or effort to sink untold hours for a reward. Here's the catch, if the reward is something I want, I have less objections to my time being spent. Developers beware, and find the optimum balance.

I know there are fans of full loot in PvP. I'll say it this way, I did it years ago in UO, and I know what losing everything felt like. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, and guess what? I outgrew it. Dont get me wrong, if someone likes it, more power to 'em, but its a niche gaming playstyle and I have no interest in it.

5) Sidekicking:

Eq2, CoH, and GW2 all advertise it, and I like it. One of the big negatives in SWTOR for me, was that my wife took about 4 months to hit level 50, and in this title when we were both playing I rarely played with her during the time she was leveling. Same thing with my best friend, and I just dont like it. I play MMO's to enjoy with friends, dont make it more challenging for me to do that. I'm fine with de-leveling myself to play with a friend. 

6) Exploring:

The awe I felt in UO exploring a virtual world was exceeded in only one game: Star Wars Galaxies. I loved taking safari's to planets with friends, and exploring them, seeing what was there. There felt like danger could be lurking around the next corner. I'll never forget my first safari to Endor with friends, or one to Talus searching for a rare pet for a friend to tame.

Exploring is something that never lasts because eventually you are comfortable going anywhere and everywhere, but some of my strongest memories of the genre are thru exploration, so dont underestimate it's power.

7) Housing:

Housing is an easy catch-all for what I'm driving at. I want to stake an claim on this virtual world. I want to be emotionally tied to the game above and beyond simple PvE and PvP. Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and Everquest 2 all did a great job or tying me into the world. (Lord of the Rings Online never gave me quite the same tie.) This is something that can be instanced, but that extra reason to play other than PvE and PvP is well worth the developer investment.


8) Crafting:

There is good and bad. I want worthwile crafting, crafting that has a meaning. I dont want to make items 3 levels below me with level appropriate materials, I dont want to spend 8 hours making a single ship (Thank you very much Vanguard at release) I dont want to hit max level crafting and realize that nobody will buy my items since they can get better via dungeons and raids. I dont want the only crafting profession to be worth a damn to be a cooking, or alchemy whichever type makes the useable buff items,


So it's a long list, and I could probably add more to it if I really wanted. I'm a few days away from trying out the Guild Wars 2 weekend beta event, but for the first time in a long time, I'm ready to have an objective experience. I'm ready to look for things that I find fun, and judge the game based on what it offers, not based on who made it, or what the IP is.

No you are not going to see me list things like graphics, animations and combat here. There are a few items that would utterly dissuade me from a game, but even a game like Mount & Blade can look horrible but be extremely fun to play because of the concepts behind it.  What it boils down to, are that these things are going to be about style, and personal preference, but arent going to be core items to determine a game that I'll enjoy.

I'll never recapture great moments from my MMO past, and I will always look back fondly on some titles, but it's time to find the game that will build the next set of great memories, and I'm going to start by finding a game that meets as many of these 8 items as I can, and go from there.