Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Ten Ton Hammer: Do you think you're going to have players that just PvP or just PvE? Does there have to be at some point?

Hermann: I think there will be a blend, but there doesn't have to be.

People typically want something when they go into a game. They might decide that they want to just PvE at the start of the game, because they don't want to deal with fighting other players. However, when they get into the game they will be hearing about these PvP things that are going on in the game and seeing the map with the contention areas.

I'll be damned if there's a player out there who is active for a long period of time in Jumpgate and doesn't even try those PvP battles when it's so easy and rewarding to do so. I think people have a conception of PvP as this really hard elitist behavior, and they don't want to fail. They don't want to be embarrassed.

When we introduce it in a much more fun and easy to do way, at least at the beginning, I think we'll run into some people that are much more willing to try that aspect of our game. By natural affinity, some people are going to find that they really love that part of the game.

So what I envision happening is that the game is going to start out polarized, and then it's going to become much more meshed. That's my speculation.

Ten Ton Hammer: In a lot of skill-based or item-based PvP games, there seems to always be a focus on the "meta-builds" or the min/max build that excels at PvP. Do you think that's going to be the case in Jumpgate?

Hermann: If we do it right, there won't be. But my guess is that there will be a few ships that show up, especially in player combination groups, that really excel. It's easy to singularly prevent this sort of activity, but it's harder when people start grouping up with others.

That's VERY hard to test, because there's almost an infinite number of combinations players can create. You just have to be vigilant.

I mean, all MMOs have this problem to a degree. There is always that one build that seems to be dominant for a time, and then the developers have to be a combination of reactionary and patient.

If you're too reactionary, someone may come up with a combination that seems unbeatable but other players haven't discovered the counter to it yet. Once that counter becomes well known, that strategy then no longer works.

If you wait too long, you have created a super weapon, and if you don't address that super weapon, people stop playing. You just have to be clever and know when to do which.

 Ten Ton Hammer: Thanks so much for your time, Hermann. Best of luck with the future of Jumpgate!