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

Hi-Rez Studios revealed their plans for Global Agenda: Conquest on Tuesday, offering a subscription-free way to play the award-winning multiplayer shooter core of the game while optionally reserving the Conquest campaign layer of the game (and many typical MMO features) for subscribers when Global Agenda launches next year. The pricing info and features list of both the core and Conquest options provoked plenty of questions among the Ten Ton Hammer team, and Executive Producer Todd Harris was kind enough to offer some answers.

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Ten Ton Hammer: The pricing options really seem like an interesting way to offer subscription-phobic gamers more than just a window into the game, but a complete standalone game that works hand-in-hand with the MMO portion of the game. Do you view the pricing options as a way to layer in or introduce the game to an unfamiliar audience? What makes the non-Conquest experience of Global Agenda different from what some gamers might be used to with a typical lobby-and-instance online shooter?

Todd Harris: Whether or not you view it as layering in the MMO experience - we've always thought of the game as an MMO from the beginning, and always thought of the AvA [Alliance vs. Alliance campaign game] as a big draw- I think about it more as carving out the really fun multiplayer gameplay and making that available in the core single-purchase package.  

Ultimately we wanted to give people an experience on-par or better than online shooters or even multiplayer shooters that are adding a little bit of persistence. We get a lot of comments that 'Wow, this game really is different... the gameplay is super fun... I'm not sure if it's an MMO, but I really like it.'  With that core game, we wanted to remove any obstacle that people might have about a subscription or hangups about what an MMO is or isn't, because it's instanced.

And again, just really capitalize on the strengths people have recognized: really fun multiplayer gameplay. We looked at the feature sets of multiplayer games that are single-purchase - Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty, Battlefield - and we wanted to make sure that core single-purchase package stacked up really well against them. You can level up your character to max level by doing PvE or match-made PvP or mixing them as you choose. Obviously we do have a city that we think compares well to just a menu-based lobby, we have currency, vendors, and allow those players to not create their own agencies but join other agencies and members of a persistent group, we've got built-in voice chat. A lot of the features that are listed there measure up well against other games in that category.  So if people just want that experience of fun online mulitplayer combat, they can buy the game once and try it.

Of course, we've always thought that the real stickiness of the game comes from not only ongoing content, but competing in the conquest gameplay. That's where the MMO aspects come in, plus other features common to MMOs like auctionhouse, crafting, and some of the other features.

Ten Ton Hammer: In the core game features, the press release stated that players would be able to progress through the first 30 levels. I think you mentioned that non-Conquest players could get to max level, though?

Todd: That's definitely true, and in general we tried to make the non-Conquest game much more than just a gimped version of a full MMO. It wasn't like we said, 'Here's a full MMO, let's take away some stuff and make it a teaser.'  We wanted it to allow people to pay their $49.99 and they get a very full experience that compares favorably. For one, subscribers and non-subscribers  are all in the same world. The non-subscribers can't participate in AvA territories but as far as seeing each other in pick-up groups, teaming up for pick-up matches - PvE or PvP, seeing each other on agent search functionality, all that sort of stuff, they're in the same virtual universe.

"In general we tried to make the non-Conquest game much more than just a gimped version of a full MMO. It wasn't like we said, 'Here's a full MMO, let's take away some stuff and make it a teaser.'  "

We didn't want to give a power differential between the players. Within the Conquest gameplay, you will have more options. For instance, access to the auctionhouse is a pretty powerful option because if I get some loot, upgrades, or implants that I can't use, as a subscriber I'll be able to go to the auctionhouse, put them up for sale, and using that money to get something that I do need, whereas someone without Conquest won't have that option. Things like that might make me progress a little slower, but fundamentally you can get to max level. Any devices we introduce after release - say a new stealth device for recon or a new healing device for the medic, our intent is that those devices would be available to both groups as well. We really want to keep the two communities very integrated but have the differentiation be the AvA gameplay, which is really a whole different tier of gameplay, and also getting ongoing content over time that the non-Conquest users may not be able to access.

Ten Ton Hammer: Non-Conquest users will be able to use any weapons, devices, or implants in the game. If they can't craft these items or use the auctionhouse, will they have to rely on player to player trade to get the items they want?

Todd: Right now the main loot that's part of the progression are upgrades, more like persistent buffs. When you're playing PvE, there's components that will be dropped to make them, and they also fully drop in certain PvE missions - typically the harder ones. There's also a token system in PvE and PvP where you can , by playing and winning, turn in tokens for the gear you want. So there's multiple ways for subscribers and non-subscribers to earn them, but subscribers will have more options to get the items they want.

We will have a category of devices that are specific to the AvA gameplay - they're a little more siege oriented than personal infantry oriented. Those sort of things only make sense for those AvA territories and can only be used in AvA territories, so non-Conquest players won't have access to them because they're not usable in the other maps.

Ten Ton Hammer: Since 2005, the monthly pricing fee among MMOs has remained fairly constant at about $15. Why did you choose to price the Conquest subscription at $12.99?

Todd: We just wanted to go a little more aggressively on our price. It'll be interesting to see what the industry does, whether it comes down, but obviously there are competing models that people are choosing from: free-to-play, expansion pack, microtransactions, etc. We looked for something that would be very very competitive and attractive to people that were already used to paying a subscription. When we looked at our cost models, it validated that we could continue to have a really thriving community at that price point. We tried to make the most attractive price point to consumers while still letting us make the money we need to keep the game going and deliver new content, and that's basically where it came in at.