by John Hoskin on Oct 29, 2007
Welcome to the 694th Edition of Loading...
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Daily Column
20 new MMOG articles today. For those of you keeping score thatâs 247 pieces of MMOG entertainment in October that you canât find anywhere else. No other network comes close.
That number up there is a 20 folks! That's as much content as many networks create in a month delivered to you in ONE day. A big round of clap for our editors, writers and community managers!
Tabula Rasa is almost here and to celebrate the imminent launch General British put his neck on the line. Did anyone kill Mr. Garriott this time? Only Tony "RadarX" Jones knows and fortunately for us, he has loose lips. (Coyote, there is your setup, badumbum!)
After a slow news week we have not only the impending launch of Tabula Rasa, but the first ever class interview from Age of Conan. I'll go out on a limb and predict that the AoC interview will be the most viewed piece of content on our network today. Just call it a hunch, or a mild super-power, kind of like knowing that the supermarket doors will open as I approach.
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A short time ago, I asked you, the knowledgeable Loading... readers, who you would hire as part of your dream MMOG team. I asked you to choose only one person, which resulted in nearly each and every one of you writing to me (or posting in the blog) with the names of multiple people. Your exuberance is noted.
I received the following letter while I was traveling last week.
"Who Would I Hire? Well, let's say I COULD hire anybody... let's go with those I feel are visionaries... But before I get to them, I'd like to state WHY these people, and it's quite simple. We're talking about the computer game market, and these leading lights (exclude Jacobs in that definition) appear to be avoiding MMOs like the plague. I would get them involved, by hook or by crook. They really could give the genre it's desperately needed kick up the arse.
As a guide, I'd suggest that in the coming generations we should see;
Sophisticated AI
Open ended, complex evolving/dynamic plotlines
Player generated/manipulated/malleable contentHere are the people I believe are capable of delivering such (in no particular order);
Peter Molyneaux, OBE
Has a proven track record for groundbreaking AI development. He loves to play with new concepts and ideas and has determination in carrying these promises through to fruition. When this doesn't happen, he clearly gives a shit. This is a man who makes new things happen. Priceless.David Braben
I'd pick Braben for the concepts he discusses when enthused about the storytelling and narrative of The Outsider. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVD4pGYqjeY"The developers claim that the game abandons the traditional, prescriptive, mostly linear story of current generation games, and replaces it by simulating charactersâ motivations and aims. This gives the player genuine freedom to change the story outcomes. Frontier Developments says that each player will get a unique experience rather than simply switching between âgoodâ or âevilâ. In an interview with the Gametheoryshow, Braben said that it is this level of freedom that will demonstrate what it is to be a "next-gen" video game." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outsider_(video_game)
Will Wright
Since watching some of his speeches on YouTube, I've been a big fan of Will's. He has produced intelligent open-ended games (in this speech http://www.viddler.com/explore/sandieman/videos/114/ he describes how possibility space works). He also developed clever, and concise, efficient AI.Will's latest effort, Spore, offers the user the ability to share their player created creatures with other players via internet.
A great communicator, Will is someone who not only understands games, but he understands the complex theories behind their very concepts and can express them in a manner his audiences can understand.
Mark Jacobs
I'm mad, right? This crazy egomaniac who can't admit a bad decision? Well... I'm still interested in the next gen of MMO which has been tromped out time after time as "more player-created content" (http://www.guildcafe.com/Vox/04073-Smith-Dynamic-Worlds.html). Jacobs' Dark Age of Camelot and CCP's EvE online seem to me to be two of the only games to feature early forms of player generated/player controlled/player changeable objectives. I believe that it is this content which enhances the longevity of these games. Jacobs is the only person I've picked with prior MMO experience, and as seen with Warhammer Age of Reckoning, he appears to have learned from the mistakes of Dark Age of Camelot and is producing something which takes good elements from both DAoC and WoW to form a new MMO with a spoonful of ambition.Of course, there would be an enormous clash of personalities, these guys could never get on with one another, but it's my dream and I'll dream it how I like!"
Indeed! "I'll dream it how I like". I like Svartalf's style.
My take...
Molyneaux seems to like a story, but more so, a story that the user can alter and create. MMOGs don't currently offer a way for him to do this. Could he come up with a solution? Perhaps, but just because you make a great car doesn't mean you can build an airplane. If anyone can find the missing link between "playing" a story and "being" a story Peter would be a likely candidate.I don't know much about Peter Braben, which means he is likely very influential in the industry. I reserve comment. I have read a lot of promises in my 12 years gallavanting around this community. I'll believe it when I see it. I've been fooled too many times. Shame on me. Shame on me.
Will Wright: It's hard to argue with this one. It may be much easier to develop an argument once Spore ships. I reserve judgement once again.
Mark Jacobs: Bang on! I chose Jeff Hickman as my developer to build a dream team around, but Mark Jacobs is a superb choice as well. They both currently spend their days wandering the halls of the Warhammer Online offices massaging what will likely be the next big thing.
Your comments?
As a side note, though the readership of Loading... is huge by any standard, I was put to task at the recent team meeting because it should apparently be even larger. Give these folks an inch and they ask you to write Loading... twice per day or hop up on the board table and yell, "Tell me a joke funny man!" - Phil Comeau
If you have any friends, acquaintances or even enemies who you wish to punish please have then sign up for the column right here. Doubling of my current readership would appease my TTH overlords. If it helps, at least half of all responses to my ramblings are from developers. Come hang out with the cool kids.
Comments, questions or naughty pictures? Hit the blog or hit my mailbox. --Boomjack
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
Op/Ed: Cutting Edge #6 - Leveling 1-5 Age of Conan: Class Interview #1 - The Dark Templar Chronicles of Spellborn: Combat Video City of Heroes/Villains: Issue 11 Powersets Video EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark Screenshots Knight Online: Spooky Screenshots Lord of the Rings Online: Deeds of the North Downs Lord of the Rings Online: Elf Epic Prologue Guide MMOG Wiki: Black Prophecy, BOTs and Bounty Bay Online Tabula Rasa: Killing General British Tabula Rasa: Launch Week - Exclusive Unaltered Screenshots Vanguard: Vision Test Vanguard: Armor Project - Superior Brute Armor - Thestran Style Vanguard: Swamp Armor - Vibrant Petal Set World of Warcraft: Horde Leveling Guide Updated World of Warcraft: Warlock Guide - Infernal Quest World of Warcraft: How To Gain Reputation World of Warcraft: U.I. Mod Updates - Titan Panel, DamageMeters and Grid World of Warcraft: Hallow's End Gallery World of Warcraft: Consortium Reputation GuideHot Content - What our readers viewed the most yesterday! Did you miss anything?
Tabula Rasa Jump Page Stargate Worlds: Release In Fourth Quarter of 2008 Fury: Launch Week - First Impressions World of Warcraft Jump Page Leipzig GC 2007 Awards Stargate Worlds: Interview With Kevin Balentine EVE Online: A Better Blueprint Than WoW? WoW: Patch Download Tabula Rasa Armor Guide EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark ScreenshotsTop Comics
Flood Chat With Spam Roll A Female Avatar My Little Pwny Recover Lost Time Borat Plays WoWReal World News
Human Race Will Split Into Two Different Species [Thanks Matt]Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team