Gameplay, performance, and graphics are interwoven into the core of an MMORPG and this week Camelot Unchained Technical Director Andrew Meggs filled in for Mark Jacobs to pen the 12th Founding Principles Blog for the game. While all three of these areas are important to designing a successful MMORPG that will hopefully not blow up a computer, Meggs discusses how they are being approached in Camelot Unchained to make a world to last and adapting to the unexpected changes.

We may not get as many tourists on opening day if we’re not the shiniest park around. The trouble with tourists, though, is that when they’re done with their tour they go home — or on to the next shiny thing. We want to create something here that lasts, and that means we’re catering to the kind of players who’ll stick around. No matter how good a game’s graphics are, after you’ve seen them a hundred times you get used to them. The thing that matters after that is whether you’re having a fun experience. For us, a good experience means running really, really well with a lot of players in a battle. It also means allowing the world to change in ways we didn’t exactly plan, as players homestead on the frontier or open shops in a capital city.

Source: Camelot Unchained Founding Principle #12 – Speed Matters