[Interview] Camelot Unchained: Mark Jacobs On Subs, RVR, and Sandboxes

SBFord

After this morning's announcement of Camelot Unchained, a lot of excitement and not just a few questions have been generated. We managed to catch up with Mark Jacobs with some follow up to his blog here at MMORPG.com and with regard to the announcement in general. Check out our exclusive interview and then talk about it in the comments.

MMORPG: Thanks for talking to us again a bit today, Mark. I think the big thing a lot of our readers will want to hear from you is why you think RVR is making a comeback? Camelot Unchained won't be the first game to try and emulate what DAOC captured, and it may not be the last.

Mark Jacobs: RvR/PvP is on the mind of a lot of players and developers based to what has been happening in the MMORPG space since WoW’s release. With the less-than-optimal financial results from almost all “AAA” MMORPGs since then, I think players and developers are looking for another angle for new MMORPGs. In terms of emulating what Dark Age of Camelot captured, we are not trying to do that as that game had both strong PvE/RvR elements. Keep in mind (no pun intended) that I got the idea for the three-sided combat that set Dark Age of Camelot apart from the other MMORPGs at the time from Kesmai’s brilliant Air Warrior and my experience from playing that game way too much back in the GEnie days. 

Read more of Bill Murphy's Camelot Unchained: Mark Jacobs On Subs, RVR, and Sandboxes.

Unknown

I always liked Mark, but I'm going to want to see some promising game footage before pledging anything.

Wighty

This guy wins the F2P vs. Sub argument hands down!

OgreRaper

I'm so pumped that they're only focused on RvR. Too many games try to please everyone.

Aeonblades

Pretty sure I messed my pants by the time I got to "where your choices matter". I'm a fanboy though of the original, what can I say.

TribeofOne

why name the game after 1 of the 3 factions? is Camelot the "good" or "light" faction?
Id consider changing it to something more inclusive, but i guess you're also trying draw some hype by association.

Dreamo84

No pve? Meh

OgreRaper

Originally posted by Fendel84M
No pve? Meh

Nope, this game is not meant for Raiders / PvE'ers.

PvP or GTFO!

Smoey

I love RVR etc however I like working towards experiencing that aspect. Just having RvR will cause this game to fail.

 

 

/daoc release player.

 

 

Vorthanion

Originally posted by OgreRaper

Originally posted by Fendel84M
No pve? Meh

Nope, this game is not meant for Raiders / PvE'ers.

PvP or GTFO!

I wouldn't be so quick to think there will be no PvE.  Like Mark said in the interview, DAoC would not have been nearly as successful without its PvE content and like he also said, he and his crew have learned from their mistakes and triumphs.  So, not having PvE would be a huge mistake, but that doesn't mean the game couldn't or shouldn't still have a greater focus on the RvR aspect.

 

Fearum

Sounds good, lets hope he can make it work. I know I will have an eye on this one. I for one can't stand F2P games and look forward to seeing what Mark is going to bring to the table.

 

ShakyMo

Well daoc was one of the few games that looked after the 3 spheres equally - pvpers, pveers and crafters.

But what its mostly remembered for is the rvr, so I think they will concentrate on that.

Which is a shame as daoc is just about the only game where I have enjoyed raiding. I normally hate raiding. But daoc raids were inclusive and not the realm of elitist jerks like EQ and wow.

redcapp

Well, I got a little giddy watching that trailer, seeing the three factions essentially hib mid and alb.

 

That said, PART of what made DAoC great was the expansive PVE WORLD.  Yes, RvR was significant, but without the rest it wouldn't have been the same.  I hope he doesn't neglect the overall world in interest of focusing solely on RvR.

OgreRaper

Originally posted by Smoey

 Just having RvR will cause this game to fail.

 

 

 

 

 I completely disagree. 

This game will attract those that love PvP/RvR and really do not care for PvE. I am one of those players. This is going to be a niche game. Not for everyone, and that's ok. They don't need millions of players to be successful.

Fearum

Originally posted by ShakyMo
Well daoc was one of the few games that looked after the 3 spheres equally - pvpers, pveers and crafters.

But what its mostly remembered for is the rvr, so I think they will concentrate on that.

Which is a shame as daoc is just about the only game where I have enjoyed raiding. I normally hate raiding. But daoc raids were inclusive and not the realm of elitist jerks like EQ and wow.

 I remember it (DAoC) the most for the RvR and crafting glad to see them focusing on it at the front. PvE always gets boring and stale, the challenge for them will be making the RvR worthwhile. I think the housing and crafting will add alot for stuff to do when there is no huge war going on and they seem to be thinking the same.

PvE though, its never been my main attraction to a game or the fondest memories either. I never did any raiding in DAoC, I wasnt playing it when they added it so I can't say if it was good or not. I never really liked raiding at all in any game. Its just a bigger dungeon run with usually the same old routine being needed to complete it. Atleast PvP your playing agaisnt humans and never know what they might do next.

But whatever each person finds entertaining others will not, I will keep one eye on this game and hope it turns out well.

Leucent

Just put everyone at same level. Enter RVR and boom realm ranks are all were progressing. No need for pve if it an all out war. Crafting, could be cool, with contested zones, that the mats are at can be controlled. I could see alot of possibilities. Anyone I know that played DAOC and that I told about this article, all said they would play it without a doubt, pve or not.

Xthos

I myself prefer a subscription based game, I think they should come out with a free trial also after 2-4 weeks, or even launch (so people do not 'waste' money).  I do not like the cash shops that need to sell more than cosmetic stuff.  Some do a good job, but a lot don't.

 

If he brought out a $9.99 sub, I think a lot of people would go for that, people have been clamoring for $5-10 subs as a alternative. 

 

Hopefully it is good, but not gonna put much hope in it.

WellzyC

 

Cant be daoc 2 without Midgard, Hibernia, and Albion.. just not the same

LongLivePvP

Thus will be like 3yrs + in development

MumboJumbo

 

It really boils down to the fact that I’d rather have 30-50K people playing and paying each month than having to support 1M players hoping to get 5% of them to pay.

 

Finally! Go for a select niche in the market that is under-served and bring high quality and a strong cohesive community of like-minded players - ie don't invite the whole world to dinner! 

 

Scottgun

I believe, as always, that there is room for different monetization models in our industry. I’ve been a long-standing member of the “I love subscription-based games” model and since I’m going for a niche audience, I think it makes sense to use that model again. I really don’t want to create a game that has to figure out how to get a small percentage of people to pay for a game while the largest percentage of them will not pay for the game even if it’s great. In addition, since this game is geared to RvR, I believe we would end up with having to support a lot of people who are just “kicking the tires” and have no intention of being long-time player. Now, if the game is PvE –based, that’s not so bad. However, if you are trying to build a Community, that influx of players could hurt it.

It really boils down to the fact that I’d rather have 30-50K people playing and paying each month than having to support 1M players hoping to get 5% of them to pay. Now, I also think we can and should revisit the whole “All MMORPG subscriptions should cost $14.95 for one month” thing and be more aggressive in our pricing including lowering the price for certain subs but I’ll talk more about that down the road. What I will say though is I’m not interested in making this game one that needs “whales” to be profitable, nor of making the game $20 per month.

Guy With Head Screwed On Right

Nibs

Originally posted by OgreRaper

Originally posted by Fendel84M
No pve? Meh

Nope, this game is not meant for Raiders / PvE'ers.

PvP or GTFO!

Because there's no such thing a PvP/RvR raid...

Jixen9

I dont mind sub gaming, being a oldschool mmoger i have no problem paying to help support a game. I MOST DEF dont have any problems shelfin out money for this cause, DAoC was my favorite game EVER i always loved mythic and always knew Mark Jacobs was/is THE MAN. Soo Hyped for this... My wall paper has been DAoC for last 10 years lol... lets doo ittt!

cronius77

torvanldr are you not in every single thread for guild wars 2 defending it? That game has realm vs realm and so does your favorite game so how exactly is he living in the past? Im asking sencerely also not being condesending. Realm vs Realm has been asked for by a huge chunk of players for every single release since wow. People enjoy fighting for their server or realm against 2 other teams not just 1 .This is far from living in the last when the guys webblog about a year ago was getting glowed up by tons of posts and comments wanting him to make DAOC 2 and more realm vs realm. People love camelot so I do not see why this title wouldnt sell tons in the end. Hes trying to make an appeal to old DAOC vets and tells everyone right from the start this title is going to be made to fill that niche crowd and he doesnt want a million subs just like 50 or 60k.

 

Rthuth434

Originally posted by Wighty
This guy wins the F2P vs. Sub argument hands down!

right just like Rift, TERA, TSW, etc.

 

having to wave goodbye to your co-workers after a few months of your ship date is so GREAT! constantly laying off people and switching business models as a safety net is the way it's meant to be!

 

sub or not, only good games grow and stay afloat.

Cecropia

Originally posted by Scottgun

I believe, as always, that there is room for different monetization models in our industry. I’ve been a long-standing member of the “I love subscription-based games” model and since I’m going for a niche audience, I think it makes sense to use that model again. I really don’t want to create a game that has to figure out how to get a small percentage of people to pay for a game while the largest percentage of them will not pay for the game even if it’s great. In addition, since this game is geared to RvR, I believe we would end up with having to support a lot of people who are just “kicking the tires” and have no intention of being long-time player. Now, if the game is PvE –based, that’s not so bad. However, if you are trying to build a Community, that influx of players could hurt it.

It really boils down to the fact that I’d rather have 30-50K people playing and paying each month than having to support 1M players hoping to get 5% of them to pay. Now, I also think we can and should revisit the whole “All MMORPG subscriptions should cost $14.95 for one month” thing and be more aggressive in our pricing including lowering the price for certain subs but I’ll talk more about that down the road. What I will say though is I’m not interested in making this game one that needs “whales” to be profitable, nor of making the game $20 per month.

Guy With Head Screwed On Right

No kidding.

It's refreshing to read wise words in such a tragic time for the genre. My wallet will likely be open to this promising title.