I think the real key here isn't just that SE apologised and rebuilt the game from the ground up... it's that the entire rebuilding process was pretty transparent to the players. Most devs simply reveal a feature then generally ignore any negative feedback about it. YoshiP actually engaged with the players to discuss features and gave us all his reasoning behind each of the changes he planned to make. He acknowledged that not everyone would be happy but he told us why he felt each choice was the best option.
It's much easier to trust someone when you can understand why they're doing something, and because Yoshi has become a public face for the business it is again much easier to have faith in a person rather than a faceless company.
It also gave us all an insight into what kind of MMO they're aiming to make which is reassuring as many MMOs these days launch as one thing then develop into something else.
For me personally all this was just what 'sealed the deal' so to speak though. The real reason I love ARR is because it's one of the most feature rich MMO I've ever seen. Most of the releases since WoW have essentially been combat simulators with little else to do. This is why, IMO, everyone gets bored with them so quickly. ARR offers a huge variety of gameplay systems outside of combat which is exactly the kind of MMO I've been waiting for.
I think that for the past few years MMO devs have tried selling us their games based on the assumption that we don't like MMOs anymore. That we are sick of the old tropes. So its nice to see a dev just make a game based on things that I like rather than try to sell me something new because the old is crap. I'm not sure I'm saying that right, so try not to read too much into that haha.
I played the first launch and could hardly move and kept falling through the world. Now a couple years later they worked on the game and granted its not everything I wanted but it is closer then any other game out there. I wish them well and will be playing:)
I agree 100% with the original poster. It been a very long time since I have played a mmorpg where the world felt so much like a world, where the attention to detail is at the top of the charts. There's a few things that I wished were done differently, but they are easily masked by the plethora of things that were already in for P3, not to mention what's coming for P4.
So basically you're saying that a business' public facade of insensitivity to either consumer demands or market trends - and keeping in mind this game itself is essentially supposed to be a giant apology - makes you want to by their product? Makes sense...
I am not following the game so if what he said is true on how straight up blunt it was, that is awesome. I have no intent on playing this game, but I can respect a Lead Developer coming and saying this is what it is and this is how we are going to handle this game in regards to the play style and pay model. Now what will nip him and SE in the ass is if they pull the P2P and go with a F2P model and do another revamp, which I do not see happening based on previous knowledge of company.
SE was forced into making a very average (IMO) themepark MMO. Themepark MMO's bore me to tears, but I will play XIV because I have such nostalgia for XI.
After the massive failure of 1.0 they seem pretty risk adverse. Can't say that I blame them. We'll see how it plays out in the end, but I'm not ready to thank them for anything until I see where the game is in a few months. I already know I won't be playing it a few months post launch because I detest end game in modern MMO's.
So basically you're saying that a business' public facade of insensitivity to either consumer demands or market trends - and keeping in mind this game itself is essentially supposed to be a giant apology - makes you want to by their product? Makes sense...
I am not following the game so if what he said is true on how straight up blunt it was, that is awesome. I have no intent on playing this game, but I can respect a Lead Developer coming and saying this is what it is and this is how we are going to handle this game in regards to the play style and pay model. Now what will nip him and SE in the ass is if they pull the P2P and go with a F2P model and do another revamp, which I do not see happening based on previous knowledge of company.
Funny thing is, SE is hardly the first developer to be blunt with their players. They also didn't even admit FFXIV was flawed until they had no other options. Players were constantly explaining to SE the problems FFXIV had back in beta, and they did the typical thing of japanese developers in saying 'we know whats best for our product, we're not gunna listen to you'. Admitting a flawed game was essentially a PR stunt, because they couldn't afford to make an entirely new MMO, and they didn't want to loose their already slipping foot in the MMO market. Now, given the situation given him, Yoshi has done a pretty impressive job with the game so far. And that is something to admire.
Comments
I think the real key here isn't just that SE apologised and rebuilt the game from the ground up... it's that the entire rebuilding process was pretty transparent to the players. Most devs simply reveal a feature then generally ignore any negative feedback about it. YoshiP actually engaged with the players to discuss features and gave us all his reasoning behind each of the changes he planned to make. He acknowledged that not everyone would be happy but he told us why he felt each choice was the best option.
It's much easier to trust someone when you can understand why they're doing something, and because Yoshi has become a public face for the business it is again much easier to have faith in a person rather than a faceless company.
It also gave us all an insight into what kind of MMO they're aiming to make which is reassuring as many MMOs these days launch as one thing then develop into something else.
For me personally all this was just what 'sealed the deal' so to speak though. The real reason I love ARR is because it's one of the most feature rich MMO I've ever seen. Most of the releases since WoW have essentially been combat simulators with little else to do. This is why, IMO, everyone gets bored with them so quickly. ARR offers a huge variety of gameplay systems outside of combat which is exactly the kind of MMO I've been waiting for.
I think that for the past few years MMO devs have tried selling us their games based on the assumption that we don't like MMOs anymore. That we are sick of the old tropes. So its nice to see a dev just make a game based on things that I like rather than try to sell me something new because the old is crap. I'm not sure I'm saying that right, so try not to read too much into that haha.
I think you are Correct. Cant wait.
Lets see your Battle Stations /r/battlestations
Battle Station
I agree 100% with the original poster. It been a very long time since I have played a mmorpg where the world felt so much like a world, where the attention to detail is at the top of the charts. There's a few things that I wished were done differently, but they are easily masked by the plethora of things that were already in for P3, not to mention what's coming for P4.
I am not following the game so if what he said is true on how straight up blunt it was, that is awesome. I have no intent on playing this game, but I can respect a Lead Developer coming and saying this is what it is and this is how we are going to handle this game in regards to the play style and pay model. Now what will nip him and SE in the ass is if they pull the P2P and go with a F2P model and do another revamp, which I do not see happening based on previous knowledge of company.
SE was forced into making a very average (IMO) themepark MMO. Themepark MMO's bore me to tears, but I will play XIV because I have such nostalgia for XI.
After the massive failure of 1.0 they seem pretty risk adverse. Can't say that I blame them. We'll see how it plays out in the end, but I'm not ready to thank them for anything until I see where the game is in a few months. I already know I won't be playing it a few months post launch because I detest end game in modern MMO's.
Funny thing is, SE is hardly the first developer to be blunt with their players. They also didn't even admit FFXIV was flawed until they had no other options. Players were constantly explaining to SE the problems FFXIV had back in beta, and they did the typical thing of japanese developers in saying 'we know whats best for our product, we're not gunna listen to you'. Admitting a flawed game was essentially a PR stunt, because they couldn't afford to make an entirely new MMO, and they didn't want to loose their already slipping foot in the MMO market. Now, given the situation given him, Yoshi has done a pretty impressive job with the game so far. And that is something to admire.