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Do MMO developers and designers play their games?
Flerondin
Member Posts: 25
What do you think? Do developers, designers, presidents of MMO companies play the games which they've created?
Comments
no, have you not seen make love not warcraft. they have a life
well, however... I could not imagine that Paul Barnett will not play WAR... I mean, if he sounds so enthusiastic about it, then why would he not play it. And Richard Garriot... I'm sure he plays UO or Tabula Rasa.
But how does online life of a game designer differs from an online life of a simple customer?
well, however... I could not imagine that Paul Barnett will not play WAR... I mean, if he sounds so enthusiastic about it, then why would he not play it. And Richard Garriot... I'm sure he plays UO or Tabula Rasa.
But how does online life of a game designer differs from an online life of a simple customer?
paul sounds like hes never played an mmo...hes just a talented speaker and advertiser.
well, however... I could not imagine that Paul Barnett will not play WAR... I mean, if he sounds so enthusiastic about it, then why would he not play it. And Richard Garriot... I'm sure he plays UO or Tabula Rasa.
But how does online life of a game designer differs from an online life of a simple customer?
paul sounds like hes never played an mmo...hes just a talented speaker and advertiser.
Well, not IMHO, but even if he didn't, he is also a talented MMO designer
Yeah well that's true...
But what I wanted to ask from my first post, even if devs play their games, how do they play them. Do they have standard accounts, or are they Game Masters. Can they actually play the game as a simple customer, without being pointed out as a game developer thus probably pointed out as cheating just because he is a developer.
ofcourse they do, its their baby... Why would you not want to enjoy your labour of love.
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
I can ell you Mythic does. When we played on Pendragon (test server) we would meet Devs all the time.
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
Personally, I think all devs should play their games, because if it's crap they get to taste it, and if it's good they can pat themselves on the back on a job well done. On the other hand, they know how the game will be (maybe not bugs and everything) but they know the basic concepts, since...well, they're developing it, and they've seen it in every stage. If I was a dev, I'd play the finished product.
--------------------------------------
A human and an Elf get captured by Skaven. The rat-men are getting ready to shoot the first hostage with Dwarf-made guns when he yells, "Earthquake!" The naturally nervous Skaven run and hide from the imaginary threat. He escapes. The Skaven regroup and bring out the Elf. Being very smart, the Elf has figured out what to do. When the Skaven get ready to shoot, the Elf, in order to scare them, yells, "Fire!"
Order of the White Border.
Yeah, sometimes when they play, they probably know all the corners of the game.
That's a nice thing to hear
If I worked on a game all day long... I doubt that I'd play it to relax myself.
It'd have to be incredibly fun, for me to play it. But even then... You already know so much about the game that you don't have any more feelings of discovery.
Bottom line, I don't think they play their games.
The Anti Social Gamer
Most probably hate mmo gaming in the same way that chocoloate factory workers hate chocloate and in the same way that gynacologists hate...well, you get the idea.
Also, the mmo community are a really critical and demanding bunch at the best of the times, if they were my customers I wouldn't want to spend any more time with then than I had to.
Regards
Melmoth
There is the flipside to that where developers get too involved in the game, and lose their impartiality and objectiveness as developers. Case in point is EVE online where the developers were caught cheating and playing favorites with their ingame guilds/buddies.
I played both the games I worked on... one that was shut down, and one that is currently in testing. I played the one that was shut down in my off time for fun and to test systems that I had designed... unfortunately "fixing" those systems would've taken away from things deemed more important by the graphic team.
I'll play my companies game more then anybody else. After all, that is my baby... but it's not a MMO.
- CaesarsGhost
Lead Gameplay and Gameworld Designer for a yet unnamed MMO Title.
"When people tell me designing a game is easy, I try to get them to design a board game. Most people don't last 5 minutes, the rest rarely last more then a day. The final few realize it's neither fun nor easy."
well, however... I could not imagine that Paul Barnett will not play WAR... I mean, if he sounds so enthusiastic about it, then why would he not play it. And Richard Garriot... I'm sure he plays UO or Tabula Rasa.
But how does online life of a game designer differs from an online life of a simple customer?
Paul Barnett? he will be in a beach with a couple of girls thanks to our money, while we are in our room beating the keyboard and quarreling in the non official WAR forums.
I don't think they play the game much, maybe some developer, but nothing more.
well, however... I could not imagine that Paul Barnett will not play WAR... I mean, if he sounds so enthusiastic about it, then why would he not play it. And Richard Garriot... I'm sure he plays UO or Tabula Rasa.
But how does online life of a game designer differs from an online life of a simple customer?
Paul Barnett? he will be in a beach with a couple of girls thanks to our money, while we are in our room beating the keyboard and quarreling in the non official WAR forums.
I don't think they play the game much, maybe some developer, but nothing more.
Hey! We decided to play the game, while Paul decided to have some time with those girls on the beach...and he also has money...
You gotta remember these companies have 100s of people working for them. I know a high up exec with FFXI and I talked to him about this very issue. He assured me most of the people who work for MMOG companies are not gamers. He told me, "think about it this way, after working 12-18 hour days looking at code or creating artwork, do you really want to sit down at the computer when you get home?" He had a point. More specifically in regards to FFXI, more often that not any time you contact a GM in their game that person has never seen the game. Only the most senior of their gm staff are actually required maintain max level toons in FFXI.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
well, that's a strong point...
I think some devs need to play their games more often. Maybe then they'll realise just how big a mistake what they created is.
Many developers have suggested that they play other peoples MMO's whilst developing their own.
No doubt its true that there are some in the industry that don't want to be sat in front of a computer when they get home, just like someone who works in McDonalds will never eat a Big Mac or fries. But not everyone feels that way.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Some definitly play their own game. Look at CCP, they do, and are still enthusiastic about it.
From time to time you can see some official dev-characters flying around or meeting at events. (That happened when the cemetary moved because of changes to game mechanics. CCP PrismX, who was responsible for those changes, appeared at the ceremony along with some gms and other people)
I would find it very sad if devs wouldn't play their own games. That always means that their only source for balancing would be the forums. And you know how forums are..