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Wizard 101: From Shadowbane to Wizard 101, Part Two
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
KingsIsle Entertainment's Josef Hall writes this developer journal continuing his series that compares Shadowbane, his last project and Wizard 101, his current project. While there are many differences between the two, there are also similarities.
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From Shadowbane to Wizard101 - the lessons I've learned developing two MMOs and spending nearly a decade in the online game space.
As the Senior Director of Software Engineering at KingsIsle Entertainment, the independent developer behind Wizard101, I have a lot to say about MMO technology (and game technology in general). Before I dive into those details, I wanted to focus on a few higher level lessons - the ones I consider most important to the success of a project. In this installment, I'll cover the lessons we learned the hard way and the scars to show for it. I've divided them into three major areas: Vision and Focus, Quality and Polish, and Pushing Beyond Expectations.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Here is what i gathered from the VISION of W101,and i know the game inside and out.
Vision...to copy a toon town type of world,a proven style that caters to it's demographic.
Gameplay...simple to design,easy to understand,easy to play,again perfect for the demographic.
As for a long term vision,i do not believe they have/had one,not just that ,but the design of the game is kind of limited,you can't keep introducing higher cards,it waters down the start of the game,it only works for vets and players far into the game.This does not work in this type of game,because it is basically free,witch will always do what they hope to do and that is continue to gain new young players and of course bring their parents along for the cash ride.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Apparently you do not.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I would say that this is something every game developer should have tatooed on their heads:
The combat system, the aforementioned "risky feature" was iterated on numerous times over many years. We made (and fixed) our mistakes long before anyone outside the company even knew the game was in development.
Short of showing your work to potential investors, stay out of the limelight until you have a clear idea as to what will be in the game (because it works) and until you are ready to really start beta testing.
Whenever a new product comes out, the potential customers don't see all the iterations of the product right up to the time it's ready to ship. We see some announcement about what the prodcut will have and a few months (if that) later it ships. End of story.
When I see a new Dyson product I dont' sit there lamenting the fact that a certain feature wasn't added. I see what it does and decide on whether it's right for me.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
God damnit....all that article made me think of was how I want to play Shadowbane.
You can diss it all you want, but it is in my opinion the most inventive MMO ever made.
I play all ghame
SHADOWBANE 2 !!!! get to work on it! please!
Shadowbane was so awesome even for all its imperfections...
The character creation kept me busy for hours... which race? which color ? which starting runes? oh the starting runes were the best... made you want to keep rerolling new characters to experiment with new builds. darmned thief stealing from my leveling group! jajajaja need a scout! having my very own little house! and a pet guard dog too! running back to town to drop off and sell loot so you would not lose it all when attacked and killed. ARACOIX-- hell yeah! birdman warriors are cool.
i play AoC now,, and it does have some coolness - the combat system, FATALITIES!, graphics and very good quests,,, but it plays like a giant single player RPG with random ganking and pk-ng. and INSTANCING is gay. really it is.
drop that kiddie wizard game and get your team together for a reunion and make Shadowbane 2 the baddest PvP game ever.
SB2 FTW!
Ditto about Shadowbane, God that game was so amazing and revolutionary in it's game play features.