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Why only small companies get it right?
kishe
Member UncommonPosts: 2,012
Lil bit off topic but just a lil...i recently tried RPG called mount&blade and it totaly overwhelmed me...the graphics werent too shabby but the combat system was unbelievable...instead of just standing there spamming buttons, successful combat required you to know when to charge and when to retreat and how to pick your targets from the crowd, the mounted combat was actually the best out there...I asked what kind of company had came up with such a game and it was actually just one turkish couple and their closest friends.
they had absolutely got it right what kind of combat system ive been looking for in MMORPGs...darn, if that game would have a online version of it...it'd be my wet dream.
Comments
Why?
Simple.
Because when a company like Blizzard makes a game, the millions of Blizzard fanboys will go "OMGz0rz n3w Blizzard game lolol" and buy it no matter what. (I am not implying that Blizzard's game sucks, only 1 or 2)
When a small company makes a game, they have to get it right in order to attract customers, because no one knows about the company.
companies do not live on fanboism you know? people can be fanatics at times but they are not blind.
I mean how many Star Wars fanbois you know that like Force commander? 2? none?
I do not think big companies games are bad, just more mainstream. Small companies knows from the start they can't get the numbers SoE, Microsoft or Blizzard can, so they have to point on the niche market by doing something that make their game substantially different from the rest.
Sometimes these differences are good... and sometimes are bad.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
Companies have a set formula, and the only company I know of that follows a relatively good formula to this day is Blizzard. No, I am not a fanboy.
When a company starts out brand-new, without the backing of a corporate entity, they have to set themselves apart from the competition. In doing so, they have to rely on what the people think, what their suggestions are, and of course impliment them.
When a company gets big, they start thinking they have a certain formula, and by screwing that up they'll lose everyone who's come with them. Then over time, they'll start making cut-backs and such, lowering the quality, yet keeping this pretty close to what they "should" be.
Like Craft, when they took over the pizza called "tombstone". They lowered the qaulity of their cheese, the meats they put on the pizza and then the sauce, they cut back on that. A powerful company backed by a decent name brand had a following and knew that the following would last no matter how bad it came because it still looked the same.
If a company were to take their time, perfect something, and then implement what they promise, the game would be out a lot later than what they had promised and they may not make a lot of money as opposed to one that pushes games out, but in the return, they get a strong following, and that following will stay with them forever. *NOTE* (not sure if I repeated myself)
KillerTwinkie - That one guy who used to mod mmorpg.com's forums.
With all of resources at a large company's disposal, it wouldn't be logical to find a sub-optimal solution (or a product that would not appeal to the majority of it's target consumers).
IMHO, the problem does not lie with the companie, but with the consumers: If the consumers had higher demands (such as most of the seasoned MMORPGers), then there would be more avenues to cater too and competition would increase the quality of products.
The routine hack and slash game wasn't half as complex as the MMORPG of today, but it attracted the same consumer base (ironically) in it's time.
As soon as people are exposed to more complex interfaces and systems, they will carry on their expectations to the next product.
A good analogy that might apply to MMORPG.com people: Diablo II was incredible fun in it's time and boasted nothing more than your hack 'n slash pvp game with one skill tree, which doesn't hold a candle to games like Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, EQ2 etc. (in terms of game-play alone).
Well just my opinion, but the consumer has the most influence on the product (since all companies are nothing but profit machines, which is their god-given right).
This is a sequence of characters intended to produce some profound mental effect, but it has failed.
Larger game companies and their dev teams have become more afraid to try something new and innovative. This has to do mainly with the drive of the almighty dollar and stock holders than anything else. Many years ago, and some companies still abide by this just not many, art and storytelling drove the developers. But now you have publishers, many of which I doubt ever played a game, that sit there and look at the numbers that company x's title has drummed up. They then sit there and call down to a mid manager.. "Hey Bob have you seen x? Look how many people and mags are sayign this thing is great" Bob says "Yes sir". Publisher says "We want a piece of that pie.. do it and have it ready in 18 months." Bob agains says "Yes sir".
Luckily there are a couple companies out there, and we'll have to wait and see when the games get released, that have said this is what we are doing; Like it.. GREAT. Don't like it? Great again, go away. lol
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
That s true.
In short, when a new company enter the market, it focus on quality, because they need to poach customers from other companies.
When this company starts to be known a bit more and have a steady fan base (or customer), they start to cut on quality and focus on profit margin.
They are companies after all, and companies are supposed to make as much money as they can.
More specifically, for the MMO market, usually people start to produce a game because they are driven by passion, so no wonder their game is usually better than the one of a big company.
But when this new companies start to see the money coming in, they become greedy and lose focus on the quality of the game to concentrate on making more money.
A classical example is SOE, they started as Verant, by producing the milestone which is EQ, and slowly, as they got bigger they lost the plot, producing a bland product like EQ2 and messing up SWG.
SOE never started as Verant. Sony was around long before Verant. Verant sold EQ to Sony.
Game companies react to the trends of consumer consumption. Don't buy the crap they try and sell to you. Be picky. Find a freeshard that runs an old version of Ultima Online. After you've mastered that game (although freeshards can never duplicate the old days), you will know just what a game can be. Just add in all the new advancements, and new ideas: Shadowbane's city building and seige system, SWG's resource gathering system, Planetsides fast paced combat, EQ's deep quests (minus spoilers by using random questing engines), etc.
I think the main reason that MMORPGs seem to be stuck in a rut is that they have moved away from trying to create a persistant world, and moved toward the instanced, D2 style of gameplay. An MMORPG world has to be able to live on it's own, and be dynamic just like the real world. Immersion is the key to a strong MMORPG, and you can't have immersion when you have NPCs and mobs who stand in one spot for the entire life of the game, players who have their names floating above their heads, and players who speak in leet jargon "D3wd, omg check this she3z! Lee7 ubar sword!1!!!1111", etc.
I haven't bought an MMORPG since Horizons. The last MMORPG I bought that I didn't regret purchasing was EQ. Well I don't regret buying Shadowbane all that much, but it was the first time I realized that the industry was definitely going south, without a doubt.
nethervoid - Est. '97
[UO|EQ|SB|SWG|PS|HZ|EVE|NWN|WoW|VG|DF|AQW|DN|SWTOR|Dofus|SotA|BDO|AO|NW|LA] - Currently Playing EQ1
20k+ subs YouTube Gaming channel
Because small companies tend not to be in it for the profit, but for the sake of developing an innovative quality game experience. Big companies try to cater to the masses as much as possible, and as unfortunate as it sounds, the majority of the masses are lazy fuckwits who enjoy pressing the "I win" button.
This is not factually correct. SOE bought Verant, lock, stock, and barrel not just EQ. Verant as a corporation no longer exists for this reason.
The adventure is in the journey itself.
This is not factually correct. SOE bought Verant, lock, stock, and barrel not just EQ. Verant as a corporation no longer exists for this reason.
The effect I was after was still achived. Verant did not become SOE in the same way Origin did not become EA.
nethervoid - Est. '97
[UO|EQ|SB|SWG|PS|HZ|EVE|NWN|WoW|VG|DF|AQW|DN|SWTOR|Dofus|SotA|BDO|AO|NW|LA] - Currently Playing EQ1
20k+ subs YouTube Gaming channel
SOE never started as Verant. Sony was around long before Verant. Verant sold EQ to Sony.
Game companies react to the trends of consumer consumption. Don't buy the crap they try and sell to you. Be picky. Find a freeshard that runs an old version of Ultima Online. After you've mastered that game (although freeshards can never duplicate the old days), you will know just what a game can be. Just add in all the new advancements, and new ideas: Shadowbane's city building and seige system, SWG's resource gathering system, Planetsides fast paced combat, EQ's deep quests (minus spoilers by using random questing engines), etc.
I think the main reason that MMORPGs seem to be stuck in a rut is that they have moved away from trying to create a persistant world, and moved toward the instanced, D2 style of gameplay. An MMORPG world has to be able to live on it's own, and be dynamic just like the real world. Immersion is the key to a strong MMORPG, and you can't have immersion when you have NPCs and mobs who stand in one spot for the entire life of the game, players who have their names floating above their heads, and players who speak in leet jargon "D3wd, omg check this she3z! Lee7 ubar sword!1!!!1111", etc.
I haven't bought an MMORPG since Horizons. The last MMORPG I bought that I didn't regret purchasing was EQ. Well I don't regret buying Shadowbane all that much, but it was the first time I realized that the industry was definitely going south, without a doubt.
ah well, there lies the problem of Mmorpg.
Hear yourself. on one side you want more immersion, more realism a dynamic world, no NPCs that just stands there and no Leet speaking players. on the other hand you do not want instancing.
Still, without instancing, Npcs will always have a very limited amount of response and there is no way you can stop players from speaking how they want, so breaking immersion for themselves and everybody else. Also repeatable content, be it automated missions or quests same for everybody will be there, cause it has to be accessible to everybody and not only a few.
I do not say that what you want is impossible, just commercially not feasible. Let's be honest here. Who wants to be a farmer in a Middle Age realistic world simulator instead of a epic hero with flaming swords, shiny armor and a series of deeds to make Hercules looks like a newbie? Somebody certainly. and those somebody are enough to have games done for them, but, at the moment, they do not represent mainstream.
So, is not that the technology or the knowledge is not there, there is not much will for it. I'm, though, sure that people will always be fascinated by this idea and somebody will always try to make it happens. Roma Victor, for example, looks like one.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
Lack of precision in language leads to erroneous assumptions, erroneous assertions, and erroneous conclusions. "Almost" only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear bombs.
The adventure is in the journey itself.
The big companies it seems are after the big bucks, it also seems that they have lost their way. The hunger is gone that spark if you will they are not putting their heart and soul in it like the way they did when they first started.
New companies are hungry and soulful about what they are working on, its not about the money or fame its all about making good games and making the fans of the genre happy. Thats when I get into the industry I gonna stay humbled and down to earth and not the sudden wealth or whatever make me big headed.
Besides, gaming is what is all about. Gaming and having fun.
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I must not fear, fear is the mind killer.
Fear is the little death that leads to obliteration, I must permit fear to pass over me and through me.
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Yep, the indies are the more innovative within this industry and most industries operate the same way for the reasons already mentioned. Larger companies are afraid to change something that works or take risks. Personally I think Roma Victor will surprise a lot of people this year, it has real depth and a ton of innovations that I believe the larger companies will copy in the future.
http://www.roma-victor.com/
-Marca