User generated content has influenced online gaming to the extreme. LoL, anyone? MOBA games, tower defense games, player creations permeate the gaming scene now more than ever.

Why can't the community generate its own content while having the devs implement their custom made maps/dungeons?

Imagine a game with limitless content due to the fact that it can be cheaply implemented by the devs and created by its own playerbase. There would never be a shortage of things to do, or places to explore.

In case it's not clear what I mean:

Users make maps with tool provided by devs

Devs implement maps, or sort through set and slightly modify for balance

Yay/nay?

City of Heroes actually began doing this a few years ago with their "architecht" system.

The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

Originally posted by FrostWyrm

City of Heroes actually began doing this a few years ago with their "architecht" system.

The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

... I don't understand. I think I made it pretty clear that subscription fees would be going to people who would sift through the submitted creations that could be approached based on a popular basis i.e. through user votes.

So that should never be an issue. 100 pieces of trash might be true, but look at how many great custom maps have been made in other games by individuals.

You seem to have forgotten just how many great adventure maps, or other genres, were developed in WC3.

If there is one good map for every 10000, it's more than sufficient to meet content needs.

Originally posted by FrostWyrm

 

The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

pretty much.

the ammount of trash that you'd have to sift through in order to get 1 good player created map/dungeon would be almost not worth it.

We'll see how well this works with the new Neverwinter MMO coming out by Cryptic/Perfect World.

Almost always going to be a case of "finding the diamond in the rough" as others have mentioned.

If I remember correctly, STO had user generated content rated by the community. I thought this sytem worked fairly well, some of the top rated stuff was pretty good.

There has to be some form of internal or external quality control for sure.

I have given this some thought. I believe if you create a dungeon you should get a certain percentage of the gold that the parties that go throught that dungeon receive. (Rewards handed out in a dungeon, would be based on strength of monsters, you couldn't make a dungeon with one goblin guarding a chest of a gazillion gold for instance)

After a party goes through the dungeon they have an opportunity to rate it. Dungeons that are not rated high enough after a specific piriod of time or if no players finishes the dungeon over a specific period of time, the dungeon is "Retired"

This way, the high rated dungeons that people actually enjoy will be kept, the bad ones will be "Retired" and it will give dungeon creators incentive to create fun well designed dungeons. (since they will be making a profit when players complete their dungeon)

Several games are allready user content, however I don't think the devs are going through and modifying any of them (truthfully can't really see that happening as it adds yet more work to the devs with no cost incentive and does not reduce their workload.

CoH, EQ2, Ryzom just off the top of my head all have methods for the players to make a dungeon/map/content of some kind. 

One step ahead of you chief. Nightly I play a game wih no quests and I utilize practical RP.  

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Originally posted by FrostWyrm
City of Heroes actually began doing this a few years ago with their "architecht" system.
The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

---

Because of this few people level normally in CoH and the game now revolves around abusing the player made content.

Originally posted by Xiaoki

 

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Originally posted by FrostWyrm
City of Heroes actually began doing this a few years ago with their "architecht" system.
The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

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How about adding that Architect Missions were highly abused and people used them to get to max level in a matter of hours.

 

Because of this few people level normally in CoH and the game now revolves around abusing the player made content.

When it first came out it was pretty bad, or awesome depending on your pov.  However that changed long ago.  Architect was heavily nerfed and the other content xp was increased.  Just prior to the f2p transition (haven't played since about a month before f2p) I would say it was pretty even, perhaps a tad more leveling in regular content vs architect.

Originally posted by Xiaoki

 

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Originally posted by FrostWyrm
City of Heroes actually began doing this a few years ago with their "architecht" system.
The only problem with the idea is that for every truly good piece of content, and every truly inspired player there is out there, there are 100 pieces of complete trash, and 100 immature "kids" (both adult and young) that will build structures to resemble penises.

---

How about adding that Architect Missions were highly abused and people used them to get to max level in a matter of hours.

Because of this few people level normally in CoH and the game now revolves around abusing the player made content.

Didnt know about that, but also another good point.

Originally posted by //\\//\\oo

User generated content has influenced online gaming to the extreme. LoL, anyone? MOBA games, tower defense games, player creations permeate the gaming scene now more than ever.

 

Why can't the community generate its own content while having the devs implement their custom made maps/dungeons?

Imagine a game with limitless content due to the fact that it can be cheaply implemented by the devs and created by its own playerbase. There would never be a shortage of things to do, or places to explore.

 

In case it's not clear what I mean:

Users make maps with tool provided by devs

Devs implement maps, or sort through set and slightly modify for balance

 

Yay/nay?

 

So player made content would be the layout of a dungeon using the tools that the dev's provide? Do players get to decide what kind of mobs could be in the dungeon? What about placement of mobs? What about the pathing of mobs? Do players also design quests or attached pre-made quests with the dungeon? Will there be dynamic content with this player made content? Does the player have an option to decide what loot is dropped off what mobs and how many Boss mobs there will be?

I voted No, because as you can see that there is a lot to be taking into account. A lot of players need to understand game design mehanics and elements to make a fun dungeon. Anyone can make a dungeon, but will it be fun? What type of gameplay will the dungeon provide by each player? Will the player know how to balance a dungeon or if there are pathing issues, can they fix the glitch?

Another issue is that who would stop a player by making the easiest dungeon or map in the world and make it drop the best loot? There are alot of major issues that are not thought of when this topic comes up. I am sure it could work within reason and various conditions the players must meet first. I don't see this as a viable option for content. Would get very sloppy.

Originally posted by //\\//\\oo

User generated content has influenced online gaming to the extreme. LoL, anyone? MOBA games, tower defense games, player creations permeate the gaming scene now more than ever.

 

Why can't the community generate its own content while having the devs implement their custom made maps/dungeons?

Imagine a game with limitless content due to the fact that it can be cheaply implemented by the devs and created by its own playerbase. There would never be a shortage of things to do, or places to explore.

 

In case it's not clear what I mean:

Users make maps with tool provided by devs

Devs implement maps, or sort through set and slightly modify for balance

 

Yay/nay?

 

its a great idea, but people are lazy, therefore it will not last.

Originally posted by Eronakis

Originally posted by //\\//\\oo

User generated content has influenced online gaming to the extreme. LoL, anyone? MOBA games, tower defense games, player creations permeate the gaming scene now more than ever.

 

Why can't the community generate its own content while having the devs implement their custom made maps/dungeons?

Imagine a game with limitless content due to the fact that it can be cheaply implemented by the devs and created by its own playerbase. There would never be a shortage of things to do, or places to explore.

 

In case it's not clear what I mean:

Users make maps with tool provided by devs

Devs implement maps, or sort through set and slightly modify for balance

 

Yay/nay?

 

So player made content would be the layout of a dungeon using the tools that the dev's provide? Do players get to decide what kind of mobs could be in the dungeon? What about placement of mobs? What about the pathing of mobs? Do players also design quests or attached pre-made quests with the dungeon? Will there be dynamic content with this player made content? Does the player have an option to decide what loot is dropped off what mobs and how many Boss mobs there will be?

 

I voted No, because as you can see that there is a lot to be taking into account. A lot of players need to understand game design mehanics and elements to make a fun dungeon. Anyone can make a dungeon, but will it be fun? What type of gameplay will the dungeon provide by each player? Will the player know how to balance a dungeon or if there are pathing issues, can they fix the glitch?

 

Another issue is that who would stop a player by making the easiest dungeon or map in the world and make it drop the best loot? There are alot of major issues that are not thought of when this topic comes up. I am sure it could work within reason and various conditions the players must meet first. I don't see this as a viable option for content. Would get very sloppy.

 

These concerns are largely address if we look at the problem in a different way.

Instead of turning players into game designers, make a game that creates playable levels.

A tied-in game, like a dungeon keeper mmorts, would be a perfect way to generate content as part of the game. It would have its own rules to keep things (relatively) balanced, and could even have an Elo ranking system to ensure that players find dungeons that are a proper challenge for them.

For bonus points, players of the mmorts may optionally to do evil deeds to gain resources (such as raid towns, kidnap princesses, etc.) These evil deeds become the quests that players in the mmo partake in.

not everyhting has to be a dungeon. You could let players create their own towers and castles for sure. They naturally look a little like penises..so it would work well.

i see a day when youll be required to have your own house/tower/castle and it will have a few of levels of storage in it. unlimited storage, but available to be ransacked, smaller fixed storage, that cannot be ransacked and a "power" storage which consists of 1-3 items which a player puts in place to activate the defences. Your defences would mirror the power  and abilities of the items you put up, and of course these items could be stolen if your defences fail.

"dear sir,

i dropped by today and you were not home. Your warrior sentries fought valiantly and your traps were deserving of an award, but in the end your defences failed and i now posess your magical sword +3.

If you would like it back...please come try your luck at my tower.

Best Regards,

Rungard"

I'm surprised that everybody only thinks dungeons; what about LANDSCAPE? What about expanding on the games universe itself?

People nowadays are so narrow-minded and arrogantly convinced of human limitations that they seem to have forgotten what kind of ingenuity and sheer genius it took for us to be typing on these ubiquitous electronic constructs we take for granted today.

Originally posted by //\\//\\oo

I'm surprised that everybody only thinks dungeons; what about LANDSCAPE? What about expanding on the games universe itself?

People nowadays are so narrow-minded and arrogantly convinced of human limitations that they seem to have forgotten what kind of ingenuity and sheer genius it took for us to be typing on these ubiquitous electronic constructs we take for granted today.

 

 

Wurm already let's you change landscapes and several games already let you create your own quests, However I have yet to see a game let a player create a dungeon.

It would be nice to see a Elder Scrolls type, tool box that allows players to create content. Unfortunately there are so many trolls out their that instead of trolling chat they would troll by just destroying what you created.

Originally posted by //\\//\\oo

I'm surprised that everybody only thinks dungeons; what about LANDSCAPE? What about expanding on the games universe itself?

People nowadays are so narrow-minded and arrogantly convinced of human limitations that they seem to have forgotten what kind of ingenuity and sheer genius it took for us to be typing on these ubiquitous electronic constructs we take for granted today.

 

Of course, but the logic I used in my post also applies to lanscape too. It applies to all aspects of game design. If there are player made content then the whole engine and gameworld would have to focus around it. Player made content won't be successful with an "add-on" approach either.

I am interested to hear what you think would make good player made content? What kind of gameplay elements would you include in whatever you want to make? Why would it be fun? What will be the dev limitations to the content you can create?