Guild Wars 2 is one of those games that is already legendary before it's even released and we're getting very close to that most awesome of days. We had the chance to chat with Game Designer Mike Zadorojny about launch and what the future might hold as well. Read on!

We had the chance to talk with Mike Zadorojny (Game Designer) from ArenaNet about the final weeks of Guild Wars 2 development before launch. Mike had some amazing things to say about the philosophy at ArenaNet going into the launch as well as some of his favorite game mechanics. We also addressed how Guild Wars 2 is shaping up to change the MMO market and the style of games we play online. Make no mistake, Guild Wars 2 is very much a sandbox MMORPG in many respects, while still focusing on dev-created content at its core. So lets go through some of the elements that Mike “Z” talked about and best of all get psyched for the launch fo Guild Wars 2, and also a tidbit of info on what might be coming to the game soon after launch!

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Guild Wars 2: On Launch and What’s to Come.

I've never been this excited about a game launch since WOW, simply cant wait to get started with GW2 but as an alt-aholic I'm having a hard time deciding which profession/race to level first as they are all really interesting.

Enjoyed the article, thanks Suzie!

Playing the BWE's showed me that it was everyting it was promised to be. Every friend that I have let try the game pre-purchased the next day.

Can't wait!

...When large amounts of players hit the opening zones, they found the NPCs scaling up quickly to make encounters much harder than they should have been...

I do not like this statement. None of the BWEs felt too hard due to the number of invidivuals (or most likely when a small number of people was in the area but was scaled too much). Hopefully I am mis-reading this statement but I think they reduced the difficulty which it shouldn't have been.

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

Originally posted by WellzyC

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

It's already been said after launch they will have player housing and guild halls.

From playing in beta, I can say I'm very happy with what I've seen from GW2, and I look forward to the WvsWvsW battles, and player housing later on.

Originally posted by WellzyC

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

Wow man it was like a brickwall. 

Originally posted by bcbully

Originally posted by WellzyC

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

Wow man, it was like a brickwall for me too.

 

Originally posted by WellzyC

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

Those things are coming.

Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by WellzyC

He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

Those things are coming.

Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

Originally posted by Razeekster
My only problem is the housing... It's called "housing," but you don't get an actual house to decorate or to do crafting in. I don't know how they can even call it housing. It's more of a personalized instance zone that you can go to.

They are planning on adding housing on top of the personal instance post release. The personal instance is supposed to reflect your story. The housing is going to be for the reasons you describe.

Originally posted by colddog04

Originally posted by BadSpock

Those things are coming.

Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

Ok - let me explain it (how I see it)

Is GW2 a sandbox? No.

Is GW2 a theme park? Yes.

What is a theme park? It's a physical plot of land in which there are many rides and attractions for you to partake of and participate in.

What is a sandbox? It is a physical plot of land in which you have the tools to modify the plot itself and create new objects.

What GW2 is is a non-linear theme park.

You are not directed from 1-cap led by the hand, yes there are plenty of "rides" and locations in this themepark, but you can choose when to go to them (if at all) and how often you visit.

Because it is a non-linear themepark, some people (myself included) get that same feeling of wanderlust one generally gets in a well-made sandbox game (UO, SWG, Skyrim, etc.)

In most themeparks since WoW, you are led from ride to ride and you do not get a choice as to which ride you go to first and how often you are able to ride them and you are not able to go back and re-ride the same rides again because they tell you you've out grown them.

This is a linear themepark - straight line through content.

GW2 is a non-linear themepark, and as such "feels" a bit more sandboxy.

Originally posted by colddog04

 

The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

  

I think you have to take the other parts of the comments as well. It's sanboxy along dev created paths instead of player content. Sanboxy in terms of players choosing to manipulate the environment to suit their needs/gameplay.

Of course this doesn't mean it is a sandbox dream. I believe it's just a way of saying "players have some control over the changing the environment" and not so much "you can build whatever you want whereever you want"

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by colddog04

Originally posted by BadSpock

Those things are coming.

Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

Ok - let me explain it (how I see it)

Is GW2 a sandbox? No.

Is GW2 a theme park? Yes.

What is a theme park? It's a physical plot of land in which there are many rides and attractions for you to partake of and participate in.

What is a sandbox? It is a physical plot of land in which you have the tools to modify the plot itself and create new objects.

What GW2 is is a non-linear theme park.

You are not directed from 1-cap led by the hand, yes there are plenty of "rides" and locations in this themepark, but you can choose when to go to them (if at all) and how often you visit.

Because it is a non-linear themepark, some people (myself included) get that same feeling of wanderlust one generally gets in a well-made sandbox game (UO, SWG, Skyrim, etc.)

In most themeparks since WoW, you are led from ride to ride and you do not get a choice as to which ride you go to first and how often you are able to ride them and you are not able to go back and re-ride the same rides again because they tell you you've out grown them.

This is a linear themepark - straight line through content.

GW2 is a non-linear themepark, and as such "feels" a bit more sandboxy.

I completely agree with everything you just said. And my personal experience with the game supports it.

Originally posted by Razeekster
My only problem is the housing... It's called "housing," but you don't get an actual house to decorate or to do crafting in. I don't know how they can even call it housing. It's more of a personalized instance zone that you can go to.

What??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????