Originally posted by Ihmotepp 

So, I was trying to get over the fact that Facebook app games suck ballz, and that maybe this guy knows something, but I sure as hell can't see it.

I log on to Face Book to play a game, and that's going to make it better?

You may not get it, but 81 Million active monthly users do.

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=102452128776

Do you know anything else about DICE, where this interview takes place?

Do you know where ALL developers are going?

The casual market, where the money is. WoW, believe it or not, isn't casual enough for most people. You know why Facebook app games "suck ballz"?  They're new! Kinda like how games started with PONG and got better? Does no one remember history?

Am I saying it's not simple or not fully developed? No. Of course it's simple stuff that looks bad compared to your typical blockbuster PC title.. But then again, I doubt you paid attention to anything in that interview.

It's a stepping stone. Sweet Ass Poker is about showing how a web designed game can look just like one installed locally on your machine. Simple games get people who DON'T game (Which is the vast majority of people, despite what you may think) into the market. After that, you step it up. You give them something with more difficulty and more complexity, or they go and seek it if they have the desire too.

As, again, said in the interview, not everyone will make the switch from simple games to more complex ones, but it' just like any other product - No one will buy what you sell if you can't even get them to try it for free. Did we mention it was free? How many of those 81 MILLION players do you think actually played games before Facebook, let alone something persistent like Farmville? How many of them do yo think are now paying MONEY for a FACEBOOK app? Enough to make the game profitable, apparently.

Am I saying what game he makes is going to be great? No, because I have no clue what his plan is. I'll make that decision when the time comes. But making small, simple games that attracts large amounts of people is a hell of a way to get funding for a startup. And if technology improves, and he can make an MMO that looks and feels like a local install, only it runs on a browser, I don't see that as a problem.

To say that his approach is flawed shows an incredible lack of understanding about the current state of the games industry. He does get it, the numbers back him, and in time, weather or not you like the approach, for better or worse, it's where EVERYONE is going. Small apps like this are cheap to develop, it draws in more people, have room to grow, and are, for all purposes, a great "gateway drug" to more complex games.

Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

No further details other than that.. My guess is it will be an online RPG, but using a web browser instead of a traditional client.

http://g4tv.com/videos/44297/DICE-2010-Adam-Sessler-Interviews-Richard-Garriott/

Fast forward to 7:53 for the statement.

Good interview otherwise, too. This interview shows that RG still "Gets it" with games and is ahead of the curve, even though TR failed. It re-enforced my faith in his abilities. We here might not think games like Farmville are the wave of the future, but the truth of the matter is, for better or worse, it's the direction publishers and developers are going to do next.

.. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Originally posted by astoria
....

I announced the location in Racial Alliance.

Two higher skilled players mounted up, chased down, and killed the ganker.

They told me where his location was and suggested I come and loot him.

...

That's the kind of thing I'd like to do once I get more established.

I hate when skill-less, wanna-be Wolves in sheeps clothing only prey on those they know offer no kind of challenge. It's not skill to gank a player wearing not but goblin gear and doesn't even have a staff - It's pathetic.

Can't say how many times I've been ganked in the newbie area hunting goblins, so I decided to just start harvesting as much as could in and around towns to raise my stats. That way I can at least kill the mobs a little quicker when the time comes to avoid the reds.. But I'll be back for those starter-area-camping-skill-less HACKS once  I'm geared.. And they aren't going to like having a real challange.

As for NEW? Yeah, they're just like any other clan. My experience with them was for 2 days - Not much if any help, war decced by everyone, so I left.

So now I get killed, naked in starter areas BY NEW players.... Well, at least they try. This one guy in NEW with what must have been quite a bit more stats and gear above me had to be the worst PvP'er I've ever seen. I know this, because he tried to kill me twice, BOTH times my back was turned and I was naked, so the first shot would take out nearly half my life.. Then I'd run back to town on foot while he was on a MOUNT, and STILL live.

Originally posted by Shiymmas
...  I can't help but wonder am I the only one who feels that way.

No.. No, you're not the only one.

I have two - Utlima Online and Darkfall.

Ultima Online - Housing, crafting, skill-based, non-instanced, open world. Community was and in many ways still is top notch if you know where to look. Actually fostered RP and RP communities.

Darkfall - Much like UO, and I'm just getting into the world. There are some major differences, but all and all, it's the closest new game to UO I've ever played.

Both of them were easy to learn, hard to master. They took time. You needed other people to really do well (As apposed to WoW, where my 3 person guild has done everything heroic except end-game raids), and crafting and harvest were very important. All and all, every step you took towards any goal, no matter what setbacks (And in many reasons BECAUSE of the setbacks), felt more meaningful and rewarding.

Just my opinion, of course.

Good post.

May I purpose a hypothetical question?

If Blizzard's next MMO (Which we know is not based on any previous IP.. In fact it's all we know) just HAPPENS to be a sandbox like UO was, but done with Blizzard's finances and widely known sense of polish...

Do you think it will be successful?
Do you think it will turn a profit?
Do you think more of the "newer" generation of gamers would play it than currently play other existing sandboxes?

Why or why not?

I suspect the answers to all three would be "Yes", and the REASON I think this newer generation of gamers doesn't like sandboxes or more immersive worlds is because one hasn't been done (compared to older ones, and even DF) with:

A) Newer graphics
B) PvE, RP, and casual players in mind (So no FPS only controls, friendly fire - Some standard auto-attacking is necessary for MOST gamers)
C) A Budget

Pick 2.

Think back - When games like UO came out, they were at the height of computing knowledge.. They now lag behind, in terribly obvious ways from graphics to netcode to outdated concepts.

Darkfall is a great sandbox, and I'm loving it right now. It has decent graphics, but AV is a small company, and it's locked in first person mode, with little or no thought given to RP and largescale PvE (From my experience). It is transparently biased to PvP, everywhere, all the time.  Plus, the fact that there is no opt-in or protection from PvP makes it a problem when reds come ganking new players in starter areas, not to mention a UI and perspective shift that doesn't allow for third person anymore.  Add to that the fact that it's all twitch based, with no auto-attack, and it's a major deterrent to casuals and the bulk of the market. And while I'm thoroughly impressed with what they've done with the resources they likely have, it doesn't touch a Blizzard or an EA's budget for an MMO.

Mortal Online, same thing. They even seem to have a worse budget, because they apparently have overworked programmers who are having a hard time resolving NPC and Lag issues.

If someone did it RIGHT, and I suspect Blizzard or maybe Bethesda (Or is it ZenniMax .. The Elder Scrolls MMO makers) can do it, I think it'd do amazingly well, even with the youngin's..

Half of these kids don't even know what it's like to be able to customize a home, from the structure itself to the furniture.. Or have player vendors.. It saddens me.
 

Good article.

I believe you mentioned somewhere on the Darkfall forums that you might be considering trying that. We have a very similiar lineage. I started in MUD's as well, then went to UO, DAoC, and then WoW. We like a challange, even if it means pulling your hair out on occasion (Which is fine.. gonna be bald one day anyway.. THANKS DAD!).

Darkfall really is one of those experiences. You die. A lot. You get ganked and beaten for no reason. A lot.

But the hidden secret behind all the constant death, losing everything, and smack-talking idiots that are the most vocal minority  in any MMO community (And make no mistake, they ARE the minority - Plenty of good people, even if they are also killing you since that's one of the fun activities in the game) is that with every step you take towards your goal, every time you work your way through some seemingly unpleasant challenge or mechanic, there is sense of accomplishment in everything you do that you just don't get when you face a game that's "Easy".

For those who don't understand this and play WoW (Playing the odds, here), put it this way: Do you think you would feel a greater sense of accomplishment when you beat Van Clef, or when you beat  Arthas? Now think about why that is.

For the last year or so that Darkfall has actually been available, I've let my opinion of that community dissuade me from trying a game that seemed to have everything I love about MMO's. Now I understand that the game has improved a lot since it was released, so from that perspective, it might be a good thing that I'm only just joining.

But I'm playing, I'm solo, and it's a challange around every corner that I'm enjoying thoroughly. I hope you give it a shot.


 

My favorite games so far have been:
UO
DAoC
WoW

I've also played:
Atlantica Online
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
Aion
Warhammer Online
Shadowbane
Countless MUDS

I've been playing MMO's since the inception of UO. I'm a crafter at heart, but I love to PvP even though I'm terrible at it.

I dont' own a single FPS game, because I have terrible twitch skills...

For 8 years, I thougth Darkfall was vaporware. I thought the community was zealotry incarnate, inarticulate, immature, and to be frank, stupid for believing in a product that showed every sign of of failure, and that opinion didn't change even AFTER the game was released.

Why am I saying all this?

To give some indication of my tastes and personality. These were my beliefs, and this was my experience. If you have a similar background and history or tastes, you might find my opinion useful. And if not, my opinion can be easily discarded.

With all this in mind, I say the following:



I bought it roughly 3 weeks ago, and Darkfall has been the best MMO experience I've had since the launch of UO.  I don't know what it was like at launch - I only know what it's like now.

It's far more than I had expected. There is lots to do for a crafter (If you liked the way UO implemented crafting, which can be seen as grindtastic, but I loved that part of it) which blew me away when I got in. 

I've found more than enough mature, articulate, and  intelligent people who stayed away from the forums and are relatively quite in chat (Think WoW - Lots of people, but the annoying ones are always the loudest).

The best kept seceret is the customer service - A response to tickets posted on their site within ***MINUTES***, far better than I've seen in any MMO to date.

The UI is wonky and a little akward at first, and a real pain if you're like me and have less than ideal hand/eye coordination or no twitch skills.

And yes, I've been ganked, griefed, camped, and dry-looted by people I had no chance of beating. I've lost everything, started again..

And I've loved every damn second of it.

I think it's more than worth 50 dollars to try it out. I was pleasntly surprised, and plan to stay. I cant' give it a higher recommendation than that.

Originally posted by Comnitus

Originally posted by Coldren

Originally posted by CastorHoS

Hmmmm this thing could have been written to slap Mythic and Warhammer upside the head. Oh wait a minute, that is where Jennings sold out to.

 

The article is spot on but coming from a sell out, well, it makes it just a little funny. 

 

Yeah.. Sell-out... I mean, he could have been working for EA, which is EVERY MMO developer's dream, considering their long and illustrious track record with MMO's.

You say Sell-out, I say one of the few people at Mythic with a brain. 

Matt Frior was another one - He left to work for  Zennimax (Possibly Elder Scrolls MMO), then there's Walter "Copper" Yarbrough (Turbine). Can you imagine if Sanya Weathers had to be the community rep for WAR, towing the EA party line?

Get real. EA is where MMO's (and their developers) go to die. More like Mark Jacobs sold out Mythic for Warhammer.. Might have made sense at the time, but look how it ended.. Even Mark got fired.

One of the smartest things Scott ever did was leave. How you can see it as otherwise is baffling.

 

Absolutely. TOR is destined to fail because BioWare is part of EA.

Perfectly logical to me!

It is not destined to fail simply because BioWare is part of EA. I personally don't like the design of the TOR to begin with, but the Star Wars IP alone might be more than enough to keep make it a success... But that's a separate discussion.

However, I suggest you look at the history of MMO's after acquisition or developed by EA.

UO - EA acquires Origin Systems. I do believe everyone who ever worked for Origin was Fired.
WAR - EA acquires Mythic. Most of everyone who worked for Mythic gone, even Mark Jacobs is Fired.
DAoC - See WAR. Playerbase is now consolidated to 1 server cluster, Yawain (Or something like that).
SIMS Online - EA Developed. Gone.
Motorcity Online - EA Developed. Didn't launch.
UO2/UOX - EA Devleoped. Didn't even launch.
They also had some kind of detective MMO.. Can't remember the name, but pretty sure that's gone.

BioWare might be the first one to break the mold, but I'd ask that you name one MMO (Bioware excluded, this is their first MMO with EA) that has improved in any way, shape, or form since EA took the reigns from their creators, or spawned themselves. Or for that matter, before BioWare, name one company where even a substantial number of the employees still work for EA after being aquired by it.

Opinion of why these games went down hill or failed outright, or why the majority of the original staff of whatever company they acquire gets axed is speculative, but the fact of the matter is, if you're an MMO company, or you make an MMO for EA, your job isn't the safest bet in the industry, no matter what your previous successes are. Either that, or the culture shock that EA inevitably introduces is bound to make you want to leave anyway.

When it comes to your career or lively-hood, most people bet conservatively. EA, for MMO's, is not a safe bet by any means.

EDIT:

Just to make certain this point is absolutely crystal clear, I'm referring to MMO'S AND MMO's ONLY. The single player games companies that are acquired by EA make is an ENTIRELY different issue (DAO, Mass Effect, etc.). Although, the Ultima single player games and Wing Commander are a sore spot......

Originally posted by garrett

The problem we face now is that big huge AAA - MMO catastrophes have led us to Cheap F2P models with grinding leveling and completely repeated content....

where is the fun in that?

 

So the industry went one way....failed...and now has done a complete 180 to make money off cheap badly designed games.

 

Is there no middle ground??

Sounds like you have material for your next article.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Doesn't Jennings work for NC soft?

He does - He was higher there and started development on an unannounced title, then was fired.. And  then rehired again.

But this was all after leaving Mythic before (or when) it was bought out by EA.

Originally posted by Robsolf

Also, Tabula Rasa.  Who in the office is gonna tell the great and powerful General British his game is lacking?  Apparently, nobody...

Well, while Garriott deserves a bit of the blame, I don't think it was all on his shoulders. He was the name on the product.

As you no doubt remember, TR was a much more different game when he started working on it. But then it became a collaboration when NCSoft bought Destination Games between a Korean development house and a Western developer.  It probably got bounced back and forth between developers and management like a pipe on the set of a Cheech and Chong movie.

Honestly, I'd be curious to know precisely what kind of an influence RG had on the game. It's clear he had a part in the story, but the mechanics of a shooter/rpg hybrid never set right with me that this mechanic would be something he'd be behind.

Guess we'll never know.

 

Originally posted by CastorHoS

Hmmmm this thing could have been written to slap Mythic and Warhammer upside the head. Oh wait a minute, that is where Jennings sold out to.

 

The article is spot on but coming from a sell out, well, it makes it just a little funny. 

Yeah.. Sell-out... I mean, he could have been working for EA, which is EVERY MMO developer's dream, considering their long and illustrious track record with MMO's.

You say Sell-out, I say one of the few people at Mythic with a brain. 

Matt Frior was another one - He left to work for  Zennimax (Possibly Elder Scrolls MMO), then there's Walter "Copper" Yarbrough (Turbine). Can you imagine if Sanya Weathers had to be the community rep for WAR, towing the EA party line?

Get real. EA is where MMO's (and their developers) go to die. More like Mark Jacobs sold out Mythic for Warhammer.. Might have made sense at the time, but look how it ended.. Even Mark got fired.

One of the smartest things Scott ever did was leave. How you can see it as otherwise is baffling.

 

Excellent article!

The last portion, particularly, about developers actually playing their game and enjoying it (even at the early stages) as well as keeping their ego's in check seems vitally important. I think you or someone else posted on their blog about how the TR team particularly didn't enjoy what they played (even when it was pretty much feature complete) and we all know how that ended.. Or maybe it was a comment I read somewhere else.

And as for ego, well.. Warhammer. That is all.

Funny, sad, and true crack at EA. Very piffy.

Originally posted by Alienex

 

Good day,

                  About 3 months back I quit wow after 2 years of good fun , I dont know why or what happend but the game lost its appeal all of a sudden. Been playing AION ever since however i dont think i'll last much longer, I thought the game would change once i hit max level but its the same mind numbing grind. The game advertises itself around pvp but reality is quite the opposite.

Anyhow after much contemplation I've decided to pick up Darkfall, it does seem rutheless but i want to give it a shot. Sadly I haven’t been able to convince any of my IRL friends to tag along with me  . the fact that i am starting a new game coupled with not having any friends along is quite daunting. So I’d like some advise about which server to pick, preferrably one which has a healthy volume of beginners, veterans and good action.

P.s. i think i should play on EU realm since i'll be playing from Dubai.

Regards

Just so you know, there are only 2 servers, period.

1 for EU
1 for US

That's your only options. And don't be daunted because you have no IRL friends with you. Clans are often recruiting, and even though you may not know it from the chat channels, there are a lot of good people in the game. They just don't talk much.

Be warned, this is a very different experience and even control/UI from WoW. It'll take some serious getting used to, and it'd be a good thing if you had a thick skin. You'll die and lose a lot often, but don't get discouraged.

Good luck!

I suppose it depends on what you intend to do weather or not you stick with 1-handed or go with 2-handed.

Me, I'm more focused on getting my harvesting and crafting skills up, particularly so I can do armor/weaponsmithing. That way, it doesn't cost much gold to replace lost weapons, so long as I have the materials harvested, and I'll be able to sell items produced  to train up and don't need to NPC's and gain some money from that. Since that's my focus, I stick to killing with 1-handed weapons when the mood strikes me to do so, and carry one around just for a little self defense when out gathering or working up other crafting skills.

When I've reached the point where I'm satisfied with my crafting skills at that time, I'll start working up 2-handed and other combat skills.

Although, I'm saving all the money that normally goes to combat and magic skills for crafting ones. By using a 1 handed sword ( maybe I'll buy a skill for that, and it will be useful when I get a mount as Paragus said) and continuing to use Magic Missile and self heal, working up those specific skills and lesser magic (Which is really the biggest thing - Doing range damage with no need for reagents or arrows and healing yourself) , it's saving me a ton for when I'm ready to really dig into combat.

And sorry to hear you had such bad luck with being PK'ed. My first day was, thankfully, much more kind to me. Must have been online at an off time or someething!

I have to agree with the previous posters. I just started playing about 2 weeks ago (Only about 10 - 15 total hours playtime so far though), and I'm finding it highly enjoyable, and I'm possibly the worst PvP'er ever.  A few statements:

1) The tutorial you saw was the Accelerated Character Development guide - It's called that for a reason. His intent was to show you the fastest way to make money and get your combat skills up, and it shows that well. He doesn't show things like mining, fishing, herb gathering, alchemy, woodworking, cooking, enchanting, or weapon/armor smithing because, well.. I'd be a dull movie! Fighting mobs and running to the bank constantly is the easiest way to ensure a steady gain in your combat skills, as well as minimize losses from other PK'ers and from dying in general.

And believe me, you will die.. A lot. That's more of sound advice for whatever way you decide to play - The more you bank, the less you lose when you DO die.

2) I've done a bit of goblin killing, but the Red's and PK's tend to wait there to stalk new players for easy kills. So instead, I've been focusing on my crafting and gathering skills first instead of my combat.  I was going to focus mostly on crafting anyway, but I thought I would need more in the way of combat skills to ensure I could harvest with confidence. Thus far, I've barely left the starting area, and have more than enough to do from a crafting perspective.

3) As said, being a crafter can be quite profitable. instead of killing goblins and whatnot for gold, I intend to sell the items I craft to skill up to NPC merchants. Since I'm doing all the harvesting, even if the NPC's only buy it for half or less of what they sell, that's pure profit without even making items players actually want. When you can, you'll make much more money, and there are supposedly player vendors.. I think. I'm new, I've heard of them, but haven't seen one yet.

4) Get ready for the UI shock. It's really, really different and will take some getting used to. Hope you have quick fingers, because I sure don't.

Like everyone said, it's whatever you want to do. Personally, I'd advise you to be wary of joining clans at frist - Any clan can (and often does) declare war on any other clan and immediately kill members of that clan with impunity. At least by not being in a clan, you are not likely to be killed by blues, and more by reds and racial opponents. Ask questions in general, and often, you'll get an answer.

And also, be sure you have  thick skin. Just like any MMO, there are a lot of good people out there, but they're not the ones always doing the talking. The loudest tend to be the most annoying or juvenille. You can still turn off chat, like anything else, of course, but sometimes you want to see some information like where reds are heading and whatnot.

Oh... And you'll die.. A lot. But honestly? This is the most fun I've had in an MMO in a very, very long time.

 

Originally posted by Slineer

DAoC: Dark age of camelot actually  gained quite a few subscriptions in the year following trials of atlantis.

Originally posted by donjn

Originally posted by Ethian

3. Me thinks Darkfall fanboys are invading all pvp type mmo forums :)

 

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Right now, I'm enjoying swinging my axe at a tree to raise up my lumbering in Darkfall a thousand times because I LIKE the fact that it feels like I'm accomplishing something not everyone will do, making my efforts worth something. Add to that the fact that in DF, I can easily be killed if I'm not careful doing my mining and lumbering or fishing, and it does make those tasks which usually seem mundane or dull to others, actually interesting AND difficult.

Well, anyone who thinks swinging at a tree a thousand time, even have to watch their back, is fun ... is certainly not mainstream. I wouldn't play a game where the game mechanics is so boring. I would much rather go to run a dungeon. At least i got to FIGHT something, which is fun.

And if that feels an accomplishment, try writing "I like DF" 1000 times. I am sure that is something "not everyone will do" and make your effort worth something ... NOT.