Q&A With Marco Behrmann

Project Entropia Q&A with Marco Behrmann

Recently, the Sony Exchange has put a spotlight on the sale of virtual items for real world cash. A pioneer in this respect has been Project Entropia, an MMORPG where everything is for sale if you have the cash. Our own Richard Duffek had a chance to catch up with Marco Behrmann, the Director of Community Relations and Concept Development Manager at MindArk - the makers of Project Entropia.

My name is Marco Behrmann, I am 31 years old, and have been in the computer game development business since 1998, at a studio called ComputerHouse, were I was the lead designer on a high-profile CRPG-project. Prior to that a friend and I founded Sweden’s today largest Pen-and-Paper Roleplaying Games company, called Neogames, with several number one hits on the market. In 2001 I took on a position as market director with a lifestyle magazine, and in the beginning I was recruited by MindArk, and when they presented the idea and vision I immediately knew that this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I haven’t regretted the decision once.

At MindArk I have two distinct roles; one is a director of community relations, meaning that I am the ambassador between MA and the community. The second role is as concept development manager, meaning that I am deeply involved in the design team and the ideas and works therein. It is a stressful but highly creative position and an extremely rewarding one. While other projects usually lasts for a few years with one big release, we have some ten releases per year, which feels really cool.

Project Entropia is a virtual universe with a real cash economy. It is set on the distant colony of Calypso, the first habitable planet mankind has ever found. The players take the roles of colonizers that strive to build a new world together, under the threat from various enemies that wants to destroy the colony.

Project Entropia is the opposite. The client software is free to download over the Internet and there are no subscription fee associated whatsoever. The “real cash economy” means that the internal Project Entropia economy is linked to the real world economy, by using a currency called the Project Entropia Dollar (PED), which have a fixed exchange rate to the US Dollar (10 PED equals 1 USD). You as a player use PED to acquire virtual land and equipment in Project Entropia to invest in your avatar’s growth and abilities. A unique aspect of Project Entropia is that a player may elect to transfer PED back into real life currency, thereby enabling them to earn real money while playing an online computer game.

As Calypso is a recently discovered planet, the colonizers – the players – need to establish their own economy and build their society. This requires a lot of cooperation and specialization – one man cannot make it all. This means that the players need to collaborate when it comes to advancing the level of development; it is better to have a specialized miner searching for minerals and an expert tools manufacturer making tools.

It was to be expected. When I was at E3 last year representatives from Sony approached me about the concept of Project Entropia. When they understood our unique idea they were baffled. Then they realized that this is the way of the future. I see the Station Exchange as a very small move towards the concept Project Entropia already have proved working, and based on the all the spies from the other big MMOG-developers who lurk in Project Entropia, I’d say this is only the beginning – in a few years time, the subscription business model will be a minority.

We have the position that the players of Project Entropia are free to use the system as they see fit, as long is the follow the rules of conduct. After all, they are the ones playing Project Entropia and who invest money and time into it, so why should we impose strange rules onto them? One thing to remember though is that any trade activities performed outside the confines of Project Entropia is not guaranteed or secure, and if you get scammed, MA cannot help you. A vast majority of our players realize this and use the tools we supply to them within the virtual universe instead of venturing outside.

Yes, I do, more or less. Right now they are losing money on this, revenues that goes to other actors on the market. When they understand how much they are losing on that, they must re-think their strategy. Fortunately for us, we already have Project Entropia and we are turning a nice profit and have an extreme growth rate, so that is evidence enough that we are on the right track.

At the moment we own all items in Project Entropia. The player owns the value they have accumulated. We are very reluctant to change the stats for any item in the virtual universe, as such measures would bring instability to the ingame market, which is just plain bad. We are a business and our main priority is to have pleased customers for the long haul. Anything else is just plain stupid.

Yes, that is a definite risk. Therefore you should beware of the ventures you embark on. A small company with a lot of debt may not be the smartest option to throw money at, risk-wise. MindArk is the only company today that is making a profit and has history to prove our case.

In December 2004 we sold a 6000 acres virtual island to a very nice young gentleman from Australia, by the name of David “Deathifier” Storey. He bought the island for $26 500. His is currently in the process of developing the land and is selling house lots to other participants. The last time I spoke to him he was satisfied by the progress of his investment. It is a better investment than playing with stocks on the real stock market. We have also been selling apartments to create a vibrant real estate market within the virtual universe. The value is around $135 000, and it have been a great success. The number may seem big, but considering that the total economy turnover in Project Entropia the first four months alone is some $59 000 000 (yes, 59 million USD), it is quite modest.

Actually, round two of the land grab is in progress right now, so everyone can join the event. I’d say it is much easier to get a foothold in Project Entropia today compared to one year ago, as the system is much more streamlined, there are a lot more activities to take part in, and there are system in place that allows for an easier experience overall.

The fundamental vision of creating a virtual universe. The constant upgrades to the system, varying from small to huge systems, are very fulfilling to see and take care of. The great backing from a very mature and excited community is a important aspect for me personally and for the continuing growth of Project Entropia. The growth rate right now is remarkable, with over 100% per year. The team we have here in Gothenburg is also very closely knitted and we encourage ideas from anyone – we have ideas printed down to last us for at least a decade.

Project Entropia is here to stay, and we strive to have the best quality, the largest and the most entertaining virtual universe available to everybody connected to the Internet. In maybe ten years time we want to be able to present a virtual world superior to the real one.

Project Entropia is great fun, have a great community, and a constant, free, upgrades, and because we respect the player. We feel that by supplying Project Entropia free of charge and void of subscription fees, we give the player the option to decide for him- or herself. Also, when you have spent countless hours in a game, committing mentally, monetary and emotionally, we want to be able to give something back for that commitment. That is why you could withdraw your virtual money into real cash within the system. That is why you are not bound by having to buy a client and then pay a subscription fee regardless of your level of participation. Don’t forget that the best customer a subscription-based developer may have is one that never plays…

As in real life, you have to make decisions in your life. As Project Entropia works with the same logic, it applies equally. If you are smart and observant, you will gain knowledge and by utilizing your knowledge, you can become successful, very successful.

First of all – make informed decisions. If a deal is too good to be true, it usually is. Spend some time, talk to people, get to know them, seek help from the guides available on the community fan pages, and ask for assistance in the many official forums we have around. Also, you should act like you do in real life. If a perfect stranger asks you for the keys to your car in real life you would never give it to him or her, would you? But if someone asks to borrow your rifle in a MMOG, you are often easier persuaded – don’t be.

We have several big plans, but they are currently secrets, as many of our competitors are watching us so closely. Some tidbits can I release though – we have a very powerful event system coming to allow for participants to create their own events – ranging from contests to arena fights. We are also trying out our new dungeon system, which is very exciting.

We would also like to hear what you have to think about this article and some of the highly controversial aspects it touches on. You can make your voice heard in this comment thread.