Fantastic Pixel Castle has taken a transparent approach to development on its upcoming MMORPG currently known as Ghost. In a new Word of the Street podcast episode, they talk about this approach, which included the release of very bare prototype footage, and milestone updates, as well as the importance of community.
Greg Street says that their decision to be very open about the development process sometimes makes NetEase a little nervous, but “no one has said no”. NetEase funds them, but seems to be letting them make their game. It doesn't mean they are not holding anything back, because of course they have to and Street highlights that what's most likely to be kept under wraps is story based, to avoid spoiling everyone in advance and removing that experience.
When it comes to risks of the approach, he says some risk might be in that “maybe players will figure out that we don't actually know what we're doing, and I mean players are smart they already know that”. Beyond this, considering risk might fall into the team losing control of the narrative, or even others stealing ideas, but they aim to continue being transparent.
One important detail here is that they're a bit ahead of schedule and the team is looking to start conducting some external playtesting, starting with a very small one (about 25 people) in September. They have test plans for the next four months, and will announce any potential participation opportunities in time. So don't go flooding their DMs.
The game’s community manager, Faye, joins the episode, and uses the phrase “wholesome chaos”, which Scott Johnson and Street joke may have just named the game. She discusses the significance of community in game development, and in particular when you are developing an MMO because you need a community as a foundation.
She touches on how the community manager is looking to build a space that fosters discussion and encourages feedback. Even if that feedback is a pie in the sky idea that will never fit with the vision of the game, it’s important to not leave people discouraged from offering other feedback.
Street backs that up, saying “we want community because we want to make our game good and if there's a problem with our game, man I'd much rather hear that before we ship”. In addition to transparent development, they want people to feel like their feedback matters from the start.
The full episode goes deeper into this conversation and how these two processes are partners in making Project Ghost.
