During the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen community Q&A last night, Creative Director Chris "Joppa" Perkins was asked whether the studio would consider bringing on volunteer developers to help speed up the dev process. In answer, Perkins states that it is "something" the team is looking at.
Pantheon's developer Visionary Realms hosted a community Q&A last night to help clear the air surrounding the MMO after the reports that the team was working on a spin-off extraction game mode, dubbed "24/7," to help support the development process. VR has justified the new mode under alpha testing as a way to help speed up and contribute to the development of the MMO itself.
However, the topic of speeding up development was something that was touched on multiple times during the Q&A with one viewer asking whether or not Visionary Realms would consider opening development to volunteers from the community. Historically, for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, the idea of using volunteer workers to build the MMO is nothing new. Back in 2014, following the initial failed Kickstarter campaign, Visionary Realms founder Brad McQuaid openly discussed the studio using volunteers at the outset to build Pantheon.
Fast-forward to now, and it looks like that might be a potential source of development, though there are legal obstacles to consider, according to Joppa.
"There are certain legal complications that can come from working with volunteers," Perkins began in answer to the question. He continued, "And I say that as someone [who] volunteered on this project for the first year and a half for free."
Perkins admitted then that he is currently the only full-time designer on Pantheon's development team, the rest working part-time, though Perkins goes on to state that they often put "full-time hours into Pantheon."
"There's a lot of passion; there's a lot of interest in doing so. And you know, it's a funny thing. Aside from myself - I am the only full-time designer - all of our other designers are part-time. But I will say that they put full-time hours into Pantheon. And in that, they work harder because it's really difficult to do a full-time day job, especially the ones that they do in particular, and then put in the effort that they do here."
Perkins says that it's not lost on the team that there is a "drive and conviction" to push development forward. And that conviction is shared by the community, with Perkins admitting that there are "many" that would want to "come in and absolutely run with something."
"So we're not opposed to it. But there are legal considerations that are there. That's something that I've already had some people reach out to me, and I appreciate that very much. And it's something we're looking at. It's not completely off the table."
Community Manager Jamie "Savanja" Henry then jumped in to say that the company, in the meanwhile, will "keep hiring from the community as we seem to do."
It's important to note that Perkins stopped short of saying the studio will use or has plans to use volunteer labor right now, something Visionary Realms' Benjamin Dean confirmed when asked for comment on this story, saying: "We do not currently have any plans for volunteer positions."
The subject was broached again later on in the Q&A when the team was asked about what happens if the team monetized 247 and it doesn't pan out the way they wish - would they be interested in turning to a publisher to ensure the MMO was completed?
Perkins confirms the team will do "whatever is necessary to ensure that Pantheon is developed and launched." While he admits that there are some lines "that cannot be crossed," mainly referring to the current free-to-play, microtransaction-laden model modern MMOs seemingly launch with all the time, he described a situation where if the money eventually dried up, the studio would no longer need to worry about the "volunteer liability." However, he goes on to explain what that line that can't be crossed is and why he believes trying the 247 mode now is better to keep the soul of Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen intact versus seeking publisher help.
"Would we rather have Pantheon and have it be free-to-play with microtransactions? I hate those words even leaving my mouth," Perkins says. "That just feels -" "Dirty Words," Henry interjected. Perkins continued, "I can't. I just don't see it now. I mean, there is some line that cannot be crossed, and Pantheon be what it needs to be. So again, that's why it's so difficult, because what's the greater tragedy: is the greater tragedy Pantheon, you know, not being able to make it, which I've said before? I don't...I'll put it this way: if Pantheon, let's say every cent dried up and there was no more money to pay anybody. Not only would the majority of this team, I believe, continue working on it with every ounce and moment they could, but at that point, we don't have to worry about the volunteer liability, right?
"So [there are] definitely paths forward there. And that's where my mind ultimately goes. I do not believe that conforming to what the current expectation is standard of an MMORPG in 2023, 2024, whenever, with free-to-play, microtransactions, casual friendly, and super accessible. I just don't -- it wouldn't be Pantheon at that point. And so then, what's the point? With 247, at least I can say, accurately and competently, Pantheon is well intact. There is no risk of Pantheon becoming something different than what it is. With a publisher for Pantheon - I mean, we have not see an opportunity from a publisher for Pantheon that doesn't involve those requirements."
The statement comes at an interesting time in the games industry, where so many companies are laying off employees to cut costs. While volunteer labor in game dev, especially at indie studios, even at Visionary Realms, is nothing new, it's something that might not sit well with all onlookers, especially game developers who are potentially interested in working on the MMO. From Microsoft laying off a little under 1000 workers last year, layoffs at Sony in-house team Naughty Dog, Amazon's Twitch and Team17, CCP Games laying off a small number of workers earlier this year, NCSOFT West laying off approximately 20% of its staff, and so on, admitting that volunteer labor is something the studio is looking into might not be the best look.
We followed up for clarification and the studio's stance on using volunteer labor, especially with regards to the current game dev layoff climate we're in, with regards to Perkins' statements yesterday, and will respond if Visionary Realms provides an answer.
UPDATE: Visionary Realms' Ben' responded to our inquiry with a comment intended to expand further on the studio's position:
"We have a lot of people who approach us to offer their services pro bono. When that happens and it is a qualified individual who we believe shares the same drive, passion and dedication of our company culture, HR may opt to negotiate a contract with them. But it's certainly not something we are actively seeking out, nor plan to."
[Update #2] We followed up on the above statement, as we didn't feel it answered our initial question. Our follow-up: "Why would Perkins leave that door open in the Q&A, saying that it's 'not completely off the table' and 'something we're looking at' when asked? If the studio's stance is that you 'currently do not have any plans for volunteer positions,' why would Perkins leave the door so wide open here to be interpreted as the studio looking at it as a possibility? 'Something we're looking at' doesn't really say 'we currently do not have plans.'
Can the studio unequivocally say one way or another whether or not volunteer labor is being looked into, and if not, is it safe to say Perkins misspoke during the Q&A?"
In response, Dean provided the following comment:
"I don't think he misspoke. We have people offering their services pro bono every week. For those, we do consider them on an individual basis. We have had offers as recently as this week, for example, and we are considering them, or looking into them, but it is unlikely we will be able to move forward with them."
