1. As a guild master what's the most common problem you see in managing
the guild? The largest problem faced as a GM is the fact that no
matter how clear you think you are writing your words, someone will
misunderstand them. Every person reads words in a slightly different
way. The infer their own idea of your tone of voice.. their own idea of
your body language.. and thus they infer who you are talking about and
how you mean it. That isnt always how you intended the words when you
wrote them. So people miss points entirely... think you are attacking
them... or go off in a wrong direction. That is a large challenge when
trying to lead a guild of 525+ people.
2. What sort of MMORPG setting have you find to be the most successful
for the guild: (Formula-wise as in a bit of PvP and
questing/raiding(UO) a PvP centered with some non-player conflict(SB) or
one with little to no emphasis on PvP and more in terms of group
operations.(EQ)
The most successful forumla of a game, for The Syndicate (and really,
for most any guild) is the game that allows you the option to pvp (and
has a compelling reason to do so but isnt forced on players), deep PvM
content (challenging monsters you can kill solo, with groups of friends
and with a guild raid), and most importantly that you can login and play
in short spurts and accomplish something. That is why all of the
current games in development (except EQ2) and all the major games out
right now (except EQ) at looking at that model. The EQ model was hugely
successful for EQ but that was because it was the first time that model
was seen. Looking across our EQ members, very few of them would ever go
back and play EQ again, knowing what they know today, and thus wont ever
start a new game that has that same model. There are many good things
about EQ that I like alot. Extracting those elements (and complimenting
elements from other MMORPGs) and assembling them in future MMORPGs is a
challenge but it is a better success formula and it is the direction
most companies are going.
3. If you were the creator of an MMORPG(and with how we've progressed I
really wouldn't be surprised if you pulled it off. Serious.) what would
be the basic elements you'd include in it?
Optional PvP with a reason to do so. PvP wouldnt just be killing the
other person. Taking territory in compelling epic battles, perhaps with
NPCs involved as needed, and epic level tools like siege engines,
dragons flying in the air etc... would be the goal. A real compelling
war environment and all the related large AND small scale things that go
along with it.
Very rich and deep PvM content. Monsters that are fun to kill.
Challenging to kill. That you can solo play and small group play and in
some cases need a raid of 30ish friends to get together and go kill.
Instanced content. Each group.. raid.. guild.. gets their own instance
of 'hot' content like boss mobs.
A lack of loot focus. Loot is good to have. Loot is neat. But it
doesnt make or break you and isnt so rare you quit guilds because you
didnt win Uber Toothpick Type C. The fact that guilds in EQ even needed
a system to handle loot is a core indication of the problem since no
other game needs a loot system. Loot should be a fun addition to the
game not the core driving reason to play.
Lots of ways to interact with the game. Epic quests and battles. Large
scale fun things.
Window mode. So guilds and players can use their posting forward and
emails and IRC while playing.
4. With the lack of success in most guilds, why does it seem that some
guilds that try for a team focus don't always succeed yet guilds formed
for the purpose of greed and getting loot prosper to some degree.
Good question. 99.999% of all guilds, regardless of purpose, fail
eventually (almost all within 3 years).
Some greed guilds last longer than some team focused ones. That is
because if you get a strong greed focused guild leader who can maintain
a small core of friends or supporters, then you can treat every other
member as a commodity. You power game.. play all the time.. and appeal
to the human animal's basic greedy nature. You promise loot. You hunt
alot. And you feed the greed. As people quit, who cares. You recruit
more. The people dont matter. Constantly doing things in game matters.
Hence, as long as the GM stays uber active in game and keeps appealing
to the greedy nature of people, there are always lots of kiddies or
self-focused adults that will jump at the chance. It is much like
gambling in its appeal. When the GM and that core group of the guild
gets less active then the guild stops. There is no long term substance
there. Which is why in most all guilds of that type, there are a few
long term people and most everyone else is a 6month or less member.
High turnover. Low loyalty. But lots of in game activity. There are
pluses and minuses to such a guild design and it depends on your goals
in the game. For some players, using the guild, like the guild is using
them, works out as a win-win for both.
5. Do the people who play the MMO make the game or is it what's been
included by the developers that make the game?
Players cannot make a game great if it is poorly developed. There HAS
to be a core foundation of a great game with the infrastructure to allow
a great game to form.
Conversely, if the game is great, that doesnt mean it will succeed. A
great game design can not turn into a gaming legend without the players
making it into one.
Shadowbane was a great concept. Lots of really cool ideas. Very epic
in what it promised. Great design concept. It was rushed out the door,
lacked a focus on the PvM/PvE side, and had lots of bugs so it never had
player buyin on a huge scale and thus it didnt achieve anywhere close to
its potential.
6. What's the biggest problem you see in MMORPGs today?
I think the #1 problem is that some developers get REALLY hooked on
their LORE. They drive game decisions around the LORE and that is an
issue in some cases. First off, most players dont know the lore of the
game they play and they dont care. They are looking for FUN. And when
FUN is impacted by LORE, that is not an acceptable reason to them. For
example: Telling someone they cant game with their real life friend
because they play a dwarf and their buddy is an orc, is just a stupid
reason. That pisses people off and that harms the game. Games are a
BUSINESS. And business is about making your customers happy. Games that
grasp that concept do really well. Games that get LORE focused, fail.
EQ was very lore focused early on. They would publically justify
decisions with reasons of Lore. Players rebelled. As EQ progressed it
became more focused on giving customers what they wanted and you rarely
heard LORE as a reason for a decision. |