Craig Morrison, the Game Director for Age of Conan, posed an interesting question in his latest blog entry: How do you like your information?
MMOs, whether they are still approaching beta or have been around for years, are constantly changing as developers add improvements here, remove bugs there, work on new content and expansions, and just generally tweak things to keep it all attractive to the players.
The question for development teams is this: How much of the process do you share with the players? Do you say "We are working on stuff, and you'll know about it when we release it. Just trust us," do you share every step of the process with your fans along the way, or do you strike one of the hundred compromises in between?
Morrison's blog entry talks quite a bit about the difficulty of finding that balance, and how it's often a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. He winds up with an interesting question, though: What do you as a player prefer? Take some time to read his thoughts on the issue, and then give your own.
Reader Comments (2)
Posted: Dec 31st 2009 3:00PM Sean D said
Honesty is best. Don't try to manipulate the perspectives of your players by withholding or embellishing information.
In spite of some of the negative views out there toward Funcom, they have done a great job making AoC a solid MMO. I don't currently play, but I'm considering resubscribing to support Funcom in their efforts.
Reply
In spite of some of the negative views out there toward Funcom, they have done a great job making AoC a solid MMO. I don't currently play, but I'm considering resubscribing to support Funcom in their efforts.
Posted: Jan 1st 2010 1:09AM (Unverified) said
CM comes across as the best game director for any game I have played. Honestly is the best policy and it is this that has turned AoC around (or part of).
Still has (like all mmo's) a slow development process though.
AoC is very good now and we aait 1.06 (both parts, PVP Arenas, Guild Renown, PVP Towers) and Rise of the Godslayer (at lest 50% more plafieds and not as obviously instanced) with baited breath!
Happy New Funcom! :)
Reply
Still has (like all mmo's) a slow development process though.
AoC is very good now and we aait 1.06 (both parts, PVP Arenas, Guild Renown, PVP Towers) and Rise of the Godslayer (at lest 50% more plafieds and not as obviously instanced) with baited breath!
Happy New Funcom! :)
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