The Last TrimesterGetting Ready to Be Born

The Last Trimester”Getting Ready to Be Born

AO moved into that last bit of the gestation period, addressing the final ontogenetic elements.

Senso-Motoric Development: The Control

The control of the game was indirect for a long time. The reason was that we felt people would perceive a direct control, with an indirect fighting system, to be a schism . We did not want direct fighting, as we did not think the technology could support it.

It took the launch of EverQuest ( EQ ) in 1999 to make us believe that direct control systems worked, even with indirect fighting. It wasn't fully changed until Beta 2, though. Many of the programmers were very much against it; their system was built around an indirect control. Still, today, you can see the split focus. The character creation is built for third-person indirect control. The ACG system, with its narrow hallways and tiny rooms, is built for first-person direct control. Even today, many people play in third-person when fighting and first-person when exploring. I guess a system that can cater to both is the best, even though adding it that late was more difficult.

Environment

One of the things we have really, really succeeded in doing is making a great environment. The planet Rubi-Ka is simply stunningly beautiful. Talented artists , talented art direction, talented world designers, and simply extremely talented environment programmers made the game life-like. Rubi-Ka simply takes your breath away!

I have to expand on the environment programming, though, as I think it is the 3D technology and rendering engine in itself that did the trick. It was made in-house and it makes the look completely different from anything else. Until Beta 2, the game looked very "average." You could only see some few hundred meters until the fog hit you. Then, Martin Amor, the lead programmer, changed the engine and opened the world to everyone. Now you can actually see the whole 4-kilometer-by-4-kilometer play field all the time (Lod'ed, of course). In a game where you let people pretend they are a character for hours, days, weeks, and months, there is never , ever enough eye- candy . If you love your environment, you might love spending time in the game.

The Development Potential of the DNA: Skills and Abilities ”Your Phenotype

The skill and ability system of AO is different from most other MMORPGs. I wanted a system where a person decides for him/herself what a character should be like. This led to a system with around 90 or so skills, and hopefully where no character is the same.

This is still one of AO 's strongest points, what many players say they really enjoy: the possibility of having all skills available to everyone, although to a different degree. Another aspect is that I wanted people to be able to select how their character should be molded themselves , directly and through direct choice. I did not want a system like those found in many RPGs where what you do defines who you are. (If you find a stick and wave that around, you become good at blunt weapons, and so on.)

This system is somewhat inspired by the system found in the popular Might and Magic series by 3DO and pen-and-paper RPGs such as RoleMaster . Wed those two games , put their offspring on steroids, and voil , you have AO 's skill system.

Now the downside: The problem with such a system is not in the balancing, as some people would think, at least not in the inter-profession balancing. It is in the presentation to the player. There simply is too much information for the newbie. It is so easy to make mistakes developing your character, and it is so easy to regret them. The skills and abilities almost explode in your face, their descriptions are too vague, and there are too many of them.

What could have been done was to make some skills dependent on others and dole them out with time and development. Some skills should be hidden from your profession at startup, and there should have been a tutorial. All this was in the plans but was sacrificed on the altar of launching quicker.

Another downside is that not all the skills are operational; a cutback should have been performed earlier. Also, some skills are underpowered.

The Quickening of Life: The Pace of the Game

So many things changed with UO and EQ . Not only did we all love those games, but we also saw flaws in our own game and room for different development. We learned a lot and the game changed a lot. This is something that we have seen happen time and time again. You develop a game, and then, as you are getting ready to go”boom”someone launches something else that makes you rethink. It's the purest sign of not being a technology leader, or creative driving force, in the game industry. It seems to me that so many ideas come from the "collective unconscious" of this industry, sort of popping into life at many places at the same time. I guess it also says a lot of people are catering to the existing technology. If you are the first, everyone else must strive to adapt.

You can tell that AO is a game with a much higher pace than some of the other MMORPGs. We did not want downtime to be the driving force, or modus operandi , of AO . We wanted a game where you could play alone (solo) and not wait for hours of that time. We didn't want a game where twitch control decided your fate.

If you could play solo, you should be able to see your effectiveness increase in a group . Thus, the team play in AO is defined by a really hectic pace”things happening quickly, including on lower levels. My experience was that this was the pace in high-level teams in other games with team play.

The downside to this was that some players felt a lack of control on lower levels. We were also afraid people didn't have enough time to socialize. Still, I feel it led people to be more open and friendly, wanting to group with you because they weren't forced to do so. Any profession was welcome; there was no pariah class. People keep telling me AO has one of the best core communities. I hope the pace of the game lends itself to that.

Anyway, downtime should not be forced on you.

The Preparations for Giving Life Meaning: The Story

One of the core things we wanted to do with AO was to give players meaning in the game. We didn't want to simply run the levelling treadmill. Thus, we came up with the story.

Ragnar T rnquist and I stayed several days in his living room, talking story and basically building a universe. We called it the Funcom Universe, and it has the highpoints of the history of mankind from its awakening until the end of time. We wanted players to be enmeshed in this. We wanted a true fairy tale, where people chose sides and played out their dark or white destiny.

One of the things we found interesting with previous MMORPGs was the lack of story and setting. The interesting thing about it was that players often created their own, like the PKers versus the non-PKers in the early UO age.

When we discussed this with the players and with other "experts" (like one of the esteemed authors of this book), we were told that telling a story would be virtually impossible . There were many words, but the conclusion was that "You cannot direct players in a story; they will do what they like." It is not that I disagree with that; it is simply that we never tried directing anyone . It was more like making a great history, making a fantastic setting, and letting the wheel run its course downhill. Of course we would be there giving a little kick from time to time, left or right, but basically, the players would give it speed.

Sadly, though, the storytelling today has been reduced to "history," "setting," and "acts of God," happening only once in a while”not the tight cooperative communication we wanted. The reason for this was economical. We had to scale back and save money. The story with its lead characters , its "costly rendered" story episodes , with all its internal disbelievers, couldn't survive a cutback. I must say, if I could have, I would have continued with the story episodes. They gave AO something different, and the people working on them were/are really talented. The graphic artists, musicians , and storywriters worked day and night to achieve something brand new . I hope they gain cult status someday, if nothing else.

I still believe that the story and immersive setting are two of the reasons why people play AO . We offer a meaningful relationship with other people on the sociological and cultural levels. The conflict (Omni-Tek versus clans ) is the driving force in this, and people have made the conflict their own. It seems to me that the players often identify with one side and stick to it.

I don't think the science- fiction (sci-fi) setting (which was decided by the very first producer, the one who left) was the best move, money-wise. If you look at the 3D engine and the fantastic environment, I am tempted to believe we would have scored better with a fantasy setting. Being the first, and so far only, sci-fi-based MMORPG game surely didn't make AO a dead-on hit. Most likely there are other, more important reasons for that.

Being a sci-fi game has affected the type of customer we have attracted, though. You will see crossover " guilds " from Quake and other first-person shooters. In that sense, we have made the MMORPG market grow with a different perspective than before. I think it is likely that the sci-fi setting, coupled with the conflict focus, have also attracted a bit more people focused on PvP than before. At least the percentage of people with PvP rating is higher than the number of PvP players on PvP servers in other games.

Anyway, summing up the story: It became a disappointment to many players, I think. Due to organizational struggles internally, lack of funds, and lack of tools, it has faded back to a setting with "acts of God." I still know it has more to say for the everyday life of the AO player than the story has had in most other MMORPGs so far, except Asheron's Call ( AC ) , which has done more and better than we ever did. I haven't totally given up on it, though.