Granted MMO’s are social type games and I am all for in game tools that help people group and socialize within the game world however do we really need to link the player in game to the world outside and vice versa? After years of listening to developers talk about how they want to create immersive world’s doesn’t integrating social media into the game world take away from that objective?

Rift recently did this by allowing people to tweet on Twitter while in game. Blizzard introduced Real ID so no matter what Blizzard game or server or character you are on your Real ID friends can find you and you find them.

Is this the next big thing or just a big mistake? Just because in game someone gets to know me by my real name instead of Vanguard or some other avatar name, does that now mean that person should be able to track me on things like facebook, twitter, Real ID or whatever else will be coming down the pike? Some people says it just offering people choices and I agree, however it may become something that is not optional. Vent or other types of voice chat use to be optional but now if you’re going to raid it’s a requirement. How soon until these other types of things become mandatory in guilds?

One of the big things I love about playing MMO’s is that I get to escape my real life and escape into a fantasy world. It’s my way to relax after a hard day at work and having developers find ways of integrating my real life into a game is not a direction I honestly want to see happen.

My wife and I started a diet together and I have lost 14 lbs in the last three weeks. For me this is a primer to get back into really good shape and start body building again. We go for a 25 minute walk every day when I get home from work and it’s just nice to do more things together. This July will mark 22 years of marriage and our second of three children just graduated high school. We are really proud of our kids and we get compliments all the time at how amazing they are and what good parents we must be. I guess this goes to show you can be a hard core MMO guy and still have a great marriage and family.

I definitely plan to go back to playing MMO’s, I am just going to wait for one worthy of my time. If you’re playing a MMO right now and it’s just kind of killing time and not really fun anymore I would encourage you to take a break as well. I think the MMO genre has become stale and we as gamers should demand better from game companies. We all get a vote and that’s your monthly subscription.

Please don’t take this as a bash against WoW as it’s not. EQ and WoW have given me years of fun and enjoyment over the years but it’s time to move on to something new, fresh and better, we just need someone to create it. I am hoping 38 Studios “Project Copernicus” will be that new refreshing MMO. I am hoping we will start hearing more about the game in the months ahead. Charles “kieron” Dane, who is the Lead Community Manager at 38 Studios, indicated we should be hearing more about the MMO soon.

Until then I plan on focusing on other areas of my life and when I do go back to playing it will be that much more enjoyable. Now that you know my story I am curious to hear about you. What are you currently playing or not? Are you bored of current MMO’s and are looking for something new and different as well? Are you hoping that 38 Studios “Project Copernicus” will be that MMO? Sign up on our forums as I would love to discuss the genre and Copernicus with fellow MMO gamers!

To say I was blown away would be an understatement. I am 100 times more excited about this game then I was before watching the demo. One of my favorite action games of all times is Heavenly Sword. The action was fun and the story was cool. My only complaint was how short the game was.

What I see in Reckoning is they are giving gamers that cool, fun and visually exciting action from a game like Heavenly Sword but with all the traditional RPG elements you would find in Oblivion, including a huge open world to explore. To say that that’s ambitious is an understatement. I know they have been telling us all along this was their goal but actually seeing the demo has taken it from an idea or concept and turned it into reality and they really hit it out of the park!

The class system also impresses me as it does not keep you locked into a specific build so you’re free to create something unique instead of cookie cutter classes. I love the fact they gave the warrior class spell effect that make combat that much more visually exciting to watch. I also love how the mage class is unique as well with its dual blade weapons and teleport ability to allow you to get in close and kick some serious ass! I can see myself trying all the class types out which again leads to lots of additional game play.

As impressed as I am with the demo I also get the feeling that there is still more to be revealed about Reckoning and I can’t wait to find out more and ultimately play this game, how about you?

Interestingly enough after writing my blog post, Eurogamer published an interview on Guild Wars 2 entitled “Guild Wars 2: How to make MMOs better – Interview.” Now I never counted the original Guild Wars as a true MMO so I have not really paid attention to Guild Wars 2, besides my money as you no doubt can tell is on 38 Studios unnamed MMORPG code named “Copernicus.” After almost 5 years we know pretty much nothing about the game other than its set in the same world as their single player RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. I have always hoped that the reason for the silence is due to the fact they were creating something new and different and did not want to tip their hand to competitors.

In any event let’s talk about ArenaNet and how they are trying to change the MMORPG genre by throwing out core mechanics found in every MMORPG to date.

First they are doing away with the holy trinity. (healer, tank, dps) According to Colin Johanson they have been able to come up with something different.

“We’re basically saying, listen, this as a core game mechanic is tired, we can do something better, we can do something more interesting than this. Let’s not do it, let’s try to do something else. And that’s what we’ve spent many years now perfecting and working on, and getting to the point that we feel we have a combat system that doesn’t need it and, we feel, works better “

Second they are doing away with quests in favor of a new system called the dynamic event system.

“I think the dynamic event system… even early on, when we would tell our fans, “Hey, we’re going to make this game system that doesn’t have quests in it,” the response was, “Woooooah, don’t do that! I really like quests, it’s all I know. How do I get through a game without seeing a guy with a question mark over his head and running over and talking to him?”
We said, well, why do you need that? And it’s something where, again, we didn’t know if it was going to work or not, but we built it and started playing with it and fell in love with it.”

Third they have NCsoft who is a major player in the industry backing them and with comments like this it’s hard not to smile.

Eurogamer: I know the company line on release is ‘when it’s done’… Do you have any kind of external pressure or internal pressure where you feel that there is a clock ticking to some extent? Financially perhaps?

Colin Johanson: External pressure? Absolutely not. NCsoft has been fantastic to us. They’ve basically given us the freedom to make the best possible game that we can and they trust that if we do that, it’s all going to work out fine in the end. They recognize that rushing a project out the door doesn’t do any good.

So, externally, no. Internally? The only pressure that we have is the pressure we put on ourselves, because we know our fans want to play this game, and we know they’re chomping at the bit to get at it. But we’re not going to sacrifice anything to make that happen. We’re going to put out a game that we’re in love with and totally happy with, and only then.

With innovative ideas like these combined with the unique creative teams, overall studio philosophy and financial backing of NCsoft it’s hard not to be a bit excited that they truly have come up with something ground breaking that will change the way we play MMORPG’s.

Of course until the game is released it’s impossible to know if ArenaNet has succeeded in the eyes of gamers. One has to at least applaud their efforts in trying to move the genre forward by challenging many of the core mechanics of MMORPG’s. This is the kind of innovation that the industry needs right now, not more MMORPG clones.

Lately the trend in the MMO space is to go free to play. Dungeons and Dragons Online which was developed by Turbine as a subscription based game changed to F2P in Sept 2009. Lord of the Rings Online, another MMO by Turbine, has also recently gone F2P. EverQuest II Extended is Sony Online Entertainments F2P version of EverQuest II.

In my experience MMO’s who have started out F2P have never been as good as subscription based MMO’s and the growing trend is for games which have not been successful in the subscription based model compared to World of Warcraft are converting to a F2P model in an attempt to attract players to their game and generate more cash. This has obviously worked for Turbine who reported revenue has doubled for Lord of the Rings Online since it switched to F2P. What’s yet to be determine is can that be sustained over the months ahead?

All of these companies and games still offer the option to pay to play so the subscription model is clearly not dead. I think what the F2P is doing is replacing the free trial which had been previously used by the genre to try and attract new and previous players to play their game.

The assertion that a subscription based MMO can’t be successful today and is doomed to fail is pure hog wash. Warhammer Online and Age of Conan saw huge sales numbers at release as a subscription only game. Remember there are millions of MMO gamers who are use to and comfortable in subscribing to play MMO’s. To further back that up Blizzard just announced that World of Warcraft a subscription only game just reached a record 12 million worldwide subscribers so clearly that revenue model is doing very well and not in decline.

The reason we have seen a slew of MMO’s not doing well has nothing to do with if they were subscription base and has everything to do with the quality of the game that was released. Gamers are willing to pay for a solid game; they will not pay to beta test a game for a year while developers get the game to a state it should have been at release. That is what happened to both Warhammer Online and Age of Conan and many other MMO’s.

So my message to developer and analysts is if you want to be successful in the MMO genre today it’s not about being F2P, its about creating a game worth subscribing to. In reality that has always been the secret and yet so many have missed the mark. The cost of developing a game in that state is going up and if you’re not able to finance the game to that point then F2P is a viable option to help generate cash while you continue to work on improving your game. That has always been an option and one that RuneScape has done well at. RuneScape is the poster child for F2P as it’s the most successful and most popular F2P MMO on the market to date. But let’s compare the revenue generated from the number one F2P MMO RuneScape to the number one subscription based MMO for 2009.

RuneScape reported $59.2 million in revenue versus World of Warcraft at a rough estimate of $1 billion. Which model would you go after based on that comparison? The subscription model is not going anywhere we just need developers to make solid games worth paying a subscription price for from day one. 38 Studios understands this and hopefully will be able to execute on delivering such a game.

About the Author
Diane M. Grassi attempts to shine new light on issues centered on professional and amateur sports through her writing, by going beyond the headlines and sound-bites and to present sports fans with the back-story. In that effort, she seeks out those issues that rarely become headlines and elicits discussion as to why that is case. Grassi’s goal is to not only provide content, but to offer an outlet for sports fans of all types, of various backgrounds and life experiences, to engage in topical issues with candor, good humor and provocative thought. Yet, to Grassi, it is the issues that are paramount, as opposed to the messenger, while maintaining intellectually honest and original fact-based reporting and research without an agenda.

You can read her blog post here however I refuse to post any of it other then my quotes in responding to her attack.

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Diane you sound so bitter and hateful towards Curt. Probably the most hateful thing I have read in some time. You say you shine new light on issues yet nothing I have read is new except your interpretation and attack of Mr. Schilling.

Perhaps if you spent as much time researching the validity of what you write it might actually have some credibility. As it is, it’s nothing more than an attack on Curt Schilling based on fantasy.

First you question the validity of the bloody sock. Last time I checked they don’t put fake bloody socks in the Hall of Fame. I also question your assumption that the bloody sock has anything to do with Curt Schilling getting the $75 million dollar loan guarantee from the state. I think it had to do with what 38 Studios had to offer as a company and nothing more.

You then state the company currently has 70 employees in Maynard and a simple check shows 95 employee’s and I know for a fact they have new people that have not even been added. If you’re out this far on something so easy to check, how can anyone trust what you’re saying?

Next you state the original 50 million from the Job Creation Guarantee Program was set up to be dispersed in 2 to 4 million range? Care to point out were you got that information from?

I also question your time line. You state the Job Creation Guarantee Program was authorized in June 2010 yet say he went to Massachusetts state house asking for a guaranteed loan but when they refused he approached Rhode Island in February 2010? How could he do that in February if the program was not authorized until June? You also make it sound like any business looking for the best deal it can get, is somehow a horrible thing; it’s not, it’s just doing business.

“Rhode Island, unlike its neighbor, Mass., apparently bought it hook line and sinker, because the program’s original authorization was increased from $50 million to $125 million, with 60% of it specifically earmarked for Curt Schilling. Quite a feat for a non-resident with no prior allegiance to the state of Rhode Island, nor a commitment to personally move his home there to date, just his company.”

Perhaps that’s because the money was not being loaned to 38 Studios based on where people have lived or plan to live? Last time I checked the program was set up to draw in new companies to employ people. The people working at the company will pay income tax as will 38 Studios. I think that was kind of the plan and reason to loan the company the money.

“While some Rhode Island lawmakers have questioned how an additional $75 million would be allocated, after they approved it, it also has played a part in the Rhode Island gubernatorial and state treasurer 2010 campaigns, as the whole matter has upset candidates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, on whether this was a wise use of state funding. After all, Schilling has yet to ever sell a video game.”

Actually 38 Studios has sold something more than a game they sold EA on publishing their first game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. In the video game world the publisher is the one who pay the bills so in effect they have hired 38 Studios to make the game for them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_publisher

“Although Schilling claims that he tried to raise venture capital for six months, not a one bit, as he had no product or track record to provide. In addition, the gaming industry is considered high risk, and in such a recessive economy, given that many game makers are also laying off employees regularly, did not further endear Schilling to investors for his endeavor.”

You know this how? Last time I looked Curt said the following “Because anyone can write a check, but after you have written that check, how do you make us a better company?”

http://www.38gamers.com/curt-schillings-leadership-abilities/

“Perhaps Schilling’s best selling point was that he said he had invested his life’s savings or $20-30 million into the company since 2006”

Really Curt said that? Can you produce a credible quote? Curt Schilling has invested $30 million of his own money and that fact just came out. Regardless of if this is part or all of his saving when was the last time you saw someone start up a video game company and invest that much of their own money? I would guess never

“But EA and 38 Studios would need 1.75 million copies of Reckoning to sell, just to break even. Best estimates presently are slated for 1million copies to sell. And even though EA has decreased its number of annual releases each of the past two years from 50 to 35 games, due to the soft economy, in addition to laying off 1,500 employees, it has already made its commitment.”

LOL where do you get those kind of numbers from? How does anyone have any kind of credible idea of how many copies a game will sell a year before release? I will tell you none. So EA has reduced the number of games it’s going to back and release but still picked 38 Studios? Wow interesting that a company that is so much a part of the gaming industry even in tough times still went with 38 Studios. Hmm perhaps it’s because they feel the company and its employees really do know what they are doing and they feel the company will deliver? I think they are probably one of the best to evaluate and make that kind of judgment. Definitely far more then yourself or others who think they understand the industry.

“But if 38 Studios does not earn a dime, it will but pick the pockets of the good taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island based upon how the deal was structured. Genius perhaps on Schilling’s part?”

Funny how you left out the part where Curt would lose his 30 million investment if 38 Studios defaulted on the loan. The state takes everything the company has and Curt walks away with nothing. If he was genius he would have done it so he kept his 30 million but I guess instead it just makes him an honest business man trying to make his company be a big success and not only keep his 30 million but turn it into far more and help his employee’s and the state with jobs and even up to 15 million on bonus money to the state if the company exceeds projected income.

“The upshot is, Curt Schilling may like to play video games and may know how to pitch a winning World Series game, but he knows little about managing a multi-million dollar operation and in building the empire in which he predicts will become a billion dollar business.”

Really? Hmm 4 years he has purchased another gaming studio, got EA to fund the development of their first game and managed to get a state guarantee loan from the state of Rhode Island? You sure he does not know what he is doing? Any idea how much cash World of Warcraft generates? I very much see it possible but then again to someone not in the “know” like yourself I guess it would be a bit of a stretch.

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I would just like to add that I forgot this in my initial response. It’s not just Curt behind 38 Studios he has a very experience team in all areas of the company and they have been attracted to 38 Studios in part because of Curt Schilling and what he is trying to accomplish.

The two biggest reasons why I feel game companies do not succeed is leadership and funding. In reality the two are tied together. If the company is financed by venture capitalists or the studio is part of a large corporation they are only concerned about the bottom line and hitting deadlines. When people are asked to work 16 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week to hit a milestone or launch date the company is nothing more than a high paying sweat shop. It shows that they ultimately valued the end product more than the people making it. That’s what I got a glimpse of years back and decided that the video game industry was not for me. It also makes you the one not calling the shots as your either working for a large corporation and your boss calls the shots or you’re the owner but because it’s not your money the venture capitalists call the shots.

So now that we know how some of the companies in the industry work let’s look at what Curt is doing. First, he has resisted the urge to go the venture capitalist route “Because anyone can write a check, but after you have written that check, how do you make us a better company?” says Curt Schilling

Now we know Curt has also gotten a state backed loan to complete his funding requirements without going with venture capitalist. We also know Curt has invested $30 million of his own money in the company. This is very important because he is not committed to any time line and remains 100% in control of the company. Also with Curt having so much of his own money invested in the company he is committed to seeing it succeed. When it’s other people’s money on the line and not yours, the commitment is just not the same.

So now we finally get to the original question of how can a major league pitcher run a video game company like 38 Studios? Well interesting enough I just came across a video of a presentation that Curt gave about leadership at the International Game Developers Association Leadership Forum in 2008. It’s over an hour long but if you’re really interested in what Curt brings to the table it’s well worth watching and does a far better job of explaining how his experience in the majors has help prepare him for his new career as Founder and Chairman of 38 Studios then I ever could. Curt’s philosophy on what leadership is and what it takes to be successful in the gaming industry gives 38 Studios a leg up on the competition and why I have no doubt 38 Studios will be a big success.

It appears that this is not the first time Charles has been in this position; he was actually the Community Relations Manager for Aion and prior to that he was the Community Manager for CCP and Eve Online. Now of course this is not official so I could be wrong, it certainly would not be the first or last time. That said I don’t think I am and hiring someone with previous experience like this is yet another good move by 38 Studios who continues to put together a team of proven performers and it looks like kieron is a big mmo gamer!

ORZ: Why did you decide to work in the gaming industry?

kieron: To be honest, I never thought about the gaming industry as a career until the internal liaison for the Ultima Online Event Moderator program left for another opportunity. While I was in discussion with the team about the possibility of applying for his position, I was given an opportunity to interview for the EVE Community Manager position. It still amazes me that a hobby has turned into a career.

ORZ: How did you end up working with NCsoft?

kieron: After parting ways with CCP, I enjoyed a short vacation. Later, I saw the Community Relations Manager position for Aion was open and I applied. After a number of interviews and the normal HR process, I received an offer to join the team.

[Source]