This week is slow in terms of videogame industry news, but rich on developer stories told by Paul, so be prepared for a lot of advice for the kid who wants to make games instead of just play them.
Video game degrees in the US increase by 50% in five years
European Women in Games Hall of Fame adds new members
All this and Listener Feedback, with the Question of the Week: “Have you ever created your own content with a game’s editor?”
0 thoughts on “Episode 361: Dev Stories”
@Notch selling Mojang to Microsoft: I was a bit apprehensive when I first heard this story. Though we have no confirmation I’m taking the silence as to mean a deal is being discussed and nothing is finalized yet. The more I thought about it and after listening to your take on it I think it could be alright. I’m just concerned with what they might charge for using the PC version. I’ve also come to be used to Mojang having added features with each new version release and I hope that continues. I’m not so bothered by Notch selling the company since he’s walked away from Minecraft when he did the Full release a couple years ago. I hope that we will also still be able to use our own custom skins, resource packs and mods for the PC.
@Good games worth paying for: I do agree with the sentiment that quality games are indeed worth paying for. Like Skyrim was and I’m sure a lot of hard work went into that game. The quote “a terrible game lasts forever” is right when you have the Atari ET as an example.
@80’s shows: I got both the Dungeons and Dragons and Captain N show references , I loved both shows as a kid.
@FFVI: I knew I had forgotten to mention Terra from FF6, I feel that the first half of that game was about Terra and Celeste the second half the game. I remember the argument I got in with my friend over this when he noticed that I wasn’t using Edgar or Locke in my party and he questioned me “Why aren’t I using the main guys?” My response was “what main guys? Terra and Celeste are the heros and he got so mad and yelled at me that Edgar was the hero. How can he be the hero, or Locke, when you can beat the game without them at all? More over the whole story revolved around the Espers and the empire trying to use them.
And just FYI I am a guy but that doesn’t mean I can’t emphasize with women or feel rejected when I hear things like “Girls won’t like you if you play games, why don’t you play a sport instead?”
I also did misunderstand your point Paul, thanks for clearing it up.
@QOTW: I remember making a few custom units in CIV 2 and using the map editor. I’ve played around with programs like RPG Maker and other similar RPG games like Neverwinter. The amount of work in making even the smallest dungeons or quests is just tremendous so I have to give it to those who make entire games worth of content and quality work. You do get what you pay for.
This week the guys discuss the mistake that was World of Warcraft: Cataclysm in the Gaming Flashback. They also discuss all the mergers and merger rumors in the videogame industry in the past few days.
Amazing. This has been the quarter for Blizzard and their crazy announcements, starting withDiablo 3 and their gameplay footage, now you can sign up for Wrath of the Lich King. As I’ve found, you can have an inactive World of Warcraft account and still sign up for the beta.
“Today we opened the Wrath of the Lich King Beta Opt-In program, which gives players a chance to win an invitation to the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King beta. For The Burning Crusade beta, we randomly invited players from the entire World of Warcraft community. With the Opt-In, our goal is to strengthen the beta-testing process by inviting only those players who have expressed active interest in participating. Keep in mind that opting in doesn’t guarantee you’ll be selected for the beta.” (worldofwarcraft)
This is a great opportunity to bring back old gamers, since I was able to sign up with an inactive account, if I were chosen I’d be, in effect, paying to test their game. That’s insanity. You know what? I might just do it.
This announcement comes just as Diablo 3’s energy starts to die down on the news wire, giving folks more reasons to talk “Blizzard” news. Perhaps, after this announcement starts to calm down they’ll announce something about StartCraft 2.
The timing is perfect, considering E3 begins on July 14th and Blizzard will no doubt remain in the news up until this event. Once E3 kicks off their publicity will fade as other developers and publishers fight for the spot light (or will they just not show up at all to the dying event?).
This article was published on January 19th, 2009 by me, about an MMO that never came to be.
With Ultima Online heading into its 12th year, and Richard Garriott declaring he wants to make a new fantasy MMORPG, its time to examine the MMO that never was: Ultima X: Odyssey.
Before any discussion of Ultima X can be made, one must examine Ultima IX: Ascension, a 1999 disaster that basically doomed the Ultima franchise, and ultimately, Origin Systems, Garriott’s development company that was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992. Ultima IX was an ambitious, completely 3D game that promised to be revolutionary. For instance, when you shot an enemy with an arrow, the arrow would persistantly remain in the enemy; it didn’t help that enemies could withstand a ton of damage, so they often resembled chia pets with dozens of arrows sticking out of them. The attempt came at a price, however. The graphics engine was so demanding, large cities were villages. There were numerous bugs and glitches. Worse yet, the game was so divorced from the previous Ultima titles in terms of story and characterization that devoted fans were annoyed and turned off from it.
Ultima Online was released in 1997, and when it began to be overshadowed by graphically superior games that utilized 3D engines like Everquest, they began develop of a 3D Ultima MMO called Ultima Worlds Online: Origin. Aside from the new engine, UWOO promised to have parties of 20-30, presaging the online raids that World of Warcraft would perfect. However, the sequel to Ultima Online was doomed by its predecessor – Electronic Arts feared UWOO would steal subscribers from the still profitable UO and canned the development group, sending Garriott packing. Sony, on the other hand, had no such qualms about a sequel and released Everquest 2 in 2004, which was successful in eventually transitioning fans from the first to the second game.
By the time 2003 rolled around, an host of new 3D MMOs had been released, including Dark Age of Camelot in 2001, and Ultima Online‘s subscribership was dwindling quickly. It was clear Ultima Online was now a dinosaur in the MMO world, and it needed to be updated. At E3 2003, Electronic Arts announced their second attempt at an MMO, Ultima X: Odyssey. The reaction to it was immediately positive, as you can tell from the above video.
One of the deliberate challenges by the designers of the announced MMO was the name itself. Unlike Ultima Online and the aborted Ultima Online Worlds: Origin, Ultima X was putting itself in the canon of the series as a numbered Ultima; when rumors of Ultima X began, people initially thought it was to be the first of a new trilogy. The use of the “X” was seen as a bold declaration in another way: it was following the disastrous Ultima IX, putting the game in the same position that Star Trek VI did, having to follow the footsteps of a franchise-killer. Furthermore, this was being done without Garriott, the lifeblood of the Ultima franchise, for the first time.
In being the “next Ultima RPG”, the developers stressed that it would be more like Ultima than Ultima Online was. Lead designer Jonathan Hanna explained in an interview at E3:
UXO is also more heavily based on the previous Ultima single-player games than UO is or Origin (UWOO) was going to be. The Ultima RPG series is considered by many to be one of the best RPG series ever. Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar™ and Ultima 7: The Black Gate™ are often listed in best games of all time lists in gaming polls. It is no accident that the franchise has continued for over 20 years now. UXO will hearken back to the legendary world first brought to life in those classic games as well as creating new twists that will appeal to both old time fans and those who have never played an Ultima game. (GameZone)
Even more appealing was the way characters would develop. The player would pick from six races – elf, orc, pixie, phoda, gargoyle and human – and use one of four Paths, each of which would allow players to buy skills from four different subclasses – a system later adopted by Tabula Rasa.
For example, the Path of the Blade includes Fighters, Knights, and Barbarians. Players who choose the Path of the Blade can select abilities (skills) from any of these Disciplines. In most class-based games you have to choose either a Fighter (a primary class) or a Barbarian (a hybrid class). UXO’s character advancement allows you to either focus on one Discipline or create your own hybrid class.
Player characters would further be affected by the eight Virtues that were found in every Ultima game since IV. Every mission would increase a player’s rating in one of eight Virtue, and gaining in Virtues would allow you to buy Virtue-specific equipment. Even more off the beaten path, a player would create additional characters, and if each of their PCs achieved the maximum in a Virtue, the original PC would become an Avatar.
Another interesting aspect in trying to create a more player-centric experience was that rather than players seeking out missions, the missions would come to the player.
The people of Alucinor will need your help and they aren’t shy about asking for it. Once you accept a quest, you’ll have the opportunity to make choices that will change the direction of the quest, the reactions of the NPCs and monsters, and the reward you get. So you don’t have to follow a predetermined story in order to succeed; you can actually role-play the various situations and create your own unique adventure. The choices you get to make are based on the Ultima Virtues, so there are no wrong choices. Just decide how your character would react.
So, the gamers who tried it out at E3 2003 loved it, and the developers had unique MMO experiences prepared, and a proven MMO license backing it. What went wrong?
On June 30, 2004, the following message appeared on the UXO website:
This isn’t an easy decision, but it’s the right move for the future of all things Ultima, including the community and the team. We look forward to sharing our plans for the future of Ultima Online very soon.
I would like to thank all of the Ultima X: Odyssey supporters who have been with us from the beginning. I hope you will continue to support the Ultima franchise and the development team as they transition to new projects.
Once again, Electronic Arts balked at starting a new Ultima MMO and chose to support the aged Ultima Online with new expansions. But why?
The chief reason was the sheer glut of MMOs being developed and released at the time – Ultima X: Odyssey would have to compete against fellow E3 2003 showcases World of Warcraft, Everquest II and City of Heroes. At the time, EA balked at losing their older property with a chancy new product that had different gameplay from its predecessor. An odd decision, as mentioned earlier, since Sony had no compunctions about replacing Everquest with a sequel – with more demanding graphics.
One must wonder what the MMO landscape might have been had UXO been released to compete with World of Warcraft and the other MMOs. What do you think?
@Notch selling Mojang to Microsoft: I was a bit apprehensive when I first heard this story. Though we have no confirmation I’m taking the silence as to mean a deal is being discussed and nothing is finalized yet. The more I thought about it and after listening to your take on it I think it could be alright. I’m just concerned with what they might charge for using the PC version. I’ve also come to be used to Mojang having added features with each new version release and I hope that continues. I’m not so bothered by Notch selling the company since he’s walked away from Minecraft when he did the Full release a couple years ago. I hope that we will also still be able to use our own custom skins, resource packs and mods for the PC.
@Good games worth paying for: I do agree with the sentiment that quality games are indeed worth paying for. Like Skyrim was and I’m sure a lot of hard work went into that game. The quote “a terrible game lasts forever” is right when you have the Atari ET as an example.
@80’s shows: I got both the Dungeons and Dragons and Captain N show references , I loved both shows as a kid.
@FFVI: I knew I had forgotten to mention Terra from FF6, I feel that the first half of that game was about Terra and Celeste the second half the game. I remember the argument I got in with my friend over this when he noticed that I wasn’t using Edgar or Locke in my party and he questioned me “Why aren’t I using the main guys?” My response was “what main guys? Terra and Celeste are the heros and he got so mad and yelled at me that Edgar was the hero. How can he be the hero, or Locke, when you can beat the game without them at all? More over the whole story revolved around the Espers and the empire trying to use them.
And just FYI I am a guy but that doesn’t mean I can’t emphasize with women or feel rejected when I hear things like “Girls won’t like you if you play games, why don’t you play a sport instead?”
I also did misunderstand your point Paul, thanks for clearing it up.
@QOTW: I remember making a few custom units in CIV 2 and using the map editor. I’ve played around with programs like RPG Maker and other similar RPG games like Neverwinter. The amount of work in making even the smallest dungeons or quests is just tremendous so I have to give it to those who make entire games worth of content and quality work. You do get what you pay for.