Some games require grouping. We hate that, especially when certain classes are required, because you can easily spend half your in-game time looking for group members. Some games encourage soloing. We often like that, but single-player games deliver a much better solo experience. Some games discourage grouping, often as an accident of game mechanics, which is just poor. Some games encourage and reward grouping without requiring it, which is the best of all possible worlds.
I have a very long version with many examples after the break, but that is the core of my message today: encourage grouping, do not require it, and make sure the game mechanics really do encourage it.
You encourage grouping by increasing rewards for groups and adding abilities that require groups to take full advantage of them. You require grouping by giving enemies ridiculous numbers of hit points, failing to scale encounters for different numbers, or making encounters that demand (or all but demand) several specific abilities that are spread across the classes. You discourage grouping by making quests difficult to do together and failing to scale encounters for different numbers. Yes, a lack of scaling can both require and discourage grouping.
Continue reading ‘Grouping as the Better Option’
Dark Age of Camelot had concentration-based buffs. If you want to limit the number of characters someone can buff, just code that. Recast timers are annoying; Bob wants to keep these five buffs live all the time, done.
Yes, it encourages dual-boxing. Yes, there are times when you do want things to be timer-based. But if Bob can keep this buff on five characters continuously, just let him do it, rather than having him re-buff every four minutes.
: Zubon
According to Destructoid, members of the UO dev team as well as some developers at Mythic have been laid off and the rest of team has been moved from the Redwood Shores, CA studio to Mythic’s Fairfax, VA. UO, Dark Age Of Camelot and Warhammer Online will continue but more layoffs are expected throughout these and other Electronic Arts studios.
[DAoC] After we graduated from college, many of my friends decided to stay in touch in Albion. Despite no two of us being in the same time zone, we set up a play time when we all logged into Dark Age of Camelot. I had intended to be our Cabalist, but the lure of the run speed buff led me to be a Theurgist. Fear my bladeturn! It was also where I started learning all the EQ jargon we did not use in AC. Mez?
Let us turn to the three-part land of swords and sorcery. Okay, there are hundreds of fantasy RPGs, but what made this one fun to play (and presumably still keeps thousands playing it, if you will forgive the use of past tense)?
Continue reading ‘Some Things Dark Age of Camelot Did/Does Right’
One of the devs over at Dark Age of Camelot has posted a letter on The Camelot Herald. Of interest to me was this part:
“…since the original launch of the game, we have looked at creating a new server type that is geared to players who have less time than others to commit to a MMORPG. This exciting new server will cater to both the casual player as well as address some of the concerns of players about bots and the time commitment necessary to complete ToA. We will be announcing full details about this server type in the coming weeks but I believe that this server will go a long way in making DAoC the leader of the pack in regards to the casual player. As part of this, we will also be looking at the impact of the death penalty and other aspects of the game on the casual player.”
The popularity of World of Warcraft is already making waves throughout the MMOG market. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? We can only watch and see.
From the Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs expansion website, I read the following tidbit:
“Catacombs marks the first time that Camelot has used dungeon “instancing” where players and groups can adventure in their own private adventuring areas - an entire adventure spawned specifically for you or your group alone. Includes private tasks, private dungeons, and more!
For those play sessions where you don’t have much time, you’ll have your own content. Private Adventuring is available to all levels and dynamically scales in difficulty depending on the makeup of your group!”
Bravo!!! I am going to have to give some serious thought to checking it out, just because they are so smart.