Psychochild’s Blog

After having my host switch me to a new server, seems I'm back online. Hooray!

Just in time for the GDC, at least.

I've been a bit slack about posting on here. Life's been busy, including a new bit of contract work. Nothing I can talk about right now, but you know I will when I can. :)

In the mean time, I was a guest on a Podcast View from the Top. Someone blathered on and made their podcast extra long, so they created two different shows for the podcast:

http://vagary.tv/viewfromthetop/archives/68
http://vagary.tv/viewfromthetop/archives/83

We talk about a lot of topics, read the notes for each show if you're interested.
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As usual, I'm not going to attend the GDC proper, but I should be in the area for a day or two. If you're interested in meeting up for whatever reason, drop me a line.

I also have a new bit of contract work going on next month, so exciting times in store!

The title is funny because it seems like a tautology. Of course MMOs change over time! That's part of what makes them so damned appealing to a lot of people. It's why many MMOs survive for a decade or more whereas traditional games are lucky to still see active play for even half that long. This is why a "sequel" to an existing MMO doesn't seem too bright.

But, this fact does seem to take some people by surprise. They go along and then suddenly they realize that this isn't the game game the were playing years ago. They wonder what happened to the elements that made them fall in love.
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I was recently talking with someone and the topic of cultural differences in gaming came up. Games made in one culture sometimes doesn't seem to translate very well into other cultures. The example familiar to most MMO players is how Asian free-to-play MMOs don't seem to translate over to the U.S. very well for a lot of reasons.

I'm going to be asking more questions than giving answers, but let's look a bit at how cultural issues come into play in games.
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One of the things that new designers should learn is the fearsome power of feedback in gameplay. Great games use feedback to guide the player, letting them master the skills necessary to master the games. With great design comes great power in the form of the feedback loop. For example, a feedback loop can help advance a game; having more units in a strategy game usually allows you to win more battles, leading to the final victory faster.

But, there are also dark sides to the feedback loop when it doesn't start properly or if it becomes self-reinforcing. In this case, the feedback accelerates the loop. The RTS example can turn into a self-reinforcing loop if there is no way to overcome superior numbers in the game through game features like defensive structures. In this case, the player who builds the most powerful side first and plays at least as well as his or her opponent will win.

So, let's take a look at some of the feedback loops in games in more detail.
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Ask gamers, particularly MMO fans, what bothers them about the game industry and one of the more common responses will be "innovation". A lot of people feel that the game industry is too conservative, going for the safe bet when players want something new! Developers get stuck in ruts, focusing on sequels, clones, and copying the latest game design fashion to reduce risk.

Unfortunately, the same people asking for innovation are the same people who hinder it. There are a lot of reasons why we don't see innovation in game development. Let's take a look at some of them.
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One problem that the game industry has is that game journalists sometimes lack a sense of professionalism. Many journalists are enthusiastic fans who land a "dream job" related to games; journalism might be as close to the ultimate goal of game development as some people will ever get. The dream of getting paid to play games is probably better realized as a typical journalist than as a game developer.

Unfortunately, this lack of professionalism hurts the game industry. We need more real game journalists who do a good job covering the industry and showing what is really going on. Sadly, this is all too rare and most game "journalism" fails spectacularly.
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Just so the Meridian 59 fans who read this first don't wet themselves: The game will continue running. It just won't be running as a commercial concern with Near Death Studios owning it.

But, today is the official last day of the company. We started it early in 2001 to make games and got the opportunity to buy the rights from Meridian 59 from 3DO; that game dominated NDS's life.

If you're interested in some details, read after the jump.
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I've done a bit of maintenance to the blog. According to some commenters at Hardcore Casual, some people were being redirected away from my blog to a drug spam site.

Notice any problems? Post about them here, please. Read on for some details for the curious.
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