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It isn’t new news that Alan “Brenlo” Crosby has stepped down as EverQuest II’s senior producer but I have yet to talk about it. In many ways it scares me that the stable hand behind the game is gone and a less experienced one has been put in its place. I have a huge amount of respect for Alan and will miss him. In my years of being a SOE gamer, from EQ1 to EQ2 and everything in between, he was always kind to me. I wish him all the success in whatever endeavor he finds himself. That leaves us with the here and now. What happens when an MMORPG gets a new captain?
I’ve made it no secret that I haven’t been thrilled with the direction EQ2 has taken lately. Adding battlegrounds and focusing solely on them has been very detrimental for the PvE experience. It just doesn’t feel as polished or complete as it has in previous expansions. Itemization is still a mess as we watch patch notes come out with new battlegrounds gear sets and enhancements. I’m sure someone will point out how many people are doing battlegrounds but that is not always an indication of enjoyment. Battlegrounds are the path of least resistance. Do you want to select your own loot that is comparable or better than what you get from running a dungeon? Run repetitive battlegrounds over and over and you’ll get it. I’m also certain someone will make the comment that the gear is “only good in PvP.” That just isn’t the case. The effects might be PvP limited but the raw stats are there. It is unfortunate that this is occurring since WoW went through the exact same issue. I pointed this out prior to the release and I stick by it now. It happened as we all expected it to happen.
The real question is in what direction Dave Georgeson will take the game. He made it clear that in a recent Massively interview he wasn’t up to speed yet but will eventually be making the major decisions. Given that Dave has a solid background in PvP titles it is safe to imagine he would stick with what he knows at first and then move into areas he is less familiar with. That could mean a rather long cycle of content I have no interest in. What I want is rarely a criteria for game design though!
I did like one particular thing that Dave said that gives me hope for his leadership. He basically stated that he likes micro-transactions over subscriptions because it takes the power away from the developers and gives it to the players.
From a player’s standpoint, I’d personally rather have microtransactions than anything else. Why? If a dev team is running on microtransactions and they don’t do the right stuff that you like, they don’t make any money. If what they’re doing isn’t fun, then they don’t make any money. If it’s not at the right price point, they don’t make any money. The burden shifts from the old school style into a new, “What have you done for me lately?” kind of perspective for players. This makes developers become genuinely interested in giving you the things that you want.
That is one attitude I can appreciate and hope to see more of in the future. The subscription model has become a sour fruit for me due to the fact that you pay up front for something you may or may not get later. I like the buffet ideal behind it but these days it feels like you purchase the buffet only to find out that they stopped putting sesame chicken on it. That is always a tragedy in my book! What do you think though?
I’m a lot less sanguine about Dave’s attitude. If you want to envision a game designed according to cash then go to ebay and see what people are selling on the black market.
High level characters, epic equipped characters, gold.
This implies the best cash shops will sell power leveling, epics and gold. That’s what people will pay most for.
The danger of this is that if you can buy success in the shop people who don’t want to spend $200/month to keep up will quit. Then more people will quit because it’s only worth paying for power if there are weak people you’re more powerful than – if the only people in the game are all paying $200/month to keep up then you’re no more special than you are in a $15/month cash shop free game.
It’s very bad news to let your cash shop profits drive your game design decisions.
I’d agree that things can indeed go that direction. I think that we’re still keeping away from selling power in these cash shops.
I’ve said it before though. The minute anyone sells something in that shop that makes one character permanently more powerful I’ll cancel. If every MMO goes that way I’ll just have to find a new hobby!
What worries me most when an MMO changes leadership is the new general direction the game will take. Like a sports franchise that replaces the GM or coach, are they going to scrap the previous vision of the product in favor of a year of rebuilding? Will the new leadership want to go in an entirely new direction, thus making all of the recent and massive changes pointless?
I am interested to see how things go. I must admit I was not happy with Brenlo’s direction recently. Either mandated from on high or from his own focus, EQ2 has been more worried about getting new players than maintaining those they have. Adding repetitive PvP battlegrounds that have destroyed server performance, worrying about a new starting zone, and concentrating on how new players view the game have all really negatively impacted the loyal fans. The devs honestly seem to care more about making the game easier to the new, casual fan than adding any meaningful content for their regulars.
Overall, I am going to keep an open mind and hope things turnaround. If Dave at least plays EQ2 regularly he will be better than previous producers (most of whom have admitted they raid in WoW and play EQ2 once a month).