I understand you might be angry at been flamed for talking about a new project. But your angry is nothing compared to how the players feel this you must understand.
On your site [you] say about AO "it ain't exactly my type of game" from reading your site you hardly seem over the moon with the project or in love with it in the same way you talk about The Longest Journey or Midgard. Its your choice of words when describing the game, AO seems like a monkey on your back, while other projects like a new dawn.Yeah, I've said that
Anarchy Online isn't precisely my cup of tea. I've also said that the loot-and-level treadmill of most online games gets really boring after a while. I'm a role-player. I'm into setting, story, history, character, community, interaction...things that online games haven't done all that well yet.
So traditional MMOG game-play doesn't do much for me. But you know what? That's why I'm pouring all my energy into the work that I am doing, and the kind of game-play that I do enjoy. I'm not working on balancing professions or expanding the skill-trees. I'm working on the content side - history, plot, characters, quests - because I want AO to have more of the kind of game-play I enjoy. I love quests. I love NPC interaction. I love uncovering bits and pieces of a complex backstory, and finding clues and prophecies about the future. That fires up my imagination and gets me going. So my criticisms actually have a point to them: I want us to improve what needs improving. And that's what I'm doing.
Back when
Asheron's Call launched, I played that game every day. Why? Because I felt there was more to the world than fighting monsters. I explored. I walked for hours through the wilderness. I found documents that gave me insight into the world's history. When I met another group of players, it was like encountering old friends: The world wasn't crowded, it felt new and exciting and dangerous. And I
loved it.
It's impossible for me to enjoy AO in the same manner. Honestly, it really is impossible. I'm an adventurer and explorer, but with AO, that's something I can't do: I know all the answers. There are no mysteries left for me, and since I don't get a kick out of levelling my neutral character or slaying a monster I've seen the artists put together in 3D Studio, I'm screwed. It's been the same way with games I've made before. I've never played through
The Longest Journey from beginning to end. Never. Every time I tried (back when we were still working on it), I always ended up discovering something that had to be fixed, and thus got distracted with work. Even now, I'd just get irritated by all the things I feel we should have fixed or changed. As a creator, I get to enjoy other people's creations, but not my own. It's a curse. But then again, as a creator, my craft is to know how to put various pieces together into a coherent whole - and to understand that whole as a vision, to know how it will look and feel and sound and play.
As for the other comments above - I was in no way angry for being flamed. I enjoy a good flaming, as long as it's to the point. If you read my previous post, you'll notice that I said "I expect people to tell me straight out what they think". And I meant that. That post was also quite satirical in paraphrasing (in the loosest sense of the word) the readers' comments, although the "fiction" bits were lifted almost directly from specific talk-back comments. I felt those particular comments deserved a reply. Yeah, I was a bit pissed about people taking a positive issue (the fact that we're now starting to think about restarting new development at some undisclosed, future date) and giving it a negative spin (they're killing AO!). That's all. Because those types of comments aren't very logical, and I think I gave some very logical answers. It comes down to this:
We won't be using any major resources on a new project any time soon, and AO will not be abandoned or lose out when we do!
Alright? It's all there in my post. Sorted.
My last issue has to do with a perceived lack of passion for AO in comparison to other games, and it's a fair point to bring up. Here's one thing to remember: On TLJ and Midgard, I was the vision bearer - the game director - and I was part of the development process on both of these games from day one, as a designer and as the (co-) creator. With AO, I'm only working on the story. I have passion for the story. I believe in it, although it hasn't been told all that well (yet). I'm passionate (as previous posts bear witness to) the reworked NPCs that we're putting together, because it's a step in the right direction, and they're a lot of fun. I'm passionate about Ross' and Radiman's statements and policies, because, God help me, I love those geezers. I'm passionate about the AO universe - the expanse of which we haven't even scratched the surface of. I'm passionate about the new plot twists that lead up to the Shadowlands. I'm really, really passionate about AO's direction post-Shadowlands, when major things are scheduled to happen. I'm passionate about the ambitiousness of the four-year story arc. I'm passionate about ambition in general, because ambition shows passion. I'm passionate about- Well, you get the point.
I'm not all that passionate about the day-to-day balancing issues, because I'm not involved, nor am I an expert. It's not my field, not on AO. I'm not passionate about the professions, or the weapons or armour or nano-programs available. I can't be. I just don't know enough about any of it. I have to focus on my day-to-day involvement with the game, and remain passionate about that, however limited it may be. The overall vision - passion for the game as an entirety - comes from an entirely different source: Gaute Godager, game director, designer, co-creator, who's worked on the game for a
lot longer than I have. And he is passionate about his game, believe me. There are others, too, many others on the AO team who are very passionate about what they do. Please don't confuse me with, for example, the game director, the project manager, the leads, or the team-members who have spent years of their life on this game. Just because I'm outspoken about AO doesn't mean that I define AO's game-play, or lead the team, or hold the vision, or is responsible for the game's success. I'm the story-guy. But that's good enough for me. I love doing just that on AO. It's very liberating, especially since I'm not used to being able to focus on one thing.
Of course, I'm also excited about the Next Big Thing. Who wouldn't be? When I worked on TLJ, I was dreaming about a game called 'Miracle' (which may yet happen at some point in the distant future), and I spent my spare time thinking about it and working on preliminary designs. I live for the Next Big Thing, in addition to the Thing I'm working on right now. I'm the happiest when I have a dozen Things in various stages of development. So, yeah, of course I sound excited when I talk about what's next - be it Midgard or something completely different. I'd be a very, very bad Creative Director if I wasn't excited. But I'd also be a very, very bad writer-slash-designer if I didn't still love working on AO on a day-to-day basis. And I do.
Ow. Cramp. Too much writing. Must go outside and enjoy beautiful sunlight.
