Expounding on Expansions

[Morreion]

Scott Jennings: Expounding on Expansions (MMORPG.com)

Expansion packs tend to be the most polished content in any given MMORPG. This is because as the years pass, the tools used to develop the game improve, and the content developers become better at using them. Programmers learn new tricks in how to eke more performance from the servers.

Yet this generally doesn't trickle down to the rest of the game. Which is not only unfortunate for the people who aren't playing in expansion areas, but also dangerous, because for some strange reason the oldest, least polished areas are the tutorial "newbie" areas that players first see when playing. You can't redo first impressions, and if a player's not having fun when they start, they're probably not going to stick around long enough to see the shiny new areas.

This article is an interesting look at expansions. Expansions can be a double-edged sword- often popular, but sometimes unsettling- changing the direction of an established game, making earlier content obsolete.

Sometimes I'd rather just see a game get totally reworked instead of adding layers on top that make the old areas deserted.

[EchoVamper]

I've always been fascinated by the idea that a developer might adopt a policy of "evolution" rather than "expansion": little bits of the world expanding, access to a new city, a new valley, new creatures roaming the world, mobs invading new territories or located differently, new challenges. There might be a need for an expansion type retooling once in a while...but within that framework and for the most part content is gradually added for the players to discover and adapt to.

You still end up with a different world, it's just that it all happened gradually. One spin off of that philosophy that I think I would like is that min/max types wouldn't be able to target and break down the changes so methodically. The frontiersmen, the explorers, the adventurers might even have a leg up in sorting out the ever-changing world. That always sounded interesting to me.

[Regolyth]

I like the idea of evolution over expansion Echo. That would be a cool concept to see implemented into a game.

On to topic of what areas newbies see, I think Warhammer has one of the best newbie-geared areas in any game. T1, the newbie portion of the game, is loads and loads of fun. You can do it over and over, which is why I guess they made it free and unlimited. I love how you can just jump in the RvR right off the bat, or even the PQs. It's loads of fun.

[Morreion]

Instant PvP and the PQs are great WAR innovations for sure!