Post by Morreion on Jan 5, 2010 7:52:39 GMT -5
The dangers of PvP-focused games (Massively)
A couple of interesting comments:
Scott Jennings: PvP Fail: How PvP Can Break Your Game (MMORPG.com)
Great article, in 2 sections:
and
;D
The trouble with PvP is... well, there are several problems with PvP. The problems of balance are always there, of course, as they are in every aspect of the game. There are the problems of making PvP both accessible to new players and rewarding for veterans, their are issues with keeping people engaged in the game without being gimmicky, there are issues with even such little things as how players get equipment. But as Scott Jennings notes in his most recent column, a lot of the problems with PvP-centric games center around perceptions -- both those of the players, and those of the developers.
Developers who make PvP-centric games frequently are players of games themselves, of course, and so when they strike off to make a game with "PvP done right" they can sometimes fall victim to tunnel vision regarding their game. (Jennings cites Shadowbane, Darkfall, and Fury as examples here.) But there's also a problem of perception from the player end, as whether or not a class is overpowered often pales in comparison to whether or not the players believe it's overpowered. From Guild Wars to EVE Online, every PvP game has had to contend with these issues, so it would be well-advised to take a look at the full column if you're at all interested in the design of games.
Developers who make PvP-centric games frequently are players of games themselves, of course, and so when they strike off to make a game with "PvP done right" they can sometimes fall victim to tunnel vision regarding their game. (Jennings cites Shadowbane, Darkfall, and Fury as examples here.) But there's also a problem of perception from the player end, as whether or not a class is overpowered often pales in comparison to whether or not the players believe it's overpowered. From Guild Wars to EVE Online, every PvP game has had to contend with these issues, so it would be well-advised to take a look at the full column if you're at all interested in the design of games.
A couple of interesting comments:
The perception problem that hurts PvP games most is that it's full of douchebags and that you'll spend more time getting spawn/corpse camped/griefed than you will enjoying the game.
People talk a lot about liking PvP, but most of the time it's they like to win.
Scott Jennings: PvP Fail: How PvP Can Break Your Game (MMORPG.com)
Great article, in 2 sections:
We're Going To Make The Best Damned MMORPG Ever, Because Everyone Else Who Ever Made A MMORPG Is Dumb
So, you know those message board threads, where the guy who runs a PvPer guild posts all the time, sick about how game developers are clueless zeroes who could never understand the purity of his vision? Yeah, sometimes they make games.
Those games are usually train wrecks, because the developers are so passionate and so sure about their vision that they have no perspective whatsoever.
So, you know those message board threads, where the guy who runs a PvPer guild posts all the time, sick about how game developers are clueless zeroes who could never understand the purity of his vision? Yeah, sometimes they make games.
Those games are usually train wrecks, because the developers are so passionate and so sure about their vision that they have no perspective whatsoever.
and
We Need To Keep Everything Nerfed, Er, Perfectly Balanced Or Our Users Will Hate Us And Show Up At Our Door With Large Clubs
The reason the experienced PvP developer has a twitch and jumps whenever someone opens a door loudly? He read the message boards after the fourth “balance adjustment” in three months.
Message boards for live MMORPGs can be very ugly places. Especially for PvP-focused ones, because forum inhabitants begin to understand, that especially for message boards known to be read by the game’s developers, forum posting itself is a form of PvP. Especially in class-based games (note: every single game is class-based, all of them), it is the forum warrior’s job to minimize the power that their class has, complain about the unwarranted power that every other class has, and mobilize the game’s community to address this imbalance NOW NOW NOW NOW. PvP-focused players are insistent on this - if a class is overpowered, everyone uses it, they use it to kill them, this is bad, and it should stop. Now. Or they’ll leave. And take their entire guild... Of thousands.
The reason the experienced PvP developer has a twitch and jumps whenever someone opens a door loudly? He read the message boards after the fourth “balance adjustment” in three months.
Message boards for live MMORPGs can be very ugly places. Especially for PvP-focused ones, because forum inhabitants begin to understand, that especially for message boards known to be read by the game’s developers, forum posting itself is a form of PvP. Especially in class-based games (note: every single game is class-based, all of them), it is the forum warrior’s job to minimize the power that their class has, complain about the unwarranted power that every other class has, and mobilize the game’s community to address this imbalance NOW NOW NOW NOW. PvP-focused players are insistent on this - if a class is overpowered, everyone uses it, they use it to kill them, this is bad, and it should stop. Now. Or they’ll leave. And take their entire guild... Of thousands.
;D
