Tabula Rasa's weekend activites still going strong originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red 5 Studios interview: How to fail-proof your MMO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I wanted to give my condolences to the folks who are losing their job at NCSoft due to Tabula Rasa shutting down. Tough luck, guys, and I hope you bounce back. On the other hand, I can’t say I liked the game.

Actually I have two strong memories of Tabula Rasa from before it shipped. One was from an E3 many years ago, when Tabula Rasa was the darling of the show. Groups of four sat down together to play through a prescripted scenario. I played a futuristic warrior that blasted the enemies with my electric guitar, causing musical notes to fly at him and knock him down. As a group, we managed to take out a boss monster and clear a dungeon. It was fun. The cumulative thinking was, “Huh. Really odd setting, but it has fun gameplay.”

There was troubling talk, however. The presenter told us that they were going to add aspects of a Great War, and everybody was going to be fighting everybody else and it was going to be great. That didn’t seem like a very compelling addition to me. It looked like a fun future-space-opera MMORPG with nice dungeons and interesting set pieces. Having a big PK war didn’t sound like the secret sauce this game needed, but whatever. Still reasonably optimistic.

My other strong memory about Tabula Rasa came from the Last Real E3 Ever, a couple years ago. Tabula Rasa was not the same as before. Now it was all about the big war, I guess. Gone were the silly space opera aspects, and now it was a game where you run around as a marine shooting people but not aiming. I watched people play it for a while, feigning enjoyment before wandering away. The presenter asked me if I’d like to play it, and if so I’d get a free T-shirt. I turned him down. In other words, Tabula Rasa didn’t look fun enough to play it for free, even if they paid me with a free T-shirt. I played a lot of other, much more terrible games at that E3. But this was all about market. I didn’t find the “be a space marine!” hook to be at all interesting. And that combined with the “you don’t have to aim!” hook meant nobody was interested. The wacky vibe from the earlier incarnation of the game had actually been a decent hook — something new and fresh enough to at least get people to play it for a few minutes. But that was gone.

I think the moral is threefold:

1. Don’t re-make your game from scratch. There’s no surer way to fiscal failure than having to completely change the target audience of your game after it’s already through pre-production.
2. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. They redesigned Tabula Rasa so many times that it became a sterile and bland thing.
3. Have a target audience in mind AT ALL TIMES, and for God’s sake, spend a few grand testing to see if your target audience actually wants this thing you’re offering. They have companies to do this, they’re called polling consultants. Use them. They are not prohibitively expensive for an MMO company. $10k can get you a lot of really useful data about whether your $20m game is going to work or not.

	EA licenses Dungeon Keeper MMO, for China Electronic Arts has licensed out the Dungeon Keeper property as an MMO to Chinese-based developer NetDragon Websoft with the intent to eventually bring it overseas.
	Warhammer Online 1.0.6 patch adds new classes, tidal wave of updates Today, Mythic brings us Black Guards and Knights of the Blazing Sun! For those who didn't finish the full Heavy Metal event, don't worry, the classes will become available to everyone next week.
	DC Universe probably coming early 2010/late 2009, says comics writer Most intriguing was his up-front information on the game's launch window. According to Johns, the developers are aiming to release the game in "early 2010, it could be late 2009." Read on into the brief interview for the goods.
	Richard Bartle responds to "torture quest" issue A few days ago we ran a report on Richard Bartle's take on a torture quest in World of Warcraft, the Art of Persuasion. Since then, the discussion has exploded and some have taken Bartle's quotes out of context. Because of this, Bartle has created a follow-up post to clarify some of the points that may have been misinterpreted.
	NCsoft clarifies its rationale for closing Tabula Rasa Last week we spoke very briefly with NCsoft's Director of Public Relations David Swofford about the company's decision to close Tabula Rasa. He reiterated the basic statement we heard from several sources surrounding the call: this was all about the bottom line.

Continue reading Massively week in Review

Massively week in Review originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tabula Rasa's Deployment 15 hits the Public Test Server originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Anti-Aliased: You've been Auto-Assaulted

Anti-Aliased: You've been Auto-Assaulted originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft clarifies its rationale for closing Tabula Rasa originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“So it is with regret that we must announce that Tabula Rasa will end live service on February 28, 2009”

It is regrettable.  I picked up my copy of TR the day of its release and was captivated by the game.  The world looked good, the graphics looked good, the characters looked good.  Combat was fun, the guild I joined was great, and doing instances together was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, it all got a bit dull very fast.  After six weeks I had stopped playing.  I went back to it a few months later and tried it for another month.  Again, it was fun for about three weeks, at which point I once again cancelled my subscription.  I was always hoping to go back to it and give it another try, so the news of its closure is a little sad.  My Exo-biologist will cease to exist.  Never again will I be able to load up the game, select my avatar, and play.  A sad day.

A few people question the reason for the games failure.  Is it the blend of “shooter” combat and MMO’s that fail to work?  Is it a lack of interest in the Sci-Fi setting?  Maybe it is these things.  I know what I didn’t like about it, and it’s the shift from the classic tank/healer/dps dynamic.

While the game did contain tank, healer, and dps type classes, there was no need to have any particular type in your group.  While many might argue that this is a good thing, no more need to wait around for that elusive tank or healer; it was that lack of dependence on other players that turned an MMO into a single player game.  That and PuGs.  Why pay $15 a month to do what you can do in Halo for free.  Certainly the game lacked in content and replayability, and many things that were slated to be in the game never got there.  And I experienced the worst PuGs of any game, so even if you could get a group together, which you couldn’t, you didn’t want to.

It’s hard to believe the game will be no more.  It really wasn’t a bad game; it just lacked a reason to keep playing.  Openedge mentions Stargate Worlds, another Sci –Fi MMO due for release, and is of the opinion that it will be a failure.  I can’t help but agree, and I think I’ll wait a while before trying it.  I’m getting a little weary of trying games straight from release.  Tabula Rasa, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online.

So what of NCSoft?  Their next flagship title, Aion – The Tower of Eternity, is currently in Beta and should see a North American release around the middle of 2009.  Apart from that, there is not a single MMO on the horizon that has me excited.  Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.

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Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

Gamasutra.com - Game Industry Jobs

2K Marin: Systems Designer
"2K Marin is looking for a dedicated, passionate and personable Systems Designer to join the team working on Bioshock 2. As a Systems Designer, you'll be the man in the middle of the million moving parts that transform high-level gameplay concepts into concrete player experience (and back again). "

Insomniac Games: Programmers - North Carolina Office
"Insomniac Games, an independent videogame developer ranked among the top 10 best small companies to work for nationally and locally, is opening a North Carolina-based development studio. Our NC studio will blend our experience and proven track record of hits with the tenacity of a start-up. Expanding to the Triangle also allows Insomniac to maintain an ideal size in Burbank while offering an East Coast alternative to attract and retain the best in the industry."

Recoil Games: Lead Programmer
"RECOIL GAMES and RADAR GROUP are co-producing EARTH NO MORE, a groundbreaking original IP action-adventure game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. We are now looking for a LEAD PROGRAMMER to become a key member of the company. Setup by industry veterans, we are an English-speaking team spanning seven nationalities based in Helsinki, Finland, a country known for its high standard of living, beautiful nature and a modern way of life."

Relic Entertainment: Senior Tools Programmer
"At Relic Entertainment we are developing an original game for PS3 and Xbox 360 and continue to build on our history of award winning games - games like Company of Heroes, Dawn of War, and Homeworld. Experience freedom of creativity and know your contribution is valued and recognized by the Relic team and also by gamers and industry experts around the globe."

WorldsInMotion - Online Game Jobs

NCsoft NorCal Studio: Powers Designer
"NCsoft is looking for talented individuals to be a part of the world's leading developer and publisher of online PC games. Makers of the world's most popular online game franchise, Lineage, NCsoft has also created many other award winning and groundbreaking products such as City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, Aion and Dungeon Runners in addition to various casual games via its game portal, PlayNC.

GamesOnDeck - Mobile Game Jobs

Nokia: Director Of Engineering - Games
"Services & Software will play a leading role in shaping Nokia’s growth and transformation, generating new revenue streams based on software and services. The Services & Software Unit’s portfolio of services creates opportunities for people to connect to each other and the things that matter to them."

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Continue reading Ask Massively: Requiem for a Clean Slate

Ask Massively: Requiem for a Clean Slate originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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