originally a mass of badly dressed Call and its wide open world. Michael Escapist Forum: I very much respect characters became a group of Zenke speaks to a few radiomen at the the hard work Richard has done over the individuals, individuals selling stuff and forefront of the MMOG podcast movement. years, but I have a very hard time For me, it started way back in 1999. It talking about killing things bigger than And Dana Massey explains what Blizzard reconciling what he’s saying here with was February; I was 15. A friend of mine rats. A guy dressed like a wizard did right with World of Warcraft, but his new chosen medium. had me over to take a look at a new summoned a demon right next to me, worries none of the other players in the game he just got: Ultima Online. He then named it “a” and told it to follow field learned the correct lesson. MMOs are a poor vehicle for telling a showed me an ugly little isometric view him. Then a woman wearing nothing but story. While all MMOs HAVE a story, the of a town called Britain, though I a robe stole the sword I had in my Enjoy! players are usually so busy squabbling couldn’t figure out why - no fog or guys backpack. The whole place teemed with over mechanics or questing for loot that in furry hats. The area he referred to as possibility, and I was hooked. Yours, they couldn’t care less about WHY the bank was overrun with people, real they’re doing it. I agree wholeheartedly people, which was sorta cool. Then, he Now, eight years later, MMOGs are with Richard’s stance on bringing went down a ladder and started killing bigger than they ever were. No matter accountability to gaming actions; that, to rats. Not demons, not hill giants, not what genre you like best, there’s me, would be far more dynamic then people. Rats. And then he told me he probably an MMOG out there deformable terrain. Anyone can destroy was paying $10 a month for the privilege. representing it. If not, someone’s a building, but it would take real effort to probably shopping a design document as rescue the destitute of an entire city. This What? we speak. What, for me, began with a kind of action almost requires a persistent crowded scene outside a gray stone bank world, but I don’t believe that the MMO In response to “Blood and Trumpets Somehow, and I’m still not sure how it has exploded into gaming’s great white players of today have been trained to in the Rastan Saga” from The happened, he got me to pick up a copy hope, both financially and philosophically. think of their games in this manner. Escapist Forum: It is interesting to at Best Buy the next day. The following note that there is an article about Howard weekend, I managed to log over 24 Which is why we’re setting aside this - Scopique fantasy and Lovecraft fantasy in the hours in game. Watching him play his week to talk to you about them. In issue same issue; Howard and Lovecraft were character was passive and boring. But 103, “Massively Multiplayer,” Darius Kazemi In Response to “Richard Garriott: correspondents and, apparently, friends. when I logged in for myself, I realized makes his The Escapist debut to tell a The Escapist Interview” from The what so many first-time MMOG players modern-day detective story about tracking Escapist Forum: When I think of seeing - Bongo Bill do: This is big, this is special. down gold farmers in a popular game. both sides of an issue, I think of Dark Allen Varney checks in from the Orient Messiah. I always sneer when the hero In Response to “Richard Garriott: I found my way over to that bank my with a look at Korean MMOGs. Shawn pauses to listen to the baddie’s The Escapist Interview” from The friend showed me, and what was “Kwip” Williams reminisces about Asheron’s monologue at the climax of most stories, but with Dark Messiah I found myself could be, when everyone else was going collapse in on itself someday. These doing it out of choice. I stood there, with real-time or pause-based combat.” high-risk high-profit ventures are a way weapon raised but genuinely wanting to That’s no different now, everyone else is to instable base for an industry. Heck, hear the opposing view. going with real-time or pause-based, you don’t see any other industry doing it. only this time so is Fallout. The plot may have been bunk in general - Brother None but it did a fantastic job of making you ask So if anything has changed it’s that the difficult question about your morals and unique situation behind Fallout can’t be In response to “Cthulhu: Why So justifying the so-called bad guy’s actions. reproduced. Not because the people Difficult?” from The Escapist Forum: aren’t there, but because the companies I think there needs to be some flexibility, - Tom Edwards have closed ranks, and even a both on the part of developers and fans. proclaimed independent like Bethesda It’s entirely possible for a design to In Response to “Richard Garriott: joins those ranks. Only Blizzard remains, retain certain fundamental elements of The Escapist Interview” from The I guess, with their hearty sod off to the, Lovecraft while discarding ones that Escapist Forum: When Quite simply, as CVG put it, “’big new feature’ kind of don’t translate well. Allen did a great job sincerely, I cried. showmanship.” … I’m sure Bethesda’s of isolating the latter category. Fallout 3 has the potential to outsell the There, right there, is a person who Fallout 3 BIS was working on, but BIS If it’s the kiss of death to market your understands. Unique, unparralelled and didn’t need to sell a million copies just to game as Lovecraft-inspired (and I’m not unequalled.Whether Tabula Rasa break even. necessarily sure it is), then don’t wear it succeeds or fail as a game, Richard is on your sleeve. Joe Gamer doesn’t need forever my hero. The base investment cost of the license to see tentacles or go insane or be and ludicrous expenses like their PR gimped in a fight to be chilled by the - Ramification department (including a community realization that we’re very, very small in manager who doesn’t really do anything, a cold, indifferent Universe. Allen’s right, In response to “Gaming’s Fringe from what I can tell) or hiring Liam that realization isn’t sustainable, but it Cults” from The Escapist Forum: As Neeson are choices Bethesda made, and doesn’t need to be. While that’s the point for “the industry has moved on,” it has only because of those choices do they where many of Lovecraft’s works climax, and it hasn’t. It’s not that much have to compete in three markets to so we needn’t stop there. After all, the different. For instance, Cain once said much as break even. That’s not inherent realization isn’t the hard part -- the hard about Fallout’s combat: “It also showed of today’s gaming market, but I’ll admit part is living in the world with that how popular and fun turn-based combat it’s predominant, and it will have to terrible knowledge. True passion for Lovecraft and his powerful character is to bring down the themes shouldn’t be about adhering to game server, to make it unplayable. the letter of the Mythos, but rather the spirit. Dump the stuff that doesn’t work Now, to prevent the *server* from in games and drive home the core horror simply resetting once the game is over. of the human condition. It’ll make the You can’t, really, so you have to make tall guy proud. the initial state of the game as boring as possible. Given Game 3.0, I think that - Erik Robson this could be doable. A thin baseline of meta-rules would allow players to In response to “Cthulhu: Why So gradually build up a complex, rich, well- Difficult?” from The Escapist Forum: developed world, something really worth Just because no game has successfully keeping and missing; and eventually to awakened the Old Ones yet doesn’t unmake it forever. That is the apocalypse. mean it’s not going to happen. And, yes, I do expect a lot of players to With respect to the issue of the cerebral react to the realization that their lovingly path that the protagonist takes, hunting crafted world is doomed with something down clues and piecing together akin, if not to insanity, then at least to information, this describes the pure raw unreason and panic. Compare adventure game (Myst-style, not Zelda) Corrupted Blood: people react to perfectly. catastrophe as they would in real life. The Cthulhu game waiting to be made But to create the slow realization of the is a nomic with a tragic flaw. apocalypse ... You have to gradually realize that you, personally, are Just like real life. responsible for the end of the world. I think that means that it has to be an - Pavitra MMO (for persistence, can’t just restart into a new, undestroyed game world) where the final endgame for one very The page refreshes and I see a list of An MMOG is an amazingly complex names: Jimfun, Jimgun, Jimrun, Jimkun.