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Richard Garriott On Tabula Rasa

Posted by simoniker on from the amo-amas-aminibus dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a RPGDot interview with Richard Garriott on his forthcoming MMO title Tabula Rasa. You may know Garriott from his creation of the Ultima series, but he's now hooked up with Korean MMO behemoth NCSoft, and the interview discusses how Tabula Rasa may differ from expectations: "Tabula Rasa is not a 'virtual world' like Ultima Online or Everquest. TR is a compact social hub of activity but game play focuses on instantiated adventures for a party of players. In those instances, scripted quests a la solo-player Ultimas will be the norm."

14 comments

  1. Scripted Quests by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought Scripted Quests aren't really what people want out of Multiplayer titles.

    1. Re:Scripted Quests by MrWa · · Score: 1
      Isn't EQ filled to the brim with "scripted quests"? Haven't we seen numerous /. articles about instances where the players deviated from the approved quest and were banned - and other players rejoiced because those that didn't follow the rules were punished?

      For that matter - isn't this somewhat similar to Anarchy Online's quest system?

  2. So... by CableModemSniper · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Its a single - player RPG crossed with a chat room?

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    Why not fork?
    1. Re:So... by neostorm · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The main theory behind this is probably that other players can populate a world and provide a social experience, but they can't enrich the already static world, providing more depth and experience beyond general social interaction. By adding scripted elements to the online equation the developers can create a more believable world, which will offer a richer experience for the players as they carry out their social functions.

      There are a couple of Online RPGs that have tried something similar to this so far. The one that immediately comes to mind is Earth and Beyond. Where the players were there to assist each other through various quests, there was a single story tying them all together. When looking at this on a per-player basis, each individual viewed this from the perspective similar to a single player game. Each player delt with core plot situations that were scripted and customized to them, despite the fact that all players had the same scenarios, it made each player feel like a massive part of the world on an individual level, and offered a greater experience on the whole.
      I hope Tabula Rasa is the same.

  3. Perhaps... by GR1NCH · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There is one problem with scripted quests in MMOG's, repetition. Nobody wants to do the same quest over and over again. Thats why most people prefer the wide open non-scripted MMOG's. BUT what if a developer took the time to keep releasing new quests. Sure killing Diablo for the 10th time is boring, but what if Blizz put out a new act every week? and what if there was an alternate act1 so people didn't have to play through the same act if they created a new character.

    All that said, the main problem would be bugs, with all the the new content bugs could be quite troublesome. But I personaly would shell over the cash to have new scripted content released on a regular basis.

    1. Re:Perhaps... by Shanoyu · · Score: 1

      Well, if you had an Aaron Sorkin or some other talented writer providing the entertainment rather than trying to add doodads and gameplay elements, the main draw would most certainly be the plot.

      Content of such a nature would almost certainly be almost bug free from the getgo.

  4. Interesting, I hope they can pull it off... by waytoomuchcoffee · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The potential here is really great. The problem almost all MMORPGs have with is that they were designed to be a computer version of the traditional paper-and-pencil role playing game, but the crossover doesn't work. You don't actually go on a new adventure all the time, you just look up the scripted quest on a cheat page somewhere and do it already knowing the outcome (and in some particularly bad MMORPGs, again and again and again...)

    This game would develop instances of the game world in which things are new, which no one has seen before. AO already tried this, but the variety was superficial. This looks more like a big-budget version of Underlight, where the other players came up with quests for you, but with AI replacing the other players.

    A lot of questions remain. What about the solo player, for example?

    1. Re:Interesting, I hope they can pull it off... by GR1NCH · · Score: 1

      I like the idea of users coming up with quests for other people. Leads to some great variety... but it can lead to some obvious problems. Maybe what the MMORPG world needs is a good "Karma System"

    2. Re:Interesting, I hope they can pull it off... by Paolomania · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The potential here is really great. The problem almost all MMORPGs have with is that they were designed to be a computer version of the traditional paper-and-pencil role playing game, but the crossover doesn't work.

      I disagree. Most existing MMORPGs were designed to be computer versions of the 9-to-5 rat race: give players just enough incentive to keep them working on a repetetive treadmill for hours and hours, while cultivating as many feelings of social attachment and personal investment in the avatars on the treadmill as possible. They all intentionally design the game to have long boring stretches so that you will socialize and become attached to a social network in the game, and feel that you have invested alot of time into your avatar.

      I like the sound of NCSoft's new project in that it actually follows the smaller-party, episodic nature of a traditional RPG campaign much more closely. I also like the idea of achieving social bonding and character investment through fun activities and playing out a story-rich adventure instead of through boredom-by-design.

  5. Another Neverwinter Nights? by Wtcher · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This article does pique my interest - there's more information in this single page than there is in all of the press releases and interviews previously done with Lord British and Co.

    It seems like what these folk are trying to do is combine the 'best' traits of single-player and multi-player games into something that would be akin to a new genre - something that combines the intimacy of the former with the social interaction of the latter. It also reminds me of Neverwinter Nights in a way, but I suspect that Tabula Rosa may be more static, world-wise, whilst enjoy true world evolution (ie. things will change over time). I'm unsure of what he means by 'hubs' though - perhaps he's referring to some sort of multiple-dimension world? Or perhaps these hubs are just geographic areas?

    I still have a lot of faith in Lord British and I'm looking forward to this release. I just hope that when Nose said '3rd person', he was referring to the availability of a top-down/isometric-esque view (I'm not a fan of behind-the-shoulder cameras).

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    ----- Wtcher Dragon, UDIC
    1. Re:Another Neverwinter Nights? by Gridpoet · · Score: 1

      yeah...and then charge you 10.00$ a month for somthing you can get from Neverwinter or Baldurs Gate.

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      -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      This is MY galaxy...go find your OWN!

    2. Re:Another Neverwinter Nights? by Shanoyu · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Indeed, this is an exciting concept. The main innovation that this format allows is for the average player to become the badass in an online game that he has always wanted to be, something akin to Neo in The Matrix. This simply isn't possible in current MMORPG's because there isn't anyway to maintain gameplay balance and make everyone feel unique without an impossible millions upon millions of development hours.

      However I am slightly disturbed by his comment regarding PVP. It is more successful in the Asian market but despite that there is still a large core of people who love PVP in the North American market, just look at warcraft. The primary difference is that most people who play role playing games in the United States are steeped in the traditions of Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop RPG's where Player versus Player combat simply didn't make a great deal of sense. Come to think of it, Player versus Player combat doesn't work very well with true role playing because death has to be permanent to give the characters meaningful motivations to not go about killing each other all the time.

      Thus in competitive MMORPG's (as seen most recently in that dissertation regarding the behavior of Everquest players.) roleplaying simply does not exist, and RPG has become something of a catchall for "Playing a single character who gains statistics and power over a gameplay carrer."

  6. pso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    This format sounds really similar to how Phantasy Star Online works. You start off in a "hub", which is just some small spaceport or something. (there are actually lots of hubs on a given server, and you can switch between). While you're there, you can chat and everything, but you can't do anything related to the actual game. Like you can't equip weapons, or buy supplies, or even trade with other players.

    To get to the real game, you join a team of up to 4 players. You aren't forced to play the same area as your teammaters, but since there are only 4 of you, everyone is pretty much expected to stick together. This kind of limits your opportunities to run off and explore something, which I think is a major highlight of MMORPGs.

    Also, anyone who's played EQ (or similar) will know the sense of awe you get when you see some high-level do something really powerful and sweet. Like, if you're running from some beast, and the high-level kills it with one blow, and you think to yourself, "I'm gonna be as kickass as him someday!". With this kind of game, this kind of scenario doesn't really occur.

    And there's something to be said for being able to log-in and to be in the game world right away. It's not so fun when you have to wait until you find a good group before you can play.

    The point I'm trying to make, is that this game format isn't horrible, but you're going to lose a lot of the qualities that make MMORPGs so alluring.

  7. Ultima Online Charter Edition by Nectar · · Score: 1

    Another MMO from Garriott -- I can hardly wait! I was an early beta user of Ultima Online, and a junkie of the game for 2 years after it's retail release. I was so excited about the game, that when it went retail I bought TWO copies of the special Charter Edition ... I kept one shrink-wrapped and in the original shipped packaging. It went into my basement which I just cleared out this past weekend. This story has prompted me to pass it on.

    You can get this copy of the Ultima Online Charter Edition!