Raph Koster On Star Wars Galaxies

Thanks to UGO.com for their interview with Raph Koster, creative director of Star Wars Galaxies, discussing the launch period for the much-discussed PC MMORPG. He suggests that: "The launch was a little rockier than we'd like, so we've tried to be really proactive.... We're making a real concerted effort to constantly improve the game", and talks about new features: "Another big thing that's going in is gambling. So we're working up to Sabbac [the game in which Han Solo wins the Millenium Falcon from Lando]... We're gonna be adding slot machines and roulette." Also touched on are the mission diversity complaints: "The missions were never intended to be rich and complex and deep... they're intended to only take a little while, not be incredibly complex. But, of course, players have found them to be a great way of making money."

Comments

Re:Online RPGs

[Psychochild]

My impression of the MMOs is that gameplay is rarely the strong point.

It depends on the game. Meridian 59, for example, strives hard to have engaging gameplay. The game focuses on PvP combat, so we have to have engaging gameplay or people will get bored. True, this gameplay is a bit different than what you might expect if you've played a lot of single-player games.

The real draw of these games is the community. You meet other people, you make friends (and sometimes enemies), you have fun chatting with people while you're playing the game. These games foster cooperation and competition between the players; becoming a millionaire isn't fun by itself in a game, it's fun because you can compare yourself to other people. (I'm not saying this is what I like or encourange in my own game, just explaining what some players think.) This interaction is what online RPGs offer above and beyond traditional single-player RPGs.

Of course, this also limits the game somewhat. The traditional gameplay of single-player RPGs isn't directly applicable to online RPGs. You can't simply go save the princess and bring peace back to the land forever more, because that would interfere with the hundreds or thousands of other people playing the game. Story and plot take on very different meanings, and it's been a challenge for people used to the traditional linear forms of storytelling to get used to the new structures needed for online games, given that you have multiple people all playing at once and the story's pace continues with or without a single individual's participation.

Some insight from a designer,