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Richard Garriott, NCSoft Finally Reveal Tabula Rasa
An anonymous reader writes "GameSpy has released the first concrete details on Ultima creator Richard Garriott's PC sci-fi MMORPG, Tabula Rasa, after years of development at Destination Games and NCSoft. The game promises to do away with MMO annoyances such as excessive 'travel time', indicating: 'one of the first elements added to the game was the ability to teleport to a friend - not as a power, but merely as an ability inherent to anyone in the world.' The combat system (in which the developers 'took inspiration from console titles like Soul Calibur II') and level structure is also more unconventional: 'The bulk of the game outside of the Hubs and the Estates is focused on squad-based cooperative gameplay in instanced missions that are available to anyone.'" GameSpy also has first in-depth details on another NCSoft title, Auto Assault, offering "[massively multiplayer] car combat in a Mad Max-type universe."
But if a company offered more than one MMOG per subscription (a la Compuserve back in the day), I might actually consider it. I'm not the only person who thinks like this - only my friends with completely addictive personalities play MMOGs, while the rest of us are content with single- or [subscription-free] multiplayer experiences (UT2004, for example).
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
Anyone else see this "teleport to friend" as an insane battlefield advantage? I haven't read up on their game, so perhaps there's no PVP going, but imagine sneaking a thief into an enemy city then a whole clan of players "teleporting to friend". Boom! an invasion force! That'd be sweet! (or... devastating.)
Good to see Garriot learning about game design, and admitting it.
"Dramatic Compression" is otherwise known as "dead-time." If the player is bored, then your game is missing the elements of fun.
i.e. Why is the player bored ?
Paraphrasing Sid Meir "You want to present the player with interesting choices - problems and offer solutions - none which are the only correct answer, as they work towards the over-riding goals."
It's interesting to note that card & board games typically don't have dead-time.
Movies have learnt this ages ago -- keep the story moving. Of course that doesn't mean you can't have slow buildups, or build the tension, but if the tension it is never resolved, you just don't feel right. People want completion. That's why games have goals. The devil is in the details as they say -- How you get there is just as important as the goal itself.
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So when America has 2 buildings bombed, that's called Terrorism.
But when America genocides another nation, that's called ending the War?!
Are morals Relative? Absolute? Both? Neither?!
I recall that being a very popular 'paper' game back in the day - and we used to use micro machines to portray our vehicles. A MMO with that background might go over very well.
I think with the interesting people, their lives can't possibly be wrapped up into a nice little package.
Here's Garriott's take on Tabula Rasa about a year ago.
I believe that the market will force the MMOG industry to abolish the up-front fee within a few years. Some publishers are already doing that (and more), but the majority seem dead-set on requiring me to pay $49.95 to test the waters. This has kept me away from some that I might otherwise enjoy. Those that offer free trials are in the minority, and should do more to tout their low-barrier-to-entry. Horizons, made by the same folks who brought us the excellent Mordor, might be good, but until about ten minutes ago, I had assumed that they, too, required the initial investment to try out.
Commercial and shareware demos exist because there's so much competition there -- consumers can usually overlook a title that doesn't allow them to kick the tires. Given the sheer number of MMORPGs that exist, I think it it won't be long before their publishers follow suit. Guild Wars' model -- free play, with sales generated from expansions -- is a great way to differentiate it from other games. And what better way to hook someone? C'mon, man. The first one's free.
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Amusing trivia: Will Wright on his first game, Raid on Bungeling Bay: "I found that I was having more fun actually creating and editing these islands than I was actually bombing them in the game."
We're indie. We're working on our 14th game.
There were some real forgotten classics from Origin in that time, Moebius and Ogre for instance. Well worth looking into.
Hah, Garriott made my favorite RPG of all time, Ultima 4. Now it seems he is the only one who "gets it" and wants to cut the boring parts out of MMO's. He's going to get my money just to see what he does. Ah, and for those who are concerned with the sci-fi format, Origin put out a pretty good Sci-FI RPG game back around the Ultima 4-5 days called 2400AD. Check it out.
Reading this article, a lot of the new gameplay dynamics, (such as reduced travel time to meet with friends, persistent "hubs" that give access to instanced areas, and focus on group co-op missions) sounds a LOT like what Guild Wars is doing. Only this will be Sci Fi. Not that I'm complaining, it sounds like a lot of fun. Hopefully, this will be the new standard for MMO gameplay. Seems NCSoft is all over this too...