Following up from part 1, here are lessons 6 through 8. I didn’t quite make it to 10, but at the end, you’ll see what I want to do about that.
Lesson #6: Remember everything else!
…working at an MMORPG is not only programming. You also have to do some advertising, public relations, dealing with the players, read/moderator the forums and the game, and many other things you don’t even think of before you actually have a working game full of players.
This is particularly nerve-wracking to me, because I’m going to need extra help once we launch. So I’ll be calling on responsible, reliable, and enthusiastic community members to help me with as much as they want.
Lesson #7: Do backups!
The good news was that he replaced that machine with a better one (Dual P3, 1.1GHZ). The bad news was that we had no backups whatsoever. So all the player files, the guild files, and pretty much all the dynamic data, plus the logs and ban list was gone.
And not just the game…
One nice July day, while I was at work, a script kiddie used an exploit to gain moderator access, and deleted most of our forums.
I’ve learned this one from running and building websites. Still, you can never assume anything about your hosting with regard to backups. You should do manual backups, too!
Lesson #8: When change comes, so will complaints
…usually whenever we change how something works, there are at least a few players complaining, threatening to leave the game, etc. In fact, whenever we are making something that was previously simple more complex, a lot of players take it almost as a personal insult.
I was thinking that the chance is pretty reasonable, and was hoping the players will enjoy this change, as it was designed to add some spice into a boring activity while reducing macroing as well. However, the intensity of the complaints was overwhelming. Someone went so far as removing one of our download mirrors. But on top of that, people were raging on our forums, threatening to quit, saying how much the game sucks now, and so on and so forth. Even players that were previously on our side whenever we made an unpopular change started to complain to me, saying they will quit playing if we don’t change it back.
Corroborated by Brian Green (via Raph Koster’s blog):
The basic player demand is, “Improve the game, but don’t change anything.”
This is pretty scary to me, because I know there will be large adjustments made to Lila Dreams as we add new features and really “figure out” the gameplay (because you never know until you have a full set of players in there if something is really going to work in the long term).
It’s made a little more drastic by the fact that the launch version of the game is not the whole game. But in order to launch something that is “whole enough” and fun, I will have to make concessions to design with the expectation that there will be possibly large changes after that to accommodate the post-launch features. I aim to minimize this, but it’s not an easy thing to do.
Lessons 9 and 10
You have a new quest! 
Since I really enjoy blog interaction, I figured we could continue this in comments. As players (and developers?), what are your #9 and #10 lessons?
What isn’t handled well or could be handled better in MMOs you play (or played) that we could learn from? What things have gone right that we could learn from?
Any takers?
18 comments ↓
I think there is a lot to be said for lesson #8.
If you keep it a closed beta, and your select group of testers really understand what a beta is, then you can change all you want.
But if you have a lot or unlimited number of “beta” players, then probably the only thing you should be testing is your server ability to handle a large amount of players. Because your “beta testers” no longer work for you… they work for themselves. The masses only come to see if your game is the next game they play. They will play the game as if it is a released and eternal product, and will either leave in an hour never to return, or become very attached to the way things are. That’s the world of modern MMO betas.
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As far as a personal experience, poorly designed classes have been a large problem for me. I have gotten near max level in many MMOs only to find that my class is not needed or even wanted by high level groups. It’s important to think out beforehand how every class will be important and desirable throughout the game. However I think you mentioned something about Lila Dreams having some sort of flexibility in changing class roles on the fly, so maybe this lesson doesn’t apply to you.
Ryan, that’s a good point about beta. What most MMO’s call “open beta” I am calling “preview launch” which will come after closed beta. The reason, of course, is exactly what you said. Most people in open beta aren’t there to find bugs.
As for character lock-in, that won’t be much of an issue because, as you noted, a player can switch Roles any time (while in town/home), and secondly because Roles are “lite” classes that don’t require 100’s of hours of time investment to achieve something useful.
This is sort of long and rambly, but it comes down to tending to community management.
MMO’s and similar games I’ve played tend to fall sharply into two classes: ones that make a player’s rate of advancement nearly strictly correlated with the amount of time the player spends playing (World of Warcraft is a pretty well-known example) and ones that do something to limit the effect of investing extra real-life time after a certain point. (Kingdom of Loathing only allows you to do a certain number of things each day.)
People, especially new players, tend to bristle at the idea that they can only advance so much each day, and it can lead to situations where new players can “never catch up” to players who have been playing much longer if there’s no cap on abilities. On the other hand, it encourages players who cannot devote eleven hours a day to playing a game.
This means that, in my experience, the community is shaped a great deal by the unlimited/limited advancement decision. In a limited advancement game, players that can and want to devote eleven hours a day to playing a game don’t get to have the advantages over other players that they would in a game that allows them to advance as much as they want, so they may leave. Players that cannot or do not want to spend too much time on a game may like a game that limits advancement, as they don’t have to compete with players who devote their whole lives to the game.
Without stereotyping too badly, there’s a difference in the community of a game dominated by the sort of person who plays videogames eleven hours a day and the community of a game dominated by players who are not. Kingdom of Loathing, which has an emphasis on using one’s available turns efficiently but only allots so many turns each day, has attracted a welcoming, articulate and well-rounded playerbase that happily supports the game through microtransactions. Given the number of free-to-play MMOs that use the other model, I’m guessing that that’s also very successful.
Players tend to rise or fall to the level of the existing playerbase when they join. Kongregate users will probably make up the bulk of your initial playerbase. If you look at Kongregate’s forums, that’s somewhat encouraging. If you read the Kongregate chat, that’s utterly horrifying. However, if, though community management efforts, you set high community standards to begin with, you can hopefully foster a playerbase that welcomes new players and is easy to work with. (In contrast to the experiences of the developer who penned the excellent article you linked, when the best automated farming method in Kingdom of Loathing was eliminated, people took it in stride.)
I’m not saying that Lila Dreams needs to have a limited advancement system, but I’d be lying if I said that I could think of a stronger predictor as to whether a game has a welcoming community or a chaotic one.
The author identifies under Point #4 that it’s important to have good people in community management positions, and I think that in general it’s very important for the playerbase to see the development team as people working to build a better game, rather than as adversaries. (And, given that the dev team is people too, that the dev team doesn’t see the playerbase as adversaries.) I feel like good communication is key to that.
My #9: Another important point is Player/World moderators. These mods are just as important as having any other forms of anti-hack systems in an mmo. As a referee they get to see real time what people are up to, and are there not only for the moderation but also for help if someone may have a question. If you have a good database of players, I would say there wouldn’t be a problem finding dedicated members who volunteer for modship.
An idea I had is to have a derivation of ‘dungeon masters’ (like the GM in DnD) who flesh out content. There is nothing more fun than playing through a mission that’s actually being ran by a human rather than an AI, it heightens the immersion and gives your play a sense of purpose. It would be a daunting task to implement though(especially in a web-based flash game) but once you played through something like that you stay hooked.
#9 and #10: Grinding. Don’t do it. Or else… The overwhelming majority of MMOs need crazy amounts of time to be invested in order to get to a point where you can enjoy some game privileges (i.e. a certain amount of enjoyment). For me the best games are the ones where you can get the same ratio of fun over time whether you spend 5 minutes, an hour or the whole weekend playing them.
Nothing kills a game faster for me than having to level up 20 times until you can get to a point where you don’t die every time you enter the woods.
Joyd, one thing I specifically don’t want is a huge chasm between new players and veteran players. I have ideas about how to solve that (which I won’t go into since I don’t want to talk design until I’ve implemented some of it), so that is a good point, and I agree.
Mods etc: That, too, is in the plan, since I obviously can’t handle business, marketing, programming, game design and moderate the game all by myself! *gulp* I’m going to really need lots of help.
Grinding is obviously something I really don’t like.
So I’m trying very hard to remove it while still retaining some degree of “RPG”-ness (because I love that part of it).
The thing to emphasize is the “degree” part. Lila Dreams is in no way an MMORPG, and I also wouldn’t really call it an RPG at all. It has tones thereof, but as a matter of resources I simply can’t implement a huge content system (because it would remain pretty empty!).
It makes me nervous to push so many boundaries and possibly move too far from what people’s expectations will be for the game. But I really want to offer something that is accessible and fun no matter what your time investment, and that requires doing things differently. That’s why I expect a very heavy amount of adjustment that will come after I have the core game implemented and get some alpha testers in there.
Thanks for the feedback! It helps to think things through with other folks. Keep it comin’….
I’d be careful about removing grind. I know you say this doesn’t have much fighting anyway, but grind (of any kind) is what keeps people coming back to MMOs. No matter how much people complain about it, what they really mean is not “grind sucks” but “the way grinding is being done sucks”.
Most players aren’t game proffesional reviewers, no matter how much they think they know. So what they say and what they mean are usually different.
How about a story?
I mean not just the history or background story of characters/roles or places, but maybe a story-arc spanning across a time line or some sort.
Of course this isn’t really necessary important for making a great game (especially the open ended kind), or those who just in for some casual fun. But then they’re those few, who just spend a little more time & wonder how/why do all those things fit in all together.
Obviously you want to minimise all the mundane stuff; I do get ‘rewind the grind’ bit and ‘doing other things to do beside killing’ part. Certainly those can be remedied with equally satisfying stuff like exploration,collecting and the likes. But even then could become a little aimless, without some sense of direction.
You sneaky guys got me talking about design!
(And I’ve said too much, even!!)
AlbeyAmakiir, I think of it this way: would I rather go stand around and kill 10 of the same creature or go into a level where there are objectives and things to accomplish other than hunting/camping the same creature 10 times in a row?
I don’t believe that people like the grind. I do believe that they tolerate it to get the “ding” when they grind enough. Gain a level (new stats!), lucky loot drop (gambling!), or access to new content (exploration!). I want to do away with as much of the boring stuff as possible and just get straight to the “ding.”
In idealistic theory, that’s what I’m trying to do, but it’s not within the typical framework of any MMO I’ve ever played.
There is definitely combat, plenty of it. (Although I have a personal peeve about being rewarded for killing everything in sight. Expect adjustment accordingly.) The initial release will be largely focused on combat, in fact. But I do not want the overall gameplay to center on a combat loop typical of most other multiplayer games. The key difference is when I mentioned “objectives,” above. I can say no more!!
Dr Rabbito, there will be some story. I want to have various NPCs that have personal story arcs that you can help them with. I just am not sure yet how that will work in practical reality since things are multiplayer. For instance, if some event causes an NPC to go to another location, but your friend hasn’t triggered that event and you have, does the NPC appear for only one of you when you’re there together?
I’ve played an MMO where that was the case and it was kinda weird, but it wasn’t too confusing. So it’s one possible way. The other (maybe better) way is to instance those story areas for each player. But that also brings some limitations. Oh the agony of choice!!
I will also note that I consider collecting stuff a type of grind, too. Although, I don’t mind it nearly as much as the combat grind because it’s not so constant and in your face. Plus, some things you collect might be functional. So, there is some grind, but I really want to make it as painless as possible.
This is all in idealistic theory, so I’m really breaking the rules for lesson #8!!! There’s a 150% chance the game will evolve radically–but that’s good. However! I’m going to reference this post (and point and make a stern facial expression) if anyone reading complains when the game isn’t exactly as I’ve described so far!
But thanks to lesson #1, I know that nobody here is reading this and thus my warnings are in vain! Pfft! 
We’re off on a tangent, so please let’s keep to the topic of lessons for making MMO experiences (not game design!) better for players.
Don’t worry dude, I’m reading this. I’ll remember it when the game comes out.
Grind (of any kind, not just endless fighting) really does take a lot of (not entirely undeserved) flak, but it is a very cheap way to increase the amount of time it takes to explore all of a game’s content. Obviously the ideal way to do that is to have more content, but that’s a lot more expensive than slowing down the leveling curve. Other ways of prolonging the experience, such as long travel times, tend to be even less popular. At an extreme end, allowing people access to most of a game’s content without having to invest much time not only diminishes the sense of accomplishment, but might actually decrease enjoyment of that content. People tend to value things more if they cost more to get.
I’m actually sort of curious about what the early days of the game will be like; heavily publicized commercial games like World of Warcraft are often intensely crowded during the first week or two, to the extent that it can be difficult to do many of the quests. (If eighty people are trying to each kill eight young wolves, it’s a real struggle.) On the other hand, many browser-based games take a while to get off the ground, launching without much publicity and without much content.
I’m reading too!! (sort of!)
For Lesson #8, how about displaying a huge banner somewhere, warning players that this game undergo constant changes and improvement?
But…then, that would contradict lesson #1
I think all the upcoming (and inevitable!) complaints can get a little complicated; who to listen or to ignore.
Taking back to AlbeyAmakiir’s comment, the players might not really know what’s missing, or needed improvement, and only worried of the immediate effect.
So kind of a tug-of -war situation; be it adopting any helpful feedbacks and act accordingly OR standing up as much of your idealistic theory for a much better investment in the future.
Joyd, I have big problems justifying the grind when it’s blatantly meant to “extend play time.” I think if there is an issue with people burning through a game “too fast” then designers need to rethink the fundamentals of the gameplay. (For instance, maybe question the choice of making a multiplayer game based on the structure of a single player RPG?!) One day I’ll be dead, so my time is too precious to waste on a game that intentionally makes me do mindless things so I can eventually reach the “good” parts.
Launching with a small audience is actually a virtue since it allows getting the early kinks fixed without making a bunch of people mad.
But, since the game will launch on Kongregate, I have a feeling we might not have that opportunity.
All said and done, I’ll take the bigger audience over the comfort of a smaller launch. But that means our beta period has to be more rigorous (and probably long) so we can have a really solid opening day. This is another reason I’m not trying to implement the whole game design at first. It would just be too much to test and balance. I’d rather get something playable out there sooner and gradually build than wait four years to launch at all.
Dr Rabbito, my plan is to consider player feedback, but always defer to my own vision for the game. It will be important especially soon after launch because the game still won’t be truly complete, and I’ll probably hear lots of requests for things I’m already planning. Later, after I have most of the stuff that I want to see in the game, I will begin to consider a more community-driven process where I add features being requested that will benefit a large proportion of the players. Like you said, it’s a balancing act/tug of war.
O’ course, take your grain of salt! Everything changes and nothing is set in stone.
Some of us like the grind, haha.
Now to answer the question: “What isn’t handled well or could be handled better in MMOs you play (or played) that we could learn from? What things have gone right that we could learn from?” I have only played a few online games, so I will hit each one and what in particular drew me to them.
FFXI - An amazingly in depth game, it has it all. A complete crafting system, professions worth the time you spend on them, a truly interlocking class system (healers can and will die if they try to solo anything), and a wonderful storyline to tie everything together. To be honest I have always been a big fan of strong game economies and worthwhile professions, so that and the importance of healing classes was a major selling point for me.
WoW – Well, it was fun before it became ‘cool’. WoW managed an excellent balance that most games miss between mid and high-end content. Being able to play in a massive group to accomplish lofty goals is always a high point in an online game, but every now and then a person likes to go out alone. WoW managed to provide content for both sides, and everyone in between. This is mainly an issue of content and variety, but a few games hit it well enough.
Guild Wars – Another favorite. Like FFXI this has a great back-story that ties in strongly to game play. Crafting was roughly non-existent, but was made up for by the best pvp system I have ever seen.
Lessons learned:
Some of the best qualities that go into an online game are the following-
High reward for team play.
Crafting and an economy that the players can be involved in.
High level of customization as far as equipment and character growth.
Every class has a use…no ‘who needs a rogue’ moments.
Availability of areas where one can solo (especially start areas).
PvP of some sort, but only if it can be balanced (note that people will complain no matter how well you balance it).
Anyway I just found this place so I apologize if I am repeating points.
> PvP of some sort, but only if it can be balanced (note that people will complain no matter how well you balance it).
Actually, PvP is only well balanced if everybody complains.
Re: the limited vs. unlimited character advancement trade-off.
Can you implement an unlimited character advancement system where a given fixed % increase in one area detracts a fixed % from another, so by becoming infinitely powerful, you become infinitely crap at the same time?
Most of the time a new character in your average mmo game starts at (roughly) zero stats and each ding adds stats. You customize your character by increasing the rate at which certain stats grow per ding.
Instead, start somewhere close to 50% of where you want stats to balance by end game, over the course of leveling players can grow ALL of their stats to 100%.
Using the cliche attack/defense trade-off, upping your physical stats by 10% would decrease opposing other stats by 10% and dropping below 0% for something might have some interesting side-effects. You could set up a nice colour wheel for emotions and even link stats like upping an “anger” stat also upps “determination” stats by a small amount.
Like for example, increasing your “strength” decreases your speed by a certain amount so that by the time you one-shot opponents they (on average) will always be faster than you, by the time you are one or two shotting the stronger opponents in the game, your speed is below 0% and you can no longer jump, on top of the fact that your opponent is firing off attacks much faster than you. At the very extreme end of things, it may take you a few seconds to get moving so that you are little more than a stationary turret if you want to attack and now you are relying on your friends just to stay alive.
yada yada it’s not a combat heavy game, but combat hypotheticals are great to simply demonstrate a mechanic because you’ve got that obvious cause-effect going on
Actually, I do have some ideas in mind for balancing power like that. It would make upgrade decisions much more interesting because for each up, there would be a down.
Would it be fun in reality? Only testing will tell.
cooool i can’t wait to see how it gets balanced.
Just make sure nobody is making any permanent decisions or things that can’t be rectified with a little elbow grease.
I remember when I first started my warlock on wow and pumped spirit because the game manual said “increases rate of mana regeneration” without mentioning that locks actually don’t regenerate mana while casting… That could have easily been a wasted character if the game was set up slightly differently.
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