No Post Today - Blame Deadlock

 Just like last year there inevitably comes a day in Blaugust where I can't hit my daily post commitment, but there is a secret hack for Blaugust: just post something and it counts.  There are no rules except the rules you make for yourself. So as I said last year...

 Must watch Starfield streamsDeadlock streams.  This post still counts for Blaugust!

Deadlock!?

 What the heck is Valve doing with Deadlock?  Apparently it's the hottest thing since sliced bread but you can only get a chance to play via another tester inviting you?  I've been invited, by multiple people now, but have yet to see the invite notification/email (waiting 24+ hours now).  So I'm stuck here watching videos instead.

 One video that I really liked was Day9s

  What I like about the video is the sure joy that Day9 espouses for the game.  Many content creators can use a lot of words and video minutes to say a game is good, but its rare to find one where you can read it on their face and in their actions on camera.  Day9 is really pleased talking about the game.

 I really can't wait to play this game.  I had seen the leaks/rumors about it but didn't pay much attention.  However, after seeing various videos like this one from Day9 I am very, very curious.

 I played a good bit of League of Legends and DOTA2.  Add HoN, HoTS, and several other MOBA games.  I feel like I am familiar with MOBA lane-based games to know what I'll like.  I even gave Smite a good try so feel like I've covered the landscape this genre has to offer.  

 Deadlock has an interesting theme and visual style which will go a long way for me as I've been in a "not fantasy" mood lately.  There seems to be a big cast of characters already in the game with a wide variety of styles supported.  As Day9 says in his video he found his style to play which wasn't dependent on being the best shot.  With that said the skill ceiling does look high but more due to variety and complexity than strictly ability to aim.

 Hopefully I'll get an invite in the next few days and can give the game a fair shake for some honest opinions.  Are you playing Deadlock? Waiting on your invite? What do you think?

MyMMORPG: The 3 Pillars

This is a post in my ongoing series MyMMORPG where I pontificate about the MMORPG I would create should I ever get the chance.  See all of my MyMMORPG tagged posts.

 My last post for MyMMORPG covered my "rule of 10" and how it is important to strike a balance between too few and too many decisions to put in front of a player at any given time.  That rule sets a good tone for systems, but it doesn't give us a framework for those systems.  That is where my idea of pillars come into play.

 Stealing from my real life knowledgebase: A pillar refers to a fundamental principle or concept that serves as a core element of a project or product. Design pillars help guide decision-making and maintain focus throughout the development process.  Effective design pillars are typically:

•     Limited in number (usually 3-5)
•     Simple and easy to understand
•     Distinct from one another
•     Fundamental to the project's identity

  So what are my pillars?

1. Combat
2. Economy
3. Content

 Combat is really about conflict: conflict amongst players and conflict between players and the world.  Combat is not always strictly in the form of hitting things with sticks.  Conflict arises anywhere a player is challenged by the game: "to kill 10 rats", racing to get a gathering node, or an objective to climb to the top of a mountain.

 Economy is best represented by it's definition: An area of the production, distribution, trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. Trading is the most easily understood (trade with players or NPCs).  Production not far behind trading (bang anvil, make sword).  Distribution is harder to understand, but is best boiled down to rich vs poor (which itself takes on a lot of variation).  Consumption is the most important aspect of an economy and without it you don't really have an economy. 

 Content is best stated as "things to do".  Content is the engine that provides context for combat and drives the consumption that makes the economy work.  After 30+ years of online games I've come to realize that content is king and as much as we want to think players, when left to do what they want, will make up content the reality is they don't.  They get bored and play other games.  We must deliver them "things to do".

 And there may be discussion worth having on a missing 4th pillar: social.  Social would represent how players interact with each other.  However, I didn't make it a pillar because I feel like it violates our rules for an effective pillar.  

 Is Social "Simple and easy to understand"?  At first glance but when you dig further what does it really mean?  

 Which takes us to "Distinct from one another" where I'd argue it is not distinct.  Trading is a form of players interacting, combat is a way of interacting, and doing content is a way of interacting.  Social isn't distinct. 

 But isn't social "Fundamental to the project's identity"?  Yes it is.  Without social interaction I'd argue the second M is missing in MM(multiplayer)ORPG.  However, its fundamental in all of the other pillars.  Social isn't a pillar; it is the foundation.  Each of the pillars stands on players interacting with each other.

 In follow up posts about MyMMORPG I will try to reference back to the pillars.  Any idea for the game should fit into the pillars; preferably offering something across all three to be considered as a system worth adding to the game.  

 So what do you think of my pillars?  Any pillars that I missed or that you would include?

Lessons Learned: MyMMORPG and the rule of 10

 In the spirit of "Lessons Learned" week for Blaugust 2024 I want to talk about a blogging lesson I've learned: ideas for serial posts are easier than writing the actual posts.  A prime example is the "MyMMORPG" series I started and, checks notes, wrote one post for.  The idea was to translate my experience playing games into pontificating about the MMORPG I would develop should I ever get the chance.  This should have been easy and I should have hundreds of posts already!  Yet I didn't post about it.  Let's give that single post a buddy using the lessons I've learned from playing MMORPGs for close to 30 years now.

 I've developed a rule in my head when playing games which I call "the rule of 10." The rule states: as a player, I can manage 10 available actions at any given time. Any more, and I get overwhelmed; any less, and I lose the feeling that I have meaningful choices or control over my outcome. This balance is crucial because it keeps the gameplay engaging without being stressful. When I have too many options, analysis paralysis sets in, making the experience feel chaotic rather than fun. On the flip side, if I have too few choices, the game starts to feel monotonous or overly simplistic, as if I'm just going through the motions without really influencing the world within the game.

This balance is crucial because it keeps the gameplay engaging without being stressful.

 Stress is a major factor for my enjoyment of gaming.  I can't do hardcore PvP or "dragon kill point" raid content anymore because the stress outweighs the possible fun.  Stress is also a compounding factor on players and every player's stress tolerance is different.  An area we can take stress away from a player is by keeping them feeling like they are in control. Limiting actions to 10 or less caps keeps the player in control.

When I have too many options, analysis paralysis sets in, making the experience feel chaotic rather than fun.

  Analysis paralysis is a real problem in games and life in general.   The paralysis quickly leads players to feel like they are losing control.  Even if the "good" options to choose are minimal the fact that there are many more choices to pick from defeats the minimal choice.  We also have to consider the game world itself and in the case of MMORPGs, other players, also are providing input to the player that drive additional choices. All of these contribute to the paralysis.  Limiting actions to 10 or less limits analysis.

On the flip side, if I have too few choices, the game starts to feel monotonous or overly simplistic, as if I'm just going through the motions without really influencing the world within the game.

  Going with too few options makes the game boring.  I can only left/right click so many times or press that same button so many times.  At some point as a player I need to feel like I am in control and just like too many options can cause me to feel like I'm losing control so can too few options.  Players end up feeling "helpless" without the choices to control what is going on around them.

 You may assume that this entire post is just about combat but that couldn't be further from the truth.  The rule of 10 applies to everything.  Crafting, exploration, navigation, traveling, gathering, any action you can think of taking in an MMORPG.  Any of them should have a goal of meeting the rule to strike the balance.  

 A complex crafting recipe with 20 materials and scroll bars to see everything is going to overwhelm players.  Breaking that crafting process into more manageable steps allows us to have more control of each step and reduces stress on the player increasing the chance they don't just give up.

 I also break the rule down further as not all 10 actions need equal weight at any given time.  This helps to further strike that balance we are striving for.  That breakdown is as follows:

• 5 immediate actions
• These are the bread and butter actions you take all the time.  In combat in most MMORPGs this would be your "rotation".  In crafting this is adding materials and setting variables.  
  
• 4 intermediate actions
• These are situational actions that are used when the conditions are right.  Too many of these skills and it increases stress and analysis paralysis chance. Four is a good number and gives enough variability to cover multiple situations.
  
• 1 limited use "fun" action
• Often called "ultimate" abilities.  These generally charge up over time and have some neat effect.  It always saddens me that this idea is often limited to combat, but it could be useful any other time.  For example; you are gathering away out in the wilderness and build up an ultimate gathering ability that lets you chop a giant tree down in one full swing.  The goal should be to answer YES to the question "is this fun to use?".

Two game examples where I feel like they get it right:

New World (combat)

5 immediate actions: Left click attack, right click block, 3 weapon abilities

4 intermediate actions: Four consumable slots (potions, etc)

1 fun action: heartrune ability 

Guild Wars 2 (combat)

5 immediate actions: 5 weapon abilities

4 intermediate actions: heal ability + three selected support abilities

1 fun action: the last ability on the hotbar (forget what its called)

 The ultimate goal of the "role of 10" is to make the game approachable for players and ensure that interacting with the game doesn't become a barrier to entry.  Not every game follows this path.  Some games, like Path of Exile, use complexity to target a specific type of player.  That is fine.  However, for MyMMORPG we're sticking with the "rule of 10".

Monday Screenshots: Once Human (Dr Teddy and Manibus)

 More Once Human screenshots this fine Monday.

FINALLY got my Dr Teddy!  He heals and can pick you up when you are knocked down.

Manibus and his many noodly appendages descending from the skies

More Manibus action

Riding off towards the mountains

Blaugust 2024: We're in the home stretch now cats and kittens

 We're in the home stretch now cats and kittens (as Mike Mcgrath would say)!  Blaugust 2024 is coming to a close and that means "Lessons Learned Week"!

 Lessons Learned Week (August 25th – August 31st) – This week is a reminder that the goal of Blaugust is to refresh the content creators out there for the coming year, and not to burn them out in the process. Some folks are going to cross the finish line and immediately go dormant and others will want to process their thoughts about the proceedings. This space is reserved as a bit of a cooldown lap so that you can share your own experiences.

 

Staying Motivated? My favorite decaf coffee!

 It's Saturday of the "Staying Motivated" week for Blaugust 2024 and I'm running out of ideas and have a jam packed weekend so let's keep it simple for today's post.  I recently dialed back my caffeine intake to one cup of coffee a day but I missed that warm cup later in the morning.  As a compromise with myself I decided to make that second cup decaf.  

 A lot of decaf coffee has a "taste" to it so I did some research and found out about the "swiss water method" for decaf coffee.  A quick search of my local grocery store shelves and I found a few brands advertising this method.  After some trial tastings I landed on Peet's Coffee brand; specifically Decaf Major Dickason's Blend.  If you are looking for a decaf coffee to give a try I'd recommend it.

Staying Motivated for the Future of MMORPGs?

 It's Friday of the "Staying Motivated" week for Blaugust 2024 and what better way to wrap the work week than thinking about the future of MMORPGs!  Fortunately TheLazyPeon has taken the time to do must of the thinking for us (it is Friday after all!).

 As can be guessed much of the "future" that is discussed includes AI and TheLazyPeon goes through a number of use cases for AI in games.  Everything from simulating players and creating dynamic NPCs that respond to players in interesting ways is mentioned.  Even the prospect of AI generating an MMO from scratch with just a few phrases!

 It is the "simulating players" that I think was most interesting and realistic of the bunch; especially when it comes to less populated MMOs. Nothing kills the fun in an MMO faster than not having other "players" around. I say players in quotes because obviously the proposal is to create fake players which is basically "adding bots to the game".

 The difference with what we think of bots today is that these bots would be run on behalf of the game developer for the betterment of the game and it's community.  This is markedly different than "gold farming bots" that more often hurt than help games and their communities.

 You might say "but this is just AI NPCs!?" and I'd not disagree but the difference is intent.  The intent is to make them seem like players.  Yes they are not real and it is all schadenfreude, but that is sort of the point.  Think about MMOs you play and how many players you just walk by without a second thought of whether they are a human or not.  Would it be so different if they were not?

 Challenges arise when you start to look at group content and motivations.  Are the bots in it for themselves?  Or are they in it for the good of the other players?  Can an AI controlled player ever actually stand in for a human player in group content without dragging the group down?

 I'd somewhat argue, in many games, much of the group content is scripted and driven by UI prompts and addons so it is not a stretch to say an AI controlled player could execute that nearly pefect.  The question comes in how it handles a change in direction or the pacing of the group.  Maybe the group goes off script and does something out of order.  Can the AI player keep up?

 I won't proclaim AI can do these things but I find it fascinating to consider they may.  As mentioned in the video there is already an extremely complex botting ecosystem in MMORPGs today so chances are we have all come across that "bot that we thought was a player".  There is no doubt those running these bot networks are looking at, if not already using, AI chatbots / large language models to try and avoid detection.

 Whether we like it or not; AI is going to influence our future.  MMORPGs are a logical place for it to fit.  I for one want to remain optimistic on the topic.  That optimism for exciting new technology and what it will do for MMORPGs keeps me motivated to see what happens!

Staying Motivated for New World?

 It's Thursday of the "Staying Motivated" week for Blaugust 2024 and the desire to post every day is starting to weigh on me.  I have topics to cover such as recent Ashes of Creation drama, Hell Divers 2 losing it's luster, or dupes in Star Citizen but they just don't seem to pull words out of me.  I keep thinking about New World though and if I am going back to the game in October so I need to post to help me understand if I'm motivated to or not.

 The video below from Bowsense really got me thinking about it.  As a long time diehard New World fan the video does hurt to watch.  Maybe it is a little unfair in parts but it's over all theme is spot on.  I hate to say it but AGS has fumbled New World and having taken a break from playing daily I can look back with a more critical eye at the game.

 The video doesn't put New World in a great light so why am I still trying to find motivation to return?  For one I really enjoy the combat and how the game plays.  I play the game; not a UI like I am struggling with in other newer offerings like Throne and Liberty.  The combat is light years ahead after I tried out games like Elder Scrolls Online or more recent entries like Throne and Liberty or Once Human .  If players think New World is bad about bugs or unpolished features (which I disagree with) then I'd really like to see what they think of games like Once Human that are far buggier and less polished yet somehow don't take any heat for it (or lose players over it).

 As you can tell I still get a bit defensive about how New World is treated because I think there is a good base game there.  I was reminded today by a Reddit post today about one of the earliest trailers for the game.  That brought back so many memories of when I first discovered New World in its first preview beta event.  It reminded me that the promise of the game behind that trailer is still possible.

 So here I am recently re-motivated by the original 2021 trailer for New World holding onto the promise of the game it can be.  We need to see what the shift to New World: Aeternum brings and if the team can execute back to the promise.  I think I owe the game a fair try again in October.

Dune Awakening Gameplay

 We just got a 20+ minute long look at Dune Awakening's gameplay thanks to their video at Gamescom 2024.  This was the first time I've gotten to see the game in action.  Go ahead and watch the video and read on down below for some quick thoughts.

Thoughts:

• The building UI was almost pixel exact to what I am used to in Once Human. Even further UI elements such as how interacting with an object seemed right from Once Human as well. Even the machines and workstations built inside the bases seemed very Once human.
• I admittedly don't play a ton of games in this genre but are they all so scarily close in design and UI?
• The combat and animations seemed to need work.  Character movement looked sluggish.
• I like that the new trend in game seems to always give players a glider or jetpack.  Dune Awakening showed off its own flavor in the video and I'm on board!
• The world events seemed cool.  The question is if they are random or if they occur at the same time in the same places.
  
• I am not sure I was a fan of the over world top-down map for travel.  I will have to see how it plays but felt like it will take me out of the immersion of the game.
• Each clip wasn't long enough to get a real sense of gameplay but enough was shown to see the game is well along in development.

 I walked away from the video interested in the game as a possibly more polished base builder survival exploration than what Once Human currently offers.  The game is not set to be out until some time in 2025 so I have time to watch it mature.  I'm signed up for testing so hope to get an early look and chance to provide feedback.