Friday Update: Servers and Beta Update
- Oct 12, 2007
Today we wanted to update you on something which has been a lively debated topic recently, namely our server set-up and our Beta progress.
We therefore wanted to give you some in-depth info on what you can expect when we launch in March. We would like to point out that this is how we plan things today, and that some of this may change.
First of all, when it comes to our main server centers for launch we are splitting them into two primary territories; North America and Europe. This is the core divider. This means that your primary server destination will be decided according to where you buy your retail box. So, North American gamers will only get the choice of North American servers, and vice versa. It is important for us to mention that this is done in order to ensure a best possible experience for US and European players respectively. We are aware of the fact that many would like to play with their friends across the ocean, but we have decided on this approach for the overall performance for the largest amount of players. Should you play on a server on another continent it would mean a potentially poorer gaming experience, latency wise, and we would like to avoid that at all cost. As most of you are avid MMO gamers you are well aware of how important latency time is in a genre like ours (not to speak of FPS games;), and this comes as a consequence of that. We are therefore not doing this to set up artificial boundaries, but to give you all the best possible time in Hyboria. If there is an absolute wish for you, or your guild, to play on another continent you will need to do so at your own initiative, meaning having to secure copies from abroad.
When it comes to the various languages we will support next year we have announced three; English, German and French. In addition we are looking into Spanish. This naturally also involves customer service and community in the localized languages. Due to many reactions on our forums in regards to “lock-down” based upon the language-zone you live in, we also wanted to give you some updated info. With our new, and current, approach it now means that the French can play on the German servers, the Germans on the English servers, the English on the German servers and so forth. We are hence NOT setting any limitations to what kind of language, and server, you can choose if you live in Europe as we have previously mentioned.
What is a fact, however, is that the primary language version on your install disc will be according to where you live (French in France etc.). However, when you choose a server you can now select one outside your language. As a result of this we are currently evaluating if we should include all languages on the various install discs. If we don’t include all languages on the install-discs we will at least aim to make additional languages available through downloads. The main unsolved challenge for us in this regard is the North American Quebec region, whom are French speakers. We will find solutions for this region as well, but if you live there you will probably have to play on US servers with a French language version (should you choose to).
This naturally leads us to the various rating boards of the world, and what this means in terms of the decision above. In order to give you the above we have therefore worked on a technology which is made with the various rating boards in mind. As you may understand, our approach to “mature and brutal” has given us certain challenges, which we have a technology solution for. As of now, this means that we will control content with a server-side tool. Say then, for instance, that you perform a move which might be legal one place but illegal another place (heads will roll, right;). Then that move will be displayed according to which region you are from. If you are “within” the legal boundaries you will see it, whereas a “custom” animation will play out in the region where that particular content is potentially banned. Since this is controlled server side we can therefore adhere to the rating boards of the world, while still making sure that players from various European countries can play together. We would like to point out that you, our community, have been a part in making us choose this decision, and this development.
At the same time we are now deploying a large amount of additional machines to our main server structures. This means that we are getting ready for larger-scale Beta deployment! We now have the hardware, the set-up (and an awesome game;) ready for larger scale testing! As a result of this we are also getting ready to start inviting thousands and thousands (and thousands) into our Beta programs. As we progress with this new stage of the Beta we expect to get lots of constructive feedback on the general gameplay, and we hope that the testers will also love this iteration of the new combat system. This testing will in turn lead to adding tens and tens of thousands of testers as we move over to the new year. This is surely great news, and for you in the community it means that we are escalating our invitation process. For those of you we have defined as “veterans” (which have not gotten a Beta invite yet), we are looking to send an invitation within the next few weeks. As we have stated before it is a goal for us to give you, our loyal followers, Beta advantage as we move into larger scale testing, but we can’t promise everyone access. It is still a matter of focused testing, not “open beta”.
As a part of this we would like to state that it is not a goal to move beyond several thousands of Beta testers at the stage we are now moving into. The needs of the game and our development team will, and must have, first priority. This means that we are not looking into any form of “open” Beta activities before next year. The Beta for Age of Conan will almost all the way up to launch be defined by development needs, but we have also planned a few surprises along the way ;)
We hope that this Friday gave you some answers on many of the questions you have been wondering about lately. At the same time we understand that it might bring up many questions and discussions, which we will follow. We do, however, hope that this insight will give you a better understanding of where we are, how it will relate to you as a gamer, and what you can expect in terms of servers and Beta in the near to middle term. Suffice to say, we really can’t wait to share Hyboria with all of you.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Conan Goes To Tromsø
Conan Goes To Tromsø
- Oct 12, 2007
If you're in the frozen northlands of Norway and want to check out Conan, we will be doing a presentation in Tromsø.
Erling Ellingsen will give a talk on how games are made, using Age of Conan as an example, and give a live demonstration of the game at 15:00 in Verdensteateret (The Theatre of the World) on Saturday, 13 October 2007.
There's no fee to get in and everyone is welcome.
- Oct 12, 2007
If you're in the frozen northlands of Norway and want to check out Conan, we will be doing a presentation in Tromsø.
Erling Ellingsen will give a talk on how games are made, using Age of Conan as an example, and give a live demonstration of the game at 15:00 in Verdensteateret (The Theatre of the World) on Saturday, 13 October 2007.
There's no fee to get in and everyone is welcome.
Developer Profile: Elliot Kingdon
Friday Update: Developer Profile: Elliot Kingdon
- Oct 05, 2007
What, exactly, is a lore guy? Where can they be found? Is it true they roam dusty, forgotten libraries in search of forgotten manuscripts?
Meet Elliot Kingdon, a Quest Designer and Lore Master for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you do for Funcom?
I’m an Information Systems graduate from the UK and Quest Designer and Lore Master for the Conan project. My Dungeons and Dragons experience helped get me my job here at Funcom. I’ve been running D&D games for twenty-five years and I currently run a 3.5 campaign here at Funcom. I started playing computer games on a 16K ZX Spectrum, then the 48K version and then a Commodore 64. I’m one of those guys who still talks about Elite. I got my first PC just so I could play X-Wing and I still love playing computer games. What was your first encounter with the world of Conan? How long have you been a fan of the Conan world?
I’ve been a fan ever since the classic 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian. Director John Milius, a contemporary of George Lucas and Francis Coppola and a legendary screenwriter, combined beautiful cinematography, a great cast including James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, and Mako with a real passion for the source material and a great soundtrack.Like the original books, it’s a great pulp B movie classic. It delivered plenty of blood, a brutal decapitation and one of the most memorable movie lines ever.
I’ve also been a massive fan of Robert E Howard’s books and read them all as soon as I could get my hands on them. Then I really started to appreciate their classic 30’s feel and style. For me the original stories have a Raiders of the Lost Ark adventure quality with a liberal dash of Call of Cthulu.As for the comics, I’ve always loved John Buscema’s artwork, so it was a real thrill to see it in the Conan comics. His supercharged pencils capture the dynamic quality of the Conan character really well.
I grew up with a Buscema Conan bubblegum sticker on my bedroom door. Do you have a favorite Conan story, one that really defines the world and the character for you? Queen of the Black Coast is a stand-out Robert E Howard story. It’s an exciting mix of adventure and Lovecraftian horror. It gives an excellent insight into Conan’s universe and Conan has perceptibly grown as a character by the end of the story. Howard really manages to convey the humidity of the jungle and there’s a great flashback sequence where an ancient event is revisited.
I’m also a fan of Conan and the Grim Grey God; great characters, an excellent pan-Hyboria adventure and a really well crafted story. Sean A. Moore’s untimely death was a great loss. What is your role as one of the lore people? What does a “lore guy” do? We keep an eye on continuity issues, guard against gaffes and act as information resources on the Conan universe. My favorite Lore question so far is can we change the name of Lord Atum because it means tuna-fish in Portuguese?
(Sorry no). Occasionally we have to detail vague parts of existing lore to lock down story or design aspects. One of the big debates on our forums is about the role of magic in Age of Conan. In your opinion, how rare is magic and magic users in the lore? How does the lore jibe with the number of casting classes in the game?
Conan is a low-magic setting, but magic is still a fundamental part of the Conan mythos. The world itself is founded on ancient magical empires from Atlantis to Acheron; Hyboria is steeped in sorcery and fabulous lost cities of the supernatural litter the world. Sorcerers corrupted by magical power, priests of strange gods, white druids and benign wizards all inhabit the Conan universe. Masses of spell wielding players may seem out of place, unless there is some explanation; a sinister mystery to uncover. And what might be the consequences of such a massive influx of magic?
Could Hyboria itself be in peril? How hard is it to adhere to Lore when you're making an MMORPG? Where does the team draw the line between staying true to the lore and making a balanced, fun game with mechanics that work?
A computer game is a change of medium, the same way as films are, inevitably different from the novels they are based on. Players should be prepared to enjoy Robert E. Howard's Conan universe in a new way, through an MMORPG experience. It will inevitably be a different experience from the books, but will still reflect the same Conan spirit and adventure (and plenty of blood).
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Chris Nolan's Batman Begins and the recent Casino Royale film are all good examples of film-makers retelling stories and reinventing or re-examining characters to great effect. Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come and Mark Millar’s Ultimates graphic novels are also excellent examples of presenting favorite characters from fresh view-points.Lore is an invaluable framework. Staying true to it and producing a fun game need not be mutually exclusive. And nothing we do in the MMO will violate the original stories, they’ll still be right there on the shelf.
Tell us a bit about the influences and what the team draws from. For example, how important do the original Howard stories rank against the work of other authors, the comics, and the movies? Howard’s stories are the foundation of our work. Whenever design or lore questions arise, we go back to Howard’s work to try to find answers. We also pick out the best pastiche works to draw upon.
The Dark Horse Conan comics, especially the Kurt Busiek/Cary Nord run, had an inspiring and fresh take on classic stories, although they appeared late in our development process.And our own art department and concept artists have done an exemplary job of firing our imaginations. The classic art of Frank Frazetta is also a great source. Conan is known to dispatch his enemies quickly, so the list of foes who are still alive by the time of the game is rather short (and the same goes for many of his allies). Will there be many characters from the lore that players can meet and/or fight in-game?
The ‘death’ of a character is one of the easiest literary obstacles to overcome. From Sherlock Holmes and Gandalf to countless comic book characters, death is rarely permanent. Take Howard’s Hour of the Dragon and you have a perfect example of a villain rising from the grave to cause havoc. One of the lore aspects I’ve enjoyed is getting the chance to use some of great characters from the Conan universe, so players can expect to meet some of their favourite Conan figures. Who's your favorite NPC, monster, or boss in the game? What's their story?
Conan has to be my favorite. Part of the game’s thrill is going from destitute, unarmed ship wreck survivor to mighty hero and meeting King Conan and aiding him in his battle campaign. Conan was great as a lone-wolf, thief and adventurer, but I really loved it when he commanded a nation and led armies to battle. Getting involved in these sweeping epic wars and battles is great fun.I also love this period of his life; the years after the Hour of the Dragon are such a rich period. It’s been great to work with and explore.
- Oct 05, 2007
What, exactly, is a lore guy? Where can they be found? Is it true they roam dusty, forgotten libraries in search of forgotten manuscripts?
Meet Elliot Kingdon, a Quest Designer and Lore Master for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you do for Funcom?
I’m an Information Systems graduate from the UK and Quest Designer and Lore Master for the Conan project. My Dungeons and Dragons experience helped get me my job here at Funcom. I’ve been running D&D games for twenty-five years and I currently run a 3.5 campaign here at Funcom. I started playing computer games on a 16K ZX Spectrum, then the 48K version and then a Commodore 64. I’m one of those guys who still talks about Elite. I got my first PC just so I could play X-Wing and I still love playing computer games. What was your first encounter with the world of Conan? How long have you been a fan of the Conan world?
I’ve been a fan ever since the classic 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian. Director John Milius, a contemporary of George Lucas and Francis Coppola and a legendary screenwriter, combined beautiful cinematography, a great cast including James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, and Mako with a real passion for the source material and a great soundtrack.Like the original books, it’s a great pulp B movie classic. It delivered plenty of blood, a brutal decapitation and one of the most memorable movie lines ever.
I’ve also been a massive fan of Robert E Howard’s books and read them all as soon as I could get my hands on them. Then I really started to appreciate their classic 30’s feel and style. For me the original stories have a Raiders of the Lost Ark adventure quality with a liberal dash of Call of Cthulu.As for the comics, I’ve always loved John Buscema’s artwork, so it was a real thrill to see it in the Conan comics. His supercharged pencils capture the dynamic quality of the Conan character really well.
I grew up with a Buscema Conan bubblegum sticker on my bedroom door. Do you have a favorite Conan story, one that really defines the world and the character for you? Queen of the Black Coast is a stand-out Robert E Howard story. It’s an exciting mix of adventure and Lovecraftian horror. It gives an excellent insight into Conan’s universe and Conan has perceptibly grown as a character by the end of the story. Howard really manages to convey the humidity of the jungle and there’s a great flashback sequence where an ancient event is revisited.
I’m also a fan of Conan and the Grim Grey God; great characters, an excellent pan-Hyboria adventure and a really well crafted story. Sean A. Moore’s untimely death was a great loss. What is your role as one of the lore people? What does a “lore guy” do? We keep an eye on continuity issues, guard against gaffes and act as information resources on the Conan universe. My favorite Lore question so far is can we change the name of Lord Atum because it means tuna-fish in Portuguese?
(Sorry no). Occasionally we have to detail vague parts of existing lore to lock down story or design aspects. One of the big debates on our forums is about the role of magic in Age of Conan. In your opinion, how rare is magic and magic users in the lore? How does the lore jibe with the number of casting classes in the game?
Conan is a low-magic setting, but magic is still a fundamental part of the Conan mythos. The world itself is founded on ancient magical empires from Atlantis to Acheron; Hyboria is steeped in sorcery and fabulous lost cities of the supernatural litter the world. Sorcerers corrupted by magical power, priests of strange gods, white druids and benign wizards all inhabit the Conan universe. Masses of spell wielding players may seem out of place, unless there is some explanation; a sinister mystery to uncover. And what might be the consequences of such a massive influx of magic?
Could Hyboria itself be in peril? How hard is it to adhere to Lore when you're making an MMORPG? Where does the team draw the line between staying true to the lore and making a balanced, fun game with mechanics that work?
A computer game is a change of medium, the same way as films are, inevitably different from the novels they are based on. Players should be prepared to enjoy Robert E. Howard's Conan universe in a new way, through an MMORPG experience. It will inevitably be a different experience from the books, but will still reflect the same Conan spirit and adventure (and plenty of blood).
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Chris Nolan's Batman Begins and the recent Casino Royale film are all good examples of film-makers retelling stories and reinventing or re-examining characters to great effect. Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come and Mark Millar’s Ultimates graphic novels are also excellent examples of presenting favorite characters from fresh view-points.Lore is an invaluable framework. Staying true to it and producing a fun game need not be mutually exclusive. And nothing we do in the MMO will violate the original stories, they’ll still be right there on the shelf.
Tell us a bit about the influences and what the team draws from. For example, how important do the original Howard stories rank against the work of other authors, the comics, and the movies? Howard’s stories are the foundation of our work. Whenever design or lore questions arise, we go back to Howard’s work to try to find answers. We also pick out the best pastiche works to draw upon.
The Dark Horse Conan comics, especially the Kurt Busiek/Cary Nord run, had an inspiring and fresh take on classic stories, although they appeared late in our development process.And our own art department and concept artists have done an exemplary job of firing our imaginations. The classic art of Frank Frazetta is also a great source. Conan is known to dispatch his enemies quickly, so the list of foes who are still alive by the time of the game is rather short (and the same goes for many of his allies). Will there be many characters from the lore that players can meet and/or fight in-game?
The ‘death’ of a character is one of the easiest literary obstacles to overcome. From Sherlock Holmes and Gandalf to countless comic book characters, death is rarely permanent. Take Howard’s Hour of the Dragon and you have a perfect example of a villain rising from the grave to cause havoc. One of the lore aspects I’ve enjoyed is getting the chance to use some of great characters from the Conan universe, so players can expect to meet some of their favourite Conan figures. Who's your favorite NPC, monster, or boss in the game? What's their story?
Conan has to be my favorite. Part of the game’s thrill is going from destitute, unarmed ship wreck survivor to mighty hero and meeting King Conan and aiding him in his battle campaign. Conan was great as a lone-wolf, thief and adventurer, but I really loved it when he commanded a nation and led armies to battle. Getting involved in these sweeping epic wars and battles is great fun.I also love this period of his life; the years after the Hour of the Dragon are such a rich period. It’s been great to work with and explore.
Age of Conan: Interview with New CM Shannon Drake
Age of Conan: Interview with New CM Shannon Drake
by Dana Massey, 2 Oct 2007 4:09 pm
Funcom recently hired a Community Manager for Age of Conan. The former Escapist/WarCry staffer Shannon Drake took over in Norway a couple months ago and we had a chance to do an interview with him about his new job.
WarCry Q&A: Age of Conan
WarCry: Let's begin with the simple introduction. Can you tell our readers who you are and what you do?
Shannon Drake: My name is Shannon Drake, and I am the Community Manager for Funcom, dealing with all community aspects including AO, Dreamfall/The Longest Journey, Age of Conan, and whatever dark conspiracies we may (or may not) be involved with.
WarCry: As the Community Manager of a soon to launch game, what are your immediate priorities for the community in advance of that launch?
Shannon Drake: My immediate priorities for Conan are contributing to the beta process however I can, especially by getting the community involved with it, and whetting their appetites for new information about the game. I also work with Marketing on promoting the game and letting them know the current mood of the various forums and communities, and I sit in on meetings and bug people around the company as a general voice-of-the-player.
WarCry: In some ways, CMs are of the company, but separate. You're that bridge in between the two. How do you hope to help the community get the game they want?
Shannon Drake: The big thing here at Funcom is access. If there's a problem with Anarchy, it's a short ride in the elevator to bug the guy in charge of it. If there's a problem with Conan, it's a short walk to bug the guy in charge of it. I go to the meetings and talk to them daily, and everyone is usually aware of what the community wants. I serve almost as the empowered player type, synthesizing the feedback of thousands of people into "This is what they want." Now, sometimes, there's a very good reason (technical or otherwise) why they can't have it, but finding that out is part of the "player advocate" side of being a community manager. I also have to balance my knowledge of what the players want with what the company is able and capable of providing, as well as the needs of the business side of things as well, which, again, is all about balance.
WarCry: On the other side, how important do you feel community feedback is to a game's development and evolution?
Shannon Drake: I think community feedback is tremendously important, within reason. Part of synthesizing all the viewpoints represented on the forums and various other places is figuring out how to present that information, and fitting what everyone says into the larger picture. For example, "Funcom totally favors Race X over Race Y" is, on its surface, a silly comment. However, "Race X fighters are significantly underpowered compared with Race Y fighters" is something that merits investigating. Now, it could be as simple as Race Y being the weaker of the two for story or balance or character reasons, but it could also be something someone mistyped in the database.
At the same time, I think staying true to your vision and the game you're trying to make is extremely critical. I think the recent pushback announcement, while painful, is a good example of the way we want to listen to community feedback, making sure we make the game we want to make, but also making sure we make a game that our players are going to love.
WarCry: How have your past jobs helped you prepare for this challenge?
Shannon Drake: Considering all the stuff they have me writing, the writing experience was tremendously useful. I've worked on front-line support as a GM and in events, so I know the in-game side of thing, and other community management work in both pre- and post-launch communities prepared me nicely for dealing with all the games I cover, and the different needs of each.
WarCry: How much of your job crosses over into in-game events? If it does, what type of things do you hope to do?
Shannon Drake: At the moment, I don't have a lot of involvement with in-game events. As we move into the live phase, that may change as we finalize plans.
WarCry: Some companies believe every developer with a keyboard should post on their boards, while others hope to tightly control access through one person (you). What's your philosophy?
Shannon Drake: We have several developers active on our various boards. The Game Director for AO is all over the place and reads just about everything, and some of the Conan staff like to post, but pretty much everyone in the company reads the boards and wanders up to me with random questions about what players are talking about.
As for posting, I like that we have active developers, I think it's a good thing. At the same time, though, I try to keep an eye on the guys and girls who are active. When you spend your work-time (and even some of your personal time) working away on something, and someone flames you, it's only natural to get defensive and take things personally because, well, it's your life's work being insulted, it's something that you're proud of. Part of my job is being able to say, "You're getting trolled, take a step back and don't talk yourself into a corner." Because no matter what you say, it's always taken as you being a developer about it, to paraphrase something I once read on another forum. Ultimately, I am extremely happy that they're posting on the forums, but I also have to keep them apprised of what they're getting into. On that note, my job is actually managing two communities-the community of people who play our game, and the community of the company itself and the way it reacts to the customers and feedback it's getting--and constantly working to balance the flow of information both ways.
WarCry: Are you personally prepared for a coming influx of dart board hangings bearing your resemblance and an increased production of Shannon Drake voodoo dolls that is bound to follow the first "balance" patch? How do you intend to deal with such hot button issues?
Shannon Drake: Naturally. Some days, you're the hero, some days, you're the goat. As the face of the company, you're the one who gets the blame for everything that goes wrong and the credit for everything that goes right. I've been through some rough launches, some good launches, and everything in between, and I've dealt with some of the prickliest crowds in gaming. I don't plan on having any hilarious meltdowns or snapping and telling everyone off should things get rough. When it comes to patches and post-launch stuff, we've usually tried to give plenty of previews about patches and updates coming up on Anarchy, and I definitely want to do the same thing with Conan.
WarCry:I was just wondering what your thoughts were on NDAs? Why is it so important to abide by restrictions outlined in a non-disclosure agreement? Thanks!
Shannon Drake: NDAs are important, because we can get actual feedback from actual players before the game is complete. If you let everyone talk about it beforehand, well, one leaked beta video inspires a month of threads on the forum about something that isn't final and was fixed a few weeks ago. NDAs are a way to let us start the "real world" testing process before the final version is complete, because with something as complicated as an MMO, you simply can't test everything in-house.
Sometimes it takes a thousand people playing in ways that nobody ever intended before something comes to light. I'm reminded of a story I heard about one of the first MUDs. The game kept crashing and they couldn't figure out why. They eventually traced it to a player who had 10,000 of a fluff-type item-I think it was roses-in his inventory. They'd never considered that someone would keep 10,000 of what was a largely useless item, because, well, who'd keep 10,000 useless things in their backpack? People would, of course, and allowing that sort of human element into our carefully plotted system is extremely valuable, while making sure that we can show them a "work in progress" without getting burned by the fact that it is just a work in progress, not the final version of the game.
WarCry: Please give a brief treatise on the benefits of European socialism so far. Or conversely, how's Norway?
Shannon Drake: Norway is a lovely country of beautiful women, fine chocolate, and reliable public transportation. I wake up every day and find I'm extremely glad to be here.
by Dana Massey, 2 Oct 2007 4:09 pm
Funcom recently hired a Community Manager for Age of Conan. The former Escapist/WarCry staffer Shannon Drake took over in Norway a couple months ago and we had a chance to do an interview with him about his new job.
WarCry Q&A: Age of Conan
Answers by Shannon Drake
Questions by Dana Massey
Shannon Drake: My name is Shannon Drake, and I am the Community Manager for Funcom, dealing with all community aspects including AO, Dreamfall/The Longest Journey, Age of Conan, and whatever dark conspiracies we may (or may not) be involved with.
WarCry: As the Community Manager of a soon to launch game, what are your immediate priorities for the community in advance of that launch?
Shannon Drake: My immediate priorities for Conan are contributing to the beta process however I can, especially by getting the community involved with it, and whetting their appetites for new information about the game. I also work with Marketing on promoting the game and letting them know the current mood of the various forums and communities, and I sit in on meetings and bug people around the company as a general voice-of-the-player.
WarCry: In some ways, CMs are of the company, but separate. You're that bridge in between the two. How do you hope to help the community get the game they want?
Shannon Drake: The big thing here at Funcom is access. If there's a problem with Anarchy, it's a short ride in the elevator to bug the guy in charge of it. If there's a problem with Conan, it's a short walk to bug the guy in charge of it. I go to the meetings and talk to them daily, and everyone is usually aware of what the community wants. I serve almost as the empowered player type, synthesizing the feedback of thousands of people into "This is what they want." Now, sometimes, there's a very good reason (technical or otherwise) why they can't have it, but finding that out is part of the "player advocate" side of being a community manager. I also have to balance my knowledge of what the players want with what the company is able and capable of providing, as well as the needs of the business side of things as well, which, again, is all about balance.
WarCry: On the other side, how important do you feel community feedback is to a game's development and evolution?
Shannon Drake: I think community feedback is tremendously important, within reason. Part of synthesizing all the viewpoints represented on the forums and various other places is figuring out how to present that information, and fitting what everyone says into the larger picture. For example, "Funcom totally favors Race X over Race Y" is, on its surface, a silly comment. However, "Race X fighters are significantly underpowered compared with Race Y fighters" is something that merits investigating. Now, it could be as simple as Race Y being the weaker of the two for story or balance or character reasons, but it could also be something someone mistyped in the database.
At the same time, I think staying true to your vision and the game you're trying to make is extremely critical. I think the recent pushback announcement, while painful, is a good example of the way we want to listen to community feedback, making sure we make the game we want to make, but also making sure we make a game that our players are going to love.
WarCry: How have your past jobs helped you prepare for this challenge?
Shannon Drake: Considering all the stuff they have me writing, the writing experience was tremendously useful. I've worked on front-line support as a GM and in events, so I know the in-game side of thing, and other community management work in both pre- and post-launch communities prepared me nicely for dealing with all the games I cover, and the different needs of each.
WarCry: How much of your job crosses over into in-game events? If it does, what type of things do you hope to do?
Shannon Drake: At the moment, I don't have a lot of involvement with in-game events. As we move into the live phase, that may change as we finalize plans.
WarCry: Some companies believe every developer with a keyboard should post on their boards, while others hope to tightly control access through one person (you). What's your philosophy?
Shannon Drake: We have several developers active on our various boards. The Game Director for AO is all over the place and reads just about everything, and some of the Conan staff like to post, but pretty much everyone in the company reads the boards and wanders up to me with random questions about what players are talking about.
As for posting, I like that we have active developers, I think it's a good thing. At the same time, though, I try to keep an eye on the guys and girls who are active. When you spend your work-time (and even some of your personal time) working away on something, and someone flames you, it's only natural to get defensive and take things personally because, well, it's your life's work being insulted, it's something that you're proud of. Part of my job is being able to say, "You're getting trolled, take a step back and don't talk yourself into a corner." Because no matter what you say, it's always taken as you being a developer about it, to paraphrase something I once read on another forum. Ultimately, I am extremely happy that they're posting on the forums, but I also have to keep them apprised of what they're getting into. On that note, my job is actually managing two communities-the community of people who play our game, and the community of the company itself and the way it reacts to the customers and feedback it's getting--and constantly working to balance the flow of information both ways.
WarCry: Are you personally prepared for a coming influx of dart board hangings bearing your resemblance and an increased production of Shannon Drake voodoo dolls that is bound to follow the first "balance" patch? How do you intend to deal with such hot button issues?
Shannon Drake: Naturally. Some days, you're the hero, some days, you're the goat. As the face of the company, you're the one who gets the blame for everything that goes wrong and the credit for everything that goes right. I've been through some rough launches, some good launches, and everything in between, and I've dealt with some of the prickliest crowds in gaming. I don't plan on having any hilarious meltdowns or snapping and telling everyone off should things get rough. When it comes to patches and post-launch stuff, we've usually tried to give plenty of previews about patches and updates coming up on Anarchy, and I definitely want to do the same thing with Conan.
WarCry:I was just wondering what your thoughts were on NDAs? Why is it so important to abide by restrictions outlined in a non-disclosure agreement? Thanks!
Shannon Drake: NDAs are important, because we can get actual feedback from actual players before the game is complete. If you let everyone talk about it beforehand, well, one leaked beta video inspires a month of threads on the forum about something that isn't final and was fixed a few weeks ago. NDAs are a way to let us start the "real world" testing process before the final version is complete, because with something as complicated as an MMO, you simply can't test everything in-house.
Sometimes it takes a thousand people playing in ways that nobody ever intended before something comes to light. I'm reminded of a story I heard about one of the first MUDs. The game kept crashing and they couldn't figure out why. They eventually traced it to a player who had 10,000 of a fluff-type item-I think it was roses-in his inventory. They'd never considered that someone would keep 10,000 of what was a largely useless item, because, well, who'd keep 10,000 useless things in their backpack? People would, of course, and allowing that sort of human element into our carefully plotted system is extremely valuable, while making sure that we can show them a "work in progress" without getting burned by the fact that it is just a work in progress, not the final version of the game.
WarCry: Please give a brief treatise on the benefits of European socialism so far. Or conversely, how's Norway?
Shannon Drake: Norway is a lovely country of beautiful women, fine chocolate, and reliable public transportation. I wake up every day and find I'm extremely glad to be here.
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