Anarchy Online: Making a Successful MMO

Koltrane

PC Gamezone has published a Q&A with Funcom's Terri Perkins.  The topic is what it takes to make a successful MMO, especially in today's market.  She discusses the market in general and touches on some AO/Funcom specifics. 

Q: Given the number of games that have been canceled before they hit the shelves in the last year do you feel that the MMO industry is becoming more cautious? And is that a bad thing for online gaming? Terri: I think the MMO industry is maturing and this is a good thing for the industry. It’s a more competitive world and you have to have your game in order or you’ll be laughed off the court so to speak. I think that this makes it much more difficult for newcomers to get a game to market, but I think the quality of what does make it to the shelves makes for a more enjoyable experience for the players. Yes, we’re all more cautious but it’s because the players demand it and deserve a more polished product and the technologies have improved. It’s sad to me to see a game cancelled as I know the work that has went into it, but it happens for good reasons most of the time and is a necessity in the business world.

The piece may be read in its entirety at this link.

Harafnir

A good read. And as funny as it may seem, Funcom are the right people to ask. Their release went into the history books as one of the worst, the first year they were laughed at with each patch, creating a lot more problems than they solved (like two- three months when Martial Arts did 0 damage.. months)

Shadowlands... *shiver*

Still, they have never given up, they have believed in their product and what they have been trying to do, and they sit today with a product of great renown, awards aplenty and a solid reputation among those within the game business, as well as among players, and all with a completly self built game world, original as few and copy of none... It is an impressive story and I know that whatever they release next will have a both strong and loyal consumer base waiting.

I am one of them.. Since release.. I always come back. This free year, I left my old old HUGE characters behind and started afresh with new guys and no money on the bank... And I am still enjoying their world immensly. No matter what game I have played or betad... Anarchy is kind of what new games has to compare themselves to. Is it just another "short guys with beards and axes" game, then it has nothing to add to the market in any way shape or form. Hopefully Funcom will soon reveal their new projects, so that they once again can show the other game developers how it should be done, with originality and creativeness, not just copying that "other one" again and again and again...

Harelin

Yeah... on the topic of AO, I really hope they'll look at creating an AO 2 some day. I've never really pursued the game to any great depth because the community is old and has matured... there's no way to compete with the lvl 200+ and their knowledge of the game mechanics. It'd be nice to have the opportunity to join in from the beginning now that Funcom has the respect they deserve.

Puoltry

It may be succesful but it needs an update desperatley.The mission system is the core of the noob game when you start and it is very very boring.The same missions over and over and over.

The game is showing its age now and the graphics are falling behind.I recently went back and tried it and quit after 4 days i just couldnt stand to even look at it.

The game just needs updating on its core elements to keep anyone entertained and coming back.I think the whole issue behind this is they made a "handsoff" gameworld with minimal interactivity.

mamutas

Yeah, the game ideas might be great and the game itself is very distinct on the background of all the other fantasy based MMOs. But it is not perfect either. I had played it for a month and quit after I realized that I am spending more time offline on different fan's website trying to find out how to finish that quest or to find out what ingridients are necessary to make this implant.

I tried to comeback to the game and to teach my wife playing it (so, you know, we could have fun together ), but the task was bigger than I could take on, so it did not work out. The game has very steep learning curve and there is just not enough in-game information to satisfy all the new player needs. I wish they fix that, then the game would be just shining out despite its age.