Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

[Interview] Guild Wars 2: On Launch and What’s to Come

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

Guild Wars 2 is one of those games that is already legendary before it's even released and we're getting very close to that most awesome of days. We had the chance to chat with Game Designer Mike Zadorojny about launch and what the future might hold as well. Read on!

We had the chance to talk with Mike Zadorojny (Game Designer) from ArenaNet about the final weeks of Guild Wars 2 development before launch. Mike had some amazing things to say about the philosophy at ArenaNet going into the launch as well as some of his favorite game mechanics. We also addressed how Guild Wars 2 is shaping up to change the MMO market and the style of games we play online. Make no mistake, Guild Wars 2 is very much a sandbox MMORPG in many respects, while still focusing on dev-created content at its core. So lets go through some of the elements that Mike “Z” talked about and best of all get psyched for the launch fo Guild Wars 2, and also a tidbit of info on what might be coming to the game soon after launch!

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Guild Wars 2: On Launch and What’s to Come.

image


¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


«134

Comments

  • CoolitCoolit Member UncommonPosts: 661

    I've never been this excited about a game launch since WOW, simply cant wait to get started with GW2 but as an alt-aholic I'm having a hard time deciding which profession/race to level first as they are all really interesting.

    Enjoyed the article, thanks Suzie!

  • Harbinger1975Harbinger1975 Member UncommonPosts: 244
    Anet has yet to disappoint.  I, for one, can't wait for release.  Is it naive of me to think that AreaNet is one of those developers that will actually stick to their promises like Trion Worlds has?   I hope they keep up the good work.

    image
    image

  • PurgatusPurgatus Member Posts: 342

    Playing the BWE's showed me that it was everyting it was promised to be. Every friend that I have let try the game pre-purchased the next day.

    Can't wait!

  • ZyllosZyllos Member UncommonPosts: 537

    ...When large amounts of players hit the opening zones, they found the NPCs scaling up quickly to make encounters much harder than they should have been...

    I do not like this statement. None of the BWEs felt too hard due to the number of invidivuals (or most likely when a small number of people was in the area but was scaled too much). Hopefully I am mis-reading this statement but I think they reduced the difficulty which it shouldn't have been.

    MMOs Played: I can no longer list them all in the 500 character limit.

  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426
    They reduced the difficulty for BWE2. In BWE1, large groups of ranged mobs one shot killed you quite often in high-pop events.
  • WellzyCWellzyC Member UncommonPosts: 599

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    The way mmo's were: Community, Exploration, Character Development, Conquest.

    The way mmo's are now : Cut-Scenes,Cut-Scenes, solo Questing, Cut-Scenes...


    www.CeaselessGuild.com

  • -Inferno--Inferno- Staff WriterMember UncommonPosts: 325
    Coming from SWTOR, I am happy to see that GW2 has a strong development team behind it and plenty of features to keep players interested even after reaching max level. I guess Arena Net can count themselves lucky for having a skilled and creative team that listens to the players and is very communicative. I really appreciate that.

    "Fire is never a gentle master..."

  • Ice-QueenIce-Queen Member UncommonPosts: 2,483
    Originally posted by WellzyC

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    It's already been said after launch they will have player housing and guild halls.

    From playing in beta, I can say I'm very happy with what I've seen from GW2, and I look forward to the WvsWvsW battles, and player housing later on.

     

    image

    What happens when you log off your characters????.....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
    Dark Age of Camelot

  • bcbullybcbully Member EpicPosts: 11,838
    Originally posted by WellzyC

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    Wow man it was like a brickwall. 

    "We see fundamentals and we ape in"
  • bcbullybcbully Member EpicPosts: 11,838
    Originally posted by bcbully
    Originally posted by WellzyC

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    Wow man, it was like a brickwall for me too.

     

     

    "We see fundamentals and we ape in"
  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979
    Originally posted by WellzyC

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    Those things are coming.

    Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

     

  • ReizlaReizla Member RarePosts: 4,092
    I think with GW2 now and WildStar coming, NCSoft will make her impact on the Western market as well. GW2 is a hit already (as said in the article already), and WildStar is promising to become a hit as well. Damn, can't wait to play GW2 already...
  • BeansnBreadBeansnBread Member EpicPosts: 7,254
    Originally posted by BadSpock
    Originally posted by WellzyC

    He lost me at the "very much a sandbox" part. Unless they implement some sort of player housing, guild town or things of that nature, not sure how that statement has any validity.

    Those things are coming.

    Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

    But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

     

    The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

     

    I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

     

     

  • RazeeksterRazeekster Member UncommonPosts: 2,591
    My only problem is the housing... It's called "housing," but you don't get an actual house to decorate or to do crafting in. I don't know how they can even call it housing. It's more of a personalized instance zone that you can go to.

    Smile

  • BeansnBreadBeansnBread Member EpicPosts: 7,254
    Originally posted by Razeekster
    My only problem is the housing... It's called "housing," but you don't get an actual house to decorate or to do crafting in. I don't know how they can even call it housing. It's more of a personalized instance zone that you can go to.

    They are planning on adding housing on top of the personal instance post release. The personal instance is supposed to reflect your story. The housing is going to be for the reasons you describe.

  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979
    Originally posted by colddog04
    Originally posted by BadSpock

    Those things are coming.

    Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

    But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

    The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

    I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

    Ok - let me explain it (how I see it)

    Is GW2 a sandbox? No.

    Is GW2 a theme park? Yes.

    What is a theme park? It's a physical plot of land in which there are many rides and attractions for you to partake of and participate in.

    What is a sandbox? It is a physical plot of land in which you have the tools to modify the plot itself and create new objects.

    What GW2 is is a non-linear theme park.

    You are not directed from 1-cap led by the hand, yes there are plenty of "rides" and locations in this themepark, but you can choose when to go to them (if at all) and how often you visit.

    Because it is a non-linear themepark, some people (myself included) get that same feeling of wanderlust one generally gets in a well-made sandbox game (UO, SWG, Skyrim, etc.)

    In most themeparks since WoW, you are led from ride to ride and you do not get a choice as to which ride you go to first and how often you are able to ride them and you are not able to go back and re-ride the same rides again because they tell you you've out grown them.

    This is a linear themepark - straight line through content.

    GW2 is a non-linear themepark, and as such "feels" a bit more sandboxy.

  • MagnetiaMagnetia Member UncommonPosts: 1,015
    Originally posted by colddog04
     

    The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

    I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

      

    I think you have to take the other parts of the comments as well. It's sanboxy along dev created paths instead of player content. Sanboxy in terms of players choosing to manipulate the environment to suit their needs/gameplay.

    Of course this doesn't mean it is a sandbox dream. I believe it's just a way of saying "players have some control over the changing the environment" and not so much "you can build whatever you want whereever you want"

    Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?

  • BeansnBreadBeansnBread Member EpicPosts: 7,254
    Originally posted by BadSpock
    Originally posted by colddog04
    Originally posted by BadSpock

    Those things are coming.

    Personal instance is already in game, changed based on story... but Guild Halls, in-game Hall of Monuments, and housing all coming post-launch.

    But it'll likely be instanced housing which is not really a sandbox feature.

    The sandbox comment was Garrett Fuller's opinion, not the person he was interviewing and I personally disagree with it. There really are not any sandbox features in the game at all. The only thing remotely resembling a sandbox feature is level scaling, making the world feel more open than your standard themepark. But even with that, you just have access to more rides.

    I have no clue why he threw that in, but it is sure to create controversy.

    Ok - let me explain it (how I see it)

    Is GW2 a sandbox? No.

    Is GW2 a theme park? Yes.

    What is a theme park? It's a physical plot of land in which there are many rides and attractions for you to partake of and participate in.

    What is a sandbox? It is a physical plot of land in which you have the tools to modify the plot itself and create new objects.

    What GW2 is is a non-linear theme park.

    You are not directed from 1-cap led by the hand, yes there are plenty of "rides" and locations in this themepark, but you can choose when to go to them (if at all) and how often you visit.

    Because it is a non-linear themepark, some people (myself included) get that same feeling of wanderlust one generally gets in a well-made sandbox game (UO, SWG, Skyrim, etc.)

    In most themeparks since WoW, you are led from ride to ride and you do not get a choice as to which ride you go to first and how often you are able to ride them and you are not able to go back and re-ride the same rides again because they tell you you've out grown them.

    This is a linear themepark - straight line through content.

    GW2 is a non-linear themepark, and as such "feels" a bit more sandboxy.

    I completely agree with everything you just said. And my personal experience with the game supports it.

  • RizelStarRizelStar Member UncommonPosts: 2,773
    Originally posted by Razeekster
    My only problem is the housing... It's called "housing," but you don't get an actual house to decorate or to do crafting in. I don't know how they can even call it housing. It's more of a personalized instance zone that you can go to.

    What??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    I might get banned for this. - Rizel Star.

    I'm not afraid to tell trolls what they [need] to hear, even if that means for me to have an forced absence afterwards.

    P2P LOGIC = If it's P2P it means longevity, overall better game, and THE BEST SUPPORT EVER!!!!!(Which has been rinsed and repeated about a thousand times)

    Common Sense Logic = P2P logic is no better than F2P Logic.

  • orbitxoorbitxo Member RarePosts: 1,956

    this has been the only game that ive actually taken time to answer their rating and feedback windows in their story quests and pvp beta.

     

    thats how excited Anet has gotten me  about this game!

     

     
  • FaulknerFaulkner Member UncommonPosts: 108

    Though Technically a Themepark as the previous posters have very well stated, I am allowed to explore and quest any where I like, and it is that openness that reminds me of SWG.  My freinds and I have stated many times, we can log in and one one us will say "well..pick a direction to head" lets go see what we can discover.  Such a good feeling.  

    In reference to Housing, I have not read anything on it, so I can not speak to that portion.

     

    Cheers,

    Faulkner

  • ZooceZooce Member Posts: 586

    Nice interview Garrett, was entertaining and informative!

     

    I love that the dev's are playtesting right now- it mirrors my experience with the last beta weekend that GW2 is a more polished game in its testing phase than recent titles (read: TSW) after their first month beyond release.

     

    I think the sandbox comment was just thrown in there to rile people up in the comments!

     
  • RelGnRelGn Member Posts: 494
    Still cant understand why everyone is so excited about this game.To me it looks too descent

    image
  • DestructhorDestructhor Member Posts: 88
    Enough with the foreplay already, lets get on with the sexy time ;-)
  • FionFion Member UncommonPosts: 2,348

    I love that they've put so much effort into the engine to be able to tweak and patch the game while it's actually live. They had this in GW1 but the GW2 engine is so much more complex and the world is no longer instanced I was sure they'd stick with the typical MMOG maintenance and downtime. I'm so glad they brought that over from GW1. Gone are the days of servers coming down for maintenance (which is innevitibly extended for a few hours). Now you just relog to get the patch and your set. They can make a number of changes and tweaks without even needing to relog even. It's awesome.

    Totally looking forward to GW2. I haven't been this excited for a game since Star Wars Galaxies (even WoW didn't hype me as much) and after playing 100+ hours from the beta weekends and stress tests I really enjoy the game. It brings back a lot of those old MMOG feelings that no MMOG has given me since the days of Anarchy Online and SWG. (EQ was my first MMOG, AO my favorite of all time.)

     

    image

Sign In or Register to comment.