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[Interview] General: Raph Koster on the Past, Present, and Future
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
As the MMO gaming world moves into its middle aged period of existence, it's refreshing to talk to those who were "there when" and who can offer a unique perspective on the past and the future of online games. We spoke with Raph Koster about all of that and much more in an exclusive interview opportunity. Read on before heading to the comments.
Raph Koster started his career with LegendMUD before moving onto Ultima Online. His work has helped characterise the MMORPG genre, with Star Wars Galaxies refining the much desired “sandbox” style of play, and his frequent talks and writings on game and world design keeping even the most ardent player weak at the knees. Over his vast career, now spanning over two decades, Raph has greatly influenced the online genre: today we get to speak to him.
Read more of Adam Tingle's Raph Koster on the Past, Present, and Future.
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Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Thomas Jefferson
"I am unsure that if I showed up with a new MMO idea, but done in less-than-AAA graphics, that many would bite. Not for the “main” MMO audience, that is – I am sure that there are indie fringes, the kids’ market, etc, which are still open to that sort of thing. But I worry that the barrier of entry to make something is just too high. Like, I got asked a lot if I would Kickstarter a sandbox MMO. I worry I’d have to have the most successful Kickstarter in history to get enough funds for what is needed."
Part of the problem with MMO's today is that they ARE made for an all-encompassing target market. When you try to please everyone you may sell plenty of boxes but your end product will always be sub-par.
Embrace "THE FRINGE"!!!
In a perfect universe Mr. Koster would be able to create the game world he envisions without having to deal with all of the AAA hype and marketing crap, or dealing with the business side at all.
It truly is a pity that we have people with his talent waiting in the wings unable to practice his art.
The above is my personal opinion. Anyone displaying a view contrary to my opinion is obviously WRONG and should STHU. (neener neener)
-The MMO Forum Community
Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011
With respect for Koster and his great history of making games, his issue is (and has been) he over-thinks the industry.
The issues with SWG wasn't Jedi grinding or pre-generating terrain. It was a failure to recognize the IP and build a game that appealed to that audience. SWG was a great game if you remove the expectations of Star Wars from it. Don't complain about pressures to be main stream when you accept to work on a main stream IP.
I also disagree with his issues re the barrier of entry. He himself identified the appetite for games and a willingness to tolerate indie projects when he pointed out Minecraft. There is a huge appetite for the type of game that Mr. Koster wants to create. He just has to have the balls to create it.
Reading this (and other) articles you get a sense for how he would struggle leading a large team. He has his way, and he almost has a disdain for the other ways. When you are working with a big team you need to have your big principles that everyone is working towards (the non-negotiables) and clarity to the team that they need to be bought in to those ideals or not be on the team. But that list is the exception. The team (and community) needs to be able to influence the rest of the game. It is a creative process after all and the people attracted to it are creative people. Nothing kills that type of team more then someone lacking flexibility or someone that won't listen.
I really hope he gets it together and does develop a mid budget quasi indie MMO. I think the industry really needs what he brings to the table. But less excuses, a more open mind, and a more practical approach are needed before he will be successful.
MMORPG: Where do you think the genre should go in the future?
Raph Koster: I took a lot of flak years ago for saying that MMO stuff was swallowing everything. But Minecraft is also a personal MMO, and Xbox Live is an MMO, and Twitter, and so on, it’s everywhere now. I think that the traditional virtual world is in a tough spot. A lot of the things that made it appealing are available in other formats now.
So it really has to retreat to doing what it does best, doing the things that Xbox Live or a MOBA and so on can’t do. And that probably means losing audience, because the things that MMORPGs do best are more time consuming, slower paced, more immersive, than what we have gotten used to.
sounds like a catch-22
EQ2 fan sites
I haven't played an MMO I liked since Nov 15th 2005.
Sadly I'm still waiting.
Ironic that Jedi killed a Star Wars game. I think that is testament to both the uniqueness of SWG and the oversight of Koster. Im sure he has learned his lesson.
Gimme a break. This is like interviewing Jim Kelly on how to win a Super Bowl. Why do people keep referring to Raph Koster as some wise, mmo prophet? He hasn't done anything in the past 10 years. If he's so smart why isn't he heading a dev team of a multimillion player base mmo?
As if Jedi is what killed swg lol. Yeah, the buggy, unbalanced game with lack of content had nothing to do with it. The Jedi grind was the only thing keeping a majority of the players playing.
I disagree with you on this. I think he's right in saying that Jedi should never have been playable in a "current timeline" star wars MMO. I was a huge Star Wars geek at the time of SWG, having read most - if not all - available SW literature and knowing quite a bit about the world. The way they had build the Galaxies world was much closer representation the world of Star Wars than something like SWTOR. The fact is that there was exactly ONE Jedi in existence during that time, allowing many of them in-game would break the world - especially given that this Jedi wouldn't be balanced with the rest of the player classes.
Having some Jedi as NPCs (or bosses) would have easily allowed them to incorporate them in the game without breaking the way the world works.
SWG suceeded in creating the Star Wars Universe, it failed at creating the "Star Wars Movie Experience", but that wasn't (and shouldn't have ever been) the goal. TOR succeeded in creating the latter, but created no world, it's a game that makes absolutely no sense when looked at from a multi-player perspective.
Anyhow, it's nice to hear back from Raph and to hear that he still has all the right ideas. Hopefully the era of indie MMOs that don't suck is not far off
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
That is very well said. I agree completely having played both games extensively and being a fan of the IP.
Because he's smart. How many multi-million player base MMOs have been built in the past 5 years?
Or perhaps it's because he'd rather build a good MMO than a popular one and at the moment it isn't quite possible.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
"Not even a cray super computer can make this game run well. Thats what happens when you code an MMO in pascal. " - miglor
I agree.
Once upon a time....
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
Excellent interview with an excellent designer.
I don't always agree with what Koster has to say, but I always respect what Koster has to say. He's thought about this form of entertainment more than anyone. He's in that league with Bartle and Castronova. Thank you for doing this!
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
If Raph were to do a Kickstarter, I hope he doesn't do what Richard Garriott did and start building the game based on "pay to win" from the get go.
I'd rather see something like a subscription credit. No in-game bennies.
Once upon a time....
The team (and community) needs to be able to influence the rest of the game. It is a creative process after all and the people attracted to it are creative people. Nothing kills that type of team more then someone lacking flexibility or someone that won't listen.
Usually, the knock is the opposite, that I listened too much to the forums while making SWG. Thanks for the variety!
He hasn't done anything in the past 10 years.
I wrote a paragraph here and deleted itI'd like to see Ralph make the Wheel of Time MMO simular but with improvements like he did with SWG mmo.
Do it Ralph !!!
Ajax
Gaming has gone the same way that music has...
It's all about the packaging.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee