My earlier fears concerning DE's seem validated (i.e., DE"s would not have real impact on game and leave players feeling that the themepark GW2 game is too roller tracked).
I feel having now lvl'd extensively that the game is too easy. The risk vs reward drive I enjoy in online games is not really activated here in GW2 and because of this the game becomes trivial.
A lot of the manifesto seems to be about a different game, in retrospect.
Bosses do respawn in GW2. Even when they're from dynamic events, I've been in areas where I've seen the same event happen three or four times just while I was filling up the heart.
That thing about centaurs just standing there and you get a quest to kill ten - I've done that quest. In GW2. It was called an event but it worked exactly like this. They were not attacking - that had already happened before. But that doesn't change anything if I'm not there to see it.
I swung a sword, again, hey again - same in GW2. Even with auto attack! So you don't have to swing the sword manually anymore... gee that's great *yawn*
I could go on but the truth is I get bored just thinking about GW2.
A lot of the manifesto seems to be about a different game, in retrospect.
Bosses do respawn in GW2. Even when they're from dynamic events, I've been in areas where I've seen the same event happen three or four times just while I was filling up the heart.
That thing about centaurs just standing there and you get a quest to kill ten - I've done that quest. In GW2. It was called an event but it worked exactly like this. They were not attacking - that had already happened before. But that doesn't change anything if I'm not there to see it.
I swung a sword, again, hey again - same in GW2. Even with auto attack! So you don't have to swing the sword manually anymore... gee that's great *yawn*
I could go on but the truth is I get bored just thinking about GW2.
Where?
Block the trolls, don't answer them, so we can remove the garbage from these forums
A lot of the manifesto seems to be about a different game, in retrospect.
Bosses do respawn in GW2. Even when they're from dynamic events, I've been in areas where I've seen the same event happen three or four times just while I was filling up the heart.
That thing about centaurs just standing there and you get a quest to kill ten - I've done that quest. In GW2. It was called an event but it worked exactly like this. They were not attacking - that had already happened before. But that doesn't change anything if I'm not there to see it.
I swung a sword, again, hey again - same in GW2. Even with auto attack! So you don't have to swing the sword manually anymore... gee that's great *yawn*
I could go on but the truth is I get bored just thinking about GW2.
They were there either because it is their encampment or because they already killed everyone and took the village.
They have a reason to be there.
And when they are in their encampments you can see centaurs going on patrols.
It is very interesting to just pass by some zone and see all the original dwellers dead.
Currently playing: GW2 Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
sadly it said... "the rest of the game is grind, and no one finds it fun"
Guild Wars 2 is an epic GRIND..... heres why
No MMORPG: Every class can do everything, their no healer or tank, and has taken the Role Play out of the game.
Instances = Zerg this mob, zerg this mob... and without roles, its extremely grindy cause its also easy.
Quests = zerg this mob, zerg this mob, zerg this mob... (with the slow respawn of quest items)
What a load of BS! No MMORPG because every class can do 'everything'. No fixed roles = no MMORPG? RIFT no MMORPG, TSW no MMORPG, any good game = No MMORPG? Only boring, fixed role games are true MMORPG's?
Without roles it's grindy cause it's also easy. How the....? *shrug* So no grind when you have fixed roles? OMG, fail, fail, fail!
Quests = zerg? I'm sure you mean some DE's and you might be right for some DE's that are to epic to be completed with just a handful of players, but "quest=zerg" means "You got me, I never played the game so I'm cllueless."
A lot of the manifesto seems to be about a different game, in retrospect.
Bosses do respawn in GW2. Even when they're from dynamic events, I've been in areas where I've seen the same event happen three or four times just while I was filling up the heart.
That thing about centaurs just standing there and you get a quest to kill ten - I've done that quest. In GW2. It was called an event but it worked exactly like this. They were not attacking - that had already happened before. But that doesn't change anything if I'm not there to see it.
I swung a sword, again, hey again - same in GW2. Even with auto attack! So you don't have to swing the sword manually anymore... gee that's great *yawn*
I could go on but the truth is I get bored just thinking about GW2.
Exactly Total zergfest! Crafting is .. "meh", gathering - same, gear dosn't matter, levels dosn't matter, progress .. dosn't matter. The fanboys will say - skill matters, but there is not even this. All characters have same hitbox, it dosn't matter if you are tall or small, it's not anatomically correct, you can get hit by things that are so away from you (so even dodging is irrelevant some times.) Pressing buttons in a lag remembers the action, so when you are out of the lag it' starts to execute it. I never saw something that is so bad before. If i play asura dosn't matter, my hitbox is something above my head. Nothing matters in this game. I choose a class, it's only cosmetic, nothing else. You should have advantages or dissadvantages if you are big or small .. well not in this game which pretends to be pvp oriented .. mostly. And this is only a single example of the tons of crap that is going on on those betas ...
The only thing that matter's is I find it fun, therefore i will play it. If I found it lackluster and boring I would not play it. So yes the game lived up to the manifesto imho.
Well year and some months ago we were introduced to this amazing Manifesto for GW2.
Well after testing it out, do you feel it lives up to the Manifesto trailer?
I think gw2 is very well made game with few bugs and floats smoothly.But as an entertaining it fails,I guess it delivers for pvp'ers but fails for pve gamers. Saying that ,I am pure pve player never ever do any pvp in a mmorpg.
GW2 seem to me as a pure Rift clone in the way how the events works,however the bigger world of GW2 is positive,but still those anoying events bugging you were ever you go trying to explore I dont find fun.
Those are my personal feelings about this game,I am in no way trying to say this game is no good,not at all,but my personal feelings are a setdown for this title.
Yes and no. If i go purely on features promised yes everything is there but the talks about how GW2 is going to change MMO landscape...nope i disagree with that.
For years I have said that my best MMO experience was DAoC pre ToA. I've stuck with that statement through every MMO release in something close to the last 10 years.
So this weekend I finally got to have my first look at GW2. I tried a few classes out to level 7 or 8 and had a great time, totally blown away. Great job by Anet.
Then I joined W v W. Finally! Someone gets it right. Someone finally gets it right. I've been searching for that old feeling I got in DAoC and now I've found it.
I'm sold. I'd have to say they stuck to their manifesto, and they have exceeded my expectations for the game. It's the first time in a long time that I've gone to bed and woke up 3 hours later wanting to play a game. That's excitement for you.
Being an old school DAOC'er myself the WvsWvsW is the closest I've gotten to old school DAOC RvR before ToA/New Frontiers came out. Been waiting on a game like this for a long time. Finally, can dig in and play it for years to come. Hoping Planetside 2 is as good as 1 and I'll be set with these 2 for years.
Personally, I went into GW2 not expecting massive innovations. And it isn't massively innovative, but that's not a bad thing for me. But the things it DOES innovate on and the things it DOES get right tick a lot of the boxes in regards to what I'm currently looking for.
Voted yes, i think it's the only mmo that delivered anything substancial since Uo that is more than just shitty hype, ye they hyped their game a ton probably even more than other games, but at least they delivered something as well.
There is alot of good info and misinformation in this thread. To everyone who says hearts are the core of gameplay the developers and lots of players disagree with you. DE's are the core content, hearts were added AFTER the fact to give players something familiar and something to do between DE's. Some of you also completely missed WvW and sPvP which are games unto themselves.
No the game has nothing truely new, but what it has is refined grindless gameplay that allows you multitude of play styles and options. Most mmo's do not offer EVERYTHING this game offers (much less without a sub), that is what makes it unique. Its a game that is not focused on leveling, but on playing.
Back on topic: It closely emulates what was promised at the beginning imo.
Cheers!
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
Voted yes, i think it's the only mmo that delivered anything substancial since Uo that is more than just shitty hype, ye they hyped their game a ton probably even more than other games, but at least they delivered something as well.
I have honestly seen little hype from A-net, just statements that they have delivered. All the hype I have seen is from the community. When I think of companies hyping their game I think of WAR, AOC, and TOR. Those companies hyped the crap out of their games and didn't deliver everything they stated would be in the games (and still have missing promised elements in each title to this day).
Cheers!
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
in what way? I have found very little in this game that feels same old same old
Without any hostility, let me turn that question around on you; what have you found that doesn't exist in other MMOs? What brand new elements are there that you have never seen before?
All I have seen so far is; you look for the nearest heart on the map, go there, and do what needs to be done. Sometimes the objectives are really quite tedious (water the corn, feed the cows, play with the puppies, carry the rabit food) and other times they're more action oriented but still nothing new (kick a tree, kill the bad guy who drops down....kill the rampaging minotaurs...interact with a bush, kill what comes out). Then there's your personal storyline which has already been done AT LEAST as well in SWTOR (for all the things it did wrong, SWTOR had awesome storylines!) and is also being done- in my opinion, better -in The Secret World.
I'm not saying GW21 is bad because it's not...but what is so original about it?
EDIT: I should add; in between those "heart" areas, there's really just a lot of beautiful but pointless land. It looks awesome, has some monsters...and nothing to do. The hearts seem to be the core of the game, or am I missing something?
Yes, you are missing the majority of the game!
Dynamic Events are the main content for the game. If you don't get past level 6, you may not get the game, as the level 2-6 content is pretty simple and meant to be a bridge to halp introduce people to the game. The meat of the game is Dynamic Events, which occur through out the game world. Some occur near Heart Tasks. Some occur on the way to and from Heart Tasks and many occur out in the wilds, where you will have to explore to find them.
Most of them don't run off of simple timers and very few of them repeat soon after the lest event, so you may miss some events in the course of your travels. That's actually a plus for the game, though, as you can pass through the same area a number of times and still occassionally be surprised by what you find.
Some few Dynamic Events are isolated events that repeat. Many more are part of a Dynamic Event Chain, where success of failure leads to another series of events than make logical sense in context with the event youi just completed. Others are part of branching Event Chains, where multiple outcomes are possible depending on how an event plays out and the state of other events in the area. The most complex chains are actually Dynamic Event Webs, where dozens of DEs may all interconnect and influence each other.
I'd also note that the early Heart tasks are very simple. The quality of the Heart Tasks improves as you progress further into the game, though there are still some fun Hearts Tasks to mix things up, even in the higher level areas of the game. The challenge level for the game up to level 7 is pretty low, so players can get their feet wet, but the game, the mobs, the events and the AI become more demanding the deeper you get into the game.
I actually enjoy the level 2-6 experience for the game for what it is, but I really hope people don't decide the game is fluff based on a couple hours playing intro level content. GW2 is a deep, immersive engaging game and best of all, it's also very fun, rather than tedious. Explorers will love this game, while the Heart tasks provide bread crumbs for those less adventerous.
It lives up to the hype; there is no denying that it is a very well made game. This was evident from beta weekend 1, and continued to get better after each beta weekend event.
This is the first game where I do not dread seeing other players; this alone makes it a worthy game. All previous mmo's pitted players (on the same side) against one another and always created an environment ripe for bickering. It's refreshing to see that "finally" a game has been designed that has made every attempt at removing those issues.
While a truly dynamic questing environment isn't possible (developers can only make so much content), it's nice to see quests that care about your participation and adjust correspondingly. The dynamic questing system is more of an improved public questing system designed by the Warhammer team.
The story line system has potential to be interesting. Both SWTOR and TSW have very good stories, and it will be interesting to see how GW2's story hold's up. If they can truly make a story that cares about your choices, then it will have one up on both SWTOR and TSW where the choices (if any) didn't make any difference regarding the story.
The crafting system is nice, but its probably the weakest link in the game. I've never been much of a crafter, but if they can make it interesting and not a "grind", then it will be decent in my opinion.
I actually enjoy combat in this game, which is saying a lot since most previous mmo's were quite bland. The animations are well done, the skills are interesting, and the boon/condition system is well thought out. The system works good in PvE and PvP which is often a huge problem in other games.
Both sPvP (battlegrounds) and WvWvW are very well done. PvP is extremely fun in this game (save some balancing issues). As other have mentioned, it's the closest PvP to DAoC, which is a huge plus in my book.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this game has definitely lived up to the hype for me.
Yes and no. If i go purely on features promised yes everything is there but the talks about how GW2 is going to change MMO landscape...nope i disagree with that.
Actually, I firmly believe it will. I've logged 125 hours of playtesting GW2 and not only does it deliver, but it is indeed full of many innovations that make most other MMOs pale in comparison. There are not only huge advantages for player enjoyment in GW2s game design, but there are also many lessons on how to increase content creation productivity and delivery for other developers to learn from, as well as other game play innovations that can make it more fun to play an mmo with other people.
If the game is nearly as successful as I anticipate, the business model will also have heavy influence on the genre.
In additional to many key innovations, GW2 also sets a high bar on a number of more traditional elements vs. most MMOs released in the last five years. Production quality, environmental detail, character creation, world space, content redundancy, non-linearity and breadth of features all set GW2 many notches above most of the crap we've seen in recent years. What they've done in five years, on what reportedly is a fairly modest budget for a massive AAA MMO, really set a high water mark that other developers will try to match. MMOs are risky business and publishers/investors are going to expect their developers to step up and deliver results on par with what Arenanet have managed with GW2.
This game will have a huge impact on the genre in much the same way that WoW did. I just hope that the lesson for developers will be that innovation and design from the ground up, rethinking established MMO design norms, are worth the risk and effort. If other developers just try to clone GW2, the way they've all been cloning WoW, (with little success), then much of the potential for re-invigoration of the genre will be lost.
Mostly. I am a head-over-heels-in-love-with-this-game sort of poster. To be honest though, much of what I love about the game is not referenced in it now that I listen again. Much of the Manifesto is too dependant on preference to say "YES! They succeded!"
It comes down to two major points in my opinion:
1) We want to innovate in the genre.
I say they hit this in spades. Many will see some of these changes as evolution rather than revolution. Its a fine line, but the big innovation was changing the goals in designing the game. Focusing on Fun. Focusing of player co-operation. All the small elements that, while not innovative in and of themselves, where implemented in a very impressive package. Not to mention designing an MMO without the holyh trinity and the core leveling system being DE's rather than quests are HUGE innovations.
2) We want the player to feel that s/he matters in the world.
Here is where they stumbled IMHO. While its true that the opening zones have DE's firing off much faster than normal, from 1-20 I never felt that I was making a defining impact on the world. To do that would require far to much development for sure, but it remains that I never felt that DE's were a way to make my mark, only the gate to the next event.
Despite this, I still love the DE system, just not for the reasons they told me. That seems to hold true for the game. I love it to death so far, but not for the reasons in the Manifesto.
Originally posted by Purgatus 2) We want the player to feel that s/he matters in the world. Here is where they stumbled IMHO. While its true that the opening zones have DE's firing off much faster than normal, from 1-20 I never felt that I was making a defining impact on the world. To do that would require far to much development for sure, but it remains that I never felt that DE's were a way to make my mark, only the gate to the next event.
Ye i have to agree that at low level especially the first starting zone it was all about zerging, but honestly playing quiet high in later zones this went totally away in the lv15 to 35 zones i played in the BWE2, and you do fell like having a lot more impact on what is happening, and you get a lot more involved to. You also learn how to "read" the DE, and begin to trigger some by yourself, and learn to follow them and understand what they are about and listen to the story they tell you. I'm pretty sure in later level when we'll be able to figure out the meta events it will be even better.
Comments
I feel exactly the same.. but we all like different things.. me GW2 bored the hell out of me but others will of course love it.
Afraid i cant watch the vid as im in work so now sound so cant complete the survey..
"when you play MMO you feel bored" i think you are already burn out of the whole genre.
GW2 is good enough for me. so far better than everything released after wow.
Why did you need to correct that? it ended up at the same conclusion.
No need to deconstuct an opinion
TSW - AoC - Aion - WOW - EVE - Fallen Earth - Co - Rift - || XNA C# Java Development
No.
My earlier fears concerning DE's seem validated (i.e., DE"s would not have real impact on game and leave players feeling that the themepark GW2 game is too roller tracked).
I feel having now lvl'd extensively that the game is too easy. The risk vs reward drive I enjoy in online games is not really activated here in GW2 and because of this the game becomes trivial.
A lot of the manifesto seems to be about a different game, in retrospect.
Bosses do respawn in GW2. Even when they're from dynamic events, I've been in areas where I've seen the same event happen three or four times just while I was filling up the heart.
That thing about centaurs just standing there and you get a quest to kill ten - I've done that quest. In GW2. It was called an event but it worked exactly like this. They were not attacking - that had already happened before. But that doesn't change anything if I'm not there to see it.
I swung a sword, again, hey again - same in GW2. Even with auto attack! So you don't have to swing the sword manually anymore... gee that's great *yawn*
I could go on but the truth is I get bored just thinking about GW2.
Where?
Block the trolls, don't answer them, so we can remove the garbage from these forums
They were there either because it is their encampment or because they already killed everyone and took the village.
They have a reason to be there.
And when they are in their encampments you can see centaurs going on patrols.
It is very interesting to just pass by some zone and see all the original dwellers dead.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
What a load of BS! No MMORPG because every class can do 'everything'. No fixed roles = no MMORPG? RIFT no MMORPG, TSW no MMORPG, any good game = No MMORPG? Only boring, fixed role games are true MMORPG's?
Without roles it's grindy cause it's also easy. How the....? *shrug* So no grind when you have fixed roles? OMG, fail, fail, fail!
Quests = zerg? I'm sure you mean some DE's and you might be right for some DE's that are to epic to be completed with just a handful of players, but "quest=zerg" means "You got me, I never played the game so I'm cllueless."
Exactly
Total zergfest! Crafting is .. "meh", gathering - same, gear dosn't matter, levels dosn't matter, progress .. dosn't matter. The fanboys will say - skill matters, but there is not even this. All characters have same hitbox, it dosn't matter if you are tall or small, it's not anatomically correct, you can get hit by things that are so away from you (so even dodging is irrelevant some times.) Pressing buttons in a lag remembers the action, so when you are out of the lag it' starts to execute it. I never saw something that is so bad before. If i play asura dosn't matter, my hitbox is something above my head. Nothing matters in this game. I choose a class, it's only cosmetic, nothing else. You should have advantages or dissadvantages if you are big or small .. well not in this game which pretends to be pvp oriented .. mostly. And this is only a single example of the tons of crap that is going on on those betas ...
+1 to all of the above.
The only thing that matter's is I find it fun, therefore i will play it. If I found it lackluster and boring I would not play it. So yes the game lived up to the manifesto imho.
Oop's double post.
I think gw2 is very well made game with few bugs and floats smoothly.But as an entertaining it fails,I guess it delivers for pvp'ers but fails for pve gamers. Saying that ,I am pure pve player never ever do any pvp in a mmorpg.
GW2 seem to me as a pure Rift clone in the way how the events works,however the bigger world of GW2 is positive,but still those anoying events bugging you were ever you go trying to explore I dont find fun.
Those are my personal feelings about this game,I am in no way trying to say this game is no good,not at all,but my personal feelings are a setdown for this title.
Yes and no. If i go purely on features promised yes everything is there but the talks about how GW2 is going to change MMO landscape...nope i disagree with that.
problem with 3: honest minority == those who agree with me.
There is just too much subjectivity, it's pretty hard to make a fact based claim.
Being an old school DAOC'er myself the WvsWvsW is the closest I've gotten to old school DAOC RvR before ToA/New Frontiers came out. Been waiting on a game like this for a long time. Finally, can dig in and play it for years to come. Hoping Planetside 2 is as good as 1 and I'll be set with these 2 for years.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
Personally, I went into GW2 not expecting massive innovations. And it isn't massively innovative, but that's not a bad thing for me. But the things it DOES innovate on and the things it DOES get right tick a lot of the boxes in regards to what I'm currently looking for.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Dunno I don't waste time reading that marketing stuff, it is a pretty cool game tho.
Voted yes, i think it's the only mmo that delivered anything substancial since Uo that is more than just shitty hype, ye they hyped their game a ton probably even more than other games, but at least they delivered something as well.
There is alot of good info and misinformation in this thread. To everyone who says hearts are the core of gameplay the developers and lots of players disagree with you. DE's are the core content, hearts were added AFTER the fact to give players something familiar and something to do between DE's. Some of you also completely missed WvW and sPvP which are games unto themselves.
No the game has nothing truely new, but what it has is refined grindless gameplay that allows you multitude of play styles and options. Most mmo's do not offer EVERYTHING this game offers (much less without a sub), that is what makes it unique. Its a game that is not focused on leveling, but on playing.
Back on topic: It closely emulates what was promised at the beginning imo.
Cheers!
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
I have honestly seen little hype from A-net, just statements that they have delivered. All the hype I have seen is from the community. When I think of companies hyping their game I think of WAR, AOC, and TOR. Those companies hyped the crap out of their games and didn't deliver everything they stated would be in the games (and still have missing promised elements in each title to this day).
Cheers!
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
Yes, you are missing the majority of the game!
Dynamic Events are the main content for the game. If you don't get past level 6, you may not get the game, as the level 2-6 content is pretty simple and meant to be a bridge to halp introduce people to the game. The meat of the game is Dynamic Events, which occur through out the game world. Some occur near Heart Tasks. Some occur on the way to and from Heart Tasks and many occur out in the wilds, where you will have to explore to find them.
Most of them don't run off of simple timers and very few of them repeat soon after the lest event, so you may miss some events in the course of your travels. That's actually a plus for the game, though, as you can pass through the same area a number of times and still occassionally be surprised by what you find.
Some few Dynamic Events are isolated events that repeat. Many more are part of a Dynamic Event Chain, where success of failure leads to another series of events than make logical sense in context with the event youi just completed. Others are part of branching Event Chains, where multiple outcomes are possible depending on how an event plays out and the state of other events in the area. The most complex chains are actually Dynamic Event Webs, where dozens of DEs may all interconnect and influence each other.
I'd also note that the early Heart tasks are very simple. The quality of the Heart Tasks improves as you progress further into the game, though there are still some fun Hearts Tasks to mix things up, even in the higher level areas of the game. The challenge level for the game up to level 7 is pretty low, so players can get their feet wet, but the game, the mobs, the events and the AI become more demanding the deeper you get into the game.
I actually enjoy the level 2-6 experience for the game for what it is, but I really hope people don't decide the game is fluff based on a couple hours playing intro level content. GW2 is a deep, immersive engaging game and best of all, it's also very fun, rather than tedious. Explorers will love this game, while the Heart tasks provide bread crumbs for those less adventerous.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
It lives up to the hype; there is no denying that it is a very well made game. This was evident from beta weekend 1, and continued to get better after each beta weekend event.
This is the first game where I do not dread seeing other players; this alone makes it a worthy game. All previous mmo's pitted players (on the same side) against one another and always created an environment ripe for bickering. It's refreshing to see that "finally" a game has been designed that has made every attempt at removing those issues.
While a truly dynamic questing environment isn't possible (developers can only make so much content), it's nice to see quests that care about your participation and adjust correspondingly. The dynamic questing system is more of an improved public questing system designed by the Warhammer team.
The story line system has potential to be interesting. Both SWTOR and TSW have very good stories, and it will be interesting to see how GW2's story hold's up. If they can truly make a story that cares about your choices, then it will have one up on both SWTOR and TSW where the choices (if any) didn't make any difference regarding the story.
The crafting system is nice, but its probably the weakest link in the game. I've never been much of a crafter, but if they can make it interesting and not a "grind", then it will be decent in my opinion.
I actually enjoy combat in this game, which is saying a lot since most previous mmo's were quite bland. The animations are well done, the skills are interesting, and the boon/condition system is well thought out. The system works good in PvE and PvP which is often a huge problem in other games.
Both sPvP (battlegrounds) and WvWvW are very well done. PvP is extremely fun in this game (save some balancing issues). As other have mentioned, it's the closest PvP to DAoC, which is a huge plus in my book.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this game has definitely lived up to the hype for me.
Actually, I firmly believe it will. I've logged 125 hours of playtesting GW2 and not only does it deliver, but it is indeed full of many innovations that make most other MMOs pale in comparison. There are not only huge advantages for player enjoyment in GW2s game design, but there are also many lessons on how to increase content creation productivity and delivery for other developers to learn from, as well as other game play innovations that can make it more fun to play an mmo with other people.
If the game is nearly as successful as I anticipate, the business model will also have heavy influence on the genre.
In additional to many key innovations, GW2 also sets a high bar on a number of more traditional elements vs. most MMOs released in the last five years. Production quality, environmental detail, character creation, world space, content redundancy, non-linearity and breadth of features all set GW2 many notches above most of the crap we've seen in recent years. What they've done in five years, on what reportedly is a fairly modest budget for a massive AAA MMO, really set a high water mark that other developers will try to match. MMOs are risky business and publishers/investors are going to expect their developers to step up and deliver results on par with what Arenanet have managed with GW2.
This game will have a huge impact on the genre in much the same way that WoW did. I just hope that the lesson for developers will be that innovation and design from the ground up, rethinking established MMO design norms, are worth the risk and effort. If other developers just try to clone GW2, the way they've all been cloning WoW, (with little success), then much of the potential for re-invigoration of the genre will be lost.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
Does the game live up to the manifesto?
Mostly. I am a head-over-heels-in-love-with-this-game sort of poster. To be honest though, much of what I love about the game is not referenced in it now that I listen again. Much of the Manifesto is too dependant on preference to say "YES! They succeded!"
It comes down to two major points in my opinion:
1) We want to innovate in the genre.
I say they hit this in spades. Many will see some of these changes as evolution rather than revolution. Its a fine line, but the big innovation was changing the goals in designing the game. Focusing on Fun. Focusing of player co-operation. All the small elements that, while not innovative in and of themselves, where implemented in a very impressive package. Not to mention designing an MMO without the holyh trinity and the core leveling system being DE's rather than quests are HUGE innovations.
2) We want the player to feel that s/he matters in the world.
Here is where they stumbled IMHO. While its true that the opening zones have DE's firing off much faster than normal, from 1-20 I never felt that I was making a defining impact on the world. To do that would require far to much development for sure, but it remains that I never felt that DE's were a way to make my mark, only the gate to the next event.
Despite this, I still love the DE system, just not for the reasons they told me. That seems to hold true for the game. I love it to death so far, but not for the reasons in the Manifesto.
Ye i have to agree that at low level especially the first starting zone it was all about zerging, but honestly playing quiet high in later zones this went totally away in the lv15 to 35 zones i played in the BWE2, and you do fell like having a lot more impact on what is happening, and you get a lot more involved to. You also learn how to "read" the DE, and begin to trigger some by yourself, and learn to follow them and understand what they are about and listen to the story they tell you. I'm pretty sure in later level when we'll be able to figure out the meta events it will be even better.