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Lost Ark team being lead by Smed?

KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
Saw yet again a comment in a NW thread on Steam about John Smedley somehow being involved in NW which was quickly shouted down. (Mods there often quickly lock  threads which slag on Smed)

Since joining Amazon Studio back in 2017 he's flown mostly under the radar so it's hard to know what he's been down there in the San Diego Studio. Was a MOP rumor report saying they were working on a space game, but not much else I could find.

The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.

Thought I'd check here to see if anyone could confirm since many folks have better Google-Fu skills than I.




"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






AlBQuirky
«1

Comments

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    AlBQuirky
  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 5,898
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    AlBQuirky
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    KyleranolepiAlBQuirky
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well Smed definitely works on monetarization, but not advertising as far as I know.
    RoinKyleranAlBQuirky
  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    To be honest working in government it is just the same, but more you know where the appointees are going to come from rather than having met them before. Still we like to think the private sector might be different.
    ConstantineMerusAlBQuirky
  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    Scot said:
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well Smed definitely works on monetarization, but not advertising as far as I know.
    He does Roin, I just can't say he is dong that for LA or NW, lets hope not.
    AlBQuirky
  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,125
    I heard the same thing here on these forums a while back.
    AlBQuirky
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well since it's the developers who incorporate monetization into a game's design it means Amazon working closely with them, vendor management in general which Smed might have some experience in.
    AlBQuirky

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    ScotAlBQuirky

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    AlBQuirky
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    edited November 2021
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext. (Was really just another take on the "early access model") 

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.

    Not that I ever played it, but from what I read SWG players felt they got conned a few times, there was some bait and switch with a release they asked players to buy which was quickly followed by another big change (NGE?) which invalidated much of it, for many players who felt betrayed by it all.

    So if not con man, perhaps evil corporate mastermind or something? There are few leaders in gaming who are more reviled than Smed, heck once a hacking group threatened to bring down a plane while he was actually flying cross country on it, (flight had to be diverted) so it isn't any wonder that he keeps a low profile these days.

    AlBQuirky

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 5,898
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well since it's the developers who incorporate monetization into a game's design it means Amazon working closely with them, vendor management in general which Smed might have some experience in.
    Either way the design leads are in korea, smed being a monetization lead is pretty unimpactful on gameplay.
    AlBQuirky
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well since it's the developers who incorporate monetization into a game's design it means Amazon working closely with them, vendor management in general which Smed might have some experience in.
    Either way the design leads are in korea, smed being a monetization lead is pretty unimpactful on gameplay.
    Except that, game play is often driven by the monetization model these days.
    AlBQuirky

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 5,898
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:

    The Steam thread seemed to end when the OP updated his original claim saying after further "research" (no links provided) it appears Smed is leading the Lost Ark team.
    What does that even mean?  Lost Ark was already designed.  All amazon is doing is changing monetization and hopefully advertising it.
    Well since it's the developers who incorporate monetization into a game's design it means Amazon working closely with them, vendor management in general which Smed might have some experience in.
    Either way the design leads are in korea, smed being a monetization lead is pretty unimpactful on gameplay.
    Except that, game play is often driven by the monetization model these days.
    It's ported content that's years old.  I don't see them making custom content for Amazon.  Every change so far has been an improvement over what Korea has.

    Now I wish it was even less P2W here but it's a better model than we've gotten for most(all?) korean ports.  I mean it's probably no worse than LOTRO's P2W model to be honest.
    AlBQuirky
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.
    Well him never having the funds to build it doesn't make it a con. And I don't believe he created Landmark so people would build the game for him, if you remember, before Survival hype, we experienced the world building hype after the huge success of Minecraft. A lot of companies got into it. They had the right tools for it, so it was an indeed right decision to launch Landmark. And of course, they could use the asset from the creators too, But all know that would be a tiny fraction of all the actual work and the development EQNext needed. 

    What saddens me is EQNext was everything I wanted from an MMO, not only we've lost that but the industry's trajectory shows that no one is going to make such a game. 
    AlBQuirky
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.
    Well him never having the funds to build it doesn't make it a con. And I don't believe he created Landmark so people would build the game for him, if you remember, before Survival hype, we experienced the world building hype after the huge success of Minecraft. A lot of companies got into it. They had the right tools for it, so it was an indeed right decision to launch Landmark. And of course, they could use the asset from the creators too, But all know that would be a tiny fraction of all the actual work and the development EQNext needed. 

    What saddens me is EQNext was everything I wanted from an MMO, not only we've lost that but the industry's trajectory shows that no one is going to make such a game. 
    Besides some smaller Indie efforts such as Pantheon or Embers Adrift?

    Or were you thinking more along the lines of the destructible world features or other such content? I don't ever see those being viable in a MMORPG, at least not based on current technology.
    AlBQuirky

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • achesomaachesoma Member RarePosts: 1,726
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext. (Was really just another take on the "early access model") 

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.

    Not that I ever played it, but from what I read SWG players felt they got conned a few times, there was some bait and switch with a release they asked players to buy which was quickly followed by another big change (NGE?) which invalidated much of it, for many players who felt betrayed by it all.

    So if not con man, perhaps evil corporate mastermind or something? There are few leaders in gaming who are more reviled than Smed, heck once a hacking group threatened to bring down a plane while he was actually flying cross country on it, (flight had to be diverted) so it isn't any wonder that he keeps a low profile these days.


    I played SWG, and yeah, he straight up lied. The biggest lie was completely denying the NGE rumor knowing full well it was coming. All while selling pre orders for the upcoming expansion. He still believes himself to be a victim of Lucasarts and put all the blame on them.
    KyleranAlBQuirky
    Preaching Pantheon to People at PAX  PAX East 2018 Day 4 - YouTube
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.
    Well him never having the funds to build it doesn't make it a con. And I don't believe he created Landmark so people would build the game for him, if you remember, before Survival hype, we experienced the world building hype after the huge success of Minecraft. A lot of companies got into it. They had the right tools for it, so it was an indeed right decision to launch Landmark. And of course, they could use the asset from the creators too, But all know that would be a tiny fraction of all the actual work and the development EQNext needed. 

    What saddens me is EQNext was everything I wanted from an MMO, not only we've lost that but the industry's trajectory shows that no one is going to make such a game. 
    Besides some smaller Indie efforts such as Pantheon or Embers Adrift?

    Or were you thinking more along the lines of the destructible world features or other such content? I don't ever see those being viable in a MMORPG, at least not based on current technology.
    Yeah I meant destructible world and players' actions having mass-scale consequences. That is only meaningful in an MMORPG. 
    AlBQuirky
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    Guys, he didn't lie, he engaged in misinformation! Haven't you learned nothing from your government yet? :wink:
    achesomaAlBQuirky
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,125
    Guys, he didn't lie, he engaged in misinformation! Haven't you learned nothing from your government yet? :wink:

    Alternative facts
    ConstantineMerusachesomaAlBQuirky
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • kitaradkitarad Member LegendaryPosts: 7,885
    edited November 2021
    They never revealed to Sony that they were making Everquest. Kelly Flock the guy Smed worked for was saying it was for the console because that was what Sony wanted. All those lies that Smed told others in the office was to keep the project quiet and they were just the Ghouls and Goblin guys and the game got the money.

    Everquest would never be a game if not for them hiding it until it was a success. The reason it succeeded was the monthly subs that really opened Sony's eyes.

    Everyone was convinced that high fantasy RPG was a recipe for failure.

    https://www.pcgamer.com/breaking-the-internet-the-story-of-everquest-the-mmo-that-changed-everything/

    When you succeed it is all good otherwise you're that lying cheating guy.
    KyleranScotAlBQuirky

  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 5,898
    kitarad said:
    They never revealed to Sony that they were making Everquest. Kelly Flock the guy Smed worked for was saying it was for the console because that was what Sony wanted. All those lies that Smed told others in the office was to keep the project quiet and they were just the Ghouls and Goblin guys and the game got the money.

    Everquest would never be a game if not for them hiding it until it was a success. The reason it succeeded was the monthly subs that really opened Sony's eyes.

    Everyone was convinced that high fantasy RPG was a recipe for failure.

    https://www.pcgamer.com/breaking-the-internet-the-story-of-everquest-the-mmo-that-changed-everything/

    When you succeed it is all good otherwise you're that lying cheating guy.
    I haven't read the article, but didn't UO show that people were willing to pay a monthly sub for a fantasy RPG?  EQ just took it to the next level.
    AlBQuirky
  • RungarRungar Member RarePosts: 1,132
    edited November 2021
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Nice. Your getting closer and its not just him either. 
    AlBQuirky
    .05 of a second to midnight
  • AmarantharAmaranthar Member EpicPosts: 5,785
    kitarad said:
    They never revealed to Sony that they were making Everquest. Kelly Flock the guy Smed worked for was saying it was for the console because that was what Sony wanted. All those lies that Smed told others in the office was to keep the project quiet and they were just the Ghouls and Goblin guys and the game got the money.

    Everquest would never be a game if not for them hiding it until it was a success. The reason it succeeded was the monthly subs that really opened Sony's eyes.

    Everyone was convinced that high fantasy RPG was a recipe for failure.

    https://www.pcgamer.com/breaking-the-internet-the-story-of-everquest-the-mmo-that-changed-everything/

    When you succeed it is all good otherwise you're that lying cheating guy.
    I haven't read the article, but didn't UO show that people were willing to pay a monthly sub for a fantasy RPG?  EQ just took it to the next level.
    Yes. 
    In fact, from my memory, the "experts" at EA thought that UO would only sell about 10,000 copies. That's why each shard was made for 10,000 total, with 3,000 simultaneous users. 
    By Beta, they knew otherwise, and came up with the "Shard" idea. 
    ScotAlBQuirky

    Once upon a time....

  • AmarantharAmaranthar Member EpicPosts: 5,785
    edited November 2021
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Kyleran said:
    Scot said:
    He has been with them five years, it is difficult to pin down what he is working on, but certainly more than one title. I am starting to revise my position on New World, though Lost Ark looks more likely. I believe his main thrust is in something we have not seen though possibly a P2E.

    I think there must be some kind of gaming industry freemasons that he is a top honcho in, because no matter how badly he does there is always a new big job ready to take him on. :)
    Well I am not really sure how gaming industry works, but I presume, it is not a large circle of older guys, pretty much like my profession. We kind of all know each other, and many of us (not me, never, I am just too perfect) has made awful choices in our careers or have worked with shady governments, but we still know who is capable of what, and we really do believe in second, third, fourth, and eleventh chances. So I'm not really surprised about him landing a good job. 

    I myself prefer to hire people who have made a lot of mistakes before, than the ones who haven't, and definitely are going to. 
    Smed is first and foremost a politician, closely followed by charming pitchman (con man?) and I have no doubt he blamed many of the biggest fumbles on his Corporate masters, Sony and Lucas Arts poor management decisions.

    I'm sure his retelling highlights how he single handily salvaged the bad situations in spite of them, turning a good profit, changing water into wine, and of course, "resurrecting" his dead career.

    Maybe I was away for too long, how is he a con man? 
    I feel EverQuest Next was an entire con from day one, Smed never had the funds to build it, hence he announced the creation of Landmark shortly after, supposedly to let content creators "help" build EQNext

    The reality is he needed a proof of concept which sold well in order to convince Sony to properly fund Next which never happened, hence Daybreak quickly pulled the plug on them both not too long after the acquisition.
    Well him never having the funds to build it doesn't make it a con. And I don't believe he created Landmark so people would build the game for him, if you remember, before Survival hype, we experienced the world building hype after the huge success of Minecraft. A lot of companies got into it. They had the right tools for it, so it was an indeed right decision to launch Landmark. And of course, they could use the asset from the creators too, But all know that would be a tiny fraction of all the actual work and the development EQNext needed. 

    What saddens me is EQNext was everything I wanted from an MMO, not only we've lost that but the industry's trajectory shows that no one is going to make such a game. 
    Besides some smaller Indie efforts such as Pantheon or Embers Adrift?

    Or were you thinking more along the lines of the destructible world features or other such content? I don't ever see those being viable in a MMORPG, at least not based on current technology.
    Technology isn't an issue. All you need is to swap out art from "wall" section to "rubble." And set rules for support and that sort of thing. 
    Hell, UO had support rules built into their customizable houses, to a small degree. 

    In fact, UO was going to have wooden doors that you could burn down, and other burnable items. Before they realized what jerks Gamers can be. 
    AlBQuirky

    Once upon a time....

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