General Discussion

Alright, I've asked myself this a few times. How do big companies really design gameplay?

I'm talking about Blizzard / NCsoft etc, not small B titles. I mean AAA titles.

Everyone seems to think they can design gameplay.  You know, they make a list of what they want, bla bla, have never studied game design, etc.

But I know a college near by has a degree in it. It's called 'Interactive Entertainment' or something. But it's a 4 year degree!

Do you think Blizzard and the bigger MMO companies take these thing way more serious than most think they do? Wouldn't they use real educated people, psychologists, people with degrees, people who understand human interaction, body language, etc?

Before you ask, I'm not interested in getting a degree, I'm just wondering how serious big companies take this. There has to be tons more things psychologists and people that study for 4 years know than some of the B title games use.

Anyone has an opinion on this?

This is something I have wondered myself.  Just because you have a degree in graphic design, programming, or whatever doesn't make you ANY good at game design.  A psychologist would probably be better at game design then some of the designers we see today.  I mean MMOs really couldn't get much worse at this point anyway.

They're designed by committee with a producer to arbitrate, That's why most of them suck.

MMOS are built from recycled pieces of other games. And now you know!

Originally posted by tillamook

MMOS are built from recycled pieces of other games. And now you know!

I also think they designed a F2P first then extract stuffs from there to polish in P2P.

MMO today is similar to DIY a computer. You can login to their database and find different  components to assembling an instant F2P.

That's difference between F2P and P2P, one is raw material, another required debug and balance every month.

Originally posted by Waterlily

Do you think Blizzard and the bigger MMO companies take these thing way more serious than most think they do? Wouldn't they use real educated people, psychologists, people with degrees, people who understand human interaction, body language, etc?

 

I would think those would be the worst people to pick to make a fun game, so yes blizzard probably does use psychologists to figure out how to get people to do the same thing over and over again.

If I was in charge id hire an ECONOMIST.

Actually, they are people like you. Game fans who want to make a better more fun game, and have decided to really do it, so have put years of hard work into learning coding, design, etc.

Basically the backend is merely a text MUD with a plush interface - even WoW is like that. The text is so that data is quickly transferred between servers and client while player sees the glory of particles and blood and gore.

If you compare the functionality of a MUD with WoW (or most MMOs) the combat system (or quest system etc) hasnt changed nor evolved. Its a an old formula that just gets a gfx and content rehaul.

And people are getting TIRED of this formula (since everyone and their cat thinks they can make a successful MMO with the me-too formula). And failures like AoC are starting to show the new trend that players are BORED with dishwatered formulas and are seeking NEW and creative ideas now.

PS. And yes, I did code MUDs once.

Originally posted by zymurgeist

They're designed by committee with a producer to arbitrate, That's why most of them suck.

This.  And don't forget that the guy who makes the decision in the end isn't someone with a degree in game design and sometimes doesn't even play games.  Business majors who don't actually know how to really do anything FTL.

Simple. You copy EQ, then add some stuff to make it look like it's more than just an EQ clone.

Vanguard, for example, added "diplomacy".

AoC added clickety click combat.

WoW added cartoon graphics, and qu