February 23, 2007 at 00:30The evolution of online games: sci-fi and mobile
Korean company NCSoft, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, is one of the pioneers in the MMOG market. Over the years, the company has created a number of games that have become classic, including Lineage and Ultima Online. About the history of NCSoft, as well as plans for the future, tells the director of the North American division of the company Robert Garriott (Robert Garriott).
The company released its first game in 1997, while no one believed in the Internet. Online games were a kind of exotic. Everyone was very impressed when the number of UO players reached 15,000, the figure seemed unrealistically large. It was absolutely impossible to imagine how much the market will grow in ten years. Today, only 67 million people play Lineage. Every fifth Korean has an account in this game - who could imagine that?
If we talk about the evolution of MMOG over ten years, then the main innovation is graphics. Ten years ago, by one appearance, it was possible to determine whether it was a console / desktop game or MMOG. Now it’s absolutely impossible to determine by eye. Almost all modern MMOGs require powerful graphics cards and the latest versions of DirectX to work. If you run on the screen Lineage II or World of Warcraft next to the console game, then the quality of the graphics will be almost indistinguishable. In the scenarios of all new games, quick involvement is necessarily provided. In the first 15–20 minutes, the player is necessarily offered some kind of easy quest, where he cannot die, and in the end receives a bonus. If this is not the case, then the developers of the game are believed to have done their job poorly. Ten years ago, it was normal for a player to get through twenty levels, eating pasture, before it reaches the necessary development after a few weeks and begins to play for pleasure. A normal American will not tolerate this: he would rather pay $ 50 to the Chinese to immediately get a pumped character at level 20. Now such 20-level torment is rare. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games.
Many genres have appeared in the MMOG world. People are gradually getting tired of classic fantasy (in general, this is a separate story why the development of MMOG began with fantasy), however, new sci-fi games remain rather difficult for the average player. But science fiction is the future of MMOG. NCSoft is now actively working in this direction, studying the experience of console games. About a dozen projects are currently under development: half in Korea, half in the United States. Particular hopes are placed on the success of the sci-fi game Tabula Rasa .
Robert Garriott looks with interest at Sony's experiments with the virtual economy. NCSoft also sets the stage for real money gaming transactions. For example, they have an NC Coin system that supports micropayments, and in a month or two, Exteel will enter the market, where micropayments are part of the gameplay process. They also have the game Dungeon Runners, where you can play for free or for $ 5 immediately go to a higher level. Integration of real money into the virtual world is a perfectly acceptable option.
Another important trend is the release of online games on mobile phones. Garriott carefully studies this issue and believes that the biggest problem is the heterogeneity of the mobile platform. There are about 600 phone models / graphic standards / other differences on the market. Until this “zoo” is standardized, perhaps around Windows CE, with graphics, drivers, interfaces, game publishers will not be able to achieve normal profitability of their developments. When a single standard appears, then the fun begins.
The company released its first game in 1997, while no one believed in the Internet. Online games were a kind of exotic. Everyone was very impressed when the number of UO players reached 15,000, the figure seemed unrealistically large. It was absolutely impossible to imagine how much the market will grow in ten years. Today, only 67 million people play Lineage. Every fifth Korean has an account in this game - who could imagine that?
If we talk about the evolution of MMOG over ten years, then the main innovation is graphics. Ten years ago, by one appearance, it was possible to determine whether it was a console / desktop game or MMOG. Now it’s absolutely impossible to determine by eye. Almost all modern MMOGs require powerful graphics cards and the latest versions of DirectX to work. If you run on the screen Lineage II or World of Warcraft next to the console game, then the quality of the graphics will be almost indistinguishable. In the scenarios of all new games, quick involvement is necessarily provided. In the first 15–20 minutes, the player is necessarily offered some kind of easy quest, where he cannot die, and in the end receives a bonus. If this is not the case, then the developers of the game are believed to have done their job poorly. Ten years ago, it was normal for a player to get through twenty levels, eating pasture, before it reaches the necessary development after a few weeks and begins to play for pleasure. A normal American will not tolerate this: he would rather pay $ 50 to the Chinese to immediately get a pumped character at level 20. Now such 20-level torment is rare. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games. The difference between console games and MMOG is getting smaller and smaller. This is a mutual rapprochement: console games also partially acquire some properties of multiplayer games.
Many genres have appeared in the MMOG world. People are gradually getting tired of classic fantasy (in general, this is a separate story why the development of MMOG began with fantasy), however, new sci-fi games remain rather difficult for the average player. But science fiction is the future of MMOG. NCSoft is now actively working in this direction, studying the experience of console games. About a dozen projects are currently under development: half in Korea, half in the United States. Particular hopes are placed on the success of the sci-fi game Tabula Rasa .
Robert Garriott looks with interest at Sony's experiments with the virtual economy. NCSoft also sets the stage for real money gaming transactions. For example, they have an NC Coin system that supports micropayments, and in a month or two, Exteel will enter the market, where micropayments are part of the gameplay process. They also have the game Dungeon Runners, where you can play for free or for $ 5 immediately go to a higher level. Integration of real money into the virtual world is a perfectly acceptable option.
Another important trend is the release of online games on mobile phones. Garriott carefully studies this issue and believes that the biggest problem is the heterogeneity of the mobile platform. There are about 600 phone models / graphic standards / other differences on the market. Until this “zoo” is standardized, perhaps around Windows CE, with graphics, drivers, interfaces, game publishers will not be able to achieve normal profitability of their developments. When a single standard appears, then the fun begins.