|
|
| Author |
Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 0 post(s) |
Beren Hurin
Onslaught Inc
RISE of LEGION
1790
   |
Posted - 2013.11.21 13:54:00 -
[1] - Quote
So I watched a pretty good video about CCP's core design theory about, according to their CEO, that "The Human Brain is the Platform" In it Hilmar Veigar Petursson explains that it is CCP's stated mission
Quote:...to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life.
It seems like a rather lofty vision. But I'm wondering how closely they are coming with DUST. If you watch the video, Hilmar describes a rather compelling instance in which a core real life value 'trust' becomes a real part of the game, Eve, that he is making. It causes such emotional conflict within himself, that he has to start asking himself pretty deep questions about why he wants to go on playing the game.
He admits that CCP had built the Eve platform with a misguided content progression model in mind with the ability to upgrade from frigates all the way to battleships in about a year's worth of time. This assumed that this would be a core motivation to progress through the game... "Fly something bigger." What quickly became clear though was that what CCP could or did DESIGN as the content that could be progressed through, WAS NOT the content that the player did progress through (nor did they care to). While a player who starts in a frigate, may one day aspire to fly a titan, they can easily imigine being a crucial and effective member of whatever organization they join without ever flying in something more deadly than a battlecruiser.
So I want to bring this same idea to Dust.
Dust seems to have been built around a similarly misguided content progression model. It appears that the progression design is, "Play longer to get better suits" All this really amounts to experientially now, though, is just having a weapon, suit, toughness and survivability that is marginally more effective and significantly more expensive. The core content progression does not seem to progress your core experience.
This could be a result of a lot of things. The sandbox may not be big enough yet. Players may not have enough tools to interact with each other. Potential social objectives may not be really meaningful in game. There could be many things that limit the feeling of 'new experience' that gets you to continue to log on.
CCP needs to address this for the purpose of player retention and recruitment. If they mission is to create a meaningful virtual shooter world, then how can they accomplish that in a way that gets players to stay around. This impacts the way you will gain and exploit skill points. It impacts how you 'make a living' in the game. It should impact who you trust to play with. It should impact what you are thinking of trying to achieve next time you log in, next week, next month, and next year. If all you can achieve in terms of significance is 'land on another planet'. The experience will just feel too limited. However, if each player can really start to see the impact they have on the game, the game can survive and thrive. |
Beren Hurin
Onslaught Inc
RISE of LEGION
1792
|
Posted - 2013.11.21 14:36:00 -
[2] - Quote
Mortedeamor wrote:solid thread as always beren +1 to bad ccp will never save dust
I don't think all is lost. I think the map design development trajectory has been a very clever thing. What it entails is that new content won't only be iterative to new experience, but it will compound on the experiences of what comes before it. Map modularity lets experiences vary widely based on how the cards are drawn at the beginning of the game. Players have to respond in a different way each time a new map is drawn.
What players then need to do is realize that you can't force the same experience into each map. I think this a is a hidden and foolish frustration that many players are forcing on themselves. Many want to fight a CQC battle everywhere, and when their experience doesn't validate this, they complain. The feedback that tells them what they did wrong, isn't exactly there in Dust. What exists in Eve, and the ability to communicate well with other members of your corporation who can observe your actions, and correct it with a vested interest in seeing you improve. |
Beren Hurin
Onslaught Inc
RISE of LEGION
1795
|
Posted - 2013.11.21 15:01:00 -
[3] - Quote
Interestingly...rewatching the video...a notable (if not eloquent) quote emerged...
"Death is a serious matter...you can own things. You can truly own them. And when you lose things it makes you feel things."
Right now, you cannot deny that player's vested ownership of things are in pretty unpredictable state of flux. We are unsure of what our SP is getting or will get us.
Also, death just doesn't seem so serious. For those that can afford the most expensive things, death has practically no meaning. For those just starting out, people just aren't seeming to have a rational fear/respect for this 'meaningful' mechanic behind the game. |
Beren Hurin
Onslaught Inc
RISE of LEGION
1795
|
Posted - 2013.11.21 15:07:00 -
[4] - Quote
Aeon Amadi wrote:R F Gyro wrote:My guess: Dust devs are in a holding pattern while the new top-bods thrash out strategy. We'll start to see that strategy emerge sometime in the new year. Really hoping they start work on the Assault/Logistics balancing for 1.8/1.9
See I don't know if these kinds of concerns will get us very far. Even if there was balance, I don't know how deep experience would continue to be after a week, a month or a whole season of whatever 'balance' that we get. There needs to be something more than the continuous shooter/lobby matchups that we are getting continually. I'm not saying we don't need balance, but that a resource investment toward this balance will only buy so much time for them. The sandbox needs to be bigger, IMO. |
|
|
| |
|