Empire magazine interviewed Blizzard’s Vice President of Development, Itzik Ben Bassat, and got some juicy information for all of us drooling, game-thirsty geeks. Read the interview here: Empire Interview
Now that you’re back, or still here if you’ve already read it, I want to speculate. I saw the interview in RSS, and then had the benefit of seeing some links on other blogs today. I have a slightly different take on this. Does Blizzard have the kahones to break out with something completely new at this point?
To bust out with a Starcraft MMO game is not really fitting in with the claim of bringing “entertainment to another level.” Another level is something that hasn’t happened since MMOs went to graphics. To go from Ultima Online’s old 2D engine to what we play today is not as big of a jump as the leap from text to graphics.
Maybe I’m taking this too literally, but I’m not sure how much of an improvement can be made to a nearly perfect genre. There will always be gripes on playstyle of the engine (i.e., flight points, hearths, portals, mounts, etc.) that allow for advanced or even unreal travel or time management, but aside from those things, gamers are being abundantly clear with their money that the top games available are working the way they should.
What could be more addictive than it is now? Real money? I don’t think so, because that would limit those getting into the game. Surely more people would want to play with the option of getting rich off a game, but not everyone will have the resources to get into the markets. Virtual Reality? Too far in the future as far as hardware requirements go. Isn’t speculation great?
What do you think he might be referring to.
Another write-up on the interview: Stropp’s World.
I think playing for real money isn’t too far off. I doubt they could pull off something so grand as to enable anyone to get rich off of it but what stops them from bringing real world advertising dollars into the game and enabling high profile players from say, buying in game real estate and selling advertising space? Guilds could secure in game areas and build towns that sell services and products provided by guild members via in game professions. Those products could be branded with real world brands to provide advertising and a real cash percentage could be provided to the guild to divide up.
The complications involved make my head spin but no more so than getting millions of people online to play together on servers around the world, as it was when MMOs were being dreamed up in the first place.
People are already making money off of MMOs. It’s nearly impossible to prevent. So logically speaking I would imagine legitimizing the practice and opening it up to the actual player base seems like a logical step.
Interesting points, Sidus.
/thanks for visiting
I really hope that they will allow guilds to purchase houses with storage space and the like, complete with guards to fend of PvPers on PvP servers. That would create a whole mortgage market and really show money flying around.
Seems to me its becoming more about how to make more money then playying the game. That is if this game space was your idea on how to make money instead of say a real job then bully for you. However this will almost certainly start to segregate those who have from those who dont. Example being a corp funds a massive in-game purchase of land for their own purposes and lauches some campaign to get customers. You then have player created content gumming up the works. THis depends of course on the code used and the capacity of the relms used. Now lets place these areas where they will get the most exposure. Say near in-game cities or dungeons. So now you have these huge guady pieces of Non-game ads floating out in a GAME world making it hard to suspend belief. I play games to play not read some one ads or look at thier idea of a good product. I choose games based on the idea of how much unlike my real world life they can be. I have a job and as much as the idea sounds good i would rather not turn my game time into a work time.
I do how ever like the idea of buying ingame Guild houses. Instanced, they could be only accssable by the guildmambers. Hell even say a lobby for guild applicants and a place for dsiplaying trophies and such from conquests. Maybe stats on the guild itself. I would like a guild bank system with an ingame request system for getting shit outta there. Like have a few people designated as the authority and have them get instant mail for this requests and response. Might be too complex but there are systems and software available for these kinds of transactions. It just needs to be translated into a game with out borking the whole thing up. As i re-read this last paragraph i see some similarities with what Sidus was suggesting… Oh well it was a rant.
In-game ads for in-game stuff = OK
In-game ads for Real World crap + Not Cool.
Who is this directed at, and can you elaborate on the second sentence? I’m not sure what you mean by ‘this game space.’
Sorry it all sort of came out faster then i was prepared for.
Gamespace= Any space in-game(any game that alows it mind you) that might be used by a player for player-created content.
Sorry made my own word up there. It is dir3ected at any who wouldwant to use the mechanics of a video GAME to make money. I have been playing video game ever since i was old enohg to grasp a controller. I hate it when real life money gets any where near a factasy world created for the recreation of gamers, whoever and where ever they are.
To use the game-space available (theres the word again) for financial gain in the real world makes games more a marketing tool then say entertainment. Sure there are camoes of popuar items in most games but it is most time justified as corporate sponsers and incorporated into the game story. Or it just fits the time of the narrative. I keep having this nightmare of waking up, logging into a game (WOW of course) and seeing a huge banner hanging from the walls of Stormwind City. Perhaps a vender selling bread in Ironforge touting the values of Wholewheat wonder bread . Sorry this is way off the topic of the post but meh. (shrug) I ok really. THis just seemed to strike something.
Also this was directed at the response from Sidus. Sorry didnt add that.
Gitr,
/thanks for blogging ๐
They actually already do all of that in Eve Online. I used to be on the ruling council of one of the larger Corps in Eve. I had to quit because is was becoming too much of an alternate life. That’s my worry about this line of thought. We had almost 300 people in corp, spread all over the world. We had payroll, comodity contracts, even contracts for advertising out of game on the web. It was insane. Now if there had been monetary incentive to do all of that I might not have left. Then again I would probably be 500lbs, have no teeth, and a failing liver by now. LOL
So to me it’s a very controversial subject. I play WoW now because it’s not nearly as immersive. Eve was like a drug addiction. I hated it in the end but couldn’t stop. In the end it ruined a relationship and destroyed gaming for me. That was 4 years ago and I just started back into MMO and even now I don’t get nearly as into it as I did then. I can’t imagine getting paid to play. *splooge*
LOL
I’m totally opposed to the Arenas being the “Verizon Wireless Mor’Gash Arena” or something like that, if that is what you are saying.
I also think that everyone playing either needs to be in school, going to work, or be so stinking wealthy, they are helping others as much as they play.
Rant over. ๐ LOL
HA! That is exactly what i fear!! It would be funny for a little while but overall not something i wanna see.
Sidus, I’ve never played Eve, so I can’t really relate to the differences in immersion between the two. Maybe I should look into that.
By the way, does the guy in this past post sound how you were? The Best Addiction Post EVER