Tag: multiplayer

      Bioware’s Ray Muzyka talks multiplayer and DA:O

      November 16, 2009 /

      Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka.Bioware co-founder and CEO Ray Muzyka talked with Videogamer.com about Dragon Age: Origins today and made some interesting statements regarding multiplayer in RPGs. Two of Bioware’s most recent releases have been single player RPGs, something I found a little distressing. As I get older I’m finding I want games to be more social, and Bioware is one of my favorite developers, so naturally I’m most excited for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic. But I don’t want to miss titles like Mass Effect or DA:O because I really love the storyline, which is something that dissolves the deeper you get into an MMO. Lucky for me, Muzyka wants to help.

      He sees the same sort of paradox in multiplayer/RPG gaming. It’s hard to keep control of a good story when you open the world to millions of player interactions, but those single player experiences leave something to be desired. As Muzyka puts it, “It’s hard to weave a great single-player storyline into a multiplayer experience. It’s not impossible. We’ve done it, and we’re doing it again now in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But it is challenging.”

      As for the other way around, he’s not totally thrilled with the idea of a co-op mode for something like Mass Effect 2. “They could make a great gameplay experience,” he said. “Whether we’ll do them or not remains to be decided.” I think “could” is key because I’ve yet to see a co-op experience that I would choose over the single player, at least in an RPG.

      For more on DA:O you can read the full interview at Videogamer.com.

      MMO, PC, PS3, Xbox 360

      Activision looking to further monetize online gameplay

      November 16, 2009 /

      Activision logo.It looks like Activision likes the idea of monetizing online gameplay for more than just World of Warcraft. Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets Conference this week, Activision CFO Thomas Tippl said he liked the idea of spreading the WoW business model to other games in the Activision lineup. From the context, it sounds like that means subscription fees, which would make all sorts of people unhappy.

      “We have great experience also on Call of Duty with the success we had on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. A lot of that knowledge is getting actually built into the Battle.Net platform and the design of that,” Tippl said. “I think it’s been mutually beneficial, and you should expect us to test and ultimately launch additional online monetization models of some of some of our biggest franchises like Call of Duty.” So there’s also some potential for microtransactions, possibly for map packs or special equipment.

      Tippl also mentioned the demand from the gaming community to pay for extended support for games. Now I’m not sure why that would be the case, especially for games like Call of Duty. I usually find it worse for FPS games to get tons and tons of maps. That says nothing of the backlash from PC players over paying for something that has traditionally been available for free if Activision goes the subscription route.

      Whatever Activision chooses, it probably won’t be good for anyone. I understand the need to make money for the fast-approaching day people stop buying Rock Band, but maybe this isn’t the best way to do that.

      Activision, News

      EA job post points to Dead Space 2 multiplayer

      November 14, 2009 /

      Dead Space Marine gettin munched on.A recent job posting from EA suggests we might get a little multiplayer action in Dead Space 2. If you’ve not played through the original game, you should, if only to see how truly terrifying a game can be. As far as multiplayer goes, though, I’m not real sure what that would look like. So much of the original game is devoted to removing body parts that a multiplayer experience sounds more like a drunken Alien vs. Predator match to me.

      Here’s the interesting content from the post:

      This M-rated action/shooter sequel will set new standards for an action-packed story-driven console experience. Our team values are as follows: Gameplay comes first, controller feel is everything, culture of creativity, be highly iterative, playtest early and often, learn from failure, work fast and smart, and surround ourselves with the best talent in the world.

      The previous installment in the Dead Space franchise received numerous awards for gameplay, visuals, and sound design, and the same core team is in place to create an even better follow up.

      If you’ll remember, Dead Space had insanely high used sales compared to new sales, which usually means players don’t see a lot of replay value to the game. Multiplayer support would probably help, but only if done right, and really, I’m having trouble dreaming that up.

      EA

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