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By Paul Palumbo
Gamasutra

January 30, 1998

 

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Features

People vs. Pictures: Why Online Games Take the Focus off of Production Values

Whoever invented the 'card deck' had it right. Online entertainment is nothing without interactive participation. If you take that process away, or don't give players the choice of using their imagination, then the experience becomes passive experience.  It disconnects from the very advantage of the Internet.

This is why multiplayer game developers have to focus on bringing players together and creating an arena for interaction. Multiplayer games require a greater investment in time and money on the "process" of the property, which is another word for "people." These games must be designed to evolve and filter feedback into the design. Production is not completion-oriented, but rather service oriented. There is near continuous updating, as new qualities (new weapons, spells, levels, enhancements and bug fixes etc.) are incorporated into the property on a rolling basis. Gemstone III and DragonRealms (produced by Simutronics Corp.) are two good examples of this design strategy. Contrast these design values with the most successful retail games of recent years, where the emphasis has to be on extreme graphics, a killer artificial intelligence (AI) and state-of-the-art technology to nail the hardcore game demographic.

Production values and development processes are not mutually exclusive. But in the case of retail-only product or even hybrid CD-ROMs, production values are far more linear and controlling than online entertainment in delivering the experience because that's what all the investment is targeted to do. "People" and real time interaction clearly define process-related production. Adding people into the development process is all about giving them a framework to let their imaginations flourish.

Production value, online game interaction and process involve several key components:

  1. The quality of game design
  2. Communication features
  3. Multiplayer technology
  4. Media density (frame rates, resolution of texture maps, polygon count of the 3D models and sound fidelity)

Developers will have a better chance at market success if they can come up with a great game design/concept and a multiplayer technology that stands out from the crowd but doesn't get in the way of the experience.

Letting People "In"

Linear media is created, shipped out, purchased or given to somebody else to enjoy. In that production paradigm, there is a group of people the audience never knows who make a linear production happen; there may be many non-linear moments during production, but at the end of the day producers exercise complete creative control over the game's outcome.

In contrast, an online game or entertainment experience does not happen until the audience is let in, and they make the fun happen. Online producers have more limited control because the audience has been admitted into the process. Multiplayer games have new developments everyday. The goal is to stay ahead of the customer, and understand where they want to take the experience. The experience is not self contained, but actually requires the audience to exist. That's not the case with a movie; it's a complete experience in itself.

For example, Asheron's Call is an online-only game on Microsoft's Internet Gaming Zone. The strategy from the very beginning was to evolve the product in directions users determine. If they decide to go out and conquer the universe, then the service will have to create more and more gaming terrain. If users instead decide to band up into a couple of groups and fight each other, then the producers have to focus ongoing development around making those conflicts more interesting.

That does not mean putting the audience in charge of production. If you don't have a strong producer or director with a clear vision about what the product is, then putting it online and having people vote on it is going to become chaotic. The best entertainment content is produced with a clear vision. Listening to all those conflicting consumer responses can be frustrating and overwhelming, so developers must maintain ongoing editorial discretion.

"Process" as an Asset

When developing multiplayer games and socially interactive entertainment experiences the developer has to account for two specific elements in the production process: 1) production mechanics and its relationship to ROI, and 2) the process as an asset.

During planning and pre-production, developers can design automation into the product so the cost of serial releases decrease over time. After the initial development process and automation of serial releases, production templates allow for dynamic enhancement of assets, addition information, insertion of interstitial banners, 30-second spots etc.

From the perspective of a business model and market positioning, the experience learning from process production is a barrier to entry for competitors because they can't kill successful online titles by simply adding more production value. The months or years "process" feedback incorporated into multiplayer authoring and game engines is a competitive advantage.

Education is Part of the Process, Too

Universal Studios New Media Group recently struck a co-development deal with Simutronics Corp. for two television properties: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Xena: Warrior Princess. Simutronics has the exclusive rights to create an online-only MUD type of game that units both franchises. The beta site is scheduled to go up sometime on March 1st, and the official launch of game in April.

Despite the fact that these properties fit very well with the type of game (fantasy role-playing) Simutronics has already been successful with online, the deal just about didn't happen when Universal looked closely at the deep types of RGP products the company is famous for.

Universal was looking for a graphical CD-ROM title online. Simutronics is known for creating online experiences that are primarily textual, and require players to use their imaginations.

Simutronics convinced Universal that the quality of its writers--and the fact that there are over 100 Game Managers (GMs) on the ground across the country filtering user feedback into its games on a daily basis--were the key ingredients to a successful online RPG. Simutronics' argument was that companies attempting to do this kind of production graphically were losing the essence of that type of experience.

Simutronics was able to convince Universal that they understood online games, and more specifically fantasy role-playing games. They illustrated how they intended to make gameplay adjustments to the account for the television show's viewer demographic. The primary job is to re-create the world in a fashion that is recognizable to the audience, not develop a technology-laden experience to dazzle the hardcore game fan.

Simutronics showed Universal its plans for keeping the game system fairly simple compared to other games. The combat system will be much more "tongue in cheek," and easier to understand. It's also a lot less numbers driven.

In Summary

Developers looking for a multiplayer game success can't fall in love with the newest technology on the Internet if it doesn't advance the entertainment value of the game. In this context, production value is really how well you communicate with your audience and allow them to communicate with each other.

Social dimension and interactivity are the most powerful elements in this medium. The "process" is a moving target, however, because the technology is a moving target. When has making computer software ever been about getting it right the first time? You get it right through evolution and perfection of technology, and relate that to an entertainment experience. The trick is to do it in real time with your audience.

Paul A. Palumbo is an interactive entertainment analyst, business consultant and reporter based in Seaside, California. He spent three years at the media research firm Paul Kagan Associates, Carmel, CA. as an M & A (mergers & acquisitions) writer and analyst specializing in entertainment media. Mr. Palumbo is a regular contributor to such widely read industry publications as Multimedia Wire, Multimedia Week, New Media Strategist and Lightwave Magazine. He also works with interactive and online publishers/developers to secure finance and expand business opportunities.  He can be reached at ppalumbo@concentric.net.



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