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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:
- The
quality of game design
- Communication
features
- Multiplayer
technology
- 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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