The people over at GameSpy have a third part to their coverage of the highly anticipated World of Warcraft.
In this part they talk about what Blizzard is doing to make this MMORPG different than all the others.
Personal Note:
I have made it a point to stay away from the pay for play MMOs ever since they came out… Well, leave it to Blizzard to change my outlook on this. When WoW comes out, you will see me in this world quite a bit. [I feel so 0w3n3d already and it hasnt even come out yet!]
Check it: http://www.gamespy.com/interviews/january04/wow/ Quote from the site:
GameSpy: What do you think are the major mistakes made by previous MMOs and what are you doing to avoid them?
Kaplan: The single most important thing to remember when creating a game is that it must be FUN. When someone sits down to play your MMO, they are doing so to be entertained. An MMO should not feel like a job or obligation. Its very important not to fall into that trap of trying to manipulate your community, as if youre trying to run an ant farm. As a designer, its your responsibility to create a world thats exciting, challenging, and FUN. Its not your job to play god over someones play experience.
GameSpy: Is there one particular philosophy driving WoWs game design? If so, what is it?
Kaplan: “Easy to learn, hard to master.” Thats the philosophy we share amongst all the designers here at Blizzard. I remember one of my first discussions at Blizzard was actually with a senior designer, who gave me the perfect analogy of what a computer game needs to strive for. A four-year-old kid can learn and understand the game of chess in one sitting, yet it takes a person a lifetime to master. In the same sense, we want to provide a gaming experience thats very accessible for broad market players, while at the same time remain challenging for the hardcore power gamers.
Go to their site linked above for the full story… Tons of information!!!