Just like on day one a big portion of our time was spent chasing for perfect pictures and we got a whole lot! I’ve got more than I could ever post but I’m going to throw the best ones up I can! We were also able to catch the EverQuest II panel that was hosted by SOE. It was hosted by Brasse, Amnerys and Gnobrin and went really well. The crowd, for the most part, was very supportive and I heard one piece of information I had not previously. We knew that Velious was going to be split into two parts. I thought that meant two full paid expansions. Evidently we get both for the price of one!

I also asked the really hard questions too. The most important one being, “What are the chances we can get some animations for Billy illusions?” It was pretty tough but Brasse said they’d add it to the list. I recorded the panel and will have that ready and available in a few days. Now, why don’t we get to some pictures!

A super bike!

A super awesome draconian.

The Adam West Bat Mobile!

Feel the might of Cobra!

Speed racer!

Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!

Arrrr matey!

The dread pirate Roberts!

Murlocks!

The flying spaghetti monster!

Lord Humongous… Just walk away!

Ferrel, Stephen and Torgutz

Torgutz found a top hat and was thus transformed into Dr. Classy! He is hanging out with the beat box clone trooper!

Here we have the return of bacon!

Here is the EQ2 panel!

My friend and his delightful costume!

And I was worn out too…

Dr. Classy with Classy Spiderman! (He was confused when we told him to keep the top hat on)

I’m in good with Buddy Christ!

We randomly ran into our line buddies! It was great! We spent three plus hours in line with them and shared an experience!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster goes ground based!

We missed Brian Green’s first panel, much to my dismay, but we did get to catch him at the “How to break into MMORPGs” panel. It was a stellar discussion and featured, in addition to Brian, Todd Harris, Kelly Barnes, Linda Carlson and a gentleman from Mythic who’s name I sadly did not catch. The audience had some pretty great questions and the information provided by the guests was really great. A major point they made was that there is a glut of game designers and producers. The best route in right now is through programming and art. To boil down all of the excellent information to just that doesn’t do it justice of course but for now that will have to suffice.

I also had the opportunity to chat a little while with Amnerys and other members of the SOE staff that are in attendance. As always they were wonderful and are in some rather dapper costumes. After that we went costume watching and managed to get a few wonderful pictures! Enjoy!

Imperials from Warhammer 40K

Ferrel and Gnobrin

Torgutz and Zap Brannigan

My friend Rhiannon (on the right) and her friends!

Harvey Birdman attorney at law… on a smoke break.

Ferrel with… um… people in great costumes. What are these things?

I am a convention fiend to say the least. I always love to have an opportunity to meet some people face to face. What better place to do it than in a convention where I am surrounded by thousands of other geeks, nerds and dorks. This year I’m fair more prepared for Dragon*Con but not nearly enough. I don’t have any Epic Slant goodies to give away and my costume situation is dismal. Perhaps next year I’ll be able to use it.

On the plus side some friends from back home are going. I’m also going to get to see the lovely community folks from SOE! I’m meeting Brian Green, seeing folks I met at DC09 and the great people from Guild Launch! My dance card is quite full to say the least. At any rate, if you’re going to be in the area, why not come out!

Dealing with such a guild can be a challenge. Unlike in my previous life I can’t tell someone to just “shut up and do as I say.” That doesn’t work. You have to be more diplomatic and trust in your members to be more independent. You have to be more nimble as a leader and willing to not get your way. These are things that are generally undesirable in raid guilds but it does work. We’re proof of that. You can’t kick players by the wayside and replace them. You have to be understanding of their situations. By doing so they come to trust you and you them. Everyone starts to act in the best interest of the guild and not themselves. These are the guilds that maintain their success for years to come.

Work hard to integrate your guild on an individual level. Bring in only a few players at a time and let them learn your culture. Learn who they are, take an interest and make them feel welcome. Remember that finding who you need to win may seem simple but taking the wrong person in the right class will only work so long. Look at your long term consequences and plan for the duration, not just for the next mob. Your members that fit with this system will stay and help to grow it. Let the rest go. Not everyone is ready to have more than “online friends” out of their guild. Once you have a solid base you can build anything and your members will follow you. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by individuals that, for some reason or another, trust me and the leadership. It is something you can take for granted. Don’t.

If I can give a new guild leader one piece of advice it is to remember that every character you see in game has a living, breathing, person behind them. They have a life, a family, hopes and dreams. If you treat them as such they’ll follow you. Focus on the person and less on the class, race, and specialization. The rest will work it self out in the long run. It may sound sappy, foolish or even down right crazy but this is how success is built. Try to make friends with your guild mates and worry less about how well they parse. In the grand scheme of things that only really matters if you’re competing for the top slot and there is an awful lot of game outside of that.

I love my guild mates like family. Out side of my blood relatives and two best friends they’re the people I spend the most time with, the first I go to for advice, and the ones I share my pain with. In turn they share their pain with me and their guild mates. This weekend two of us have had a lot of pain. The kind that should never have to be endured. It gives us a clear reminder of how close we are and how much we mean to each other. I have no better way of expressing that than to say how much they mean to me and their guild mates. We are here for you, we love you, and we grieve deeply. My God grant you some peace.

Small Guild – Iniquity is a very tight group of players. We’re not going to grow into a massive organization filled with people you don’t know or don’t like. We’re all friends, we all get along, and we all have the same drive/goals. You can be certain you’ll never sit out on a x4 raid or get lost in a crowd. There is a good chance you’ll be the ONLY member of your class.

Professional – In life and game we’re professionals. We cut up and have a good time but we’re very serious about what we do. We kill raid mobs with numbers/gear/etc that most players would say is impossible. That is what we’re all about. Being the underdog and doing the impossible. You must be prepared and willing to play in this system. If someone says “you can’t” then “we will.”

You’re In – We don’t do a recruitment process. We don’t make you jump through hoops. The moment you accept the invite you’re in. You can roll on loot and have all the privileges that everyone else has. We are immediately inclusive and if you don’t work out you don’t work out. No hard feelings on our part.

Consistent Raiding – We raid EVERY Wednesday and Saturday regardless of who is on. Remember that part about professional? Being six people short is of no consequence to us. We’ll get something done to progress the guild. We need to see you as many Wednesdays and Saturdays as possible. If you’ll miss an occasional one that is no problem. If you’re going to mess every Wednesday and every other Saturday please do not apply.

Difference Maker – In a lot of guilds when you join you’re just another foot soldier. In Iniquity you will be a hero. Every member is important and makes a huge difference in our ability to destroy raid content. If you ever wanted to matter this is the place for you.

Critical Data

Server: Oasis
Transfers: Yes, and if you work out on the long term we’ll even pay for it.
Transplants: Yes, but we DO NOT power level. We will help you out of course but if you want to start fresh on Oasis you need to plan to do the work yourself, by yourself and/or with PUGs. The more it is clear that you’re self motivated, in for the duration, and willing to work the more we’ll help.
Time Zone: Eastern with daylight savings.
Raid Times: Wednesday and Saturday. Start time varies. ~6:30 PM – 1:00 AM. Duration varies.
Loot: We’re a small guild. Everyone gets their share pretty easily. We use random with the understanding that officers can step in to solve a major issue (Such as a cleric rolling on a super awesome tank item).
Total Members: We will stop recruiting at 25-26. We’re at roughly 18 now.
Long Term: We have no plans to game jump any time soon. We’re interested in 38 Studios Copernicus and EverQuest Next.

Chris is concerned about power

My buddy Chris over at Game By Night has asked me rather directly about how I’d feel if a game offered to sell me statistics. He phrases the question to me as a guild leader. I noticed in the comments that some folks waved this off as a simple “raiders are already sitting at cap for everything” situation. To that point I must certainly disagree. In some games that may be true. In others it isn’t. Looking at EQ2 there is absolutely, positively, no possibility of any player maxing all relevant statistics at this time. They may get diminishing returns but there are still returns! Other statistics, such as potency, critical bonus, critical chance and double attack must be balanced and I’ve yet to see someone reach 100% in all four at the same time. If EQ2 Extended started to sell a one time bonus to any of them in the same way that LotRO has you will start to create a situation of the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Players may pawn this off as a “minor increase.” As a raid leader you simply cannot see things that black and white. I look at everything from the perspective as a coach. Each time any one of my players is upgraded the team gets better. We may get four minimal upgrades on a raid night that offers four separate players only a .25% increase in their primary ability. The team, however, just got 1% better. If these statistic bonuses added only .10% value to a player it would add 2.4% to a 24 man raid. That adds up quicker than you think folks.

You also have to look at these statistic increases as outside the realm of usual upgrades. These “small increases” are not dependent on gear. They’re not dependent on a column A or column B choice. They’re simply a innate character improvement that cannot be removed. You’re either an enhanced character or you’re not. No new expansion or content will make you want to undo this choice. You can buy your way into potency and then use your gear to get critical bonus. That will make a huge difference. In short, this is a very dangerous thing to do regardless of how small the increase is. Should something like that occur on EQ2 Extended it will most certainly wreak havoc on the raid game.

Free to play players aren’t capping

Green Armadillo of Player Versus Developer makes a rather interesting note about DDO’s free to play. Evidently a lot of the players there are simply not reaching the end game. Green suggests that this condition is based on the fact that DDO charges directly for content. That makes sense to me. You’re playing, having a good time, and then you’re suddenly stopped by a message that says, “Pay $4.99 to continue.” That would create a reasonable stopping point for most and I imagine in a lot of cases it does.

I’m concerned that the same situation will occur on the EverQuest 2 Extended server. If you look at the membership matrix you will quickly see that if you ever plan to reach “end game” you simply have to be at the gold level. You will be unable to raid and complete harder instances with only expert spells and treasured gear. No matter how much someone wants to tell me that you can get by with that, you can’t. Treasured gear is trash and is never meant to be used on a raid or in harder instances. Raids can carry a few players with it but not many. My assumption is that on the EQ2 Ex server you’ll see more players at the silver level than anything else. That will make raiding particularly difficult. Given that the gold level membership is a worse deal than an EQ2 live subscription I’m not even sure EQ2 Ex will have a viable raid community. The value just isn’t there. If you want to raid or do high end instances you need to be on EQ2 Live.

A different model for a different player type

When it comes right down to it I just don’t think the freemium (I refuse to call it free to play because usually it costs more than a subscription) is for players like me. Raiding depends on the notion that the rules apply equally to all regardless of money. The only advantages you can get are time and skill. Anything that gives raiders an advantage will be utilized and I can quickly see players without money falling by the wayside. I know the industry is going crazy for the freemium model but I’m wondering if it isn’t anything but a fad for anyone but casual players. It is a great deal for them but when it comes to guys like me it seems dubious. Thankfully EQ2 isn’t forcing me into it and really appreciate that.

I wear heavy armor too

Plate healers are exactly what the name suggests: healers that wear full plate. No where in the lore is there “healer plate,” “cleric plate,” or whatever kind of lame, not as solid as “tank plate” plate you want to imagine. There is no such thing! Full plate is full plate and the sooner we get to that understanding again the better. Everyone gets frightened at the idea of clerics wearing the same armor as a tank. They say, “Nooooooo, tanks are suppose to have the best armor.” No, they’re not. Tanks are tanks not only because they can soak damage but because they can attract and maintain aggro. A plate healer should be incapable of doing that! Survival is not a market cornered by tanks, aggro is.

I’m also not squishy

I’m not sure where the notion of all healers being squishy came from but I do have my suspicions. Once more this isn’t a historical fact and it makes little sense. Some healers were more squishy than others but the notion of all healer types having similar amounts of hit points is ridiculous. Plate healers have traditionally been in the hit point tier just behind tanks. They’re not frail like mages and those sissy, nature loving, druids. We plate healers stand shoulder to shoulder with the warriors. To be told to stand behind them is an insult. We wear the same armor, carry the same shield (at least we’re suppose to), but we do a different job. Classifying us as a healer first and then making determinations based on that just feels wrong.

I am now and have always been willing to take the penalty for the ability to endure damage like a tank. Plate healers tend to have less offensive capability compared to their healer cousins and that is acceptable. We’ve also suffered in the utility department and that too is fine. Somehow these days our cousins have caught up in survivability but we have not caught up on offensive capability or utility. Not that I want to! Despite that this cannot stand!

If the tank does his job your survivability doesn’t matter

Wow really? This is how we want our MMORPGs? Tank vs non-tank? Nobody can survive a hit and if a mob EVER doesn’t immediately go to the tank we lose? If the tank ever dies nobody can step in as a stop gap until they can be revived? What sort of foolish argument is this? Especially since every MMORPG on the planet decided we HAVE to be able to solo to level efficiently. If this is ever the truth, ever the design strategy, and something anyone ever accepts I think I’d rather not play the game. Classes need differentiation and survivability is one of those. We’ve just taken it too far with the whole “we can all solo” trend.

So what is a plate healer?

A plate healer is the sort of healer that can stand side by side with a tank. They may not be able to attract a monsters aggro but they’re not afraid to take a hit or twelve. They wear heavy, full plate armor and carry a large shield. They know how to swing a mace even if they don’t do much damage with it. When a monster comes raging in and doesn’t directly go to the tank that doesn’t worry a plate healer. They’re a defensive power house and are always the last person standing when things go wrong. They are neigh impossible to kill without concentrated fire but are incapable of dealing damage comparable to that of their cousins. They might not have a lot of tricks up their sleeve but they know their role. May we all hope they get to perform it again one day.

Small Guild – Iniquity is a very tight group of players. We’re not going to grow into a massive organization filled with people you don’t know or don’t like. We’re all friends, we all get along, and we all have the same drive/goals. You can be certain you’ll never sit out on a x4 raid or get lost in a crowd. There is a good chance you’ll be the ONLY member of your class.

Professional – In life and game we’re professionals. We cut up and have a good time but we’re very serious about what we do. We kill raid mobs with numbers/gear/etc that most players would say is impossible. That is what we’re all about. Being the underdog and doing the impossible.

You’re In – We don’t do a recruitment process. We don’t make you jump through hoops. The moment you accept the invite you’re in. You can roll on loot and have all the privileges that everyone else has. We are immediately inclusive and if you don’t work out you don’t work out. No hard feelings on our part.

Consistent Raiding – We raid EVERY Wednesday and Saturday regardless of who is on. Remember that part about professional? Being six people short is of no consequence to us. We’ll get something done to progress the guild.

Difference Maker – In a lot of guilds when you join you’re just another foot soldier. In Iniquity you will be a hero. Every member is important and makes a huge difference in our ability to destroy raid content. If you ever wanted to matter this is the place for you.

Critical Data

Server: Oasis
Transfers: Yes, and if you work out on the long term we’ll even pay for it.
Transplants: Yes, but we DO NOT power level. We will help you out of course but if you want to start fresh on Oasis you need to plan to do the work yourself, by yourself and/or with PUGs. The more it is clear that you’re self motivated, in for the duration, and willing to work the more we’ll help.
Time Zone: Eastern with daylight savings.
Raid Times: Wednesday and Saturday. Start time varies. ~6:30 PM – 1:00 AM. Duration varies.
Loot: We’re a small guild. Everyone gets their share pretty easily. We use random with the understanding that officers can step in to solve a major issue (Such as a cleric rolling on a super awesome tank item).
Total Members: We will stop recruiting at 25-26. We’re at roughly 18 now.
Long Term: We have no plans to game jump any time soon. We’re interested in 38 Studios Copernicus and EverQuest Next.
Other desires: Mystic, Warlock

Fun is all that matters

In all honesty it isn’t and the sooner that everyone accepts that the better. MMORPGs, games, movies and television shows aren’t just about fun. They’re about entertaining you. Those two things aren’t always the same for everyone. For some they are. I concede that point. What I am getting at is that nothing can be fun all of the time. Despite that fact players and developers alike will push the fun envelope as much as they can while seemingly being ignorant to the fact that it is a short term solution. Think about all of the really fun games you play. The things I consider the most fun, (such as a tower defense game, a simple iPhone game, a Facebook game, etc) are generally a pretty shallow experience. They’re awesome but only for a short time.

Fun is extremely difficult to sustain on a long term basis for a large group of people. I enjoyed Epic Pet Wars on the iPhone. It was a lot of fun to play but it quickly proved to be repetitive and simplistic. The same is true the numerous games I played on Facebook and the random little applications I pull up on my phone from time to time. They’re great products but they’re not meant to be played for years. They are there to give you a quick burst of fun and that is it. We really must recognize this and accept it. Fun for the sake of fun just isn’t a long term strategy. The basic argument I hear against that is, “A developer just hasn’t figured it out yet. Wait and see MMORPG #10 will be fun. It won’t have any of these mechanics that aren’t fun.” I may be boiling that argument down but honestly who hasn’t heard that said 1000 different ways? the truth is you just aren’t wired to have fun for the entire duration of your entertainment experience, everyone is different, and this is nothing more than a buzz word used to by fan boys and developers. That is why games have had to come up with other methods to keep you going.

Extending the game through addiction

It might surprise players to learn that MMORPG developers frequently use the same psychological tools* as Casinos to keep us playing. You see it is easy to manipulate someone with the promise of fun and rewards. The trick is to set up a “jack pot” for the player to chase and then keep them playing with smaller rewards that give hope. The example I’ve previously used (and used by many before me) is the slot machine. Slot machines aren’t as simple as they used to be. These days there are many ways to win small prizes. They never amount to much but they give you hope and keep you playing.

Instances work the same way. Long after they’ve stopped being fun players will continue to do them. Each named has the chance to drop the item we really want but may, instead, drop one we want less or nothing at all. That named also might drop a token. We all know people who keep going back for the token just because eventually they’ll get something they want. These tactics are employed because of my previous point. You can’t perpetuate fun forever so you’ve got to have a back up plan to keep players going (or at least that is the current trend I see).

Mechanics are what games are made of

Building any type of product is like building a house. You have to have a strong foundation first. Fun and cool doesn’t really make for a strong foundation unfortunately. A game needs to have strong, clear mechanics before you worry about making it fun. Now this is directly in contrast to the opinions of some of my favorite developers. They argue that if you do what I suggest you can end up with a product that is sound but not fun at release. I’m not going to disagree there but I will say this. You can add fun easier than you can fix bad mechanics. Bad mechanics linger for years and only snow ball over time.

If your game was never designed for PvP and you add it later you’ll end up in the same mess EverQuest II is in. The product just isn’t ready for PvP and not surprisingly when battlegrounds released they were terribly unbalanced. SOE was immediately in catch up mode. The idea of fun trumped mechanics and you now have a company that spent a lot of money on a feature that they admit is under utilized. Fun is important but it cannot be all consuming. If the mechanics just aren’t there to make it work and work right you have to say no.

It is also important to accept that not all mechanics are fun but that they are necessary. Class balance isn’t really fun. Building a solid methodology by which loot is created isn’t fun either. Despite that, both of these mechanics are extremely important! When they’re done correctly it gives developers the solid foundation by which they can build fun content. This is a key area where a lot of developers seem to go wrong these days. The priority of mechanics is trumped by the desire to meet the shout of the crowd for fun.

Why bother playing then?

I’ve done my best to make the point that fun is transitory and short lived. I’ve also noted that developers play on our addictive nature to extend the life of a game once it is no longer fun. I’m certain the question will come up on how to make an MMORPG based on those points. I think the key is to treat them more like real life and less like a casual “fun” game. Allow players to achieve things over time that build value into the character and create a true attachment. EverQuest did an exceptional job of attaching a player to a character because everything was difficult to earn. Everything you had made you less likely to want to give that up. In every MMORPG I’ve played between EQ2 and EQ2 again I could care less about my character. I feel zero attachment to them. They achieved nothing of note despite being max level and geared well. Yet in EQ1 I was extremely attached to Ferrel and still am to this day. Why is that?

EverQuest certainly used some of the addictive tactics I mentioned. It also used the model of the game being more difficult so that everything felt more valuable. It also used mechanics that these days most people would cause players froth at the mouth and shout over. If you listen to a lot of players, (particularly those that NEVER played EverQuest), it was not fun and the worst MMORPG ever made. Strangely enough players who actually played EQ early on seemed to almost universally enjoy it. The community is basically split between “Early EQers” and “Never Played its.” What made it so fun?

I think the answer comes down to achievement. EverQuest let you work hard and earn things. MMORPGs these days GIVE us things. It isn’t a matter of IF. It is a matter of WHEN. It EverQuest you could most certainly fail to get something you wanted and that wasn’t just at the high end. If you weren’t skilled enough or were unwilling to put in the time you would simply not get it. MMORPGs these days seem to make everything a given if you just constantly play the game. Outside of a few examples you will hit the jackpot on your slot machine at some point. I have no real sense of accomplishment and that is what is fun for me. To others that might be boring and that is exactly my point.

Fun is too subjective. Fun is different for every person. Asking if an MMORPG is fun or trying to ensure that it is first just doesn’t make a lot of sense. If “fun” overrides mechanics you’re in for a long term problem. Going forwards I think we as players need to elaborate more on what fun means exactly. If you want the next MMORPG to be fun explain exactly what that is!

*This article references an article on cracked. Unfortunately that article no longer seems to be available. This was as close as I could get to the original and quotes from it.

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