The Future of Indie MMOGs 69
Karen Hertzberg writes "Ask any 10 gamers what constitutes an 'indie MMO' and you'll probably get 10 different answers. But one definition that most can agree on is that an indie game lacks the financial support of a well-funded publisher. But do smaller budgets mean greater freedom? Ten Ton Hammer asked Nathan Richardsson, Executive Producer for CCP (developers of EVE Online), and Todd Harris, Executive Producer of Global Agenda, to share their thoughts on the bright future of independent MMOG development. 'By definition a niche market is a segment that is currently underserved by the mainstream providers. So, to serve that audience a developer typically needs to deliver something really different and innovative vs. just more of the same thing available elsewhere,' says Harris. 'With a big budget there could be a temptation to cover up stale gameplay by shoveling out more content or simply pumping up the marketing hype. However, for an indie developer such as Hi-Rez Studios, the game must stand on its own merits and we find that liberating.'"
Let's Keep It Mediocre, People!! (Score:4, Funny)
You don't need to "win" by beating all of your competitors, you need to "survive"... And if you don't understand that, or tend to disagree, please do us all a favor and leave the gene pool.
Right. We don't want any over-achievers in our gene pool.
Re:Quality (Score:2, Funny)
I tend to agreee with you, but MMOs are a special case. You literally need a "massive" number of players for the game to be any good. Generating a sufficient number of players is hard to do without the marketing hype.
Re:Let's Keep It Mediocre, People!! (Score:3, Funny)
The new USA modo.
Reach for the bare minimum!
Strive for mediocracy!
Obtain what is already in front of you.
Take what people are forcing to you.
Re:Quality (Score:5, Funny)
...it is still hard to compete with something like WOW that has a brazillion dollars thrown at it on a daily basis.
There are no Brazilian Dollars. Our currency is the Real.
Re:Quality (Score:5, Funny)
There are no Brazilian Dollars. Our currency is the Real.
Whereas American currency is Imaginary?