Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street worked at Blizzard from 2008 to 2013 and most recently led the development of the LoL MMORPG at Riot Games. In April of this year, he founded his own studio and is working on a new MMO there. It aims to focus on multiplayer content. Single-player fans should look for another title, he says.
What kind of game will this be? So far, there are only a few details. Ghostcrawler has repeatedly emphasized on Twitter that he wants to create an MMORPG for fans of the genre and that he can listen well to players. He didn’t want to change the genre, but to do everything right.
In a new series of tweets, he explains where the problems of the genre lie and how he plans to solve them:
- Current MMORPG players are very focused on getting the most out of themselves. The focus is on “Broken Builds, efficiency, and minimal risks.” This sometimes annoys other players, as they are seen as a risk.
- “Suboptimal” is the worst thing that can happen in an MMO.
- Other games push players into the background with more solo content in open world or automated matchmaking.
His MMORPG, however, is supposed to be different. It will focus “uncompromisingly on multiplayer” and “other players” are to be the innovation. Those who want a single-player game should play one of the many out there and not rely on an MMO, says Street.
“PvP tells good stories, but we don’t only focus on that”
What does this mean for the content? Basically, Ghostcrawler explains that PvP tells good stories. This is also the reason why titles like LoL can captivate players for thousands of hours. Every match is somehow different. In role-playing games, however, many things tend to play out similarly.
However, his game is not supposed to rely solely on PvP.
This is a game where other players contribute a large part of the content and innovations. (Not because we have a massive plan for user-generated content, and not because the game is only about PvP).
We will build it with a pulled-back curtain, so that you can all help us hammer it out before the game goes live and everything is monetized.
However, the developer did not reveal how exactly players will create the content.
How will these tests be conducted? A key philosophy is that the new MMO should be developed with the players. What sounds a bit like Early Access or Pre-Alpha tests is supposed to be different.
So you won’t have to pay anything to participate in the tests. Players who don’t like what they see will leave after a while. Those who stay and give a lot of feedback will be able to significantly influence development:
There will be a lot of philosophy. There will be a lot of theory about game design and goal setting. Of course, there will also be play tests. I want to emphasize again that not all of you will enjoy this experience.
But some of you will, and in the end, we will stand with a game design that is battle-tested in a way that most games are not.
What else does Street say? As part of the thread, he admits to being significantly involved in the development of the Dungeon Finders from WoW. So he is also partly to blame for the more unsocial content in MMORPGs.
Furthermore, the game is set to receive a code name later this year, so that it won’t always have to be referred to as “the MMO”.
What do you think about Ghostcrawler’s statements? Do MMORPGs need to focus more on other players again?
Another game that the developer has long been involved with was the LoL MMORPG. Recently, the head of Riot Games spoke up:
