Social Scientist as Game Designer

I have wondered for a while now if a social scientist, given the proper training, would make a good game designer. Heck, give him a double major in psychology and I think one might have the next super dev.

This thought sprout out of my recent break from LOTRO (and blogging). Why did I just drop the game? Well, I started getting bored. I played LOTRO since August of '06 when I was invited to the closed beta. That's three years to the point that I stopped playing (a little longer). I don't think anybody could fault someone for taking a break after that sort of investment. But why was I bored?

It's that kind of question that speaks to a social scientist. I happen to be one, or my degree is in social science. Perhaps armchair social scientist is a better term for what I do. I'm certainly not employed in the field. I digress. If we can answer those types of questions then I think MMOs can be designed to with greater sticking power.

This type of discussion came up in the latest Shut Up We're Talking. Interestingly enough, this is the latest episode after Darren (the host) took a break from MMO playing and podcasting/blogging. Coincidence? I don't think so. Every guest agreed that there is (was?) a general discontentment amongst the blogosphere about MMOs through no fault of the games. Instead, it's the player's attitudes that are changing, rather than the games themselves. Perhaps that's the problem? Shouldn't the games adapt to what the players want?

I speak in generalities, of course. Not every MMO player is burned out. The industry is still going strong. And MMOs do try to cater to what their population wants. So what's the missing link here - the muscle tissue, bone structure, that can lead the way to better design?

I think the answer lies in understanding how people think, particularly players. One way they think is that not all of them think the same thing. SUWT touched on this and I think they're right: MMOs cannot cater to all audiences. WoW is the exception to the rule, the fluke, the unrepeatable success (well, maybe another Blizzard MMO). Instead of sending a dev team off with 50 million dollars to make the next WoW how about a few million and focus on a particular playstyle? Darkfall anybody?

Seriously. Darkfall did that. So did Fallen Earth. Both are successful in their target audience. And those who don't like PvP or post-apocalyptic worlds don't care. That's fine. Ideally there will be a MMO for you.

So what does all this have to do with LOTRO? Yes, this is still a LOTRO blog and I will not post without somehow linking it back to my beloved game. And yes, I still love this game. As a wise parent once told me, love is a choice, not an emotion. I choose to love LOTRO even though I'm not feeling it right now. Eh, more digression.

LOTRO seems to be lacking something for me - I'm not quite in their target audience. Oh, sure, I look like it on the outside. I love the Lord of the Rings. I love RPGs. I'm a completionist. I can't stand PvP. Still, I'm straddling the line.

I game for story. LOTRO has an awesome story. But all the other mechanics have impeded me in my quest to experience the story. Not because they're bad mechanics, or cumbersome. No, they're just required to use in order to play the story. So am I complaining that I can't just watch the LOTRO story passively? No. That wasn't what LOTRO was designed for. My increasing appetite for story out of my games is my own problem, not LOTROs. But I think games can be designed for people like me: The Longest Journey for instance. Or even the Bioware RPGs - heavy on talking and story (which is what I have been playing instead of LOTRO).

Those are single-player examples. Can MMOs focus on story to the extent I want? Sure. The better question is "Is the target audience large enough to sustain such an MMO?" Let's go back to that money thing: Yes, if the budget and development take into account target audience size. What would that MMO look like? Good question. One I'm going to save for later.

In any case, a social scientist understands personal and group motivations (or attempts to understand them). Considering MMOs deal with both motivations shouldn't we consider the value of such perspectives when developing these games?

Hearing My Voice

I know I've tweeted about it, but I don't think I've posted anything about my recent podcasting guest spots here on the blog. Over the course of three weeks I appeared on three different podcasts. Two were LOTRO related, one was not. The links are below if you're interested:

• Shut Up We're Talking - Episode 54
• A Casual Stroll To Mordor - Episode 6
• The LOTRO Reporter - Episode 9

I definitely recommend the last two if only because they're LOTRO related and this is a LOTRO podcast. When guesting on SUWT, I was a little "star struck" and nervous. Hence I talked way too fast. And I cannot recommend A Casual Stroll to Mordor enough. Merric and Goldenstar are just hysterical. And I'd be remiss not specifically pointing out the awesome guys over at the Reporter - excellent podcasters, those two. Enjoy!

A Year in Review

I can't believe it. Today it has been exactly one year since I started blogging. A lot has happened in that one year. Let's take a look:

Personal

• Got a new computer
• Got a job
• Turned 24
• Sister moved out

LOTRO

• Mines of Moria released
• Three festivals
• Two book updates
• One new zone
• A double birthday party
• Pirates invade Middle-Earth
• Next expansion announced
• Two-year anniversary
  
• I've played the game for over 3 years

Blogging

• Total Posts: 427 (counting this one)
• Average Posts Per Month: 32.8
• Slowest Month: July 09 with 12
• Busiest Month: March 09 with 77
• Three new podcasts found (with blogs)
• Appeared on three podcasts (not all same as above)

Where I've Been

I started The Middle-Earth Adventurer because I couldn't find a good LOTRO blog. From then my blogroll has grown by leaps and bounds. There's an amazing and active group of LOTRO bloggers and podcasters out there. From humble beginnings as a newbie blogger to a member of a vibrant community.

Where I'm Going

With my life changing and going to change some more, I can almost guarantee that I'll be blogging less frequently. Indeed, we've seen this at the present. However, I fervently hope The Adventurer continues strong for another year. You might see me less frequently, but hopefully none of the quality is lost. However, there is one area of growth that may be of interest: podcasts! After participating in two podcasts as of this writing (three by the end of tonight), I've been infected with podcast fever. In that vein, I'll be creating a podcast version of The Middle-Earth Adventurer.

Now, I go into this new medium with the goal of not doing the same thing as the other great LOTRO podcasts. Instead I'll be using the video medium. No, you probably won't get to see my ugly mug, however, my voice will be forever ingrained into your brains... muahahahahah! *ahem* The podcast will be called MEA Monthly. Clearly I'll be only releasing one every month (my schedule cannot take any greater frequency). The exact content is yet to be determined, but expect fancy flying text, screenshots, and video capture. Also expect a fairly short runtime (10 minutes max is my goal). And of course there will be more info to come as the release gets closer (aiming for end of October).

A Last Word

Thank you all for reading and subscribing. Thank you to the LOTRO blogging and podcasting community for being such awesome people. I hope you'll continue to read The Adventurer in the year to come. Now, time for some cake.

A Little Misinformed

Remember that post I made about LOTRO podcasts not having co-hosts? I was definitely shortsighted and misinformed. Indeed, the majority of LOTRO podcasts have co-hosts or a significant part of the run time has a conversation/interview. So, apologies to all you LOTRO podcasters for ranking on you when there was no need. You're all awesome!

And, just for clarity sake, here's all the LOTRO Podcasts I'm aware of

A Casual Stroll to Mordor
LOTRO Report
LOTRO Reporter
LOTROCast by Moormur
LOTROCast by Sparthir
The One True Cast
RingCast
That LOTRO Show

Did I miss anybody?

Siege of Mirkwood

The word expansion doesn't always mean paid retail box expansion. As is the case with the "digital expansion" Siege of Mirkwood coming to LOTRO. You can check out the nice flash animated page for the expansion as well. One last thought before I get to the feature break-down commentary: This is clearly smaller than a retail expansion, but bigger than the free book updates (glorified patches). So, Turbine can keep their quota of one "expansion" per year but stay within a more realized work load. I wonder what the price-point will be on this. Now, onto the features!

Conclusion to Volume II Mines of Moria

Really? The conclusion? This is interesting because it begs a question. It is unlikely that we'll see a retail expansion (Volume III) inside six months after this digital expansion release. And that period is long enough to see one or two Book updates, so what volume will those belong to if they're holding an epic story continuation? 3? Interesting thought, beginning volume three with free patches. Or I could be wrong about seeing a retail expansion not so close to Siege of Mirkwood (hereafter called SoM).

Level cap increase to 65

Sounds good. To be expected. Only five levels for a "smaller" expansion. Really, I'm using the word "smaller" pretty loosely here because I'm only guessing at the scope based on hints in this release. And I don't think any of the devs would appreciate their work diminished to "small".

Answer the Call of War - Skirmishes

Very intriguing concept. There's a lot here too. First, the idea of randomized instances. This has historically been a hard concept to implement because it is hard to replicate hand-crafted quality with randomly generated assets. And LOTRO shines brightly with the quality of it's world and art direction. Will be interesting to see how much a part that will play. Second, we're creating "customizable soldiers". How does that work, exactly? Could be like henchmen/pets (they better have fixed the pathing!). Could be more like a squad you give orders to and level up in games such as Mass Effect. There's so many different possibilities here. I'm excited about this concept for sure.

New instances and raids

A given, just like the level cap. 3-mans, 6-mans, and a 12-man raid. Something for everybody. Now, let's get these spaces debilitating-bug free with launch. We don't need another Moria and Book 8 fiasco. I don't mean to be mean here so I need to say I really am rooting for Turbine in getting this type of content nailed down. They've had a lot of experience correcting mistakes so far.

Other gameplay enhancements

Looks mainly like the Legendary weapon system is getting a bit of an overhaul. New legacies, new runic slot (nice!) The bit about players crafting their own legendary items is a bit ambiguous. Don't we already have that? And do they mean each player can craft his or her own weapon or only weapon smiths? And then there's combat tweaks that will "improve responsiveness". I don't know exactly what that means but I imagine it's responding to some critiques out there about combat feeling a bit clunky compared to some other MMOs. *shrug* I've not had a problem with it, but then, I play a halberd wielding captain so my combat is pretty slow anyway.

Now, onto what other people are saying...

• Lots of forum threads. Lots!
• The LOTRO Reporter (not to be confused with the LOTRO Report) offers some commentary.
• Thallian offers his thoughts, ending a bit wistfully. I hear ya. I get caught up in possibilities too!
• Stroll to Mordor forwards the announcement. Hope to hear them chat about it with their new podcast! So does Darren from Common Sense Gamer. Like StM, I hope it's a discussion topic on Shut Up We're Talking. Nerf the Cat laments that she's only cut and pasted the announcement (hehe!)
  
• MMeOw.net is looking forward to hearing thoughts from the community (got you covered here!) And now they have their own thoughts up and a run down of some dev responses on the forums.
  
• Yeebo Fernbottom's MMO Love-In (what a name huh?) offers some thoughts.
• LOTROVault at IGN has a PAX preview!
• Unwize offers a bit of commentary.
  

So, bloggers, players, let's get chatting. Will this be a paid expansion or free? Is it just a glorified Book patch? What do you think about the features? Are you disappointed there's no Rohan yet? Comment, make your own posts, or join a thread on the forums.

EDIT: Added a couple more round-up links and also want to ask what you all think about the price-point since we now know it'll cost us $19.99 US.

A Casual Stroll to Mordor

I didn't even know it was possible to casually stroll to Mordor. Someone should have told Frodo! Someone by the name of Merric and/or Goldenstar, the authors of the new blog A Casual Stroll to Mordor, and hopefully a podcast to go along with it. Yay! More LOTRO podcasts, and look, it's co-hosted as well. Always a plus when it works. Definitely check them out and I'll put them up on the blog roll. I look forward to hearing how it turns out. Good luck guys!

The State of LOTRO Podcasting

Today I ran across yet another LOTRO podcast, called That LOTRO Show. Doing so sparked some thoughts, or rather resparked some thoughts, on LOTRO podcasting and podcasting in general. In my limited observations (I'm only a podcast consumer, rather than producer) the most successful and engaging shows, for me, are ones with at least two hosts. Taking VirginWorlds for example, I find the most enjoyment out of shows such as Shut Up We're Talking and the VanHemlock Podcast because of the varied voices present. That is not to say solo hosted podcasts aren't well done, however there's something special about the hosts interacting with each other and perhaps guests that seems to elevate the production. Specific to the LOTRO podcasts, I find Moormur's guest segments (especially the dev interviews) the most interesting. Here there is more than one person talking.

Perhaps I'm pushing a bias of my own onto the LOTRO podcasting community. Certainly as a blogger I keep up with the news and patch notes so hearing it again in a podcast doesn't interest me. But that isn't necessarily true for other listeners.

Having a cohost on a show is both a blessing and a curse. The advantages are that you gain a bit of variety, and if the cohost is willing, you can split the work load of topic research, or even the production duty itself. The disadvantages are one of time constraints. Two people need to meet either face to face (impractical in this internet driven world) or arrange for a long distance recording session. There's not only the time commitments to work out, but also the tech behind getting both hosts recorded.

This post is the first mention of my thoughts - I have not talked to any of the producers of LOTRO podcasts, but I thought I'd voice my opinion to the general community. So, in a rare direct address to the readership, what do you think?

The LOTRO Report

So, here's another LOTRO podcast that slipped by me. Actually, it didn't. I ran across it some weeks ago and filed it away under "post about that tomorrow". Well, tomorrow came and went and I forgot about it. Now, browsing around I ran across it once again and I need to give a shout out. I think this is a well-produced and informative podcast covering, so far, the end-game instances. But that's not all they plan on covering. Every aspect of the game is up for grabs. Do check out The LOTRO Report.

Ringcast 32

Another episode of RingCast has been released. I don't know if anybody else is having this problem, but I can't get it to download/play. I've tried the download link, the on-site player, and iTunes to no avail. Seems like there might be a problem behind the scenes. I trust they'll get it sorted soon enough. I'll comment on what I thought of the show as soon as I'm able to listen to it.

LOTROCast Episode 4

Those of you who already follow LOTROCast or the combined LOTRO blog will of course know this already, but in the interest of not leaving a stone left unturned, I'd like to mention it as well: LOTROCast Episode 4 is out. Once again Moormur does an excellent job, this time with a discussion/interview about PvP. No devs this time, just players, but I think that's something unique - player interviews. It's a new way to get to hear some of our voices out there. You can subscribe to the podcast feed or look up LOTROCast on iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

LOTROCast Episode 3

Moormur over at LOTROCast has episode 3 up and running. This one features an interview with Rowen, the Turbine developer in charge of live content production. He talks a bit more in depth about his job position in the interview, amongst many different topics ranging from content additions at lower levels to mounts to crafting. LOTROCast, as I said in my introduction post, is an excellent new LOTRO podcast. I high recommend listening to this latest episode for information directly from "the horse's mouth."

New LOTRO Podcast

I ran across a podcast called LOTROCast via the MMeOw blog. After the first two episodes I'm very impressed with the quality of the content. I highly recommend listening if podcasting is your thing. If it's not, this podcast is an excellent way of getting into podcasting as a listener. Either way, it's an excellent podcast.

Dwarven Sandwhiches

A good point was made about the Mines of Moria on the latest Shut Up We're Talking and that is: why, after all I've been through to get to the gates of Moria, especially if I've completed the epic story up to that point, am I delivering Dwarven sandwiches? The whole of Eriador that's in the game knows me as the hero that came after the fellowship. If we really want to get into a bit of roll playing with it, I should be one of six heroes. After all that notoriety, the Dwarves trying to take back Moria still send me on lunch runs to prove my worth and enable their continued laziness. I should be treated with respect, maybe awe, even from a stubborn dwarf. It's quite silly.

That said, I hardly remember the sandwich run, but I know I did it. I know I did it without complaining, but my first sentence is the key - I hardly remember it. You don't remember what's not epic. At best, you just do the quest and forget about it. In between, you grumble. At worst, you either don't do it or give up on the game. I love this game too much to do the last one. I might grumble from time to time on things I think are broken or need tweaking, polishing etc. But it doesn't negate the fact that this game still uses the tried and true method of fetch quests, delivery quests, kill quests, talk to NPC quests. And after so many of these in the game, you've got to run out of ideas for these types of quests. It's just inevitable. I think I've probably delivered lunch or some other meal/food stuff to someone of every race and perhaps in every zone.

On the good side is that the quest text does a very good job of twisting the basic formula into something that is logical and lore-centric... most of the time. It doesn't change the actual activity, but if I'm willing to work hard enough, I can convince myself I'm not doing a menial task, and focus on the story of it all. I think that's what I do most of the time - absorb myself in the story. And besides, with as many of these quests as I've done, I'm not only known as the Hero of Eriador, but the guy that'll do every menial task he runs into. The yes-man. And a dwarf would use any and every opportunity to take advantage of that. Especially if he were another race. Glad I'm not an elf. Might be shoveling goat feces instead of delivering sandwiches.

Shut Up I'm Playing LOTRO

The latest Shut Up We're Talking episode has a nice mini-review of the Mines of Moria from one of the guests. It's at the beginning of the episode, so if you don't want to listen to the rest of the podcast (I highly recommend you do, though as it's a great podcast) you don't have to. It's not right at the beginning, but it happens fairly quickly. Check it out. Good thoughts and I plan on addressing at least one of the issues raised in a future post.

Latest Ringcast is Out

It's been a month, but Lady Sinaea is back with a short podcast talking about some of the high level Moria instances, Tier 6 crafting, and the Moria reputation. Seeing as how I've not done anything that Sinaea talks about, I'm not going to comment on this episode. I'm currently half-way through level 54 and only at the Dolven view in Moria. That's mainly because I took a lot of time going through Eregion, which I have to call pretty traditional content. Nothing really special about that zone except for following the fellowship.

Ringcast

Yet Another LOTRO Blogger

Well, not strictly LOTRO. I'm the only one I know about. But anyway, if you ever pay attention to the blogroll there on the left, you'll noticed that VanHemlock has started playing LOTRO. A little late in the game, but so is the Monday Night LOTRO group comprising the Ancient Gaming Noob, the Common Sense Gamer, Michael Zenke of Massively, and others.

I must say I'm very pleased to see the bloggers I love to read the most stepping into the game I love to play the most. I my mind, LOTRO is this little gem admists a sea of great MMO games. For me, it hits one of the major reasons I love fantasy RPGs: the Tolkien world brought fantasy home to me, and to experience fantasy interactively within Tolkien's world is the prefect fit for me.

I highly recommend if you're interested in LOTRO to read this post and VanHemlock's continuing posts about LOTRO (along with his podcast). I have a feeling he will do a wonderful job of conveying the first impressions (which are a unique experience in and of themselves) of LOTRO. Where my first impressions are over two years behind me, his are in the immediate present.

RingCast Episode 30

The big 3-oh for RingCast. Lady Sinaea divulges her take on the Moria expansion including the Moria instances, legendary items, level 50 raiding, storage space, and crafting guilds. So, instead of waiting for my slowness to get to Moria and subsequently talk about it, head on over to VirginWorlds and listen to RingCast.

I'll probably be talking about some of these topics in separate posts as soon as I have time to listen to the podcast and respond. Which will probably be tomorrow - yay for Saturdays!

Shut Up We're Playing LOTRO

Shut Up We're Talking, a podcast over at VirginWorlds.com hosted by Darren and Karen, has their latest episode up. Now, it's not specifically about LOTRO, but Darren along with four others have a Monday night gaming night in LOTRO. Previously they played DDO, another Turbine game, but now they've migrated.

I highly recommend listening to Shut Up We're Talking. It's an awesome general MMO podcast. I found the latest episode, where the talk about switching to LOTRO, as well as playing the game at the same time as recording the episode. Makes for a unique experience. Check out the podcast.

Massively Speaking About LOTRO

Massively Speaking, hosted by the prolific Michael Zanke and Shawn Schuster, has released their latest podcast and it's all about LOTRO. They're joined by Executive Produce Jeffery Steefle to talk about the new content and features of the expansion, as well as alluding to some oblique hints about the future. I have yet to listen myself, due to time constraints at this writing, but I'll be sure to check it out this later this evening after work and give some of my thoughts.