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Interesting article on a small-scale browser MMOG developer
Earlier this week, Raph Koster's blog pointed out this piece on the Adobe website about Maid Marian Entertainment, the creator and operator of a Sherwood Dungeon, a browser-based 3D MMOG using the former company's Shockwave. The game has hit 4,000 concurrent users, which isn't a huge number compared to major titles in the category. However, the development team wasn't and isn't dozens of people. There's no number stated, and only one person is named, that being company principal Gene Enbrody.
It has been my belief for some time that we'll see more and more so-called "boutique" MMOGs that will cater to non-traditional audience segments. Sherwood Dungeon and Maid Marion, which reportedly attracts in excess of 1.3 million unique visitors per month, comprise another example in a growing list of projects that prove it's possible to succeed in the online world space with limited resources.
There's a pretty good chance you've never heard of Sherwood Dungeon. If you're interested in a glimpse at part of the industry that flies off many people's radars, click the link above and check out the case study. It's weighted to focus on Adobe's contribution, but also has some good food for thought.
This blog is completely personal. Although I may discuss matters relating to RPG Vault, Vault Network and/or IGN, the opinions expressed are mine alone, and do not represent any of them in any manner.
Happy 10th anniversary wishes to the team at NetDevil
Although I don't know the precise date of its founding, online world developer NetDevil is celebrating a decade in business with a party at its Louisville, CO offices later today. Opened quite recently, the company's facility is said to be 30,000 square feet, which seems like ample room for the current 50-plus staff, with space to accommodate growth as well. Of course, both numbers are undoubtedly far larger than they were 10 years ago when development of Jumpgate got under way. That title, a massively multiplayer space flight and combat game, was released in 2001. When its original publisher, 3DO, ceased operations shortly thereafter, NetDevil took it back and is still running it today.
Auto Assault, which shipped last year, is probably known to far more people. It didn't attract a huge subscriber base, but the base gameplay, which involves driving around shooting and blowing up enemies as well as buildings and other objects in the environments, is fast-paced, destructive fun when I'm in the frame of mind for such an experience. For this reason, I still wonder if its numbers can somehow be improved.
At the moment, NetDevil is working on two interesting projects. Warmonger, Operation: Downtown Destruction is an FPS, sort of an overgrown tech demo requiring an Ageia PhysX card. The other, about which almost nothing has been revealed, is LEGO Universe, an MMO based on the immensely popular brand of play products. It's targeted for release in 2008, so I'm hoping information will start to flow before much longer, possibly even today.
In any case, NetDevil has reason to be proud of reaching the 10-year mark, and with a future that looks bright indeed. My hearty congratulations to principals Scott Brown, Ryan Seabury and Peter Grundy as well as the rest of the team on this auspicious occasion. Have a drink for me. Oh wait, I'm invited... I may just have one or two myself. 
This blog is completely personal. Although I may discuss matters relating to RPG Vault, Vault Network and/or IGN, the opinions expressed are mine alone, and do not represent any of them in any manner.
Ever wonder what an online world vision document contains?
There's certainly no absolute or even widely accepted format, but in a blog entry entitled My Vision Doc outline posted yesterday, veteran developer Raph Koster revealed his preference. If you follow the link, you'll see that it's broken out various sections that, except for the fiction summary, all have full and part pages for particular topics. One thing I found particularly interesting is actually part of his introductory comments, "The purpose of this sort of doc is to make sure you have a core reference for 'what you're making'... Losing sight of what you're trying to make is a common pitfall on larger projects, and can be disastrous." Building on this, the section on marketing includes bullet point lists of what the game is and what it's not. The latter is seems especially notable as a safeguard against the "all things to all people" mentality and its cousin, feature creep, both of which are familiar to anyone who has watched the genre for any length of time.
I'm of the opinion that as the massively multiplayer category continues to evolve, it will become even more important for developers to define and delineate clearly what they are making and what they're not. This is in line with my belief that the most likely route to success for projects with limited resources - which covers almost all of them - is to do a small number of things really well in order to serve the audience segment for whom they are truly important. The flip side of this, which Raph is addressing in his outline's "not" list, is to avoid putting time, effort and money into things that lie outside a game's core vision. Easier said than done, but critical.
This blog is completely personal. Although I may discuss matters relating to RPG Vault, Vault Network and/or IGN, the opinions expressed are mine alone, and do not represent any of them in any manner.
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