Hellgate: London: Pre-launch report

So far, Flagship is being pretty firm on the "no respecs" line. I think this is very unfortunate. While most of the players who are in the beta are likely the type to "do their homework," I don't think the same can be said for the larger audience. People are simply going to jump into the game, and start dumping points into whatever looks coolest to them at the moment. Then, 20 or so levels later, they're going to find out that they made a bad decision, and inadvertently nerfed their characters.

Some players won't care, and keep trucking along till they get bored. Others will quit their nerfed, starter characters, read some internets, and make new ones in "correct" manner. There will be some players, though, who will likely quit the game out of frustration to Flagship's dogged adherence to this archaic, needlessly-punishing design decision.

The cynical interpretation is that Flagship is trying to artificially prolong the appeal of its game by hooking players in with the addictive, gratifying play mechanics, and forcing them to do it all over again once they've acquired a clue. I don't think this is the case entirely, though; I believe that a lot of the folks behind the game think a lot like the Diablo 2 purists do. They want players to feel that their decisions have consequences on this level. But this approach is wrongheaded.

A lot of beta players are applauding this decision, and once the game launches, they'll certainly adapt to its ramifications on the game as a whole. But is appeasing these players worth alienating a much larger audience? Designing an MMO doesn't have to be a zero-sum game; you can keep your hardcore players happy, while still making your game inviting to new and casual players. A complete absence of respecs is a punishing design choice, and history has taught us that this isn't good game design.

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