Other MMOs that I’ve played tend to create a hostile environment through the way the game’s content is designed and delivered. For example, players can get really territorial over boss kills—players sometimes camp out at the boss’ spawn point for days, and threaten to report other players who “cut in line.”  Then there are MMOs like Final Fantasy XI that force players to play together. The only reason I partied with strangers was because soloing became so outrageously ineffective after level 10. I think that sort of forced player interaction feels dated and arbitrary.

Unlike those MMOs, Guild Wars 2 PvE feels like one giant party. Never have I felt such an immense feeling of community in an MMO. You never need to worry about someone stealing your monster kill (and the full credit) at the last second—now, if someone runs up and kills the monster you’re fighting, both players will get full credit for the kill. This includes any “phat lootz” the monster may have been carrying. I was excited to see other players, and even stopped to help a few people that didn’t even share a quest with me.

That sense of community and collaboration is really well reflected in how the players no longer have to compete for resources. In some MMOs I played, high level players roamed around noobville and trolled all the little nooblets by killing all the monsters needed to complete low level quests. Arena Net solved this problem by level capping areas. What this means is that high level players now have their levels scaled down in certain areas, so as to match the skill level of lower level players. For example, if I am level 10, and I enter an area that’s level capped at 5, then my skills will scale down to match the level 5 challenges and monsters within that area. This has resulted in high level players helping out low level players, instead of destroying and consuming all the resources in the area.  So, if a friend of mine gets the game two months after release, I can still play with him in the low level areas without disrupting other players’ experiences. I can even continue to get experience!

These changes have made me a cooperative player in every way. When I played, I revived every downed player that I came across, because that’s just what you do (though getting experience for doing so definitely helps). Taking down a boss with 30 other players was immensely fun, and we never had to form a party or discuss tactics. People just showed up and everyone had a part to play. I always felt like I was contributing, whether I was dealing damage, healing other players, or running around reviving the downed players. The location specific quests (more on quests next week) allowed me to always count on nearby players to help me out.

The lesson here is that if you want your players to play together, then make them want to play together. You have to understand how to direct your players through your content in the context of a multiplayer environment. If you connect every aspect of your game in a logical and cohesive manner, and create an environment where players can benefit by playing together, then players will want to stay longer in your game and experience everything you have to offer.

This may seem like an obvious thing to do but it is very easy to get caught up in your “brilliant” ideas. Every decision that you make, no matter what you do, impacts the player; and it is the job of every game developer to make sure these decisions enhance the player’s experience. Removing obstacles and barriers that impede the experience is a challenging, yet rewarding process. Despite best efforts to catch them ahead of time many obstacles aren’t found until play testing, which is one of the reasons play testing is so very important.

Play testing is always an important part of our development process, but the most effective case was our first Facebook game, My Pet Rock. We mainly collected data on how players played the game through metrics tracking. We also got the chance to watch hundreds of people play the game live during the Artscape festival held in Baltimore, MD. At the festival, we collected incredibly valuable in-person feedback from our players, both through what they told us and by just watching them play.

The most important change we made to My Pet Rock was in the tutorial. We created the tutorial to help people learn how to play the game, but we learned that the very thing we made to help players was acting as a barrier for many. In general, our tutorial was too long and had far too many words. This last part was especially important considering My Pet Rock had just as large a following internationally as it did in the US. We dramatically increased the amount of players that finished the tutorial by removing large chunks of the tutorial, streamlining what we considered essential, and removing as much text as possible. As a result we also saw a dramatic increase in our retention.

Developing games for Facebook and mobile gives us a unique chance to roll out changes, sometimes very drastic ones, quickly in response to user feedback. Listening to the feedback of your players is one of the most important parts of development. You shouldn’t literally do everything your players ask of you, but if you pay attention you can understand the underlying message of what they’re telling you. Once you have that understanding, you can address the problems players have in a creative and efficient way.

Arena Net has done a tremendous job in listening to the feedback of their players. I was so happy to see how much effort they put into streamlining the process of providing them with feedback. Not only can players send bug reports, but they can also complete simple questionnaires at the end of quests to tell Arena Net how much fun they had, or how much impact players think they had on the game world through a particular quest. It is this level of care that makes me feel like I have a say in shaping the game, and it makes me excited to beta test Guild Wars 2.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to kick things off, and then I remembered the old adage “write what you know.” In light of that, I’ve decided to write about something I know very well: Guild Wars! Today begins my weekly column covering what is one of the most talked about MMOs of 2012, Guild Wars 2.

A few months ago, Guild Wars celebrated its 7th birthday! That is quite a long time for any game to see constant play, let alone an MMO with no subscription fee. I must admit that I let my Guild Wars character fall by the wayside for many of those years. It wasn’t until ArenaNet announced exclusive benefits in Guild Wars 2 for your achievements in Guild Wars’  The Hall of Monuments that I returned to the world of Tyria. And what a different world it was!

Many of the pet peeves I had with Guild Wars when I left had been ironed out, and I could not have been happier with the progress the game had made while I was gone. I had to wonder, if such strides could be made with small patches in Guild Wars, what could ArenaNet accomplish by building an entirely new game from the ground up?

You’d have to be living under a rock if you are a gamer who hasn’t heard about Guild Wars 2 by now. Guild Wars 2 is  plans to take a lot of the established MMO paradigms and turn them on their heads. If you are in fact an under-the-rock-dweller then take a look at their MMO manifesto over on the Guild Wars 2 website. Needless to say Guild Wars 2 has high ambitions, but does it live up to the hype?

Having played in the beta for Guild Wars 2 I can answer that question with a resounding “Maybe!” There are certain aspects that ArenaNet nailed, while others were frankly difficult to gauge over the limited scope and time period of the Beta Weekend Events and stress tests. I’ll give you a synopsis of my impressions on each of the big features Guild Wars 2 is implementing.

Classes:

I was ecstatic when I heard that Guild Wars 2 would get rid of the “Healz, DD, Tank” holy trinity of MMOs. Guild Wars 2 has done away with strict class systems in order to ensure that all classes and players can work together — every class will be able to take care of itself with a dedicated healing skill, and there will be no ideal party formation. Has Guild Wars 2 achieved this ambitious feat?

Yes! I spent time as both a Thief and an Elementalist and neither one felt more useful than the other. In fact the game has made it so difficult to pick which class I want to play that I have decided to take both classes to the level cap! (This coming from the guy who, after seven years in Guild Wars, only hit the level cap of 20 once). Both classes felt distinct. Their play styles varied greatly, but not their roles. In addition, whenever I encountered another player who decided to help (more on the interaction between players later) I never felt burdened by their class choices while playing with that player.

If you’re interested in checking out what the classes in Guild Wars 2 have to offer take a look at this handy build tool, you can check out skill sets people have made or create your own. Guild Wars 2 Codex

That wraps up today’s post! Tune in next week when I cover lessons I learned from Guild Wars 2 as a technical artist !