Massively's STO Columnist Terilynn Shull recently visited Cryptic Studios to talk to the team. In this week's Captain's Log entry, she writes about her interview with Executive Producer Dan Stahl.
To me sometimes in the years I've played.... they've done more interviews then anything else...
I love how open they are to talking about the game... but.. seems like time better spent to actually work on the game...
I see more interviews then I see Dev responses about our Feedback on the game.....
Take the DOFF system for example.. its so fleshed out and well done because of how involved Heretic is with the community... In fact he continues to ask for Feedback here on the forums on the DOFFJOBS global channel... The DOFF system will only get better with time because of this... just saying..
To me sometimes in the years I've played.... they've done more interviews then anything else...
I love how open they are to talking about the game... but.. seems like time better spent to actually work on the game...
I see more interviews then I see Dev responses about our Feedback on the game.....
Take the DOFF system for example.. its so fleshed out and well done because of how involved Heretic is with the community... In fact he continues to ask for Feedback here on the forums on the DOFFJOBS global channel... The DOFF system will only get better with time because of this... just saying..
Okay, DStahl is the executive producer of STO. Let's say the interview this series took roughly an hour; maybe two. Let's also say, you, as a player, have the ability to make Stahl do whatever you want him to do, instantly, without hesistation. He can do nothing except what you mandate, which would be "actually work on the game."
What exactly would you have him do in those two hours on the game? Given that he's the EP, and not strictly a coder/modeller/programmer/artist.
I would love to hear how people would manage the STO staff if they had that kind of power.
You can take a look at my white board where I have written 'the game begins at max level.' That's a big motto for me this year that outlines that we're really trying to focus on new content that's targeted to endgame players."
Yes, there needs to be more to End Game, but I hate it when games use this line. What I have always loved about STO is that the game does NOT start at end Game - the whole Journey IS the game. This statement always says to me that you should work as fast as you can to get to cap and ignore the start and middle of the game. Levelling is to fast anyway, so slow it down, there needs to be more meaning to reaching cap. I hope there will be a good balance.
It both registers for me and annoys me that things like "customer satisfaction" are hard to measure from PW's POV, because I come from a background in companies where that was the almost all-consuming focus. Focus on satisfaction and retention of customers/employees/vendors, watch costs, be bold, avoid costly experiments, profit. That model is very apparently an alien one to some people, including PWE.
Satisfaction IS the product in my mind, the ONLY product. Everything else is a free bonus attached to the satisfaction you're selling and you haven't earned a dime until you've earned a smile. Needless to say, companies I've worked with tend to focus on the service experience and will refund purchases very freely to save a customer relationship. I feel like that's the Blizzard model as well and why they're #1. Do they have the best product? Well, no. Not if the game is the product. The product isn't so much the game but the polish in the game and the level of service supplied.
It's like the idea with cars that, at a certain point, you're no longer paying for the car but for the superior bolts, the higher fuel efficiency, the more comfortable seats. MMOs are luxury products so the luxury of the experience should be the prime product.
I'm really intrigued by the comments about getting non-MMO players in. That is, honestly, something I'd assumed was already a higher priority and the aspect I'd give my left arm to work for Cryptic on.
What is most interesting about the interview is not the rather light questions (seriously, though, the writer was invited to their offices -- you can't expect Walter Cronkite throwing hardballs in a situation like that) but rather what is not-quite-said.
"There's an opportunity that we're missing, to allow people who just want to be in the Star Trek universe to just make a character and pop into the universe and not have a lot of expectations of what to do, to let them visit the places they just want to visit. So they can experience Star Trek without having the game tacked on to that. That is an experience I desperately want to get in there in the future. Not near future, but at some point. It's been bugging me that there are tons of people out there who may not want to play an MMO but want to have fun in the Star Trek universe." He further stated that he thinks "there's an opportunity to build something that is different from an MMO into Star Trek Online that is really more of a social experience."
Hmm... It definitely sounds more like a "Star Trek Amusement Park" theme is going here, which... is not a *horrible* thing, but this does underline something:
If you have a theme park, you need to make stuff for people to DO in the theme park. The Tilt-a-Whirl is not going to be more fun to ride if the only thing changed out is the seats your butt is in.
Almost nothing on the foundry. I DO NOT care if it's complex, the players can learn, and if they don't like those tools, they don't have to use them. These are excuses for not adding stuff to the foundry. 99.99% of the time it's excuses and lockboxes, only 0.01% of it is for adding new content. Cash grab! :rolleyes:
Okay, DStahl is the executive producer of STO. Let's say the interview this series took roughly an hour; maybe two. Let's also say, you, as a player, have the ability to make Stahl do whatever you want him to do, instantly, without hesistation. He can do nothing except what you mandate, which would be "actually work on the game."
What exactly would you have him do in those two hours on the game? Given that he's the EP, and not strictly a coder/modeller/programmer/artist.
I would love to hear how people would manage the STO staff if they had that kind of power.
You assume I'm asking to mandate the Devs? Don't recall naming Stahl by name given that he IS the EP and does the least coding of the team. He'd be the least relevant to ask to do more coding, seeing he mostly delegates jobs as he IS the EP.
I never mentioned things being done instantly, no idea where you got that assumption. I made comment that we see more interviews than Feedback from the Devs.
I mentioned the DOFF system as an example of player and dev working as a team to get something everyone is happy with.
Honestly everything you mentioned wasn't mentioned by me in my post
What is most interesting about the interview is not the rather light questions (seriously, though, the writer was invited to their offices -- you can't expect Walter Cronkite throwing hardballs in a situation like that) but rather what is not-quite-said.
Hmm... It definitely sounds more like a "Star Trek Amusement Park" theme is going here, which... is not a *horrible* thing, but this does underline something:
If you have a theme park, you need to make stuff for people to DO in the theme park. The Tilt-a-Whirl is not going to be more fun to ride if the only thing changed out is the seats your butt is in.
Honestly, the big thing I can see here is the possibility of roleplay alts.
The way I see it, these would be TRULY monster play alts. They'd include KDF and Feds but probably include lots of minor factions. No leveling. Limited ship array. Level 50. Title capped at Captain or faction equivalent.
Prepackaged with roleplay goodness for the character slot but maybe not the whole account so that the slot can have a taste of everything relevant to its roleplay concept without breaking the bank.
So, y'know...
Cardassian Gul in Cardassian uniform with a Galor, Galor interior. Maybe restricted from PvP and earning dilithium but capable of doing any faction's mission. Comes packaged with 5 Cardassian BOs and a Cardassian DO compliment.
TOS Captain with full access to TOS uniform options. Comes with a bunch of human BOs and DOs, one special Half-Vulcan. Gets a TOS interior and a Connie.
Maybe to make roleplay alts social-based, have them unable to pick up missions on their own but capable of teaming with anyone and playing missions shared by any teammates.
Hm. Maybe instead of a hard level, they automatically take on the average level of their team.
So with a roleplay alt, you show up places and beg for a team slot if you want to play.
"There's an opportunity that we're missing, to allow people who just want to be in the Star Trek universe to just make a character and pop into the universe and not have a lot of expectations of what to do, to let them visit the places they just want to visit. So they can experience Star Trek without having the game tacked on to that. That is an experience I desperately want to get in there in the future. Not near future, but at some point. It's been bugging me that there are tons of people out there who may not want to play an MMO but want to have fun in the Star Trek universe."
Oh man, I'd go crazy if I'd just already have that opportunity!!! Boldly go where no Star Trek game has gone before ...
Almost nothing on the foundry. I DO NOT care if it's complex, the players can learn, and if they don't like those tools, they don't have to use them. These are excuses for not adding stuff to the foundry. 99.99% of the time it's excuses and lockboxes, only 0.01% of it is for adding new content. Cash grab! :rolleyes:
Realistically, they should revamp the way the foundry works entirely. It should be free to use to create (maybe charge dilithium to publish), but should be charging dilithium to play the missions. Not crazy dilithium, but some. Split the dilithium between cryptic (vanishes) and the author... ratio decided by publishing cost? Spend more up front, get a bigger cut later?
That will drain dilithium from the economy, making it worth more relative to cryptic points, which ultimately means more money for cryptic, albeit in a roundabout way as people need more cryptic pts to aquire a given amount of dilithium.
With continually generated content, consumer satisfaction is higher, and Cryptic basically gets free "developer" work, freeing up their paid employees for other tasks.
You assume I'm asking to mandate the Devs? Don't recall naming Stahl by name given that he IS the EP and does the least coding of the team. He'd be the least relevant to ask to do more coding, seeing he mostly delegates jobs as he IS the EP.
I never mentioned things being done instantly, no idea where you got that assumption. I made comment that we see more interviews than Feedback from the Devs.
I mentioned the DOFF system as an example of player and dev working as a team to get something everyone is happy with.
Honestly everything you mentioned wasn't mentioned by me in my post
I saw this conversation and I would just like to add my POV on it. Interviews can be arranged, scheduled and timed. My interview with Dan was 27 minutes long. They're an EXTREMELY busy team. Feedback on forums DOES take time away from a developer's work-time so I think it's fair to say you will see less dev involvement in the forums as they are nose-down and working on the game.
I apologize if I misunderstood the foundation of the discussion - but I thought it was important for people to realize that when I was there I personally observed a room full of people who were sitting at their posts working diligently.
I tried very hard NOT to bother people too much. They were very gracious. And by the way, technically, I was not invited to Cryptic - I asked through formal channels if a visit was possible. I was traveling to the area for personal reasons and hoped that they could accommodate a visit from me. Brandon made the arrangements specifically so I wouldn't become a burden to the team or become an interruption that would keep them from working on the content they REALLY ARE trying to get to the players.
Okay, DStahl is the executive producer of STO. Let's say the interview this series took roughly an hour; maybe two. Let's also say, you, as a player, have the ability to make Stahl do whatever you want him to do, instantly, without hesistation. He can do nothing except what you mandate, which would be "actually work on the game."
What exactly would you have him do in those two hours on the game? Given that he's the EP, and not strictly a coder/modeller/programmer/artist.
I would love to hear how people would manage the STO staff if they had that kind of power.
Ok, here's a list -
1. Actually play the game, and learn how it works.
2. Read the KDF Gameplay forum.
3. Read a book on business ethics.
4. Have lunch with Gabe Newell, and learn how a game company should be run.
5. Smoke a couple bowls of something really good, and play Tomb Raider Legend.
Almost nothing on the foundry. I DO NOT care if it's complex, the players can learn, and if they don't like those tools, they don't have to use them. These are excuses for not adding stuff to the foundry. 99.99% of the time it's excuses and lockboxes, only 0.01% of it is for adding new content. Cash grab! :rolleyes:
While you personally may not care it it's complicated, I can tell you that there are many potential players that do and will care very much if the tool is too difficult to use. While you may hold the opinion that you're a good enough player to learn complicated tools, a company needs to make its products accessible to more than just those who have the time, energy and already have a foundational knowledge of computer creation tools under their belt. They need to appeal to people who *don't* have that knowledge or experience.
There are many, many people who want to make a mission/story in The Foundry who may not have your expertise. I think it's unfair to demand that they be excluded from access to a portion of this game simply because we may lack your knowledge.
You can put up interview after interview, but if things aren't changing in a positive direction in-game (which right now is overwhelmingly negative), you are wasting your time and ours. The "smoke and mirrors" routine only goes so far before people see right through it.
Comments
I have the same sensation...
What, exactly, do you want him to say?
I love how open they are to talking about the game... but.. seems like time better spent to actually work on the game...
I see more interviews then I see Dev responses about our Feedback on the game.....
Take the DOFF system for example.. its so fleshed out and well done because of how involved Heretic is with the community... In fact he continues to ask for Feedback here on the forums on the DOFFJOBS global channel... The DOFF system will only get better with time because of this... just saying..
Okay, DStahl is the executive producer of STO. Let's say the interview this series took roughly an hour; maybe two. Let's also say, you, as a player, have the ability to make Stahl do whatever you want him to do, instantly, without hesistation. He can do nothing except what you mandate, which would be "actually work on the game."
What exactly would you have him do in those two hours on the game? Given that he's the EP, and not strictly a coder/modeller/programmer/artist.
I would love to hear how people would manage the STO staff if they had that kind of power.
Yes, there needs to be more to End Game, but I hate it when games use this line. What I have always loved about STO is that the game does NOT start at end Game - the whole Journey IS the game. This statement always says to me that you should work as fast as you can to get to cap and ignore the start and middle of the game. Levelling is to fast anyway, so slow it down, there needs to be more meaning to reaching cap. I hope there will be a good balance.
Lock box odds would be a good start I'm thinking.
It both registers for me and annoys me that things like "customer satisfaction" are hard to measure from PW's POV, because I come from a background in companies where that was the almost all-consuming focus. Focus on satisfaction and retention of customers/employees/vendors, watch costs, be bold, avoid costly experiments, profit. That model is very apparently an alien one to some people, including PWE.
Satisfaction IS the product in my mind, the ONLY product. Everything else is a free bonus attached to the satisfaction you're selling and you haven't earned a dime until you've earned a smile. Needless to say, companies I've worked with tend to focus on the service experience and will refund purchases very freely to save a customer relationship. I feel like that's the Blizzard model as well and why they're #1. Do they have the best product? Well, no. Not if the game is the product. The product isn't so much the game but the polish in the game and the level of service supplied.
It's like the idea with cars that, at a certain point, you're no longer paying for the car but for the superior bolts, the higher fuel efficiency, the more comfortable seats. MMOs are luxury products so the luxury of the experience should be the prime product.
I'm really intrigued by the comments about getting non-MMO players in. That is, honestly, something I'd assumed was already a higher priority and the aspect I'd give my left arm to work for Cryptic on.
If you have a theme park, you need to make stuff for people to DO in the theme park. The Tilt-a-Whirl is not going to be more fun to ride if the only thing changed out is the seats your butt is in.
You assume I'm asking to mandate the Devs? Don't recall naming Stahl by name given that he IS the EP and does the least coding of the team. He'd be the least relevant to ask to do more coding, seeing he mostly delegates jobs as he IS the EP.
I never mentioned things being done instantly, no idea where you got that assumption. I made comment that we see more interviews than Feedback from the Devs.
I mentioned the DOFF system as an example of player and dev working as a team to get something everyone is happy with.
Honestly everything you mentioned wasn't mentioned by me in my post
Honestly, the big thing I can see here is the possibility of roleplay alts.
The way I see it, these would be TRULY monster play alts. They'd include KDF and Feds but probably include lots of minor factions. No leveling. Limited ship array. Level 50. Title capped at Captain or faction equivalent.
Prepackaged with roleplay goodness for the character slot but maybe not the whole account so that the slot can have a taste of everything relevant to its roleplay concept without breaking the bank.
So, y'know...
Cardassian Gul in Cardassian uniform with a Galor, Galor interior. Maybe restricted from PvP and earning dilithium but capable of doing any faction's mission. Comes packaged with 5 Cardassian BOs and a Cardassian DO compliment.
TOS Captain with full access to TOS uniform options. Comes with a bunch of human BOs and DOs, one special Half-Vulcan. Gets a TOS interior and a Connie.
Maybe to make roleplay alts social-based, have them unable to pick up missions on their own but capable of teaming with anyone and playing missions shared by any teammates.
Hm. Maybe instead of a hard level, they automatically take on the average level of their team.
So with a roleplay alt, you show up places and beg for a team slot if you want to play.
"There's an opportunity that we're missing, to allow people who just want to be in the Star Trek universe to just make a character and pop into the universe and not have a lot of expectations of what to do, to let them visit the places they just want to visit. So they can experience Star Trek without having the game tacked on to that. That is an experience I desperately want to get in there in the future. Not near future, but at some point. It's been bugging me that there are tons of people out there who may not want to play an MMO but want to have fun in the Star Trek universe."
Oh man, I'd go crazy if I'd just already have that opportunity!!! Boldly go where no Star Trek game has gone before ...
Realistically, they should revamp the way the foundry works entirely. It should be free to use to create (maybe charge dilithium to publish), but should be charging dilithium to play the missions. Not crazy dilithium, but some. Split the dilithium between cryptic (vanishes) and the author... ratio decided by publishing cost? Spend more up front, get a bigger cut later?
That will drain dilithium from the economy, making it worth more relative to cryptic points, which ultimately means more money for cryptic, albeit in a roundabout way as people need more cryptic pts to aquire a given amount of dilithium.
With continually generated content, consumer satisfaction is higher, and Cryptic basically gets free "developer" work, freeing up their paid employees for other tasks.
I saw this conversation and I would just like to add my POV on it. Interviews can be arranged, scheduled and timed. My interview with Dan was 27 minutes long. They're an EXTREMELY busy team. Feedback on forums DOES take time away from a developer's work-time so I think it's fair to say you will see less dev involvement in the forums as they are nose-down and working on the game.
I apologize if I misunderstood the foundation of the discussion - but I thought it was important for people to realize that when I was there I personally observed a room full of people who were sitting at their posts working diligently.
I tried very hard NOT to bother people too much. They were very gracious. And by the way, technically, I was not invited to Cryptic - I asked through formal channels if a visit was possible. I was traveling to the area for personal reasons and hoped that they could accommodate a visit from me. Brandon made the arrangements specifically so I wouldn't become a burden to the team or become an interruption that would keep them from working on the content they REALLY ARE trying to get to the players.
Ok, here's a list -
1. Actually play the game, and learn how it works.
2. Read the KDF Gameplay forum.
3. Read a book on business ethics.
4. Have lunch with Gabe Newell, and learn how a game company should be run.
5. Smoke a couple bowls of something really good, and play Tomb Raider Legend.
6. Learn to speak Klingon.
While you personally may not care it it's complicated, I can tell you that there are many potential players that do and will care very much if the tool is too difficult to use. While you may hold the opinion that you're a good enough player to learn complicated tools, a company needs to make its products accessible to more than just those who have the time, energy and already have a foundational knowledge of computer creation tools under their belt. They need to appeal to people who *don't* have that knowledge or experience.
There are many, many people who want to make a mission/story in The Foundry who may not have your expertise. I think it's unfair to demand that they be excluded from access to a portion of this game simply because we may lack your knowledge.
+1
You can put up interview after interview, but if things aren't changing in a positive direction in-game (which right now is overwhelmingly negative), you are wasting your time and ours. The "smoke and mirrors" routine only goes so far before people see right through it.
Trust, is earned.