Guild Wars 2 and a Fansite Visit Postscript

[Billiard]

Originally Posted by LifeInfusion

well put. I think your insight is very well needed in this forum and can help to quell some of the fears and concerns players have.

Not to diminish the commentary, but I disagree with your assessment of the MSNBC article. The quotes are attributed to NCSoft's Garriott and Arenanet's Jeff Strain. Neither are marketing.

Here's to arguing technicalities and semantics.

No my point about the MSNBC article, as well as the upcoming Wired article, is that ArenaNet is starting to push into the more mainstream media, something WoW has been doing and GW has not. This I think is the start of marketing to the mainstream market rather than just to gamers.

[wetsparks]

Very well written article, good job.

[Hengis]

As Guild Wars approaches its 2nd birthday, and as I approach my 22nd month of playing the game, I have to say that I have never felt like I have been taking part in a big experiment.

I suppose that the experiment could have been deemed a failure at any point over the past two years, and the servers could have been switched off, but that didn't happen. (What a scary thought that is!)

I don't think anyone (especially not me) really realised what a huge risk NCSoft and ANet were taking in trying to break the "Pay per Month" mold.

I am looking forward to G.W.E.N. a great deal, and after the initial shock of realising that this will be the last chapter of the current Guild Wars, I am hugely looking forward to Guild Wars 2. I hope we will get the opportunity to sign up for the betas!

I had never really understood why Guild Wars didn't market itself as a brand. The opportunities must be huge. Who wouldn't buy a Charr figurine? and as for a Guild Wars T-Shirt, even at 44 years old, I would be first in the line to get one! The lack of branding and marketing makes a lot more sense after reading the MSNBC article though. If Guild Wars was an experiment, then why spend money on marketing and merchandising until you are sure that the experiment has worked.

With the announcement of Guild Wars 2, and the absolute assurance given by Gaile in other threads that this will still be a "no monthly fees" game, I think we can safely assume that the experiment was a resounding success.

In some ways Guild Wars has been gaming's best kept secret. An absolutely beautiful game, regular updates, and no monthly fees. It has been great to have been involved from not quite but almost the beginning , and I am now greatly looking forward to seeing Guild Wars becoming a world recognised brand.

[ragnarson]

Great article!
And yes!, Guildwars Shirts, Hats, Mouse pads, Coffee mugs! Yee Haw, Underwear, Bedding, Towels.................

[1 up and 2 down]

Now that I that have read that excellent article I just now realized GW never had any marketing. 0.0
I actually think the only reason I heard of GW was because of X-plays review of Factions. Now hopefully more people will start to play Gw now that they are finally getting into marketing.

[LifeInfusion]

Originally Posted by Billiard

No my point about the MSNBC article, as well as the upcoming Wired article, is that ArenaNet is starting to push into the more mainstream media, something WoW has been doing and GW has not. This I think is the start of marketing to the mainstream market rather than just to gamers.

Okay. That makes more sense then.

They ARE making a push into mainstream, because a few years back when I started in beta I remember mentioning Guild Wars to people and they would go "what's that?" and respond "what?" when I said "CORPG" (this is the part that hasn't changed, people still don't know what it is).

Nowadays it is more like "Oh, it is that game...with the level 20 cap, instances, and no monthly fee"...

Offtopic comment:
For this reason it would be damaging for them to introduce a high level cap and instances (if the persistence is not well made), since it diminishes its uniqueness as a casual player friendly game.

[darted]

Originally Posted by LifeInfusion

Okay. That makes more sense then.

They ARE making a push into mainstream, because a few years back when I started in beta I remember mentioning Guild Wars to people and they would go "what's that?" and respond "what?" when I said "CORPG" (this is the part that hasn't changed, people still don't know what it is).

Nowadays it is more like "Oh, it is that game...with the level 20 cap, instances, and no monthly fee"...

Offtopic comment:
For this reason it would be damaging for them to introduce a high level cap and instances (if the persistence is not well made), since it diminishes its uniqueness as a casual player friendly game.

I am concerned that GW2 may not be for the more casual player like me. Back to the bad parts of Diablo II?

I don't know I just really like the GW concept and have thoroughly enjoyed playing. I am looking forward to the possiblilities a persistant world brings.

[Darcy]

In this interview at about.com http://internetgames.about.com/od/ro...rms=Guild+Wars the combo instanced/persistant world is explained further.

[The Ice Master]

Wow, you put all my thoughts into words better than I could have, and I am thought of as a pretty good writer over here. I finally have something to defend [[against]] the naysayers with. And tbh, I never thought much of the XoO guild until I read this.

[Allanon754]

Very well written article Billiard thank you for the input .

I have to say as a fan of Guild Wars who has been following the game since E3 of 2004, I also didn't feel part of an experiment at any point. I felt as if I was playing a normal game which was becoming more and more polished as it got older. While there have been ups and down while playing Guild Wars, at least for me I have to say that I'm glad that Arena.net is making a Guild Wars 2 as it shows fans that they are here for a long time.

Being a fan of the RTS hit, Homeworld I felt betrayed after Homeworld 2 was such a disaster, I think with all the experience Arena.net has that Guild Wars 2 will be everything we could hope for and more.

Here's hoping that G.W.E.N. and Guild Wars 2 come fast!

[byggryn10]

I
ll take a wait and see attitude. But since I'll have to start completely over, I might as well take a look at the other games out there like WoW or the upcoming Fury.

[NoChance]

interesting article...

I do agree that Anet is trying to move more into the mainstream with more exposure etc. ... but I fear that this will lead them, or has already led them to pander to the lowest common denominator gamer, thus watering down what I found to be one of the best parts of the game -- the focus on skills and developing good skill bars... from all the info and speculation we've heard about GW2, this is what I believe is happening.

I think Anet is going for the big money with GW2 being a dumbed down GW (which is probably the best business move for them as it will no doubt help sales a lot!)

If this is so, it's too bad (for me).. I would have liked a more Magic: the Gathering business plan, with skills phasing in and out as the chapters progress (making balance MUCH easier); with focus more on the skills.

so on one hand, it's great that Anet's new business model has succeeded, but on the other hand, it means (again, in my analysis) they can now go for the big money using that model, possibly leaving me behind.

[maraxusofk]

I am an avid pvp player. with that said, i say that the lvl 20 cap and the pvp character creation are one of the greatest aspects of this online game. No other game has this, and makes pvp much more involved and strategic b/c ppl are forced to use a pve char for all their pvp. in regards to the lvl cap, i can only see several things happening.

an unlimited or high lvl cap without a pvp creation option would basically ensure that pvp victories is determined by ur grinding.

an unlimited or high lvl cap with a pvp creation wouldnt make sense u would have to lvl up ur pvp chars. wut is difference between pvp and pve char then?

the only solution that fairly incorporates balance would be that the character maxes on attribute pts and hp at lvl 20, but the additional lvl's are just for show and a higher lvl allows u to buy prettier version of existing pvp armor sets.

[Billiard]

Well already they are saying that it will be UAX from the start for PvP and the high/non-level cap does not apply to PvP - everyone is on a level playing field in that regard.

[MasterPatricko]

UAX from the start will be interesting ... but then there is absolutely NO reason for a PvPer to ever go into PvE ... do ANet really want that?

[Glassyfloor]

First of all, i have to say well said Billiard.

I was feeling down after reading the actual article in PC Gamer mag, as they mentioned that current characters in Guildwars wont be transferable and if the chars arent transferable, they prolly wont have the current races at all in Guildwars 2.
This also brings a few more questions, what happens to the people who bought Fow armor or other things customized to thier current chars?

Other than rare asain minipets which are either impossible to get or highly over priced, Fow armor is the next thing which can make a very rich fellow find himself broke in matter of minutes.

There needs to be way where the current players can carry over thier current progress over to Guildwars 2.
I get the idea of the EoTN being a way to transfer titles and minipets but there lies the emptyness of abandoning my current chars.

Apart from that, are the current Guildwars servers gonna shut down once Guildwars 2 is going to be released?
or one can still play Guildwars ?
I know you prolly dont have all the answers to my questions but im sure there are several other players who have same views or atleast similar views as me.

Guildwars in all is truly my space away from all RL problems and just have a fun time.
I hope GW 2 can deliver all GW has and more.
Gl to Anet,
- Loyal Customer

[Billiard]

ANet has said they will keep the GW servers running even after GW2 comes out. As with most games that have new generations, GW2 will be a completely new game and trying to tie GW to GW2 moreso than they already are planning would be quite an undertaking.

[Edge Martinez]

Billiard, you are so lucky to have gotten a tour of their place, and you wrote a wonderful article about it. It would be interesting to see how the team concept works in a company like ANet, when you consider the bosses have to be involved since it's their baby.

At any rate, excellent read! Between your thoughts and the MSNBC article, I am really even more excited about GW2. Some stores are selling Prophecies very cheap. I bought 3 copies today as 'out of the blue' gifts for my WoW friends, partly in the hopes they like it and get in on GW2 when it comes out.

[norm]

i love Anet all in all they have given me 1300 hours in the past 18 months of enjoyment and its always been fun i just wish that they would pay attention to the fact that ha is dying many people are not doing it most of my friends would agree with me that ha has gotten worse i wish they would change kill count back to holding which wouold bring many people back to the game and this i can say is a fact

[norm]

YES ! i agree this was very informitive and a very good read thank you i am more knowelgable about gw now and i respect Anet more than ever