GuildWars Q&A with Gaile Gray

[Bushido]

Gaile Gray is Mesmerised (http://www.pixelrage.com/mesmerize/fansitefriday/46/) by questions of future features in GuildWars.

Ripped from the article:

"You will be able to observe any PvP battle – tournament or guild – in which the Top 10 guilds on the Guild Wars Ladder take part."
Get ready for the Big Leagues! I think there might be some talent scouts watching.

[Deadend]

Observation mode sounds cool, they could make GW into a spectator sport.

Now.. if they made it so that you could do observation WITHOUT owning the game (simply download the client and you could WATCH matches) then... GW really could become the game by which all other games are judged.

[TrackZero]

Observation mode sounds cool, they could make GW into a spectator sport.

Now.. if they made it so that you could do observation WITHOUT owning the game (simply download the client and you could WATCH matches) then... GW really could become the game by which all other games are judged.

You mean if it was Half-Life or Quake?

It's a nice feature though, but honestly I'd have little interest in watching people play a game I'm not into. Great feature for players looking for new strategy/techniques though.

[Ravenlock]

Honestly, there's a lot of good stuff in that article (and some great points about reward in GW vs. reward in a typical MMORPG, and how the dynamic quests make it feel very much like a user-impacted world, something most MMORPG's could do but usually don't...), but here's the part of that article that turns me on.

New features will be free and new content will usually have a cost. So features will be rolled out in our free Game Updates and content will be offered in our upcoming chapters. Mike said that features are things that improve or expand functionality. Examples of features would be account storage, chat or trade improvements, or such features as Observer Mode. And as mentioned, features will be included in a Live Update between chapters because they are part of the engine, and we are constantly improving that.

Chapters, on the other hand, will offer new content. This will include a new storyline, new regions, new skills, new possible strategies, new PvP options, and a whole bunch of other great things. Chapter 2 is going to be so exciting that we are not going to hold engine improvements in order to encourage you to buy Chapter 2. We will give you the new engine improvements for free, as they are developed, with confidence that you will buy Chapter 2 for the great new content that it will offer.

And of course, even with that said, they are rolling out some new content for free, with the new area they're releasing without a charge at the end of the summer.

These guys really, really understand how to run an online gameworld ("MMORPG" or not, nit-pickers). Guild Wars may be the best $50 I've ever spent on gaming, and it's certainly the only game I've ever been happy I bought on release week. If they keep it up like this, they can count on getting my money for Chapter 2 as well. :D

[Heretic Machine]

*shrugs* Felt like Diablo to me. Which is a very bad thing, in my opinon. Great fun for a couple of days, and then -nothing-...

But that's ok, I restarted my WoW account soon after and have been playing non-stop since then :) Yummy.

[AspectVoid]

*shrugs* Felt like Diablo to me. Which is a very bad thing, in my opinon. Great fun for a couple of days, and then -nothing-...

But that's ok, I restarted my WoW account soon after and have been playing non-stop since then :) Yummy.

WoW felt like every other MMO on the market, which is a very bad thing. After EQ, FFXI, CoH, etc, the last thing I want is the same game in a different color wrapping. Guild Wars frankly, played different, and it gave me something I really wanted out of an MMO (or seudo MMO in GW's case), which is a story personalized for me. I want to know what's going to happen in GW's missions since they really effect the world. I've never felt that about another MMO.

[Sloth]

My main problem with GW is the shitty playerbase. Its like playing in an AOL chatroom while reading the AICN talkbacks.

[Ravenlock]

I'm with AspectVoid on this one. I have yet to have anyone point out to me anything significant that other MMO's have that Guild Wars does not. The only one that sounded even slightly convincing was somebody pointing out that in, say, WOW, running into people out in the wilderness fleshes out the idea that you're living in an inhabited world.

That's a valid point, but it's not a dealbreaker for me. GW (unlike Diablo, which feels like a lifeless wasteland outside of town) has a wilderness populated by interesting places, events and characters, and there are enough towns scattered around that you're going to be seeing different people several times during your play session unless you choose to avoid them.

That's the only valid "plus" I've heard of other MMO's over GW. And GW presents such a beautifully streamlined gameplay experience (which they are continuing to refine and enrich weekly, frankly kicking the ass of other MMO dev teams in terms of meaningful updates) with a changing world and a story not just that I care about, but that I can care about in tandem with other people. Ironically, while everybody knocks it for not being persistent, I feel more emotional involvement in the GW story and roleplay than I ever did in EQ for example.

It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's certainly mine. ;)

[Ravenlock]

My main problem with GW is the shitty playerbase. Its like playing in an AOL chatroom while reading the AICN talkbacks.
Bwahahah - that's a good one! :D

All depends on the group of folks you find, just like any online game. Yes, there are plenty of idiots, but my guild suits me just fine, and GW makes it very easy to play with them and avoid the morons when I choose. As opposed to <insert other MMO> where there's no way to get away from them. Points for GW team there in my opinion.

[Mason]

My main problem with GW is the shitty playerbase. Its like playing in an AOL chatroom while reading the AICN talkbacks.

It really does depend. Yeah, you can get some idiots, but I've found that seeking tombs groups with TS or Vent improves things a lot. If people are talking to their group, usually they take things more seriously and listen better, and are less likely to leave in a huff.

I overall had much worse experiences in WoW with player stupidity than GW. The loot ninjas and gankers screw up your game far worse than some loudmouth that you can just /ignore. I mean, doing 80 instance runs to get that one wonderful item your Priest needs, only to watch Hunters and Paladins roll on it...there's nothing in GW that painful.

[Mason]

*shrugs* Felt like Diablo to me. Which is a very bad thing, in my opinon. Great fun for a couple of days, and then -nothing-...

But that's ok, I restarted my WoW account soon after and have been playing non-stop since then :) Yummy.

One has to wonder how far you got. Lots of new players spend too much time around Ascalon instead of progressing along with the missions. The questing can be fun for a little while, but the missions are the real meat of the game.

I also retried WoW lately, to see the BGs, and was way underwhelmed. See, I hate the endgame PvE in WoW. I've done all the instances, and I don't want to do them thirty more times each. So the game's got nothing to offer at this point except PvP, and it's an hour's wait to get in for a round of that. Even if the BGs were pure orgasmic delight (they aren't), that'd still be too much wait and hassle. The queue system works okay if you aren't 60 yet, but once you're 60 you have nothing productive to do during the wait time.

[Bushido]

I just get the feeling that ArenaNet loves me. Really, they dont charge me more money after i buy the game and they dont try to waste my life with time sinks. Love ppl thats what this is about. If John Lennon were alive today he would be playing GuildWars.

[Mister Pie]

Another thing I really like about GW is how the team seems receptive/responsive to community concerns. The most recent patch addressd an issue people had been having with regards to capturing elite skills. Contrast that with WoW where it seems that Blizzard is developing more of a "our way or the highway" attitude. Then again... if you ever read the WoW forums, you probably know that the WoW community is one of the whinest communities ever.

And whoever said that playing GW sometimes is like being in an AOL chatroom... you are absolutely right. Unfortunately, I find my experience more and more like that nowadays in pretty much any online game.

[Ravenlock]

I just get the feeling that ArenaNet loves me. Really, they dont charge me more money after i buy the game and they dont try to waste my life with time sinks. Love ppl thats what this is about. If John Lennon were alive today he would be playing GuildWars.

Yes. :D

Another thing I really like about GW is how the team seems receptive/responsive to community concerns. The most recent patch addressd an issue people had been having with regards to capturing elite skills. Contrast that with WoW where it seems that Blizzard is developing more of a "our way or the highway" attitude. Then again... if you ever read the WoW forums, you probably know that the WoW community is one of the whinest communities ever.

And whoever said that playing GW sometimes is like being in an AOL chatroom... you are absolutely right. Unfortunately, I find my experience more and more like that nowadays in pretty much any online game.

And yes again. To both points. It is like that in pretty much any online game, which is why finding a core group of people to play with is so important. Thankfully GW makes that pretty easy.

[Blue]

It's funny, I was incredibly stuck in WoW in what I would call a "grey level" (you know, those levels where it seems you're at a place where you're just not strong enough for the areas you need to be hitting) and I picked up GW to suppliment - or maybe even ease - my frustration. I had heard so many good things that it had become nearly impossible think about picking up any other game. It was, as Agent Smith would say, inevitable. After some general running around, I managed to find an area within WoW that suited my Dwarven Hunter perfectly and I hit 48 last night making myself able to go back and tackle those areas previously out of my reach. And, because of that, I now love WoW all over again.

Thankfully, however, I have found that I really like both WoW and GW equally. WoW fills my need to have a load of stuff I can do on the side if needed - farm, fish, learn cooking, mess with a craft, quest, etc - and GW gives me the story and, some might argue, the proper PvP I've been missing out on. The community within WoW seems more childish (j00 suxxorz, anyone?) but GW appears to be far more cold - in my experiences. It's like pulling teeth to get someone to talk in that game and in WoW all I want them to do is stop talking. I feel as though I'm having an impact on the world of GW but I don't feel like I'm connecting with anyone around me. I generally quest by myself because I'm tired of people ditching out of the party right when things get tough. Other than the EvAv Guild, I have yet to find anyone to add to my friends list.

The development team behind GW is light years ahead of Blizzard. Both games are very well made (some might fight me on that with WoW, but I really think it holds true), but Arena appears to be doing everything right. I hope that trend continues. I honestly believe that WoW's first expansion pack is going to tell whether or not Blizzard's game is going to be sticking around for a while. My biggest fear with GW is that, once I hit 20 and do everything I need to for my character(s), I'll put it back on the shelf. The world doesn't feel persistant, even if it is. The likeness of an AOL chat room is dead on.

My point is, both games have their ups and downs with me. I don't really see either community as being better than the other and the games are so vastly different it's somewhat unfair to try and compare them. Each will suit another better due to preference. Personally, I've found that I'm oddly frustrated that there isn't an AH in GW and that I can't "craft" or do something similar. I dislike feeling as though I have to quest - be it story or picking up skills - to be doing anything. I suppose the fifteen bucks I'm putting into Blizzard's MMO is what's giving me all those extra bells and whistles. And I know I'll get flammed for this, but I really think with the addition of BG, the argument that there is no skill within the PvP aspect of WoW diminishes greatly, if it doesn't go right out the window. Yes I think the skill use is more up-front within GW, but anyone who says the Alliance victory last night in Warsong Gulch was based on random button pushing rather than skill really doesn't know what they're talking about. BG, in my opinion, really evened that playing field. But yes, as Mason said, waiting in line to fight one another, really does suck.

I'm just happy to get the chance to be a part of both worlds.

[Ravenlock]

Blue, you completely win this conversation. :D

If you're looking for someone to friend in GW, I have a few characters, but the one I'm playing the most right now is a L11 Fighter/Monk named Deyton Ashford. Feel free to say hi.

My biggest fear with GW is that, once I hit 20 and do everything I need to for my character(s), I'll put it back on the shelf. The world doesn't feel persistant, even if it is. The likeness of an AOL chat room is dead on.
A legitimate fear, though I'd respond that a lot of the content in GW is designed for L20 characters, PvE and PvP both, and the subsequent chapters will cater to those characters almost exclusively, I expect. They've "capped" it at L20 more to give a jumping off point ("okay, you've reached the cool level, here's what you can go do now") than to set an endgame goal.

That said, if you aren't enjoying the questing after L20, there won't be any other reason to play aside from PvP - but me, I greatly enjoy progressing through the story and look forward to seeing how they carry it on from here. The lack of crafting doesn't matter a whit to me, but I know it does to some, and that's a perfectly legitimate point against the game if you like to craft - it's a stylistic choice on their part, not a design flaw, though. I think they easily could have put in a crafting system into GW. That just isn't the game they chose to make.

[Blue]

Blue, you completely win this conversation. :D

If you're looking for someone to friend in GW, I have a few characters, but the one I'm playing the most right now is a L11 Fighter/Monk named Deyton Ashford. Feel free to say hi.


A legitimate fear, though I'd respond that a lot of the content in GW is designed for L20 characters, PvE and PvP both, and the subsequent chapters will cater to those characters almost exclusively, I expect. They've "capped" it at L20 more to give a jumping off point ("okay, you've reached the cool level, here's what you can go do now") than to set an endgame goal.

That said, if you aren't enjoying the questing after L20, there won't be any other reason to play aside from PvP - but me, I greatly enjoy progressing through the story and look forward to seeing how they carry it on from here. The lack of crafting doesn't matter a whit to me, but I know it does to some, and that's a perfectly legitimate point against the game if you like to craft - it's a stylistic choice on their part, not a design flaw, though. I think they easily could have put in a crafting system into GW. That just isn't the game they chose to make.

I will gladly take you up on that offer to quest some together. Would be great to have someone I can play with/trust running the world with. I'm about 200 exp away from 11 (N/ME, here) - name is Blue Majere.

Your point about the game being designed around lvl 20 content is actually something I really hadn't considered. GW does seem to have a very strong end-game component and that is - as far as I've seen - rare in the MMO world. I'm actually enjoying the questing and the story-line, I just find that when I want to stay within the world and take a break from finding this or rescuing that, there's little for me to do. Truth be told, I think being implimented into the cut-scenes is an excellent feature and totally makes me feel like part of a larger battle. There appears to be weight to my actions and what choices I make and that seriously has an impact on how I view this game.

I think it may have to get to the point where I a) get used to the community, b) realize this isn't "standard" MMO fare, and c) not be afraid to kick people in the nads. I suppose that would relate back to point a)