WOW lead designers form new company

[Varsity]

Get ready, MMOers. Former Blizzard employees Mark Kern, William Petras, and Taewon Yun have founded their own development house, Red5 Studios, and are working on a new MMORPG. These aren't any old former Blizzard employees though: GI.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=11426) reports that 'Kern held the position of team lead on WoW, William Petras art director, and Taewon Yun helped found Blizzard Korea, assisting in the launch and operations of WoW in Asia'. Collectively the group have over thirty years of MMO experience, including the production of WOW, Warcraft itself, Starcraft and Diablo.

Red5's website (http://www.red5studios.com/) reads:
We are quietly at work, building the world’s best MMO team here in Southern California. Red 5’s founders share a history of making hit games for companies such as Blizzard Entertainment. After our most recent project, World of Warcraft, we decided that we wanted to take things in a new direction and push the limits of our creativity. We’re working on something a little different from most MMOs out there, and we are excited about where our passion for games will lead us.Red5 Studios' website (http://www.red5studios.com/)
Press release (http://www.red5studios.com/pr20050908.html)
Source (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=11426)

Only yesterday we were being told how it would be impossible to beat WOW...but now WOW seems to be trying to beat itself! Is this an attempt to rebalance the industry?

[Kyle Jones]

Hurrah, another MMO for me to get sick of in a week and go back to playing Harvest Moon on my gameboy.

I really am a bit tired of this genre personally. If I want human interaction, I'll play myself some LAN or hop on a console with my friends in the room. All this online community stuff just feels like a lame substitute to me... Nothing against them at all, as I've found myself hooked to WoW and Ragnarok Online before, I just never give them the longtime fanship that a lot of folks do.

[EGO]

Doesn't that character on their website look like that coughing robot from Revenge of the Sith? "Red 5"? Maybe they're working on a Star Wars MMO... oh wait, there already is one...!

MMO... more like Meh-M-O

[Liquidize105]

Wow is riding on the success of its warcraft history, even the Chinese gamers know the name Blizzard. How would yet another MMO compete unless it's something never before seen?

Anyway, lead design and art director seem to think they got what it takes. Bring it on then.

[Exodus]

developers of guildwars said the same thing, I told them their skill slot limitation system sucked but nooooooo they thought... it's absolutely brilliant!

hate to gloat but wow's success vs. guildwars? holding a candle to an atomic blast is just about a little over exaggeration but it's true.

What these people will do.. who knows... hopefully it's not another guildwars though... wow was probably the most fun I had leveling all the way up to 60(4x) and after doing everything in the high end.. alas it became just like every other mmo... wait for things to come... I'm paying monthly for content that won't be out til next year! and on top of it all I'll have to buy an expansion to boot!

what these people bring out better be damn good if it's gonna beat wow :\ what makes wow shine is its professional polish imo, it's so easy to play, use, customize to suit your needs and the mechanics are far better than any other game. It's blizzard.

I hope these guys come out with like a 18+ story driven world... I would give my left pinky toe for something like a shadowrun mmo/rpg right now... and no AO sucks ass.

[Zeroman]

Word. Many (all?) MMOs are just a normal game with fancy chat features, and artifical bonuses to being near each other in the virtual space. There's no "real" social interaction or inter-dependance. When I play WoW, I am constantly thinking "Man, I could just play Morrowind and save myself $14".

Currently there's no compelling social gameplay in MMOs (maybe "Tales in the Desert" but who the hell wants to play that..). Basically single player games with multiple players.

Zeroman

[Mason]

What the hell did this site do to start attracting guys like Exodus?

[outontheporch]

nerf shamans

[King Drewsky]

I take it that seeing how the product that they developed is making kajillion dollars a month and none of that mad cash showing up in their pockets finally struck a nerve with these three.

[Liquidize105]

I was just about to say that I hope it's another GW type of pseudo mmo.

[Bushido]

Shadowrun omg that would so rock

[Heretic Machine]

MMO's only lack social interaction if you are socially inept to begin with. Interact with people, then there will be all the socail interaction you want. As for MMO's just being normal games with a chat function... STFU until you actually experience what you're talking about.

[Xerxes]

Doesn't that character on their website look like that coughing robot from Revenge of the Sith? "Red 5"? Maybe they're working on a Star Wars MMO... oh wait, there already is one...!

MMO... more like Meh-M-O

You know his name is ummm, Darth Roboto... :confused:

[Xerxes]

Fuck MMORPGs... I'm hooked on WoW and frankly i'm annoied, I mean I invision one of these damn games with a living world. I THOUGHT that WoW would of had something of the sort. If you got in late oh well you missed some badass shit. Nothing ever happens on a grand scale. Except orphan kid week i guess, where everyone got the same brat. Would it been so hard to have a random kid generater. ~_~

[Roc Ingersol]

We’re working on something a little different from most MMOs out there,
read: it's going to wind up just like everything else out there.

Unless they're trying not to make money, it's going to be the same ole same ole. Because that's what the massmog market responds to.

[bapenguin]

developers of guildwars said the same thing, I told them their skill slot limitation system sucked but nooooooo they thought... it's absolutely brilliant!

hate to gloat but wow's success vs. guildwars? holding a candle to an atomic blast is just about a little over exaggeration but it's true.


I don't think Guildwars is directly competeting with WoW. It's going for a more casual audience.

[Exodus]

they aren't competing themselves
but as far as where my interests lie they compete on my list
and right now guildwars just doesn't cut it but that's a personal preference I believe more than anything.

I don't even play wow anymore really except to drop in and help friends out and enjoy the casual raid. I can't hack the necks off of orcs in real life or melt someone's face off but that personal adventure in wow is pretty much over... time to wait for ddo/nwn2/the witcher/ffxii(which isn't sounding too good if it's just ffonline but singleplayer, but who knows)

I hope this'll be great, but what can I do but expect the worst and hope that in the end I am completely surprised.

[Demo_Boy]

Rogues are cheap.

[endrom]

only way they can realy pull this off is making this new MMO, extremely a unique one. The only reason why I liked CoH and SWG was becuase it wasnt medieval killing of orcs and forests. But back to the Former WoW guys, I wish them the best of luck. I don't doubt them, but sometimes we all have our dai kantanas

[reimomo]

only way they can realy pull this off is making this new MMO, extremely a unique one. The only reason why I liked CoH and SWG was becuase it wasnt medieval killing of orcs and forests. But back to the Former WoW guys, I wish them the best of luck. I don't doubt them, but sometimes we all have our dai kantanas

I have never, EVER, had a dai katana. just wanted to make that clear.

[DeadPixel]

This news topic is so far from reality. It takes what 3-4 years to develop a decent MMO? Lets talk about it in 2009, maybe sign up for beta in 2010.

[DoubleUranium]

Ugh, another MMO. My personal theory is that MMOs are the death of the company. Origin produced UO. EA noticed that recurring monthly revenue and destroyed the entire company to focus on UO. Sony produced Everquest, and only focuses on MMOs. LucasArts already sucked before SWG, but what's their motivation now other than to keep milking that monthly cash. Blizzard used to be a great company, but now all they do is worry about WoW. Where the fuck is Starcraft 2? What about even Starcraft Ghost? Where is Diablo 3? With all that cash from WoW they still closed Blizzard North. If Ubisoft, Epic, and iD get into MMOs I might as well quit gaming.

[carneconcarne]

Ugh, another MMO. My personal theory is that MMOs are the death of the company. Origin produced UO. EA noticed that recurring monthly revenue and destroyed the entire company to focus on UO. Sony produced Everquest, and only focuses on MMOs. LucasArts already sucked before SWG, but what's their motivation now other than to keep milking that monthly cash. Blizzard used to be a great company, but now all they do is worry about WoW. Where the fuck is Starcraft 2? What about even Starcraft Ghost? Where is Diablo 3? With all that cash from WoW they still closed Blizzard North. If Ubisoft, Epic, and iD get into MMOs I might as well quit gaming.

pretty good observation. MMO's are only good for people who like MMO's. The only way to really excel at an MMO is to devote lots of time to it. So, all these new MMO's are good for people who like to play one game for 6 months. This is froma casual perspective, btw. I'm sure many of you people have plenty of time to level up 4 60's on WOW and fit in all the other games, but not me.

[Talanvor]

Erm, I don't think the Sony example is good. They are making the PS3, and they do produce quite a bit of games.

I don't think Epic or iD will get into MMOs, they just will license engines out to them, heh.

[Varsity]

Blizzard used to be a great company, but now all they do is worry about Starcraft 2. Where the fuck is WOW 2? What about even Warcraft 4? Where is Diablo 3?
Ten characters

[Zeroman]

Riiight. I've never played an "MMORPG" before. I have no idea what I'm saying.. just typing words at random really.

Other than "chatting" what social interaction is there? Dancing? Getting "married"? Can a group of players create an interdependant community? Maybe a "group" or "party" might qualify, but how long does one stay in a group or party? Guilds, sort of, but again other than a seperate "chat" channel. There's no "real" need or benefit in being in a guild or group. Sure, you get twinked and you get more xp.

There has been some dabbling in "Realm VS Realm" and community building, but I've not seen anything that really utilizes/leverages the "Massively Multiplayer" in an MMORPG.

And, yes... I am socially inept. Pissed you off and I don't even know you.

Zeroman

[Selar]

Riiight. I've never played an "MMORPG" before. I have no idea what I'm saying.. just typing words at random really.

Other than "chatting" what social interaction is there? Dancing? Getting "married"? Can a group of players create an interdependant community? Maybe a "group" or "party" might qualify, but how long does one stay in a group or party? Guilds, sort of, but again other than a seperate "chat" channel. There's no "real" need or benefit in being in a guild or group. Sure, you get twinked and you get more xp.

There has been some dabbling in "Realm VS Realm" and community building, but I've not seen anything that really utilizes/leverages the "Massively Multiplayer" in an MMORPG.

And, yes... I am socially inept. Pissed you off and I don't even know you.

Zeroman

Play EQ. If you want to experience interdependency, join an EQ raiding guild.

[Demize99]

Guilds, sort of, but again other than a seperate "chat" channel. There's no "real" need or benefit in being in a guild or group.

Get back to me when you can solo Ragnaros, Nefarion, Molten Core, and the Blackrock Spire. Then'll I'll believe there's no need for or benefit from guilds.


As for this new company, its only a good thing for us the gamer. More companies = more games = more competition = better games and new ideas. With the added bonus that most upstart game companies are risk takers instead of profit mongers, which lends to the art that is video game design.

[kickmybum]

Shadowrun omg that would so rock

Definitely!

[balamoor]

Yeah I tremble over the downfall of WoW it's just a matter of time.....blah, blah, blah.

Blizzard as a company is pretty solid... and they never had all there coppers placed on one two or even six designers. They will continue to produce great games that eats up wayyyyyyy too much of my time.

[Zeroman]

That's true. But I think the benefit still boils down to more "phat lewt' and xp. The game would still go on if no one killed those mobs, no one other than the players killing the mob are effected. Now, if those uber mobs started rampaging through a town and players in that town had to band together to stop it from destroying the town and themselves... that would be "real".

I guess my gripe is with the genre and design as a whole. There's no "forced" communities as there would be in real life. ie You are born in a town and you live in that town and you make your life in that town and you have to work with the other townies to survive and prosper. In the current MMORPGs you can play a very large percentage of the game with no help or communication from anyone.

Zeroman

[PacerDawn]

WoW has been out, what, nearly a year now and yet it is *STILL* plagued with the exact same server issues it had day 1. Blizzard continues to insist that nothing is wrong, and yet the servers are down at least one day per week due to problems (couldn't play at all last night due to a world server being down), and lag is still so bad it borders on game breaking (mail and AH in particular).

Its good to say 30 years of experience, but that means nothing if the experience doesn't mean anything, which from what I have seen, it doesn't. WoW has the worst server issues from any MMOG I've played before (EQ, DAoC, AC, and CoH). I'd be hard pressed to try another MMOG from any of the people that made WoW to be honest.

[Selar]

In the current MMORPGs you can play a very large percentage of the game with no help or communication from anyone.

Solo'ing as most classes in, say, EQ or FFXI isn't really feasible past the first few levels. However, I agree with you for AC, UO and WoW. I can't really speak for other MMOGs not having played them.

My question is, why would you play a MMOG and choose to not interact with anyone? Most single-player games are a lot better than MMOGs for gameplay.

[netcraazzy]

WoW has been out, what, nearly a year now and yet it is *STILL* plagued with the exact same server issues it had day 1. Blizzard continues to insist that nothing is wrong, and yet the servers are down at least one day per week due to problems (couldn't play at all last night due to a world server being down), and lag is still so bad it borders on game breaking (mail and AH in particular).

Its good to say 30 years of experience, but that means nothing if the experience doesn't mean anything, which from what I have seen, it doesn't. WoW has the worst server issues from any MMOG I've played before (EQ, DAoC, AC, and CoH). I'd be hard pressed to try another MMOG from any of the people that made WoW to be honest.

I think you have to cut Blizzard some slack. Back in the day UO had a lot of server issues and part of that was because it was one of the first to attempt an online persistent realm of that magnitude. Blizzard has server issues but a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are one of the first to have a user base of such enormous proportions and one that have grown so rapidly.

Nothing is ever perfect especially when technology is involved and being one of the first to do something means the chances of having problems is a lot higher. That does not mean that I don't get frustrated sometimes when I goto the AH and it takes a minute for my search to post results but I guess I'm just not naive enough to expect everything to work exactly the way I want it all the time.

[51|RandoM]

This is what happens when your team builds a cash cow for the company and you don't increase their compensation accordingly.

[Zeal]

I'm a little nervous that Blizzard has lost its lead art director. That guy came up with the trademark look for all Blizzard characters.

[Draft]

This is what happens when your team builds a cash cow for the company and you don't increase their compensation accordingly.Or maybe this is what happens when some guys decide they'd like to work on a new IP, or build one themselves. But nah, it's probably all greedy, evil Blizzard's fault.

Also, don't cry about Petras leaving. Samwise Dedier, the man who basically created Warcraft's art style, is still very much a Blizzard employee.

http://www.sonsofthestorm.com/gallery_samwise.html#header

[balamoor]

Also, don't cry about Petras leaving. Samwise Dedier, the man who basically created Warcraft's art style, is still very much a Blizzard employee.

http://www.sonsofthestorm.com/gallery_samwise.html#header



Yep Samwise is perhaps the most prolific Fantasy Graphic artist around today. He is in huge demand too... Not only is Blizzards golden boy, but he is the Artist that most Metal groups want to use. Hammerfall, Dio, Savatage all have used his work on their latest covers.

[Draft]

Yep Samwise is perhaps the most prolific Fantasy Graphic artist around today. He is in huge demand too... Not only is Blizzards golden boy, but he is the Artist that most Metal groups want to use. Hammerfall, Dio, Savatage all have used his work on their latest covers.And with good reason. The man's a fucking art god.

[Exodus]

wow's server problems are miniscule compared to every other mmo that has come before. To put it in perspective for you it's only getting better

[Bushido]

wow's server problems are miniscule compared to every other mmo that has come before. To put it in perspective for you it's only getting better


that doesnt make me feel better at all. Ever play shadowbane?

[Crabby]

that doesnt make me feel better at all. Ever play shadowbane?


Nah, but I used to play MMOs with daily ***timewarps***.

[Citizen Philip]

DESIGNERS: "Hi, I'm the game designer, this is the art director, and this guy here, he setup the game in Korea."

"Yeah. Anyways. We want a big bag of money for new cars, houses, etc. We will make a great game, that may or may not be good: But, you can just say 'game designer, art director, and the guy who setup the game in Korea.' In all the promos. That will sell buckets."

Bank & Investors: "Sign here."

[Exodus]

that doesnt make me feel better at all. Ever play shadowbane?

yup, terrible game, quit about 3 months after launch, because back then channelers could have a crazy block rate WHILE sitting... so... when I go to backstab a person that is sitting and see block block after the 100th time I thought... this game is fucking retarded. Then I made a channeler with high block, got bored, moved on ;D