I’m still having trouble getting conversations started here compared to that other social media app, so if you have questions about our game, Ghost, or our studio, FPC, hit me up!
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Good lord that was over 10 years ago. Wasn’t HoJ a stun? Maybe we wanted it to be used for cc and not a rotational ability. HotR hit multiple targets. Did you mean that? Long time ago.
yeah you're right. I was thinking of HotR. I couldn't maintain threat and got removed from main tank. when the next patch didn't address it I got kicked out of my guild
What’s the design intent with RPG elements of your game? I really enjoy experimenting and thinking outside the box with my characters. Barriers or friction in this area often feel arbitrary and punitive.
One of the choices we had to make with blue zones is to reward players for being creative rather than punishing them since we can’t anticipate all of the situations that might occur.
If you lure one enemy to kill another, then good on you for being clever. If everyone adopts the same build because that’s the best one, then that’s less awesome and we will likely step in
dont rly have a question for now, becouse of following the podcast etc.
but i think many ppl forget that likes for example done help with visability here, the only thing that rly helps is when the posts get shared ( just typing it here so if someone who sees this doesnt know, now he does :D )
Well then, in the spirit of game-based questions...
How are you currently envisioning classes? The inflexibility of some WoW classes limited a lot of players to a specific role (particularly the DPS classes) but also meant investing a lot of time to level/gear up outside that role.
We want to have lots of classes so some can play pretty differently and making alts is engaging. This means we are unlikely to have hybrid (two role) classes though it means we can experiment with say dodge tanks or caster tanks.
Have you given any thought to treating classes more like specializations that you progress through instead of something you (more or less) lock into at character creation?
Not necessarily classes as strictly defined as FF14's system, but less nebulous than say Skyrim.
That debate comes up a lot. I personally think one of the joys of an RPG is making a new charterer with a new look and name etc so have one uber character doesn’t appeal to me but I know it does for some
That's generally my take as well... Except for MMOs. I'm almost 40 now; so, the time commitment becomes an impediment here for a new character doing the same stuff I've done before.
One do-it-all hero isn't for me, but I am interested in the idea of a branching hero tree.
Specifically, the idea of starting off as a melee oriented fighter and then branching out to a mage-warrior (Eldritch Knight archetype) is very much in my wheel house.
What is the current thought process in regards to healing in Ghost? Both WoW and XIV seem to struggle with what to do with the role. WoW (historically, I have not healed in raiding content recently) felt very wack-a-mole-y with player health bars. 1/2
Whereas XIV, like every other role in XIV right now, is all about that burst, being focused on party-wide healing CD management in most group (dungeon, 8-man, 24-man) content, aside from the occasional tank-buster that isn't invuln'd (or gets invuln'd by a WAR). 2/2
Excluding the Shard "gimmick" (I know it's a negative word, don't mean it as such, seems like an awesome mechanic) are other major changes in the game? You talked abiut classes the last few days bu don't remember anything specific in the teaser video
We want engaging combat, lots of classes, a game that supports modern sensibilities (things like a smaller UI and works on a controller), a ten year story plan, support playing with friends, fitting into your life, and developing in a very transparent way.
I know the Mac user base is probably not financially viable for you but what are your thoughts on the viability of Mac silicon. Blizzard as an example has all but abandoned the Mac but it seems that decision was made back in the intel days before Apple Silicon.
I am not up to date on the hardware. Whenever I have been on a team that supported Mac, the effort was not worth it given the number of users. I blame Apple who still treat games as not a worthy pursuit of computers
Thanks for the reply. With the numbers being way larger on iOS, any thoughts on a mobile conversion. More so I mean considering anything written for iOS can run on Mac OS it might change the equation a little.
You’ve talked about having lots of different classes. Is the idea that classes are specific and curated, or will players still have loadout choices like talents, trinkets, summoner spells, etc?
That topic comes up a lot, but when I play WoW nobody is actually doing that except on a new character. They are flying, teleporting, being summoned…. The cities are full of portals. So I wonder if it’s a nostalgia thing or if just the idea is powerfully even if players don’t travel that way.
I may be missing something about this reply, but WoW flying has never had load screens within continents whether it be by gryphon/taxi, old style or dragonriding. It is imo hugely important to the immersive feel of the game and this sort of traversal even continues well into endgame.
WoW devs were recently making much hay about adding an underground zone (during Dragonflight) with no loading barriers even. It's impressive technical stuff for sure, but seemingly becoming more standard. In the wider open world genre,
Glad to hear! I don't like WoW rotations that involve more spells than can easily be reached with one hand, so that seems right up my alley (Blood Death Knight is perfect to me)
Are things on schedule? (More or less?)
Any unexpected challenges or direction changes which altered the timeline?
Favorite art assets you’ve seen so far? (Just the name of it would be amazing)
A little ahead of schedule if you can believe it!
Nothing major. We pivoted a little on the role of building.
I love the portrayal of the Drift - that’s what we call the “world” made up by all the shards
No, we don’t crunch in the sense of everyone needs to put in 12 hours a day for the next few weeks. It is a global, remote studio, so we give people a lot of leeway in what times and how much they do work.
So much I could write about here. Execs that value the IP much more highly than teams that know how to work together. Creative directors who change the game on a whim. Game prices that have remained stagnant for years with a lot of experimental prices (loot boxes, battle passes) which don’t endure….
1. The vision is clearer to the team than any project I have worked on.
2. Because we can talk about the game, people know what they’re getting into during recruiting.
more…
3. We don’t have an unlimited bank account so there’s a healthy sense of urgency. (At Rito it was too easy to strive for unachievable perfection.)
4. We strive for transparency and open comms so the team really feels ownership of the whole product
I have a question regarding lore. Are there any forms of media being considered to develop lore besides the game? Would it be through external partnership or all released within the same company media outlets?
I feel like one of Riots weaknesses over the years has been having multiple levels of cannon. Their lore has been successful despite their decisions, not because of them... So hope you guys keep consistency :)
I was in the middle of that at Rito. LoL’s IP was an afterthought so went through a lot of stages of evolution. Meanwhile different products and merch were moving in different directions. For Ghost we have one product and the IP was developed entirely to make that product work.
I think it will improve with time the old social media place is sounding more and more like a personal platform for someone foaming at the mouth, And as a Canadian it was certainly enough to drive me away
I'm here because I followed you for years in your past. I started it with the three PC-based games and the other one from Vanilla days so I'm interested in what you're doing now but don't know enough to ask questions
I believe there are core features that make an MMO what it is. You can try to create a brand new genre, but then your chance of success drops way down and I like to ship games.
WoW is known for its "visceral" combat, it feels good to push buttons, much more so than other MMOs. How does one create that feeling? And is it something you've talked about in the team?
Seconding this, I have friends, and there are many circles online that say this is still THE singular reason they keep playing wow to this very day. Is it some voodoo coding that can never be reproduced? Some engine centric choice that is secretly a hindrance that every dev wishes would die?
The biggest contributors IMO are fast combat animations, especially melee and ranged weapons, with good visual effects. “Bad” combat often tries to have long animations that you can’t interrupt, which ends up feeling unresponsive.
Many MMOs tend to become a rush for the late content. What is your philosophy regarding the relevance of content over time? Either if it’s for giving players many options or making the world feel lively for new players.
We plan to update old content to keep it relevant. This can be surprisingly controversial among some players who want to be able to revisit anything locked in the time they originally saw it. But from a player use perspective that really means the old stuff is dead.
We don’t want to make say old raids go away. It’s more of a challenge when players want to experience the city before the tavern was renamed or stuff like that. Either the world is static or it evolves. Saving every version along the way is expensive and breaks up players.
When it comes to MMO, crafting (and professions in general) is one of my favorite thing in them. I enjoy being able to invest time and rewarded by making awesome things for my friends.
How important do you consider crafting (and gathering?) for Ghost?
Crafting and gathering are important and part of the game. One thing we are not sure about is since we don’t have set servers, the dream of being the only person on a server who can craft a recipe is harder to deliver.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer! I don't need to be the only person on the server able to do something to feel fulfilled, just being the only one among my friend is good enough for me :)
Comments
but i think many ppl forget that likes for example done help with visability here, the only thing that rly helps is when the posts get shared ( just typing it here so if someone who sees this doesnt know, now he does :D )
How are you currently envisioning classes? The inflexibility of some WoW classes limited a lot of players to a specific role (particularly the DPS classes) but also meant investing a lot of time to level/gear up outside that role.
Not necessarily classes as strictly defined as FF14's system, but less nebulous than say Skyrim.
One do-it-all hero isn't for me, but I am interested in the idea of a branching hero tree.
I wonder if it's simply a volume thing, where because there are fewer people, there are less engagements.
Any unexpected challenges or direction changes which altered the timeline?
Favorite art assets you’ve seen so far? (Just the name of it would be amazing)
Nothing major. We pivoted a little on the role of building.
I love the portrayal of the Drift - that’s what we call the “world” made up by all the shards
The world does look beautiful.
Game devs historic struggle with workers rights has been something that I’ve been aware of since I was young.
I love games and those who make them, but recognize that they take incredible effort and dedication.
1. The vision is clearer to the team than any project I have worked on.
2. Because we can talk about the game, people know what they’re getting into during recruiting.
more…
4. We strive for transparency and open comms so the team really feels ownership of the whole product
We want to make sure we have enough content and people won’t sick of us before we kick it up even more frequently.
It’s a combination of a lot of things, but animations, moment of impact, vfx, cooldown length, effect on combat all play into it
Will there be risks of loosing out on content or is it more in the area of balancing?
How important do you consider crafting (and gathering?) for Ghost?