September 2001
- Strix: Object Persistence on Relational Backends Ling Lo
- Structured Social Play John Buehler
- Structured Social Play Tom Hubina
- Structured Social Play Christopher Allen
- Structured Social Play Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Structured Social Play Daniel Bendiksen
- Structured Social Play Tamzen Cannoy
- Structured Social Play Robin Lee Powell
- Structured Social Play Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Structured Social Play Travis Casey
- Structured Social Play Robin Lee Powell
- Structured Social Play Christopher Allen
- Structured Social Play Koster, Raph
- Structured Social Play Matthew D. Fuller
- Structured Social Play Bruce Mitchener
- Structured Social Play Takis Kalogiratos
- Structured Social Play shren
- Structured Social Play Daniel Bendiksen
- Structured Social Play shren
- Structured Social Play Matt Owen
- Structured Social Play Bruce Mitchener
- Structured Social Play Vincent Archer
- Structured Social Play shren
- Structured Social Play Daniel Bendiksen
- Structured Social Play Vincent Archer
- Structured Social Play John Buehler
- Structured Social Play Matt Mihaly
- Structured Social Play Marian Griffith
- Structured Social Play Travis Nixon
- NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Kylotan
- [BIZ] Billing systems Brian Hook
- [BIZ] Billing systems Matt Mihaly
- [BIZ] Billing systems Christopher Allen
- [BIZ] Billing systems Brian Hook
- [BIZ] Billing systems Christopher Allen
- [BIZ] Billing systems Kevin Littlejohn
- [BIZ] Billing systems Travis Nixon
- [BIZ] Billing systems Brian Hook
- [BIZ] Billing systems Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [BIZ] Billing systems Owen
- [BIZ] Billing systems Jussi 'Sulka' Haro
- [BIZ] Billing systems Peter Tyson
- Benchmarking MUDs Chris Gray
- Benchmarking MUDs Matt Mihaly
- Benchmarking MUDs Bruce Mitchener
- Benchmarking MUDs Lars Duening
- Benchmarking MUDs Adam Martin
- Benchmarking MUDs Robin Lee Powell
- Benchmarking MUDs Chris Gray
- Benchmarking MUDs Adam Martin
- Benchmarking MUDs Chris Gray
- Benchmarking MUDs Ian Collyer
- Benchmarking MUDs Chris Gray
- Benchmarking MUDs Adam Martin
- Benchmarking MUDs Jon Lambert
- Free Time != Advancement (was: Structured Social Play) Eli Stevens
- Random American Name Generator (!) Ling Lo
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Brian Hook
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Christopher Allen
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Derek Licciardi
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Hook
> At 09:04 PM 9/5/01 -0400, Derek Licciardi wrote:
>> of this only acts to increase the monetary barrier to entry for
>> the indie developer or non-big time publisher.
> I disagree. There are always going to be the big budget games
> like the EQs, UOs and WoWs, but smaller developers can survive and
> even thrive by not directly competing with the big companies.
> Simutronics and some of the people even on this list have
> successful small MUD operations that operate commercially.
> The key to ask is "How do you compete with 1% of the budget?"
> Short answer: you don't.
> Our company is pretty much founded on the premise that if you
> can't control sales, you have to control costs. Make smaller
> games quickly, and target markets that are underserved. These
> include underserved genres (sci-fi, western, furries, Gothic,
> horror), consumers or even computers. The Macintosh market is
> absolutely craving a good MMORPG, but so far I think they have
> none. That's a captured market of at least 20K potential
> subscribers by my reckoning.
[snip]
> Companies like Verant and Blizzard are going to have the cash to
> make bigger, better, louder, fancier, prettier, huger, more famous
> games than we can. It would be flatly idiotic of us to, say,
> release a fantasy styled graphical MUD, even though we're very
> capable of doing so. We have to aim for the cracks and niches,
> and there are many, many of these.
> So our strategy is to control costs and target small, but
> interested, markets. Our first game will be a single player space
> flight sim shoot 'em up type thing, and it will be released after
> 4
[snip]
> Optimistically speaking, we think we can get 5000 subscribers when
> the entire game is in place. Our #1 worry is the infrastructure
> -- we know how to build it, but hiring ops and support staff,
> billing, bandwidth, etc. are big worries. The technology is
> trivial, it's the logistics that scare us. Which is why we're
> hoping for no more than a couple hundred subscribers initially.
> Unless we can find someone that's willing to partner with us to
> deal with the logistical stuff, at which point we're home free.
> So we think that the barrier to entry isn't that high -- if you're
> experienced, focused and choose the right problem domain, I think
> it's relatively simple to compete. But if you choose to engage
> the competition on their turf then you're going to suffer.
I can certainly applaud your business approach. It is sound and if
it is making you money then there is the proof in the pudding. As
crazy as it sounds, I am putting together a plan and working on
funding(almost there) to do just what you are talking about not
doing. In this regard I have a different perspective on the MMORPG
market. I think it is lucrative enough to warrant big time
investment and I have seen interest. EQ and UO are not the
end-all-be-all of MMORPGs and the next wave of MMORPGs is a good
upgrade, but to me lacks the complete makover that MUDs and MMORPGs
need to survive in the future. Just my opinion though. My analysis
of what I have read so far about Blizzard's entry into the MMORPG
realm is based from the perspective that someone would want to
compete and I think you would agree that the profits in this market
can potentially be staggering. In the recent computer breakin that
happened to Verant, Sony released a figure in a press release saying
their EQ empire was worth 50 million a month.( I think Gamespy
reported it ) BTW I don't plan on having 1% of the budget.
>> believe they have the game talent, I do not believe that every
>> game company out there has the systems development talent to
>> develop large systems just because they can produce a single
>> player RPG/RTS.
> If ANY company has this, it's Blizzard. They are probably the
> only company that has consistently demonstrated an ability to
> manage very large teams into delivering high quality products. In
> addition, they're more familiar with on-line persistent gaming
> than just about any other company out there that isn't already
> involved in the field.
While I agree with you that their Diablo II experience is a big
help, there is a HUGE difference between supporting a few hundred
few player games and a single world. Just the scalability issues
that become apparent make the entire server design a completely
different architecture. Can they do it? Probably. Will they be
successful at it? Probably. I just do not see that they have any
more significant advantage over other companies.
>> it will raise the barrier to entry, but as of right now it will
>> not reinvent the genre and will therefore struggle like the rest
>> of the EQ clones.
> Except it's from Blizzard -- which is a huge, huge point for. If
> it's released next year, it will likely be a better EQ than EQ,
> but backed by a huge company with a track record of making
> incredibly successful and popular games. If people are tired of
> EQ by then or just want something new, they may just migrate to it
> naturally.
Absolutely, and those folks will quickly tire of a prettier EQ and
move on to the deeper, more complex MMORPG that is offered shortly
after Blizzard's. The competition is fierce in this marketspace and
those looking to cash in using a clone may not be as successful as
they hoped because the competition for players is only going to
grow. It will take a truly next generation game to hold on to
customers.
Derek
ps I am talking from the perspective of creating an MMORPG and
entering into the same space that Horizons, EQ, UO, WoW, and others
are playing in. Until I see something that causes me to think wow
this truly is innovative, I will stand by my analysis and think that
WoW can only be marginally successful and stands to damage the
reputation of Blizzard more than it will help.(but that is another
topic entirely) - Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Sean K
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Ent ertainment announces World of Warcraft Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Updated my site Koster, Raph
- Vircom T4C Brian Hook
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- Preference for host OS Brian Hook
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- Preference for host OS brandon@roguetrader.com
- Preference for host OS J C Lawrence
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- Preference for host OS Vincent Archer
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- Preference for host OS Brian Hook
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- Preference for host OS David Loeser
- Preference for host OS Brian Hook
- TEC Distribuate engine &cost of band width Stéphane Garin
- TEC Distribuate engine &cost of band width plalande@born2play.org
- [MUD DEV] Text editors in MUDs [was Structured Social Play] Daniel Bendiksen
- [MUD DEV] Text editors in MUDs [was Structured Social Play] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- [MUD DEV] Text editors in MUDs [was Structured Social Play] Derek Licciardi
- [MUD DEV] Text editors in MUDs [was Structured Social Play] Adam Martin
- Casual vs. Hardcore gameplay Ian Collyer
- Casual vs. Hardcore gameplay Jon Lambert
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft Travis Nixon
- Higher barrier to entry? was NEWS: Blizzard En tertainment announces World of Warcraft Koster, Raph
- TECH: SEDA: An Architecture for Highly Concurrent Server Applications Bruce Mitchener
- Re:Play participants emails needed Marian Griffith
- [REALITY] [SOCIAL] ExistenZ Adam Martin
- [TECH] Mozilla as cross OS client for MUD/MMG ? Mathieu Castelli
- [TECH] Mozilla as cross OS client for MUD/MMG ? Chris Jones
- [TECH] Mozilla as cross OS client for MUD/MMG ? Par Winzell
- FW: [BIZ] Billing systems Dave Kennerly
- FW: Skotos TTT#44: The Global Community Christopher Allen
- [Fwd: Announce: New Mailing Lists Available] Bruce Mitchener
- BeQuest Michael Tresca
- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Derek Licciardi
- Geometric content generation Koster, Raph
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- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Geometric content generation rayzam
- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Geometric content generation Kwon Ekstrom
- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
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- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
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- Geometric content generation John Hopson
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Dave Rickey
- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Geometric content generation Dave Rickey
- Geometric content generation Vincent Archer
- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
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- Geometric content generation Dave Rickey
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- Geometric content generation rayzam
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- Geometric content generation Dave Rickey
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- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
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- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation rayzam
- Geometric content generation Travis Nixon
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Eli Stevens
- Geometric Content Generation John Robert Arras
- Geometric Content Generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Adam Martin
- Geometric content generation John Buehler
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- Geometric content generation John Buehler
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation rayzam
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation John Buehler
- Geometric content generation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Michael Tresca
- Geometric content generation Derek Licciardi
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Adam Martin
- Geometric content generation Brian Hook
- Geometric content generation Derek Licciardi
- Geometric content generation Robin Lee Powell
- Geometric content generation Kwon Ekstrom
- Geometric content generation Nathan F. Yospe
- Geometric content generation Travis Nixon
- Geometric content generation Nathan F. Yospe
- Geometric content generation Kwon Ekstrom
- Geometric content generation Travis Nixon
- Geometric content generation Nip
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- Geometric content generation Kwon Ekstrom
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- Geometric content generation J Todd Coleman
- Geometric content generation Peter Tyson
- Geometric content generation S. Patrick Gallaty
- Geometric content generation Eric Rhea
- Geometric content generation Paul Schwanz
- Geometric content generation Lee Sheldon
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Lee Sheldon
- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Jon Lambert
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Eric Rhea
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- Geometric content generation Eric Rhea
- Geometric content generation Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Geometric content generation Koster, Raph
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- Geometric content generation Ian Collyer
- Geometric content generation John Buehler
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- Geometric content generation Ian Collyer
- Geometric content generation John Buehler
- Geometric content generation gamaiun@yahoo.com
- Geometric content generation Derek Licciardi
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation Koster, Raph
- Geometric content generation Matt Mihaly
- Geometric content generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Geometric content generation Kwon Ekstrom
- [DSN]Geometric content generation[LONG] Derek Licciardi
- [DSN]Geometric content generation[LONG] Matt Mihaly
- LTM article Trump
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- LTM article J Todd Coleman
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- LTM article Matt Mihaly
- LTM article Sellers, Mike
- LTM article J Todd Coleman
- LTM article Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- LTM article Adam Martin
- LTM article Steve {Bloo} Daniels
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- Request for ideas Eli Stevens
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- Request for ideas Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Request for ideas Dickinson, Dallas
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- Request for ideas Koster, Raph
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- Request for ideas Freeman, Jeff
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- Spoofs Eli Stevens
- research in online games Manuel Oliveira
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- How Many Developers Does It take to Screw in a Lightbulb? [Poll] Lee Sheldon
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Bruce Mitchener
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Koster, Raph
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Vincent Archer
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Bruce Mitchener
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Robin Lee Powell
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) John Buehler
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Koster, Raph
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) John Buehler
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Bruce Mitchener
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric contentgeneration) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Travis Nixon
- in-game vs web-based boards (was: Geometric content generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Fwd: [CLIENT-DEV] Software Packages for MOO Bruce Mitchener
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- Portable Class C Vincent Archer
- [Meta] Portable Class C Dominic J. Eidson
- RP in EQ? Matt Mihaly
- AO Mess Vincent Archer
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- Historic lessons on fluid identity Marian Griffith
- Historic lessons on fluid identity Matt Mihaly
- Historic lessons on fluid identity Marian Griffith
- Historic lessons on fluid identity Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Historic lessons on fluid identity Matt Mihaly
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- Historic lessons on fluid identity Marc Bowden
- Historic lessons on fluid identity Jon Lambert
- Historic lessons on fluid identity John Buehler
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- Historic lessons on fluid identity Matt Mihaly
- Lum the Mad is closing--sort of Koster, Raph