We missed you…

There have been many points in my life when people said “we missed you” and all they meant was that their aim was off.  When Aion first started closed beta there were many people in blogs and columns who said that it didn’t have an auction house.

They just missed it – it’s there. 

Actually it’s a listing of items for sale by players.  It is true that it’s not really an auction, merely a listing of prices. However, when there is an auction house all people ever do is look for the buyout price anyway.

But there are features we have come to expect in games that I would never miss – auction houses and levels are two of them.

As we talked about yesterday, Ultima Online (UO) doesn’t have an auction house.  Neither, for that matter, do games like “Voyage Century” (an import if you happen to live in the U.S.)  In both cases players who want to buy something must actually go to the market place. In UO its in front of the Bank in Britannia, in Voyage Century it’s in every port. The open air market became a gathering place for players and encouraged interaction…not to be mistaken with forcing  interaction among players as Lord of the Rings Online did when it first came out.   The open air market was THE place to be. It’s where everyone went to be seen and to shop.

And best of all, as we talked about with Scott Hartsman on the No Prisoners, No Mercy show,  there is no way for anyone too buy out a sector of the market (i.e. buy all of one particular item) and artificially raise the prices.

I also don’t miss levels when there aren’t any.

We recently had an interview with Colin Dwan, project manager for Fallen Earth.  During the interview he discussed how Fallen Earth is skill based rather than level based. 

 (pardon me while I pause here and jump for joy)

 There will certainly be nay sayers who will claim that any time a game is skill based it is already a nail in the coffin. What is my reply to that? Easy…

horse crap

There will certainly be a portion of players who are upset because they won’t have a level cap to rush to so they can “be the first” -  and we all know what being the first player in any given game or game expansion to hit the level cap gets you, don’t we?

That’s right.

Being the first to hit the level cap and $1.50 gets you a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop .  Beyond that, what a skill based system does is give a game versatility that a level based system will never have. It allows for myriad combinations that make a game all the more interesting.  “But Julie”, I hear some of you say, “don’t skill based systems always end up having a set combination of skills that is the best?”  My reply to that is…

dingo dung

The “set” combination of skills is only “set” when someone refuses to be imaginative with their character.  Instead of rushing to the top take your time – experiment.  As we discussed with Colin Dwan, “roll up” a melee character but shock the hell out of your opponent by having the skills to be able to pull out a pistol.

Be creative.

Create the next set of “set” skills.

Let the players in the level based games rush to the level cap, trying to convince themselves that you envy them -  they are just kidding themselves ( more on that tommorow).  Instead just sit back, enjoy your game and wave and smile.

Just wave and smile friends.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather