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ArenaNet’s Gaile Gray Conducts of Quick Tour Into the World of Guild Wars
“Our primary design goal with Guild Wars is to create a game that provides meaningful competition.”
Don’t let the name fool you. Guild Wars is not about some sedate, sit-in-your-manor and indulge in economic war with your competition. This is not about trade routes or cornering the market in a certain product and driving the prices up or down. This is about war, and combat, and challenging yourself to be the best you can be, as a player and as a clan.
ArenaNet and NCsoft are the dynamic duo behind this massively multiplayer online game slated for release in the second half of the year. The title is a fantasy combat game, full of quests and rewards, and coupled with areas where guilds can vie for control of property.
There are several elements that will set this title apart from the plethora of other MMPs slated for release this year. First, the game will cater to both the hardcore gamer and the casual player. Each gets to choose the path they will take and devote as much, or as little time, as they wish without incurring the benefit of penalties for time devoted to leveling a character. The second is that Guild Wars will be free to play online.
At its present build, Guild Wars has five classes or professions available, but then the game is in closed alpha testing and there are promises of more classes to come. The five professions currently in place are Mesmer, Ranger, Monk, Warrior and Necromancer, with each profession broken down into schools of discipline.
Gaile Gray of ArenaNet took time to chat with GameZone.com about this unique title.
Question: Well, right out of the bag, how can you afford to offer this game without a monthly subscription fee?
Gaile: We can offer Guild Wars without charging a monthly subscription fee because our on-demand streaming technology allows us to adopt an expansion model. This gives gamers what they want: choice. We certainly intend that each chapter in the evolving Guild Wars universe will offer enough cool new stuff that you will want to buy every one of them, but the choice is yours. You can always play with the content from the chapters you have purchased, and more importantly, you can always play with your friends, regardless of which chapters they have purchased. It's a win for our customers, because they never have to feel like they are paying the cable bill, and it's a win for us, because we hope to have a much larger online community!
Q: Guild Wars has undergone a big graphical update. What precipitated your decision to change the look of the game? Have other areas been affected as well - such as the interface, or general game play?
Gaile: We are very excited about the visual quality of Guild Wars at this point, and I can also tell you that we are not resting yet! We did not really decide to change the look of the game so much as we decided that it was time to start working on it in earnest. We are big believers in getting an online game up and running as early as possible to provide a solid platform for design and balance. Our initial focus was on the core technologies behind the ArenaNet global game network infrastructure and game engine. After kicking-off our external alpha test, we were able to turn our attention to content, and quickly built an exceptionally talented art team that was up to the task of creating the art quality that you see reflected in our screenshots. All aspects of the game client are benefiting from this, including environment art, character art, and the user interface. If you like what you see so far, keep an eye on our Web site over the next few months. We have some surprises in store for you!
Q: Please explain how a casual player can compete with the hard-core MMPer who will spend a lot of hours leveling their toon?
Gaile: Our primary design goal with Guild Wars is to create a game that provides meaningful competition. In other words, we are not trying to find arbitrary mechanics to ensure that a casual player has a shot at defeating a hardcore veteran. Instead, we focus on designing the combat mechanics around player skill rather than the number of hours you have invested in the game. A classic strategy game like chess is a good example. If you have been playing and studying for ten years, and I have just read “Chess for Dummies” and decide to challenge you, chances are very low that I will defeat you. But is it possible? Is there a chance that I am just a brilliant player and might find a way to expose a weakness in your play style? You bet. And that's what makes classic strategy games so much fun. It is a level playing field, and the rules don't dictate who wins or loses based on any factor other than the skill of the players.
Traditional RPGs, on the other hand, do not offer this kind of challenge. Instead, it is a mathematical certainty that if you are level 40, and I am level 10, you will win. Skill is not a factor, just the relative amounts of time we have invested in the game. Guild Wars addresses this in two fundamental ways: rapid ascension and skill parity. Rapid ascension means that after a relatively short amount of time your character is “ascended”, and will no longer become strictly more powerful with every hour spent playing. Skill parity means that skills and spells in Guild Wars are designed more like Magic: the Gathering cards than traditional RPG spells. There is no concept of a “Level 4 Fireball,” or “Fireball” evolving into “Meteor Storm.” Instead, each skill has a cost and a benefit, and choosing the best combination of skills, and the best way to deploy them in the heat of battle, is what Guild Wars is all about. So while the hardcore veteran will always have the advantage of experience and diversity on his side, younger characters can be competitive in a short amount of time, and the best player will win.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the combat system of the game? Is this turn-based or real-time? Can players affect the outcome of a fight through tactical strategy, or will it be a matter of chance flirting with weapon speed and damage output per weapon?
Gaile: I think we would be struck by lightning if we created a turn-based game! Guild Wars is certainly a real-time game, and we take that very seriously. Combat in Guild Wars has more similarities to Diablo than it does to traditional MMORPGs. We often state that the player should always be having fun, rather than preparing to have fun, so combat should be one of the most exciting parts of the game, rather than just a mechanism to gain experience. The manner in which you use the skills you have selected to bring into a quest is the primary factor that determines the outcome of battle. There are certainly “grunt attacks” that you can employ by clicking on the enemy when you are trying to decide what to do in the heat of battle, but selecting and timing your spells for the greatest effect while managing your health and energy reserves is what differentiates the victorious from the dead.
Q: Does this game have a crafting system?
Gaile: Guild Wars is a game of strategic-fantasy combat. There is no crafting system, as this is more well suited to a traditional MMO in which players invest time traversing the countryside hunting for creatures and looking for craft components. We know that some people enjoy this aspect of traditional MMOs, but Guild Wars is more oriented toward fast combat, questing, and experiencing the evolving campaign storyline.
Q: Is there a viable economy in the game, and if so, how can players affected economic structure of the game?
Gaile: There is a strong and carefully maintained economy in Guild Wars. While quests are private areas for you and your teammates, there are also numerous cities and towns that are similar to a traditional persistent-world MMO, in which you can buy new items, receive training, or trade with other players. You will find items and artifacts during your quests, some of which may be very rare and quite valuable within the game, so ensuring that the value of these items is maintained is very important to us.
Q: In some regards, battles over land rights almost sounds a bit like a game of Risk with players taking on the roles of the pieces. How can a guild or clan conquer territory and are there rules in place to prevent another group from attacking at an odd hour when few may be on?
Gaile: The Guild Wars world will have special areas that are dedicated to ongoing, multi-tiered tournaments in which guilds can strive to reach the top and “own” that part of the world for as long as they can continuously hold it. The rewards for your guild, possibly including “taxes” in the form of gold and items, will be substantial during the time you hold the top position in this tournament, so even holding it for a very short time is a tremendous boon for your guild. Since the tournament is continuous, we don't have to enforce rules that dictate when you can challenge the champion. When your team is prepared for battle, and you are ready to conquer, just jump in and go for it!
Q: Guild Wars seems to be taking a different tact in the world of MMPs. What elements do you think will set this apart?
Gaile: I think Guild Wars is unique in three fundamental ways. First, it is a competitive online RPG. This is not simply a matter of taking a traditional RPG and adding a coliseum! Traditional RPGs are structured to reward time played, rather than player skill, so blending the fun of building a persistent online persona with the excitement of balanced competition is a real design challenge. Finding the best way to do this was our primary goal with Guild Wars.
Second, Guild Wars is designed to eliminate the grind. Again, we believe that you should have fun playing the game, even if you only have 15 minutes before dinner. You won't find “10,000 miles of virtual 3D terrain” to wander around in, nor find yourself writing macros and bots to chop wood for 10 hours a day while you play Mario Kart. What you will find instead is the ability to log in, find your friends, and immediately jump into an exciting quest or combat arena.
Finally, Guild Wars is free to play. Buy the game, create your account, and play online for as long as you like. No credit card is required, and there are no additional fees. Period.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us.
Gaile: Thanks for the opportunity to talk about Guild Wars, Michael!
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