Lets talk.
I recently experienced a company merge as the leaders of my previous company took a back seat. Not nearly a full month later, and the new acting company lead is taking a step down because in their view the game is no longer “fun”. They feel no reason to log on, except to enjoy the company of friends.
Prior to this I planned on asking a philosophical question about game development, but in a different community entirely. It dawned on me that since I planned to use New World as an example, I might as well post here also. So lets get down to business.
End Game
What is the end game? The beginnings were wonderful, no one knew how to fight yet, skill was more important than gear in combat but the combat mechanics were satisfying and losing a fight felt just as good as winning. Everyone was working towards something, their own personal goals, PvE or PvP, everyone wanted something out of their experience of this New World. Fast forward, and today we have this void of what was once New, now feels empty and underwhelming. Is this a dilemma of gaming in general, or is this something lacking from a game development perspective? I would argue, it’s a little bit of both.
From the PvE perspective, the new voice lines made things so much more immersive, a nicer feel to interacting with the story, characters had personality. Yet, there wasn’t actually much to draw the player in. I’m not a writer but one of the things I’ve always heard is “keep the reader engaged”. The same can be said about telling a story in a Game. Was there nothing to pull the player in, and keep them interested or engaged with the story? Cut scenes, a more intimate engagement between the anti-hero and the would be Hero of this new world, the player? Fighting the Dungeon bosses was a cool first time experience with my favorite being Dynasty, the music, environment, rewards, were all nice touches to the whole experience, but the way the story is told didn’t do nearly enough to keep the player excited. At it’s peak, 80% of players simply sped run the Main Quest line as a means to an End… Yet, was there really an enjoyable end?
PvP, if you’re interested in it, seems to be the End Game. After beating the main story quest, getting max level gear with best in slot perks is your ticket to beating the rest of the game’s content, being selected to fight on the battlefield for any various settlement for a Company led by other players. Territory control, an over arching theme since the early days when you get to choose a faction. Here too, the story lacks depth, lacks weight to keep the player interested. Of the 3 factions, it only matters which one your friends, favorite streamer, or perhaps if you cared to read the accompanying lore, the main driving factors that drove you to pick a faction. You never really met a faction leader, and if you did, they were equally as insignificant as a new settler starting their journey. Aside from new Faction based PvP gear designed to give you a baseline advantage over most gear you found, here also lacked a compelling story to drive you into understanding the 3 factions on a more intimate level. From level 10 until today, that path you chose has not changed, unless perhaps by the desire to meet new friends, distance yourself from a previous affiliation, or balance out an imbalance in your region by switching factions…
Path Forward
What is the path forward? A roadmap was released. A sign that gave the community hope for the path forward. A little familiar with roadmaps and content releases, I took a deep dive only to realize I jumped head first into the shallow end. The roadmap offered a decent amount of new content that was sure to be consumed quickly, and in short order. A new dungeon to wrap up the main questline, a little more dialogue to spice things up, yet still not enough to truly get the payer up to speed with the rest of the story they’d rushed through earlier just to reach level cap. The new environment definitely offered a new mood, new gear to obtain, and a new level of difficulty for PvE players to tackle, but aside from a lengthy new dungeon, that was it.
As for PvP players looking for new gear, the new track has given PvP players reasons to seek out others players and challenge their own skills in a new 3v3 Arena against like minded players with similar ambitions… except the least path of resistance was far to rewarding. Game design flaws allowed players to AFK in forts and flip it back and fourth endlessly, with no intention of influencing territory ownership. For those who found cheesing their PvP progression more boring than watching paint dry, we set out to actively find passive PvP players and give them the fight they deserved when they thought they could get away with being peacefully flagged. The rest of the player base headed to Great Cleave, a location with the shortest distance to complete a PvP Quest, turning a formerly peaceful region into an all out war zone. The dominant faction would steam roll everyone else, but return to a town blockaded by players looking to take their completed missions and extract any salt from their pockets.
The Blunderbuss added a new style of gameplay now dubbed the “schizo”, a quick 1 shot combo that not even a player in full medium voidbent + 150 con could survive (i tried it, i know). At this point, many people began falling away from the game due to dis-pleasure with what they felt was a skilled based combat system, from my own company simply giving friends all their gear and uninstalling mid OPR due to the frustration of not being able to counter or respond to such a brutal combination of attacks. While this could be another attribute to lack of foresight in game design, it still begs a similar question asked previously. A game based around good combat, falling victim to unbalanced new content. Is this the path forward?
Another Direction
While the rest of the roadmap shines light on yet another dungeon or two, some kind of event that may bring brand new fashionable styles, activities, a new weapon and our second new territory since Ebonscale… Questions still remain. This is content that, even if released without issue, will be consumed with haste. Aside from just another territory to fight over for the dominant and most competitive companies of their respective factions… How can New World be sustained beyond that? A beautiful new environment is only adored as long as the player is given a reason to explore it. With everyone already at level cap, what reason would existing players have to explore the new territory, aside from the desire to own it through PvP missions?
Perhaps we’re asking the wrong question. Perhaps the real question is, what is the direction of New World? The strong point of New World shines in the ability to have open world combat, in a detailed environment, with a lot of other players. The ability to fully traverse the environment, move around, hide, use more than just your ability to hit hard to engage in a satisfying experience. But the experience is limited to that aspect. Territory control, find the best gear to be most effective in a 50v50 roster, and when you’re done, you have a choice to attack or defend over and over, in the same way you’ve been doing… But what if there was another direction?
Entertain the idea for a moment, that Aeternum isn’t the only island that exists. Perhaps this is one island corrupted by evils that players faced off to the bitter end… But there’s more. A region beyond Aeternum un-explored, and un-tamed by the trifecta. A land where no faction affiliation holds power, and where skills learned, gear crafted, and resources pillaged may actually have more use than to keep storage sheds topped up only to fill the market order of those who no longer have a reason to explore the beaten path. A ship yard in Restless Shore
or First Light that actually has use. The Lumber of Brightwood that could form the backbone of a new form of travel. A new direction that can truly capture the interest of the player and compel them to venture out not granted with the repetition of insanity, but the hospitality of a welcoming environment, yet unforgiving. Take all the player has learned and make them feel like they just begun the real journey, where there’s a reason to explore, where dying holds more weight, where resources are finite, where smart thinking and teamwork prevail over brute force and sheer numbers. Where skill is tested.
A new direction, a fresh breath.
Tell a story and keep the players engaged.
Embrace what is fun, what works, and give it new life.
Design, explore, and create a true End Game experience that doesn’t lead to large scale community burn out.
Thank you for reading, and please keep comments and thoughts respectful, insightful, and interesting. I still love New World, and I hope to see a bright future for this game.