Does the success of the game from a business perspective impact the
decisions you make from a developmental one?
Chilton: Well, it does in that we're extemely global. So we
have to consider each region - approaching things differently in different
places. But, really, our core vision is the same. From a game design
perspective. From that perspective we still create the game the way we did four
years-ago. In terms of thinking 'how do we make this a fun game?', 'how do we
learn from what we've done?'. Really, this would be the same regardless of
100,000 players or 10 million.
Brack: The real challenge here is thinking about how many
servers we have to run; how do we get patches out to different regions. There
are seven now, so it's more about the scale side of things. Our goal is to make
games we're excited about making, to make fun experiences. We're just lucky so
many people play our games, I guess!
Does the game's success in the West, and in Asia, mean you have
different considerations?
Chilton: There are definitely some considerations, because
of the regions. We have to be sensitive to local issues. That said it doesn't
change our design philosophy. We try to represent different cultural elements
for different regions, so it does come into play. But ultimately, we just want
the game to be the same fun experience all over the place.
Brack: There's a lot of talk about "Western gamers prefer
this type of game, Asian gamers like this..." That isn't how we think about it.
We just want to create a fun game, and both Western and Asian players seem to
like it!
With broadband evolving all the time, where do you see MMOs heading
in five to 10 years?
Chilton: On the internet!
[Chuckles all round]
Brack: Interestingly, from our side, the fact that broadband
penetration is increasing is a good thing. Our game does require broadband, for
downloading patches and so forth. But, you know, we still have to pay for
bandwidth... so I don't think there's going to be a huge rush to use all the
bandwidth. Its not really the way its going. Its just a delivery mechanism,
whatever the game.
Chilton: It helps solve the problem: "How do I get the
game?" But that's about it.
Back to Lich King, what do you think is the biggest advancement in
the update?
Chilton: From a design stand-point, one of the biggest
things we're doing is introducing a new class to the game. We've never done that
before. So, that's certainly a design advancement, so far we've gotten great
feedback on that. We're working to improve the character class, talents, etc.
Fleshing things out.
Brack: In the future I'm pretty excited about the
achievements systems, its going to help players track their progress; find funs
things to do. It'll sort of act as a guide, too.
German Questioned Over Gamer's Murder
