Category Talk to Simutronics (34)
Topic GM Announcements -- Responses (6)
Message Re: To Dammisak (4455)
By DR-MAELONA@PLAY.NET
On Apr 15, 2001 at 18:55

Dellica: "I have not given up on Maelona and Solomon chiming in yet either..."

As Dellica guessed, I have in fact been away for the Easter weekend (went to visit my parents and sister at home in England) so while I've not been posting madly here I'm certainly reading every single offering and taking notes now that I'm back.

One thing that does keep cropping up in addition to the anticipated discussion of the changes (and a very constructive conversation that has been, if I may say) is the need for Survival and Lore Gurus. This is something that several folks have indicated a need for, all over the boards, not just in the Survival and Lore primaries. It's something I'd very much like to see happen, and I'm currently doing a bit of a reccie to find out what's possible. As it happens, three existing members of staff have independently sent me proposals and/or ideas and/or suggestions for how to make improvements in these areas, so there is clearly both interest and a wide perception of need among the staff as well as the customers.

Dellica also commented: "I am convinced that the powers that be need to take a step back and evaluate overall game design including the original concept..."

I think we do actually do that all the time. In fact, on many an occasion I've said and heard said the words, "Just because the original design was that way doesn't mean it's right for the game now." I've heard Zoha himself say it of one particular matter, and some recent changes we've made have been made on exactly the basis that the status quo is often not what's best for our product five years into development. Similarly, as everyone's aware, we do have a turnover of staff at SGM level as well as throughout the AGM and FGM population, which can lead to subtle changes of influence as well as wholehearted reversals of things that have gone before, if necessary. I don't think we're afraid to reevaluate as the need arises.

We have been going through a number of fairly significant changes in the last six months, and I think that itself should be an indicator that we're looking at underlying systems with fresh eyes. I do completely agree that we need to bring that sense of freshness to the Lore and Survival features that have suffered for lack of attention. I do acknowledge that there are some things that it is simply too late to change, and we have to live with that; similarly, we have to acknowledge that we can't do everything at once or everyone becomes anxious and feels that everything they know and have learned over the last several years is being stripped away and replaced with something unfamiliar (and that goes for GMs as well as customers).

Prioritization is often the most difficult aspect of all our work, as many needed changes cry out to be made RIGHT NOW; but obviously we can't do everything RIGHT NOW as many systems depend on and interlock with others and therefore we have to follow the chain from top to bottom. I think I just want everyone to know that we are trying to work through everything in order - we're not just hacking at the first thing that comes to hand here - and that while it may seem too fast and furious in some areas, and far too slow in others, that we really are hard at work back here on all the things that have concerned us, and you, over the years.

Maelona