UO:2002-10-10: Q&A with Augur

Q&A with Augur

Oct 10 2002 12:08PM

This was originally posted to Development at uo.com.

Where do you get the ideas for scenarios? How does the Ongoing Content Team decide which direction they wish to go in regards to Ultima Online’s storyline?

The Ongoing Content team has planned out an overall direction for the progression of Scenario storylines for well into the next year. Of course, there are many details left to fill in, and we’ve left ourselves room for changes and additions, but we sat down to plan out a connecting storyline, filled with both high-fantasy fiction as well as fun, one-shot scenarios like the current Solen Scenario. Most of our ideas come by divine inspiration. Sometimes it’s a specific item or game system we’ve always wanted to add into the game, from our time playing the game as well as working as designers. At other times, we have an expansive storyline that we’ve worked on for a while, filling in the details of an engrossing plotline with twists and turns, which we then add item and creature details to in order to make it work well as a game addition.

No matter where the ideas come from, we always sit down to discuss them both in terms of what they add to the game fiction, as well as how well they’ll work out as game systems. Will they add meaningful game content to UO? Are they feasible with our current system? How much coding and testing time would such a project take? We’re always balancing our expansive dreams with the reality of adding content to a live game.

Which scenario has been your favorite so far? Why?

That’s actually really hard for me to decide. I have favorite parts of several scenarios. In terms of Scenario finales, I think the Gargoyle Scenario will be my favorite for a while because of the way players banded together to build the towers, figure out the puzzles, and defeat the boss monsters. That was the scenario where I had the most time available to log in and watch people take part in the finale, which is my favorite part. I was also proud of the systems that went into the finale -- how they reacted in real time to the players’ actions.

I really loved working on the current Solen Scenario because we managed to create some really useful and fun item concepts this time around, and just had a blast creating the mini-quests. It was a chance for us to get our stories into the game in a more meaningful way, and to create small little adventures that will be around forever. Sometimes, it’s more fun to create little silly things than it is to craft grandiose, high-falootin’ massive projects.

Finally, the Plague of Despair Scenario was a real pleasure for me because I had the opportunity to (very quickly) plan out and execute an entire new mini-game system (the Plant Growing System) and get it into the game. Seeing the players’ response to the new system was just mind-blowing.

What was the inspiration behind the plant system? Are you an avid gardener? ;)

The inspiration was really three-part. First of all, I’d been interested in the concept of adding “mini-games” into Ultima Online. What I mean by that are separate game systems that have their own little rules and rewards, that function differently than the rest of UO and, for the most part, outside the scope of other game systems.

While the results of the plant system might touch the outside world in some small manner (like the plant resources), the concept is really to have a game system that doesn’t affect other UO game systems in a major way. You have a little microcosm that you can tool around in for your own enjoyment, and for a reward that is only meaningful in a personal or decorative sense.

In this case, the mini-game was influenced by “caretaking” games, which have been around for quite a while. These games involve nurturing some pet or object by watching its behavior, and giving it encouragement or satisfying its needs to keep it happy. You are then rewarded for keeping your pet happy by some sort of “growth,” which usually opens up more behavior. An example would be Tomagotchi, the electronic pet game.

Secondly, I wanted to create a game system that anyone could participate in. It wasn’t going to be skill or class specific. Since the rewards had no real inherent value (you can’t sell them to NPCs, they don’t enhance your character in any large way, etc.), it was a chance to let everyone be able to play. Your skill at it, for the most part, was entirely player skill. That’s fun sometimes. Though it’s great to see the results of building up your character, sometimes you want the challenges to be about your own handling of the game, rather than a set of numbers.

Lastly, I wanted a collectible aspect. This is probably always going to be a goal for any system I add to the game. People sharing information and the results of their work is always a good thing. It helps people meet up and become friends, and also makes people famous for work that they’ve done in figuring out the system. That’s fun. You always want that, I think. So the plant system had the notion of cross-pollination, which is more than just a way to add depth, it’s a way to add that sharing aspect.

You’re an active participant on the UO.com Plants and Gardening forum. How helpful has the feedback been from the message board posters?

The Plants and Gardening forum is an invaluable resource. It’s been a great sounding board for conceptual additions to the system, to get player responses to things I couldn’t see without growing thousands of plants, and to try to search down issues with the system as a whole.

Any time it’s possible, I like to post a concept to the board to get their feedback before implementation. The greatest example of this was entirely reworking the Plant Menu to make it easier to use and to add functionality.

Why do the think the plant system is as popular as it is?

I think a lot of the enjoyment stems from the fact that it’s just something really different for UO. We have crafting and combat, and houses, but those systems have been set in stone for a while in terms of the basics of how you interact with them. We really haven’t had that many new mini-games in UO since the beginning. You’ll see the same reaction any time you add something that works in a substantially different way from the rest of the game – like Treasure Maps and SOS bottles, or the Bulk Order Deed system.

Additionally, because of the trading aspect and cross-pollination feature, there’s a fair amount to explore inside the system, like attempting to figure out all the possible combinations and trying to keep your plants alive. There’s a time investment, but you get to decide how much you want to put in. So it’s relatively easy to test it out and enjoy it by growing a single plant, or you can go full bore and grow thousands at a time -- or you can even purchase the results of the work from another player. There are lots of ways to get into it, depending on how you want to play.

Fundamentally, I think it’s fun because it’s well-presented. There’s depth to it, it doesn’t require a lot of work if you don’t want it to, and it encourages interaction with other players but does not require it. Plus, it brings out the nurturing behavior in everyone -- taking care of that tiny little plant and hoping for the best for it, so it will grow strong and sprout – how can you resist that?

Any words of wisdom for those that may want to be an Augur one day?

Play games. Play games a lot. Play games of every genre, from puzzle games to action games, fighting games to strategy games, and of course, massively multiplayer games. When not on the computer, play card games, dice games, board games, roleplaying games. I can’t stress this enough: play ALL types of games. You can learn lessons from games you might not like, and many concepts cross genres.

Think about games and puzzles all the time. Browse the web for information sources about game rules, game balancing, game design, and game theory. Read voraciously.

For every game you play, think in great detail about what you liked and didn’t like. Think about how you’d balance a situation between fun and functionality. Constantly, constantly, constantly think about games. Just because an idea is neat, doesn’t mean it should be in your game. Balance fun and the neat factor with usefulness, reward, and time investment. Grow your hair out long and make goofy jokes a lot. Practice your amazing pirate jig, and begin swearing like a sailor.

Learn to program in at least one language, to learn programming logic and the fundamentals. Once you can see how code flows and understand the basics of code logic, you can learn any language with time.

Create games for you and your friends, and constantly get their feedback. If you can’t code yet, make card games, or dice games, or board games. You want to learn how to make competitive, balanced, interesting, challenging, and rewarding games that take the users’ decisions and skills into effect – you don’t need a computer to do that. Ask questions. Share knowledge.

Did I mention you should play games? Because you should. Don’t just play a single game, or a type of game you like, or the currently popular game – EVERY game put out has something to teach you. Learn lessons others have failed to learn, and apply them.

Oh… and play games!

Augur

Designer, Ongoing Content

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