f13.net

I was poking around the various SOE web sites to find some stuff to keep the SWG thread going when I ran across this job posting:

Art Director     San Diego, CA      Feb 28 (http://sonyonline.recruitmax.com/candidate/default.cfm?szTemplate=3&szOrderID=1582&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=)

The DC MMO team is based in Austin and their mythical FPS MMO (not PlanetSide) has been in development for a while and those are the only two newish MMOs that I know SOE is working on. Any ideas what this might be?

BTW, there a couple of lower level designer positions that SOE Austin is hiring for if anybody has some game development experience and wants to try and get a job making an MMO. The Game Designer position is probably for DC online since it requires console gaming development experience. The Associate designer one is probably working on SWG though, but hey, you need to start somewhere.

Game Designer - Austin, TX (http://sonyonline.recruitmax.com/candidate/default.cfm?szTemplate=3&szOrderID=1575&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=)
Associate Game Designer - Austin, TX (http://sonyonline.recruitmax.com/candidate/default.cfm?szTemplate=3&szOrderID=1549&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=)

There are other MMOGs in development that have not been announced. One is pretty far along.

That is taken from the end of recent interviews with Raph and Smed. Where, I don't remember. So, the answer is Yes.

Why is game experience needed? This is SOE we are talking about!

Pants?

I'm wondering if this might be for that FPS thing that they want to do the charge for content model with.  Or do you think they want to do the end around on Perpetual, and come out with Deities and Champions for the 360?

I thought DC Online was the mythical FPS style game. Oh and there's Smed's free to play, buy your items game which I think is being developed in San Diego?

No there's another one (http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm) that they've been working on for a while now.

Hmm this is for a console game, though. I suppose if the new PS3 "Live" competitor is robust enough it could handle that sort thing.

It sure better be. Can you imagine Vanguard not doing this through the Xbox Live Arcade infrastructure?

Yes I can. Taking shortcuts through Vanguard by buying items with real money instead of catassing for them is the antithesis of McQuaid's "Vision".

Actually, I wasn't talking about RMTing for goods. That wouldn't seem to jive with Brad's long-standing feeling on it.

Rather, I was talking about buying expansion content ala EQ2 Adventure Packs. While they didn't seem to work so well for SOE (as evidenced by there only being two, with the last one being pretty old), there's no reason the concept of "buying extra levels" wouldn't work for Vanguard. Xbox Live already does this in the Arcade area, with a great deal of success.

Guild Wars also would work very well, once they actually deliver enough expansion packs. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely (http://www.gamespy.co­m/articles/688/688964p1.html).

Working Link http://www.gamespy.com/articles/688/688964p1.html

It's 8 pages though. I can't be arsed wading through that to see whatever Darniaq's point is..

Eh, that was the wrong link anyway. This is the one I meant (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14932). And it's shorter. Basically, it's just an indictment of Microsoft's Xbox Live practice and how that hampers migration of MMOGs to the platform.

Somehow Vanguard's got something they think will work. Even if they don't RMT, they can still do other content expansions and the micropayment stuff that SOE does in EQ2 (adventure packs, eq2players premiums, etc.)

Shit, if EA folded on this very issue with the original X-Box, NCSoft isn't going to grease those Microsoft wheels any better. Microsoft wants their cut, and they want to be handlers of money. That works great, except in MMOG's, where Microsoft has shown a distinct lack of any sort of competence whatsoever, i.e. Asheron's Call 2 fiasco.