Principle Architect behind NGE flips lid. Still in Eastern Europe.

[schild]

http://rubenfield.com/?p=63

MMO Developers.

You are officially all on notice.

Everyone except Blizzard…

They don’t count because they’re off in some magical alternate universe where nobody ever goes hungry and the king of the Mushroom people writes all of your design documents and you get to ride a giant squid to work.

Oh yeah.. Raph isn’t included either. He’s pushing the envelope in a different way, so he gets a free pass.

But the rest of you.

Every last one of you.

YOU

ARE

ON

NOTICE.

Yes, even you POTBS.

And you LOTRO.

Every last one of you motherfuckers is in big big trouble.

You see, I came to a realization that in the past 2 years since I left SOE, none of you motherfuckers have done anything different.

Absolutely

Nothing

Different.

Every game, Beta, Alpha, Preview and whatever for these new releases and upcoming games is almost identical to every other fucking game before it.

The conversations are the same, the arguments are the same, the systems are the same, hell.. Even the graphics are the same (HELLO BLOCKY FANTASY CHARACTERS!).

What the fuck people? You’ve had plenty of time to impress us. You’ve got the technology, you have the know-how..

Why the same shit different day syndrome?

Yes, I know it’s hard. Yes, it’s difficult to design, yes, it’s also expensive.

But for fucks sake people.

You’re not even trying. Your development process and designs are insular. MMO’s today are the equivalent of Asian styled game designs.

Stagnant, insular, nichey and fucking weird. You cater to the edges of society and playstyles.

You focus on the dregs when you can be reinventing the actual state of play.

Social dynamics when combined with cutting edge AAA gameplay will elevate simple play to a level never reached in game development.

Leverage the console streamlining for gameplay, combine it with the social dynamics knowhow pushed by Raph and Co, and BAM.

You can make something far greater than the sum of it’s parts.

But Noooooo…

You’re content not even trying. You spend AAA game money on niche products. The 30 million dollar game for weirdos.

Long-tail shit is fine, but don’t spend 30 mil. Spend 5. Spend 2. Spend 30 on the real deal, spend 50 on the real deal.

So. You’ve all been warned. I want some better fucking games out of you people. Quit dicking around in the past and get to work.

I don’t want to have to come back there. I’ve got too much other shit to work on here.

If anything, give Freeman and Crew some cash so they can kick some life into this stupid market.

Oh yeah, addendum.

If you continue to refuse to acknowledge consoles as the de-facto standard for AAA gaming, you will go out of business.

Quit making PC games. It’s a waste of time and money.

Second Addendum : Also, I know APB is pushing the envelope but until I can play it, I don’t believe they can do it the way they are doing it.

Someone here probably reads his blog. So I figured I'd get this out of the way:

1. I did not take over his blog and post that swill.
2. lol
3. He sounds like me 4 years ago.
4. bu whu?

[Tale]

He does sound like he's been reading too much f13.

[photek]

He is right in some of the stuff he is saying.

You’re not even trying. Your development process and designs are insular. MMO’s today are the equivalent of Asian styled game designs.

This is 100% correct, I stopped playing Asian styled games aeons ago.

[Sparky]

Holy shit

that's really annoying

to read

-dbp

[Engels]

Let me get this straight...the chief designer of NGE, which can be argued was the single most destructive redesign to hit an MMO, is getting on MMO designers for not following his path to madness? Maybe Eastern Europe will keep him.

[Arrrgh]

He was doing great till the stop making PC games bit.

[Triforcer]

PROFIT-MAKING GAMES ARE BAD IF THEY AREN'T ENVELOPING-PUSHING AVANT GARDE MESSES.

H
T
H.

[Surlyboi]

Let me get this straight...the chief designer of NGE, which can be argued was the single most destructive redesign to hit an MMO, is getting on MMO designers for not following his path to madness? Maybe Eastern Europe will keep him.

Word. I'm thinking a "Hostel" style fate for him. All this shit he rants about, he's done. And worse. He took what was arguably one of the most unique character development systems in MMOs, gutted it and turned it into a ritalin-muncher's paradise in an attempt to bring in a different class of subscribers.

Fuck you man, Fuck you in the goat ass.

[Montague]

Edit - politics is bad.

But yeah, kettle... black.

[Margalis]

What is an Asian styled game?

This guy just figured out that most MMORPGs are the same - lol. And he works in the industry too, wow.

Hay guyz, have you noticed that most FPS games are kindof the same???!!!!!???

[stray]

Surly, Engels, I like you guys, but really (Oh, and this goes for all people who complain about the NGE like it was the death of SWG):

It was crap before.


Either way, even if he didn't see the light before, he does now. Good enough.

[Trippy]

You are officially all on notice.

What's he going to do if they don't comply? Use more harsh language?

[Nija]

Dunno guys. If you bitch about the spacing the next thing he's going to do is slam a huge brick of text over your head.

I'll take the extra spacing every day of the week.

I agree with him mostly, but like schild always says I'm a minorities' minority.

[schild]

It's not whether or not we agree with it. I'm fairly sure I put 'all developers on notice' like 3 years ago. Also, he writes like a petulant child and forgets the he created the biggest clusterfuck in MMOG gaming history. Ever. Period.

And now he's working on a game that seems like the NGE.

[Reg]

Oh cool! Are we starting another 100 page NGE thread?

[lamaros]

I PUT DEVELOPERS ON NOTICE IN '92!!!!!

Good for this guy. And good for you too schild. You're a real petulant child pundit industry leader type guy as you so boldly assert yourself.

[Engels]

Surly, Engels, I like you guys, but really (Oh, and this goes for all people who complain about the NGE like it was the death of SWG):

It was crap before.

Sure, many elements of SWG were bad. As were many elements of many other MMOs. Still, many logged in because despite many aspects of its crapasticitude, it was still 'doable' as a community activity with on-line friends. Its what prevents even the most amaciated MMO from dying. NGE pushed an already dangerously bad MMO into the pit of suckitude not seen since Neocron. Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly bitter about it. I was never really invested in SWG as others of my mates had, so being shown the door, which NGE did except for those positively insane, was not so harsh a blow. Still, it ushered into light the levels of idiocy that can go on with an MMO developer environment. It heralded Vanguard by way of letting the world know that things indeed, can go this wrong. Perhaps even George Bush thought to  himself, "If a company can swallow NGE, they're gonna swallow WMD"

 

[Venkman]

He may have created the NGE, but did he push it out? I have no idea, but I ask because the concept of the NGE wasn't terrible. It was the hamfisted launch, the minimalistic testing, the lack of any formal notice, the lack of CD and the complete rubbing of their core paying consumers noses in it. Had it launched well with Raph leading the way in the very public way he does things, I think it would have turned out different. And a year later.

Otherwise though, yea, this guy comes off sounding like a tool. He should no better too. Every single game he cited was designed before WoW did it so well it became not worth designing a game like WoW. PotBS wimped out and added the ground game. TR completely shifted gears. LoTRO became WoW 0.9. VG was never going to be anything but a steaming pile of crap. AoC at least managed to stay somewhat consistent with their unique combat system and attempts to integrate PvP in a meaningful way. But all of this was being actively developed when WoW launched, so were based on pre-WoW conventions.

In two years we may see something completely new. Unless MMOs become serious on consoles. Then we'll just see WoW tuned for easymode play, filed under "new to them" (because nobody who has a console plays MMOs on the PC they all have too)

[schild]

He may have created the NGE, but did he push it out?

Not only did he push it out, he was the reason there was no notice.

[Aez]

You are officially all on notice.

What's he going to do if they don't comply? Use more harsh language?

Don't fuck with him. He is ANONYMOUS and he is LEGION.

[schild]

Actually, in his case, he wishes we forgave and forgot.

[Lum]

[Margalis]

I put developers on notice after I figured out that Centipede was basically Space Invaders and that Mouse Trap was just Pac-Man with cats instead of ghosts.

[tmp]

http://rubenfield.com/?p=63

You focus on the dregs when you can be reinventing the actual state of play.

Social dynamics when combined with cutting edge AAA gameplay will elevate simple play to a level never reached in game development.

Leverage the console streamlining for gameplay, combine it with the social dynamics knowhow pushed by Raph and Co, and BAM.

You can make something far greater than the sum of it’s parts.

But Noooooo…

So... solution to same old, same old games is the same old, same old buzzwords?

[UnSub]

He does sound like he's been reading too much f13.

I believe that ForumBot 0.8 beta has gained sentience and has started to blog.

[Abelian75]

IT'S SO SIMPLE JUST START MAKING THE GAMES GOOD.

I love this line:

"Social dynamics when combined with cutting edge AAA gameplay will elevate simple play to a level never reached in game development."

COME ON GUYS JUST MAKE THE GAMEPLAY GOOD* AND MAKE IT HAVE TEH SOCIAL DYNAMICS IT'S SO SIMPLE.

*e.g. cutting edge, AAA

[Venkman]

He may have created the NGE, but did he push it out?

Not only did he push it out, he was the reason there was no notice.

So he was the business call on that? Brutal. I probably missed the few dozen pages in the epic without-CD thread, but this is the first time I'd heard his actual name (beyond the "shadowy force behind NGE").

[HaemishM]

Serek Dmart changed his name?

[cevik]

You are officially all on notice.

What's he going to do if they don't comply? Use more harsh language?

Look the last time we pissed this guy off he unleashed the NGE on us.  I do not want to know what he's capable of for the follow up.

[Endie]

Serek Dmart changed his name?

Don't be daft, that would totally fuck up all his google alerts on his name.

[Dtrain]

  That's exactly how he talks IRL. Exactly.

I don't disagree with him either, although I wouldn't express it the same way. He's not a bad guy, but he does have a tendancy to get wrapped up into his own idiom.

And as far as NGE goes: SWG did indeed suck mightily before NGE, although he was on the original credits too. And I still think that Lucas Arts had more to do with the basic concept of NGE than Dan Rubenfield.

[eldaec]

What did WoW do different?

Also, am I missing something, or is this the guy who took an (ahem) "unique" gaming experience designed for mining fanatics, sim beru obsessives, and cantina fetishists, and turned it into EQ-not-in-space?

[eldaec]

He does sound like he's been reading too much f13.

I believe that ForumBot 0.8 beta has gained sentience and has started to blog.

You say that as if 'starting to blog' is an indicator of sentience. I'm not so sure.

[UnSub]

He does sound like he's been reading too much f13.

I believe that ForumBot 0.8 beta has gained sentience and has started to blog.

You say that as if 'starting to blog' is an indicator of sentience. I'm not so sure.

I blog, therefore I am?

[Ratman_tf]

Ah, this is turning into a sweet, sweet SWG thread. Num num num.

This guy needs to stop flapping his lips. This shit that was old in 1997, when guys like Raph and Brad were cribbing shit from MUDs.