f13.net forums - D&D online beta begins

Here's and interview with that Jeff bloke from Turbine. It's on the site that must not be named, so I'll do a nice thing again.

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Turbine Interview
President and CEO Jeff Anderson on the company that's developing not one but two eagerly awaited online worlds
December 16, 2005 - Projected to go live in the first quarter of 2006, Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach takes place within the intriguing Eberron campaign setting. Naturally, it incorporates authentic races, creatures and locations, while adding many other notable elements. A few of these are highly customizable characters, treacherous dungeons containing devious puzzles and challenging traps, rapid group access to private adventures, and eye-catching state of the art visuals. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is aimed to launch later next year. Based on the famed J.R.R. Tolkien works, it will give online gamers the opportunity to explore Middle-earth as members of its Free Peoples, namely Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits, which will frequently band together in different combinations against fight common enemies and evils. Occasions will even arise to participate in events that help the Fellowship toward its goal.

Among the veritable plethora of massively multiplayer endeavors in development at this time, it could definitely be argued that these two are the most keenly anticipated, at least here in the North America. As such, either one would represent an extremely desirable opportunity for its developer, albeit accompanied by a correspondingly high level of expectations. As most if not all of our regular readers have known for quite some time, the two games are in the hands of Turbine which has studios on opposite sides of the US, in Massachusetts and California. Naturally, we've been keeping track of both as closely as possible, always seeking ways to look beyond standard previews. Consequently, it was very good news when President and CEO Jeff Anderson agreed to answer our questions on a variety of topics related to the company and its projects.

Jonric: To give our readers a perspective on the company's background, please outline when and how Turbine first got started.

Jeff Anderson: The start of Turbine is a pretty amazing story actually. I like to describe it as the "stubbornness of a good idea". In early 1994, several students at Brown University had the idea to create a game company focused on online role-playing. Many of our founders come from the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Brown but we attracted people from all over. Some, like Jon Montsarrat, had even been active with MIT's live role-playing Assassins Guild. By the end of the year, the company had incorporated as Cyberspace, which was later changed to Second Nature Interactive, then to Turbine! There wasn't even enough money for a garage, so the team set up shop in a small studio apartment, flat broke. It was a pretty humble beginning.

Once you become responsible for the entire service, you need to think about the implications for the customer service team, network operations, QA, and many other departments. As I said, it was a critical step for us.

In 1995, the company moved out of the apartment into a small house in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. The employees started in the living room, but soon spread into the family room and the basement. All summer long, everyone worked elbow to elbow without any air conditioning (you can imagine what that was like!) on the first demo. After a lot of hard work, the demo was picked up by Microsoft and eventually became Asheron's Call. Since then, Turbine has been working hard on that franchise as well as Dungeons & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online.

Jonric: What would you list as the most significant events and milestones during this period of more than a decade?

Jeff Anderson: Turbine has been very fortunate so it's hard to pick out the most significant events! The contracts with Microsoft stand out; Microsoft was an early supporter and taught us a lot about business. Next, signing Dungeons & Dragons Online with Atari. It is a great franchise and, in many ways, the original inspiration for the company. Third, receiving the first round of venture funding from Highland / Polaris. They believed that we could transform ourselves from a contract developer into a worldwide publisher of online games. Lastly, I would say the signing of the contract with Tolkien for the rights to The Lord of the Rings Online. They have been an enormous supporter of Turbine and we are very thankful for their confidence.

Jonric: What's the current status of the Asheron's Call property? Is it likely we'll see any more titles?

Jeff Anderson: Asheron's Call is still entertaining people from around the world. We are thrilled that so many dedicated fans enjoy the product. As for new titles, we haven't made any decision about the future of the franchise at this time.

Jonric: What did you learn from making and later operating the two Asheron's Call titles that helped shape the company and your approach to making and running online games?

Jeff Anderson: Wow, we learned so much. It is hard to summarize that into one interview like this. The transition of the franchise from Microsoft to Turbine (when we took it over) was a fabulously important milestone for the company. We had to become a publisher and not just a developer. That was a critical turning point for us.

Since then, we have had a much better "customer orientation". As a developer it is much harder to understand how your choices impact the overall service. You tend to think about things more one-dimensionally. For example, does this change make the game play better? Once you become responsible for the entire service, you need to think about the implications for the customer service team, network operations, QA, and many other departments. As I said, it was a critical step for us.

Jonric: What are your feelings about shutting down Asheron's Call 2 at the end of this year while the firs game continues to run?

Jeff Anderson: Asheron's Call will always be Turbine's first love. It holds a special place for everyone at the company, so it was a difficult decision to close down AC2. Even though AC2 wasn't a huge success, we still learned a great deal from the project and deeply appreciate the many players who enjoyed it.

D&D Online looks and plays great... We have completed all of the development work at this point, and are really focused on fixing the last remaining problems.

Jonric: As a developer of online games, what is Turbine's style or philosophy? What do you regard as your distinguishing strengths, and in what areas are you looking to improve?

Jeff Anderson: I don't think anyone has ever asked me that question before. It is a very good one. Turbine is a privately held game studio. This means that we need to do things differently. We need to focus more on early prototyping. We need to be more time sensitive. Some projects seem to stay in development for five to seven years, spending astronomical sums but never seeming to get any better. We just can't run a business that way.

We focus on the core strengths for any project. Take D&D Online for example. The idea from the beginning was to create an online game that focused on real-time action combat and extensible private dungeon encounters. I think the team did a great job defining a clear vision for that early and sticking with it all the way through development.

As for improvements, that could take up pages! We are learning more every day about this business. I suppose if there were one thing, I would look to improve our planning. It is the foundation of every game, but it is surprisingly difficult to stay on top of it. It's because of this realization that we started the Project Management group at Turbine.

Jonric: How did the decision to become a publisher come about? What were the major benefits and the biggest challenges?

Jeff Anderson: The decision was an easy one. The life of a developer is a difficult one at best. Time and budgets are short; creative conflict is always a concern. Moreover, I had seen the power of the publishing model at Electronics Arts when I was the Executive in Charge of Production at Origin and Ultima Online. I could see the value - financially as well as creatively - if a company could make the transition. The risk, of course, is that it is difficult to find the financial capital to make the jump. We were very fortunate with our investors. They understood the vision that we had for the company and believed in the mission.

Jonric: How did Turbine manage to acquire the licenses for both the D&D Online and Lord of the Rings Online? What's the impact of having both in development at the same time?

Jeff Anderson: I always say that we got them because of my good looks, but anyone who knows me realizes that isn't very likely! *laugh* Instead, I credit the development teams at Turbine. The pitches for both projects were exceptional. We did a terrific job presenting a vision for both projects that captured the true essence each franchise.

The path to The Lord of the Rings was a different one entirely. It started out as a development project. About halfway through the project, we were able to acquire the rights from Vivendi and Tolkien Enterprises. We have always been huge fans of the property and jumped at the chance to work directly with the Tolkien folks. They really like the work that we do, and we are perfectly ecstatic to be working with them. Again, we are amazingly lucky with our partners. The Tolkien people are incredible to work with.

Production-wise, we have the common advantage of using some of the same underlying core technologies. That has always been a strength of ours. It allows us to develop much more quickly and efficiently than our competitors. I see that every day with both of the projects. The biggest challenge probably has been managing the business. Both of the titles are very important and very demanding on everyone. Keeping a steady balance is very important and quite time-consuming.

Jonric: With D&D Online now in beta and aimed at a Q1 2006 launch, what is the status of development, and what major hurdles remain to be cleared? What caused the date to shift from 2005?

Jeff Anderson: D&D Online looks and plays great. Likewise, it is really gratifying to the team to see how much everyone is enjoying the beta. We have had almost 300,000 people trying to get into it, and more are signing up every day. It is astounding. I personally have never seen anything like it.

The date change is an easy question to answer. We moved the date because we wanted to make a great game.

As for major hurdles, there is just one thing left - BUGS. Gosh, it is amazing how many things need to be fixed and polished all along the way. Slight changes in one thing will mess something else up. It is a constant game of two steps forward and one back, but it's par for the course, and the team is doing an incredible job of clearing out their bugs. We have completed all of the development work at this point, and are really focused on fixing the last remaining problems.

Jonric: What's special about this game, and to what extent do you see it as one that will attract a non-hardcore audience?

Jeff Anderson: There are a lot of special things about Dungeons & Dragons Online. The top ones is the real-time combat system. There has never been anything like it before in an MMO. This combat system allows your character to swing with every mouse click, dodge an incoming fireball, or block each attack. It is an amazing change, and the big reason that everyone says D&D Online feels like a breath of fresh air. I couldn't agree more.

As an industry, we need to make sure that we are delivering high quality games that appeal to the widest possible audience. That means that we will need to look at every platform and demographic.

Second, we are very excited about the private dungeon experience. There are hundreds of replayable adventures that can last from 15 minutes to many hours. Most exciting, they are entirely handcrafted dungeons crawls that play better than most single-player RPG missions out there. (There's nothing better than watching the floor of the dungeon collapse before your eyes and seeing your wizard and barbarian plunge to their deaths!) The designers spent extra time on the traps and puzzles too, and it shows. They are exceptional.

Those features and D&D's exhaustive character advancement systems make this game something really special. I am especially gratified that the players are seeing it too. As you know, we are on the cover of PC Gamer this month and their title (The MMO that changes everything!) is exactly right. We couldn't have said it any better.

Jonric: Regarding your deal with China's leading online gaming operator, Shanda, to localize and operate your titles there, is it realistic to think such Western-oriented properties will succeed in that market?

Jeff Anderson: I think it is quite realistic. Vivendi has shown that with its title. Western companies just need to be better listeners in my opinion. Shanda is an outstanding partner for us in that regard. They are very patient and incredibly helpful. They are working closely with us, teaching us about the Chinese market and helping us improve the game for their players. There are many obstacles but I believe that, in the end, we will deliver something that is fresh and unique to China. I think players around the world can appreciate that.

Jonric: Looking forward no more than three to five years, how do you see the online gaming industry evolving?

Jeff Anderson: Good question. I would say that there is likely to be the usual - consolidation, increased production expense, tighter distribution and tougher critics. As an industry, we need to make sure that we are delivering high quality games that appeal to the widest possible audience. That means that we will need to look at every platform and demographic.

Jonric: As a final question to wrap things up, is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers at this time?

Jeff Anderson: Okay, how about a self-serving plug?

PREORDER D&D ONLINE!

*chuckle* Honestly, I am very thankful for this opportunity. We work very hard on these projects and it is great when I get to sit down and talk about the things that I love the most!

During the course of the past several years, it has been our pleasure to sit down and talk with Jeff Anderson in person a number of times. On these occasions, we have seen the same kind of enthusiasm for Turbine and its products - if anything, even more so. Accordingly, we are especially thankful that he was willing to make time in his undoubtedly hectic schedule to share his insights on the company he is leading into what looks like a very bright 2006.

[For a more community- and news-oriented approach to Turbine's projects, we cordially invite you to visit our Dungeons & Dragons Vault and Asheron's Call Vault on a regular basis. - Ed.]
-- Richard Aihoshi - 'Jonric'

I didn't read it because there were too many words and, as schild always says... "words are hard."