Borderline Insanity or Creative Marketing?

Four years to the day after Uru shut down the first time, Cyan Worlds announced that GameTap is pulling the plug on Myst Online. It's a strange feeling to be a part of this, because I didn't even hear about the first run until it had already ended. This time I got in on the ground floor, testing the game in private beta, open beta, rehearsal (content beta), . . . and here we are at the end. I don't love Uru. Not as some do, at least. I'm not social enough. I can't be satisfied with a glorified chat room.

For me, this is proof that you can't build an MMO in the traditional sense around puzzle-solving and exploration, even if there's a story to it. Myst encourages group puzzle solving, yes, but the size of groups it attracts is down around 10 or maybe 20, tops. That's nowhere near the scale of social interaction you need to cultivate an MMO. Cyan has come full circle now, and it's time to break away from the past. Last time they stayed in the circle, developing Uru, and look where it got them: right back where they started. I believe onine puzzle-solving and exploration games are viable, but it can't be done this way. Cyan has proven that painfully and definitively. Twice.

So how can online multiplayer adventure games break out without straying too far into RPG territory? Well, many Uru players kept the dream alive from 2004 to 2007 by running licensed private Uru servers. Many of them even managed to add content and story to the game. What if we took that idea and put it on crack? What if we built a game that ran on licensed servers to which server admins could add licensed or user-made "content modules" or "story modules" that extended the game world? What if we ran many storylines at once and let people choose which story they wanted to follow?

Why go to all the trouble and expense of writing and producing content ourselves if the players can do it? What if we let the players make the game? Good question. The answer is, "because it doesn't work." The vast majority of gamers play games to be entertained, not to create art. The creative ones will take initiative, and the'll shine if you give them the right tools, but they're not as plentiful as all those executives drooling about "user-generated content" seem to believe.

But here's the thing: pricing. Want to play alone? Just buy the content packs. Want to play with others? Join a server that's following the story you like and pay a monthly fee, or join a UGC-only server for free. Want to try it out without buying anything? The first content pack is free.

Other considerations: 1. Game engine design needs to accomodate this style from the get-go. 2. Stick to the release schedule or watch customers leave. 3. Encourage user-generated content, and don't gripe about the UGC-only servers that aren't generating revenue. They're generating eyeballs and goodwill. That's enough.