Over on the TOR forums, there’s a thread about beta testing TOR and it poses the question of whether people REALLY want to beta test the game. The responses have been quite interesting.

My own take is that I’ve tended to beta test most MMOs I’ve ever been interested in — usually being lucky enough to get into closed beta testing relatively early. The most legendary of this was the fabled “beta one” of Star Wars Galaxies where they let 100 external testers onto the server and around 20 of that number were from my then-guild, The Crescent Order, which I had been building up as it’s recruiting officer for some time prior. That was actually quite a funny situation to find ourselves in.

But, having said that, I’ve noticed something in recent MMOs in particular: the beta experience has really dulled my enthusiasm for the actual release or, at least, for the first 10, 20, 30 levels; whatever the beta testing was concentrated on. There are only so many times you want to roll a character and play your way through the “noob zone” of most games and I think it was during the opening day of LotRO, I remember thinking, “Oh wow, do I REALLY have to do this **** again?” Once I got past the beta level cut-off, of course, I felt a lot better about the game. But the point remains: the beta testing HAD affected me. I was really bored playing that same content for the hundredth time.

So when it comes to TOR… who knows? There’s part of me that is now highly conscious that beta testing can ruin the early part (at the very least), of the live game experience… but there’s another part of me — the guild leader — who feels like I should be in there, understanding the game, so that I can help all my guildmates when they step in, whether they are PvE, PvP or even RP inclined.

What about you? How do you feel about beta testing?

This blog series is a beginner’s guide to roleplay, also for those who, while they may not be interested in roleplay themselves, have often had questions about what it is or “how to do it”.  We’ll also be covering myths and mythos about roleplaying as we go along.  But first, we need to begin at the beginning…

Session One:   “The Basics”

I. What is “roleplay”?

Wikipedia defines it as thus:

Role-playing refers to the changing of one’s behavior to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role.

In essence, when you roleplay, you are an actor and you take on the role of whatever entity you are planning to portray.

To expand on that further, and for the intents that a group like ours would use roleplay, let’s look at Wikipedia’s definition of a “Role-playing game”:

A role-playing game (RPG; often roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.  Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.

By this definition, you have a more expounded view on what a roleplayer’s intentions are and that a role played within the game is purely fictional.  Characters can vary, having different skills, abilities, backgrounds, but oftentimes share some common goal, which brings them together in the game in the first place.

Roleplay was brought into mainstream primarily by game systems like “Dungeons & Dragons”, but many of us have most likely been roleplaying long before we knew what roleplaying was.  We’ll go into more depth on that subject later in this series.

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The Star Wars Universe is vast and infinite, featuring an endless line of characters and groups, some original and interesting, others stereotypical and boring.

There is no question that those who use the Force are at the centerpiece of the Galaxy far far away, be they Jedi, Sith or something in between. They are the ones who make Empires and Republics rise and fall, singlehandedly destroy armies and battle stations and dabble in ancient and arcane powers that risk to tear the universe apart.

So why focus on a group that plays only a far second or even third fiddle in the battle between the Light and the Dark Side? The reasons why some prefer the Mandalorians above all other Star Wars organizations is a personal one: some admire their indomitable will, or their sense of honor and brotherhood. Others are drawn to their militaristic way of life and their skill with weapons which make them powerful enough to give even the mighty Jedi and Sith pause.

My reasons are more basic: the Mandalorians are, in my opinion, the only Real Thing in the whole of Star Wars. So few things make sense in George Lucas’s universe, be it giant slugs which supposedly are Master Criminals, weird powerful races which, nevertheless play hardly a role compared to mundane humans, technology capable to destroy planets and suns, but unable to detect a specific droid when it passes an imperial checkpoint.

But the Mandalorian clans are a showcase of a believable, enlightened and sustainable form of future society: a nomadic, self-reliant lifestyle is exactly appropriate for a huge universe, as is the formation of a tribe according to shared beliefs and goals instead of race or homeplanet. They have moved beyond kinship being a matter of blood relation only, and adopt and raise children, making them part of their family. In this they are much more advanced than the rest of the galaxy, with its Royal Families, political dynasties and families in which the Force is strong.

Constant competition and warfare keeps them alive and at the cutting edge. Personal responsibility and leadership allows them to excel; family and clan ties gives them the ability to pass on their experience and gains to the next generation, making them better all the time whilst maintaining respect for their timeless traditions and the deeds of their ancestors.

All in all, I belief that something like the Mandalorian clans could actually exit in the future, and survive and prosper through the centuries and millennia, whereas the Force and all it brings with it is rather run-of-the-mill fantasy magic.

I was pointed towards this blog recently by some people on the TOR forums. It’s by TOR developer, Damion Schubert. In the blog he talks a lot about designing game worlds, acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of both “world” and “game” philosophies in MMOs and then goes on to talk about communities, too. This is the first time since late 2008 that I’ve actually seen a TOR developer address some of my biggest concerns so openly and frankly (particularly about whether this will be a “real” MMO with a “real” community), so I really enjoyed reading lines like this:

I’ve long advocated that moderation is the way to go, and I believe on The Old Republic we are successfully travelling a middle path, a centrist path that takes the strengths of both: provide a directed and balanced game experience inside a lush, free-form Star Wars world.

But I also believe that the game vs. world debate is missing a third element: community.

Community is the crazy notion that massively multiplayer games are more interesting when other players matter. Advocates of this viewpoint savor competition and cooperation above all else. Community-driven players want, above all else, to be able to interact and gather with other players, in a civil way. They share ideals with the other schools of thought: community-driven players tend to value balance and fairness, but they also want the freedom to express themselves and interact with others.

Now, does this article answer all my questions? No. Address all my concerns? No. But, after reading it, I did feel some weight lift from my shoulders because the issues I’ve been worrying about for a long time are at least on the table, sketched on the whiteboards and in the minds of the people making this game. And sure, I also know that things can change and what developers say when a game is being created can sometimes be a million miles away from what actually happens in-game (anyone remember the excitement that built up around Age of Conan, only to be smashed into a million tiny pieces when the game came out?), but for now, just read this and hope for the best.

I have been saying for years that leveling is a ridiculous concept in MMOs and I’m dismayed that TOR is perpetuating this rather than being brave and doing something new — which seems to be its modus operandi in other areas, so why not leveling?

Anyway, I mention this today because I caught an article at Massively earlier today and, understand, I normally pick holes in, and generally laugh at, articles on Massively. But one guy was on there today, talking about MMOs with comments I highly subscribe to. Check this out…

The genre actually started out featuring titles that were worlds first and treadmill games second, if at all. Titles like Meridian 59 and Ultima Online allowed the player to make their own content until Everquest (and its younger, more successful brother World of Warcraft) came along and hammered us all over the head with mind-numbingly repetitive (but psychologically addicting) DIKU concepts. Perhaps those who scoff at Age of Conan’s offline leveling haven’t played anything other than these two grinderific theme parks (or their many imitators), I don’t know, but the ultimate point is that anything that gives players more freedom, choice, and the time to use it is a positive.

As a virtual world enthusiast, I can tell you that I find leveling to be a contrived annoyance, and frankly, an insultingly uninspired mechanic for developers to mask the fact that they need recurring revenue. I grind when I’m away from my computer, it’s called a successful career, and when I get home after a hard day, the last thing I want to do is stare at an XP bar. I understand that some people do, and that’s fine, I’m not advocating the removal of that option, but there’s nothing wrong with throwing a bone to those of us who like to tell stories, explore, trade, craft, or whatever else catches our in-game fancy. These are, after all, roleplaying games.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Yet all these developers out there — even smart ones like the ones we trust to make TOR a great game — can’t get away from leveling. It’s astounding. Do they not realise that games are far better without this kind of generic leveling that doesn’t mean anything? There are other ways to keep people interested…