Raph Koster, Ultima Online And Star Wars Galaxies Designer, Has Raised $2.7M Towards New MMORPG - M

System

Raph Koster, Ultima Online And Star Wars Galaxies Designer, Has Raised $2.7M Towards New MMORPG - MMORPG.com News

Raph Koster is making a new MMO, and he's already raised quite a bit of seed money to do so. The Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies designer has started Playable Worlds, a new game company, to create the next great sandbox MMORPG.

Read the full story here

Panther2103

It's good they didn't try to raise it through Kickstarter or some other player funded method (maybe that's a thing down the line for them but at least they are disclosing the initial funding). Excited to see what this turns into.

alkarionlog

and here we go again

Tiller

Sounds like separate game modes with a hub.

Iselin

DMKano said:

I so wish we could just go back to announcement when game is beta worthy (basically complete) and 3 months from launch.

I really couldn't care less for 5 years of development updates about changing a texture color from magenta to fuchsia and all that tiring bullshit.

So ignore the trivial update shit. I do.

A new gaming studio starting up with a well-known vet at the helm talking about doing an MMO is still industry news and fits this site's news stream better than 90% of what they cover these days.

At least Raph is not asking for $ from the gaming public for pre-sales, pardon me, donations, 7-10 years ahead of release... at least not yet.

gervaise1

Iselin said:

DMKano said:

I so wish we could just go back to announcement when game is beta worthy (basically complete) and 3 months from launch.



I really couldn't care less for 5 years of development updates about changing a texture color from magenta to fuchsia and all that tiring bullshit.

(snip) At least Raph is not asking for $ from the gaming public for pre-sales, pardon me, donations, 7-10 years ahead of release... at least not yet.

Yet.

sausagemix

Industry investors means they want to see their investment doubled or tripled. That doesnt leave much room for a good, or fair gaming experience for the gaming audience first and foremost. This oozes themepark, battle royale, microtransaction pit.

kilun

I take it he is no longer consulting with ArtCraft for Crowfall now.

TiamatRoar

Great!  Only 270 million or so left to go!

Borluc

What a bunch of cynical people. I thought surely a new sandbox mmo by the guy who pushed the genre in new and exciting places would garner some level of positivity. Nope.

Of course the waiting game sucks, but whens the last time we had an industry giant return to the mmorpg fold? He’s an idea guy who learns from the past (read some of his pieces on Ultima Online or SWG) and can break down and rationalize complex systems.

Finally, the game that is described is what many many non-hardcore pvp gamers have wanted in a sandbox mmorpg. However all this pans out, I’ll maintain cautious optimism.

Amathe

It's strange to me that legends of the mmorpg space like Raph Koster and Brad McQuaid choose, or find it necessary, to fund raise as an indie developer instead of drawing support from some big backer who will finance the project. 

SpottyGekko

I consider Raph to be one of the few "MMO old guard" who could actually design a great MMO.

Of course, that means "great for me" !

SWG's original design has never been equalled, unfortunately it was butchered after the first 3 years, but that's an old story now.

bentrim

I agree with DMKano, this seems to be a veiled starting point to lure "investors" to start donating money, knowing everyone is starved and anxious for something new. Get your business model in place (money... plan....ect....)produce a product, then sell it!!

Mendel

I'd love to see another game from RK.  Two primary concerns initially jump out at me.

• Initial funding $2.7 million.  Good start, but unless they have another $25 million hidden somewhere, don't bother me.  Don't brag about a drop in the bucket, show us the full bucket.

• Funded by an ESports venture.  So, how's this game going to go against the money men and make an MMORPG instead of another ESports game?  This may be the real challenge this game might face.

Count me as interested, but hesitant.  Rather, I will be hesitantly interested in about 7 years.

Wizardry

Amathe said:

It's strange to me that legends of the mmorpg space like Ralph Koster and Brad McQuaid choose, or find it necessary, to fund raise as an indie developer instead of drawing support from some big backer who will finance the project. 

It is proof of uncertainty,they really have little confidence in themselves and/or the market.It is more like,ok if someone or people are willing to give me money,i'll do it sure ,why not.

I don't like vague blanket statements,sure everyone uses them because it saves time and space,i know i get it.However i would need to know why anyone thinks Mr.Koster could design a good game,tell me a couple systems he has designed before that was well done.

I do not consider altaholic designs good at all,terrible in fact.I do not consider a rpg good if it is on rails,linear.I do not consider giving xp for mindless non skill related quests as being good.So yeah give me an example that this guys knows what he  is doing.

Even Brad,i don't mind the guy at all,but so far the past has shown me that he sticks to old ways that were never that good or even good at all.What i accepted early year was fine because we were breaking new ground with online gaming and mmo's,however over time i expect improvements new and unique ideas that make sense.New ideas like automated dungeon finders are NOT good ideas,terrible ideas and make no sense,immersion breaking,so instead of getting better,mmo's have been getting worse.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

WarEnsemble

I will care in about 6 years.

Arkade99

Nyctelios said:

Borluc said:

What a bunch of cynical people. I thought surely a new sandbox mmo by the guy who pushed the genre in new and exciting places would garner some level of positivity. Nope.

Of course the waiting game sucks, but whens the last time we had an industry giant return to the mmorpg fold? He’s an idea guy who learns from the past (read some of his pieces on Ultima Online or SWG) and can break down and rationalize complex systems.

Finally, the game that is described is what many many non-hardcore pvp gamers have wanted in a sandbox mmorpg. However all this pans out, I’ll maintain cautious optimism.

But those games also had major flaws on many of its core mechanics that led me scratching my head when I played them.

I hope they pull the "old school" way of weaving complex systems without the "old school" design flaws that came with them.

Nothing is perfect. You hope the pros outweigh the cons and the game is fun enough to play it for a long time.

Celcius

Hopefully I am still alive by the time they release a game.

lotrlore

Celcius said:

Hopefully I am still alive by the time they release a game.

I hope you are too!

H0urg1ass

In the late 90's and early 2000's, 2.7 million could have developed a new MMO.

At current market rates, 2.7 million might support a tiny team for four to six months, especially if they run it out of one of the economic shithole hellscapes like Seattle, or any major city in California.

Cool news and all, but it means nothing without two more digits behind that figure.

Arkade99

Amathe said:

It's strange to me that legends of the mmorpg space like Raph Koster and Brad McQuaid choose, or find it necessary, to fund raise as an indie developer instead of drawing support from some big backer who will finance the project. 

Brad failed with Vanguard (though in many ways it was a good game), and Raph hasn't been a core part of a development team for a long time, to my knowledge. He consulted on Crowfall, but was never a decision maker.

Regardless, publishers have been burned too many times to invest big money on an MMO, no matter who is making it. They are too expensive and take too long to make, without a good track record regarding the return on investment.

The only way it is going to turn is for indie developers to push the boundaries in ways that can recapture the fanbase and revitalize the industry. Game companies should be looking to make smaller, more focused games for less money and time investment. If the game is fun, people will pay for it and they can add to it later. Something like Artcraft's Artisan Engine could be a way to do that. So much of MMO development involves building the tools needed to build the content.

Gruug

Tiller said:

Sounds like separate game modes with a hub.

While you may be right, I don't see anything mentioned that leads to that conclusion.
???

jonp200

I wish them well and hope it is amazing. I won't be pre-ordering, investing, buying a pass, etc. until it is released to rave reviews....That's the new standard I'm applying to anything in the gaming space at this point.

WarEnsemble

$2.7m budget
Let's assume a 6 person development team
Let's assume $500k for hardware and software
Let's assume a 5 year development cycle
That's a yearly salary of $73,000 per person, per year to develop a video game

I am sure there are lots of things I don't know about and I pulled numbers completely out of my rear here... but come on. $2.7m isn't enough to make a game?

JeroKane

Amathe said:

It's strange to me that legends of the mmorpg space like Raph Koster and Brad McQuaid choose, or find it necessary, to fund raise as an indie developer instead of drawing support from some big backer who will finance the project. 

You have to thank both Richard Garriott (Tabula Rasa) and Brad McQuaid (Vangard: Saga of Heroes) for that.
Their ego's inflated beyond idiocy during those game's development, where they squandered millions of dollars of investment money, massive delays and still didn't manage to deliver a properly working finished product.
Especially Richard Garriott was a real piece of work, that was more busy getting his arse into space and even tried to make NCSoft pay for it under the disguise of a PR campaign for Tabula Rasa. lol /Facepalm

Tabula Rasa didn't even last two years, before NCSoft put it out of its misery.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes had to be rescued by SOE at that time, Brad was kicked out (drug problems) and it was SOE devs that somewhat managed to salvage the game and make it work properly at least after lots of effort (have to give SOE props for that at least!). But it was too late and the game never recovered, not even under the All Access Pass at the time.