First up, if you haven’t finished reading 009, here’s the comment and feedback post for that.
Next, it’d really super duper ultra mega help me if you filled out this short survey. I’m pondering changes to how I release new story drafts, and I’d love to get your feedback to make sure I’m doin’ it in a way that syncs with your swinging lifestyle. Thanks!
If you do, I’ll play it.
Did you make City of Heroes mods as well?
Oh yeah, tons. They were “Missions” rather than “Mods,” but basically it was the same thing… a complete playable game experience with a beginning and an ending, using the combat engine and scripting tools provided by the system. The ‘scripting’ was extremely limited compared to Neverwinter but it did have good custom content creation, letting you design your own NPCs and enemies. I published nearly a dozen stories and won some awards.
The problem was that while some authors like me were trying to tell great stories and provide fun game experiences… the VAST majority of users were looking for XP farms. They wanted easily defeated enemies that spat out tons of rewards, and kept finding new ways to game the system to do that, completely ignoring story in favor of MOAR XP. It was kind of sad, really. I hope Neverwinter has plans for dealing with those people.
I’m a big fan from your old nerverwinter days, and I’m curious: with the launch of the new Neverwinter MMO, and its user created content features, are you planning on making a triumphant return?
I have Neverwinter installed, but haven’t had time to really dive into the editor. It’s pretty complicated — and I like that, it means it’s powerful and geared for making narratives rather than just XP farms. (Of course, so was City of Heroes’s editor, and mostly people made XP farms. Sad. I made some great stories there.)
I don’t know about a “triumphant return,” given my focus now is on my original writing like City of Angles. (You should read it! It’s awesome!) But I may very well try my hand at it, when I can.