"Simple," he responds. "We just thought that the free-form approach of EVE would be more fun, more rewarding and more challenging. It is the game mechanic that we wanted to play, so we just did that." This is a common theme when talking to everyone at CCP. They sound like one of those "We should make a cool MMOG!" teams so common among fans of the genre, but in this case, they actually did it. "We believe we should provide tools for players to mold the world, for them to tell the story and control their destinies. This can't be done in a guided approach."
"How can you tell someone that he should start an alliance with 3,000 people and conquer the outer regions of space? Or that he should be the leading trader of [cruiser class ships]? Be a mercenary? Then, add that all together multiply that by about 120,000 times. It just doesn't work. We can't create heroes; only the player who has the passion and willpower to become a hero can do that. Whether he's being his own hero or for everybody else in the universe doesn't really matter, as long as he's satisfied with what he's achieving."
I asked if they've found the holy grail of many MMOG developers: Player-created content, rather than developer-created content, using the guys at The Escapist's triumphs, tragedies and successes as an example. "Absolutely. The players should be in charge of their destinies and the actions of the players should have a major impact on the game. That is our vision for gameplay and that is what we will continue to do."
But a vision has to come from somewhere. I asked what some of the team's influences were. "Ultima Online was certainly one of the most dominating factors, in addition to Elite. In fact, you could say that it started out as a mix of those two," and the conversation wanders toward business, as we talk about the other games the CCP crew plays.
"We have people that play almost all of the big MMOGs, but I can't really say that they have had a direct effect on EVE, since the setting and framework of MMOGs hasn't really been a revolution, but more of an evolution." There's the all-but-obligatory tip of the hat. "This isn't a bad thing - we strongly believe in evolution and consider World of Warcraft as a prime example of how MMOGs have evolved into mass appeal."
"The really revolutionary stuff is happening in the smaller games, which can allow themselves to experiment. Puzzle Pirates, Second Life, A Tale in the Desert, and, of course, Ryzom with their Ring are all good examples of MMOGs taking another path, while games like City of Heroes/Villains, Auto Assault and Pirates of the Burning Sea are trying a more evolutionary approach to trying to do something other than fantasy."
Like any industry watcher, Magnus also has his eyes on Asian developers. "The big Asian players are also coming in full force with new games and genres, and there is some really amazing stuff happening within their walls." He continues, saying, "They already have the funding and solid operational ground to experiment on, so watch that space (no pun intended)."
"It's too early to tell," he says, assessing the industry as a whole, "but these are certainly interesting times, and now is the opportunity to revolutionize the future of MMOGs. Fantasy games have established MMOGs in the minds of many gamers, but we're nowhere done yet, and the Western market hasn't come close to what's happening in Asia. World of Warcraft is the first true global MMOG success, but they certainly won't be the last."
Defying just about everyone else in the Western MMOG space, CCP doesn't rely on boxes for sales. There's no wailing and gnashing of teeth about the death of retail from CCP's end. "EVE was initially distributed in stores," he says, referring to a launch-time partnership with Simon and Schuster's game publishing division. However, "When CCP acquired the publishing rights back, we then decided that model was a dying one, and have stuck with a pure digital distribution strategy. Digital distribution allows us to be in control of our own destiny, much like the players in EVE, and that is what we value." They also don't charge for expansions, possibly the biggest cash cow for MMOG developers. This is because, he says, "We simply believe that charging for expansions and then for a subscription is double-charging the player, and therefore, we don't feel we should charge for expansions."
