The beta lasted only nine days. On January 9, 2005, after careful consideration of the way the beta had played out, examination of our internal metrics and an honest appraisal of the MMOG landscape (WoW launched the previous November), we made the decision to shut things down.
Wish had no single cause of death, but overhype played a huge role. Our statistics didn't lie. At every step of the way, from signing up for beta, to downloading and installing the client, to playing the game for more than an hour, we lost huge percentages of players. In case we didn't trust the stats, tons of players told us about their departure on our forums, as well.
On message boards, people had spent months retelling the tales of the first beta with Live Content, and by the time our next beta hit, those of us who actually created those events didn't even recognize the tales being told. The community had gotten carried away with itself, and we'd encouraged it.
This same phenomenon applies across all fields. The Da Vinci Code movie simply couldn't recreate the magic people had experienced when they read the novel, despite a massive marketing campaign. A politician who rises to power with big promises and high expectations can be voted out just as quickly if he's nothing short of amazing. This is the same reason that people routinely list massive hit movies, books, games or shows on their "worst ever" lists.
For the community and marketing people, it is important to define and recognize where awareness of a product ends and inflation begins. The worst part is, they're battling human nature. Imagination is always more fun than reality. In imagination, features do not get cut or reigned in to meet deadlines, and things like poly-counts and draw distances need not be considered.
There are people who will spend years of their life following a game's development. During that time, they write fan-fiction, draw pictures, run websites and chat on message boards. These people are not the problem; after investing so much of themselves into the game's progression, they'd never let themselves be disappointed. The danger comes when casual fans expect more than a developer has to offer. When that happens, usually the developers or community and marketing folks are to blame.
The key for developers is not to lie, exaggerate or promise things they're only moderately sure they can do. Hype is not bad. Half-Life 2 may be one of the most-hyped games of all time, but fans were generally happy with the product, and it sold extremely well. The same could be said for The Sims 2. The key is that in those cases, the developers did what they said they would do.
For small and mid-sized developers, this battle can never be fully won. Usually, simple economics means they're going to produce mid-quality titles. What they need to recognize is what niche their game fills and try to attract a community that respects that. A decent game can be sunk if the community expects more than what's delivered and simply doesn't buy it on principal.
The dangers of overhype can't be ignored. It is the difference between a legendary train-wreck in the style of Daikatana and another no-name game lost to history. Whether it's inexperience or hubris, hype can kill. But so long as it is tempered by reality, and continually kept in check, it can propel a game to unbelievable heights. Unfortunately, it's a lesson many learn in retrospect.
Dana "Lepidus" Massey is the Lead Content Editor for MMORPG.com and former Co-Lead Game Designer for Wish.
