Tabula Rasa is triple-A and here to stay, says NC West President
Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, MMO industry, Tabula Rasa
Massively recently had the chance to speak with NC West's newly appointed President of Publishing, David Reid. The bulk of the interview concerned the formation of NC West and its implications for NCsoft as a whole, but David also took the time to answer our questions about several of NCsoft's existing triple-A titles, including Tabula Rasa. Massively: Obviously, Tabula Rasa is one of the triple-A titles NCsoft has in its stable. We hope you'll disagree, but we've heard again and again these rumors from players who are talking to people and from people within the industry, that people within the company are looking at Tabula Rasa to perform better than it has in the past, and that if it doesn't, then there might be consequences to that business reality. Can you clarify that for us, or expand upon that?
David Reid: Let's start with the obvious thing, right? I think the company's been candid about the fact that Tabula Rasa didn't launch at the level we hoped it would, and to that end, we have not given up on the game, we have not given up on the team, and the team hasn't given up! They have worked incredibly hard to improve that product over the months since launch. In fact, I think we just shipped our twelfth update to the game recently.
"I think people who gave Tabula Rasa a shot during Beta would find a very different, very solid and vastly improved game..." |
So on that side of things, on the promotional and marketing side, we're very happy with how this has turned out for us. And of course last week we were on the Stephen Colbert show, the Colbert report, with Mr. Colbert donating his DNA to help save the human race after some unknown disastrous future if that should come our way. We did announce Stephen Hawking this morning – again, one of mankind's greatest minds has now put his DNA on the immortality drive.
And this just speaks to the appeal that a fully realized Tabula Rasa game is able to bring, and just that there is a really exciting intellectual property there, and story, and part of that genre that we know the MMO gamers are excited about.
So we've done everything that we feel like we need to do as a company, as a publisher, to shake that game up. And going from there, I think it's fair to say that every product all the time is being looked at for how it's performing and things like that, and we see improvement happening in Tabula Rasa. We're encouraged by it.
And not much more to add, other than the fact that like you said, Tabula Rasa is a triple-A MMO. It is a game that is very much in the wheelhouse of what NC West and NCsoft globally are all about.
Massively: So from your perspective, then, Tabula Rasa is definitely moving in the direction you guys want it to, and you are hopeful that it will take its place alongside games like City of Heroes and ArenaNet's Guild Wars, in this group of games that you will be focusing on in the future?
DR: You bet. You got it.
Read what David had to say on Guild Wars and on the recent changes within NCsoft.
_thumbnail.jpg "Aion Beta: Asmodian Ascension Quest")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
possum said on 6:58PM 9-24-2008
ONE thing these devs and suits fail to realize is the belief that folks will come back once "we have the game fixed".
This is rarely the case. I will try a game, whether i get in beta or open or simply when it comes out, if i find the customer service blows chips, i am gone, regardless of the quality of the game. If i find the game is unfinished, buggy, i am gone, and like the case with Tabula Rasa, ignorant devs with no clue ignoring the player base for so long before "fixing things", well i was gone there also.
..........and i will not go back to any of them, very simple, i lose no entertainment value as there is plenty still out there, but those that lied, decieved, and released games like Tabula Rasa they way they did deserve absolutely no cash from my pocket.
any number of folks holding on to hope on any particular game will actually become irate and post with comments such as, good riddence, can i have your stuff or dont let the door hit you on the way out, its these folks accepting low standards in todays mmo industry that keeps releases like AOC, Tabula Rasa, and now Warhammer with its buggy launch the norm, sad.
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Lateris said on 8:48PM 9-24-2008
I really loved the targeting system in TR. I Would also love to see a space game made for this game.
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double9s said on 10:47PM 9-24-2008
That's a pretty depressing take on the situation, possum. Maybe the game is actually much better (it is) than it was at launch and you're depriving yourself of a new experience, something of great value in the MMO genre. I also think you're being a bit harsh on the "ignorant devs" who in this case make great efforts to listen to the community and develop their game accordingly. I don't know all the details of this or many other launches, but I don't think it's hard to imagine that the devs were trying to make the best game they could while the publishers were just trying to make a deadline so they could start generating revenue. Business is business so I supposse you can't fault the suits for being that way, but it's unfair to judge the devs so aggressively.
Tabula Rasa is a good game. I suggest people give it a try, and maybe throw your support behind something new instead of falling back on old reliables.
Lighten up, possum.
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phobic99 said on 5:58AM 9-25-2008
I'm sure a lot of people gave it a try, in the beginning.
The question is, who actually wants to try it again?
double9s said on 10:05AM 9-25-2008
"who actually wants to try it again?"
- Someone sick of WoW.
- Someone who wants a sci-fi MMO.
- Someone who wants a new kind of combat system.
- Someone who wants regularly added new content and changes based on community feedback.
- Someone who wants to put their support behind a game with lots of potential.
Or you could just go log into your rogue.
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Evi said on 10:41AM 9-25-2008
While I don't feel quite as gloomy as possum, he/she has a point. I tried TR once already. I don't have a lot of interest in giving them another shot. It's super hard to get people re-interested in a game once they've already tried it (and were unsatisfied).
Many of the MMORPGs released lately seem to underestimate how important it is to be ready AT launch, not after. AoC's handling of their launch was particularly appalling. I really wish they would have spent an extra six months or a year working on the game. It was depressing to play and see so much amazing potential implemented so poorly.
MMORPG fans aren't accustomed to giving second chances and I'm not sure anything will change that. I understand that MMORPGs are always a work in progress; always evolving and growing. But the bar has been raised, and you just can't get away with a buggy product anymore. Gamers demand more these days, and they want it NOW, not six months to a year after the game was released.
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double9s said on 11:05AM 9-25-2008
You guys act like a second shot would be some huge undertaking, when aside from downloading the client, it's risk free. Bored on a Saturday? Give it a shot.
If your response is that you don't have enough interest in the game to even do that, then why are you reading this article? Unless maybe it's fun for you (more possum than Evi) to beat on a game, because then I give up.
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Evi said on 11:56AM 9-25-2008
No, I don't think giving it another shot would be a "huge undertaking". I didn't say that. I might even try their free trial at some point in the future.
My point was that MMORPG fans are not accustomed to giving games a second shot if they were unsatisfied the first time around. I don't see that changing. The initial launch period is very important. It's a shame that TR and AoC will probably not woo back many of those fans, despite numerous improvements made to their games.
Cray said on 12:52AM 9-26-2008
Double9s, Its really all about first impressions. When you try something out for the first time and you don't like it, its kinda hard to convince yourself to try it again unless the circumstances change. Tabula Rasa is actually a fairly decent MMO, especially for the scifi themes, but it's first impressions was not smooth at all.
So If NCsoft has any hope to make people forget about those (bad) first impressions it needs to scream loud and clear that its not the buggy game anymore and it is vastly improved MMO. They need to preach that until they recoup those that bailed after the first impressions.
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Ice said on 9:45AM 10-02-2008
Well.. ive a been a loyal subscriber to TR for about 6 months now, have tried it in closed beta, aswell as did i preorder the game.. Dont see what you people hate about it, and all that blabbering about raising the bar, have actually been there at the launch of WoW or Lineage 2 ? Guess not a lot of people understand how shallow they are by suggesting that game is supposed to be full of conetent at launch... In general most mmos develop from the community, as did this one and it is still ever growing. I honestly enjoy it, and this is the only game that actually got me interested enough to get past level 30, unlike WoW or L2 or other games, and ive played most of the mmos since UO..
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WrrLor said on 5:53PM 11-05-2008
Warhammer in the list of buggy launches...that is funny. It seemed like one of the best launches ever, from my perspective. Tabula Rasa had a pretty great launch, as well. There were some issues with both, but all together they were good experiences.
Not sure what you are getting at, Possum...
BTW, Thread Necro FTW! :)
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