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Originally Posted by Gaile
Two Question & Answer Sessions
The day also included a pair of Q&A or "interview sessions." First came the Fansite Q&A, where European community sites participated in a round-robin question and answer session. Participants included representatives from five sites originating in three countries: Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. The format called for a designated staff member from each site to ask a question, which was translated by Martin Kerstein, our German Community Coordinator for NCE. Then, Isaiah or I—and usually both of us—would respond with an answer. The questions spanned topics from competitive gameplay to Nightfall, and from much-requested game features to the future of Guild Wars as a whole.
A fan Q&A followed in the afternoon, and the players asked many good questions about Guild Wars, Nightfall, and more. Here are sketches of a few of the questions and answers: - Reconnects: One player asked, as a few had asked earlier in a more informal setting, about whether Guild Wars will someday support the ability to reconnect to an existing map (either a PvP game or a mission) in cases where a player is disconnected. I spent a few minutes explaining the complexities involved in what, on the surface, may seem a simple feature. I mentioned challenges such as the potential for intentional disconnects to abuse the system, for instance, to reset a Skill Bar, avoid certain monsters, preserve a title, and so on. Isaiah concurred and added to the list other challenges that we will need to address. The audience responded positively to the explanation, and several nodded in agreement that it was truly not a simple matter. Audience members reacted even more favorably when we said that the entire team very much hopes we can implement a reconnection feature in the future and that, because such a feature would give advantage in competitive play if not offered globally, it would surely be offered to all players, rather than being offered specifically in one campaign and not another.
- Campaign-Specific Content: A player asked why we only offered the expanded storage to Factions players. He indicated that he was concerned about future campaign-specific elements of the game. I explained that for matters that are not unbalancing—that do not give anyone an advantage—we must reserve the right to offer new features that are exclusive to a new campaign. Isaiah added comments in agreement with that position, as well. We found that when we explained, players do understand that, because our game requires no monthly fee, we should offer incentives to purchase the next game. For it is through purchasing new games that players support development of such games as Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall.
- Skill Balance: Isaiah was asked about balancing skills, and he explained the process and detailed how, when certain skills are overpowered or certain game choices become less popular, the team looks into making changes that reinvigorate gameplay and make specific areas more fun.
- Duplicate Skills: A player asked why Factions offered duplicate skills. Isaiah explained their purpose and the thinking behind the duplicates. He said that it was not yet certain if duplicate skills would be offered in Nightfall. I added a bit that I've shared in forums: The duplicate skills are extras, not part of the promised number of skills for Factions. So their inclusion in no way reduced the number of new skills for the professions and, in my opinion, should be seen only as a positive thing.
- Online Store and Skill Packs: Another player asked about whether we would consider offering the ability to purchase skills from previous campaigns via the online store. I assured him that this idea is something that the team definitely would consider.
- Fan Feedback: With a few of the answers I gave, I may have gotten up on my soapbox a little bit. This is because it's important to all of us to let players know that the entire team reads the forums and listens to fan requests, comments, and suggestions. I told everyone that we truly do visit the fan forums every day to read what the players think. It goes without saying that players can see that their input is reflected throughout Guild Wars, as it always shall be.
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