The Live Team is hiring a designer!

From Linsey's journal, what sounds like an excellent news for the future of GW1:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User:...urdock/Journal

If more 'optional pay-to-get' updates are a 'brilliant future' of guild wars universe then surely I couldn't care less about that designer and his 'brilliant' ideas.

Ok so free pane, Nicholas The Traveller weekly gifts and zquests are not brilliant design? Or is this an attempt to derail the thread from the outset and transform it in a huge QQ?

Hurr durr

Anyways. Good to hear.

GWGURU is one big whining fest since last 2 years. Open your eyes and ask 'why?' people whine. You can't point fingers at the community all of the time.

The ideas for the big update were recycled ideas from games that already had them for a long time. They also managed to implement them worse than in the originals.

They also totally missed the point, in all other games token systems offer alternatives to get gear and equipment plus reduce grind. This only works so-so in terms of allegiance faction so far.

I suggest playing other games, too, then you might get the impression why GW is no longer going ahead, but going backwards and more grindy than contemporary games.

I hope their new designer is better indeed. I will cry if they manage to re-invent the DIKU MUD for GW2 and just add a new graphics engine and payment model.

GWG is a tiny part of the GW population, because most players actually play and don't spend time on fansites. This is not a QQ thread, there are other threads for that.

OT, what I'm wondering is whether this is a consequence of the April update, in the sense of it being so successful that they want to grow their activities on GW1 and need someone to help Linsey (could also simply be to help here as she said she's swamped and had some difficult times). I'm not sure this is possible because it usually takes a while to set up these posts in a fairly big company.

wanders if Joe got a promotions or something.

Why? Joe is a dev, not a designer.

I checked the Live Team on wiki, but couldn't find the new dev they've got, or is the post just recruited?

Regina is on LT but not Martin, but it's probably only a missed update.

good to hear

Hopefully this means they will push forward and actually do more with the game. (PvE wise anyway as there seems to be no love directed towards PvP at all)

Although for PvE I think the best thing to happen in past 2 years is definitely the daily z-quests, maybe they should have filched the idea from WoW sooner?

How long until they decide to add new dungeons with 32 man parties and no heroes ( 2 perma, 28 RoJ + 2 Heal monks gogogo )

Seriously though, I hope they will implement a huge skill balance before the next content update, or even scrap the next content update in favor of a game wide skill balance on both PvE and PvP and freshen the game up (plus it will make me laugh to see the QQ fest that follows the death of perma's)

Hmm good to see the "designing of missions" mentioned a lot. A new BMP might be fun. Then again this could just be C&V from a position offered before.

lol, okay, now I wanders if Ms Linsey has been promoted

you do realize that guild wars basic philosophy is... basically that. check factions, NF and eotn. ADDING but not requiring in any game manner the ability to purchase storage and char makeovers is an ADDITION to the game. nothing even compels you to get them, you enjoy the full game without them albeit with less storage.

i see your point if it gets to the point of pay 40 for new camp, and pay 5.99 for the skill searing flames and 9.99 for RoJ etc.... but no, GW is not there yet and it's not heading in that direction.



unfortunately the implication of the live team hiring a designer for gw1 means gw2 is not in the near future. and from the perspective of a designer.... during the interview i'd be darn sure to be asking what happens to me once gw2 comes out. hopefully the designer would be rolled into the gw2 team.... assuming he/she works out well.

Really? Thats a wild leap isnt it?

Personally I'd assume that it means that they want more people to work on GW1 so they don't have to stop people working on GW2.

God every silver lining has a cloud right?

I'd say a lot of people purposely go looking for and twist things around just so they do have something to whine about, myself...

Anyway, I have a couple of friends I may forward this to (one is waiting to hear back from an interview from 2k Boston but hey, never hurts to get yourself out there, right?). So yeah.

Sadly i agree... this is very bad news.

At the start of the gw1->gw2 process, the only task left for the live team was to finish HoM's compatability with gw2 and keeping gw1 running (regular events, bugs, skill balance).

The more effort they are putting into gw1, the worse the prospect is for GW2. With them hiring a designer for gw1 instead of gw2 im starting to lean more and more for the stories on gw2 being cancelled.

I would bet who ever applies for this position will have to compete with some people from the Quality Department.

GW1 and GW2 aren't communicating vases, where resources are constant between the two. There are various more probable scenarios where they increase in terms of resources (April update selling well, confidence gained after the May GW2 major internal deadline, Aion close to release and looking rather good), leading to recruitment.

And if Linsey is happy, it can't be bad .

ArenaNet, according to the latest NCSoft quarterly report, has grown to 176 people and that number has been growing steadily since 2007. Staff costs at ArenaNet were the biggest drain on NCWest's bottom line, indeed one of the biggest costs for NCSoft as a whole, aside from the NCSoft staff in Korea.

I hardly think they'd continue to hire staff at that rate and not be working on GW2. That is the only game ArenaNet has! Compared to other NCSoft titles (or even most other games), that is a BUNCH of people. Clearly, a lot of effort is being put into the project, especially since they mentioned expanding the entire game concept over what had originally been planned when they stopped major work on GW1.

If GW2 is much more than just a "fixed" GW1, which seems to be the case, then they will most certainly want to keep GW1 running along with GW2. To do that, minor additions are needed and the GW1 Live team is slowly expanding (they need to hire a Xunlai Auction House Designer/Manager for GW1, please).

GW2, from what little has been released, also isn't "human centric" (bleh, who wants to be a Charr?), so will most likely be very different from GW1 in setting and character types, so keeping GW1 around makes a lot of sense. Just like Lineage I (1998 release) is still around even though Lineage II has been out since 2003! GW1 still brings in a lot of money, so hopefully some of that will be used towards GW1 and not all put towards GW2, which is getting plenty of funding from both past GW sales and investment from NCSoft's push towards concentrating on AAA titles from now on. Once Aion Tower of Eternity has been fully released in the west and is running smoothly, then GW2 will start to take center stage. They'd be stupid to hurt Aion by releasing GW2 info now. Aion, while looking and sounding great (from what I've seen on trailers, fly-throughs and in-game footage), is nothing really new. While a bit more than "WoW with wings", it isn't anything new or revolutionary in any shape or form. It will do well (is doing well in Asia), but GW2 (if it is good) will be a far bigger game in the west. While many here like to rag on GW1, most players (former and current), love the game and will be lining up to buy GW2 when it comes out.

You "GW2 is vaporware" types should crawl back into your troll caves or, here is an idea, actually go play something you enjoy and not keep spreading this doom and gloom drivel you are so fond of, i.e. get a life.

To be honest Fril:

- Free pane: Way too late and it's because Anet approved that one pane would be free in exchange for personal info through NCSoft site that we got one. I wouldn't call this brilliant game design. It's good marketing.

- Nicholas The Traveller weekly gifts: It's the mechanism of him going to another location every week that makes it great design. The gifts (loot) themselves are not that super. Revamped Dragon sword again, some new mini cons, a revamped Bo staff, revamped black widow etc. All fun and cute I agree, but nothing compared to actual new content like a campaign or an expansion. Merchantile stones are wicked though.

-Zquests: they're only brilliant from Anet's point of view as they don't wanne invest in actual content, but recycle stuff instead and add some features. The equipment packs are the perfect carrot to make people replay old content or few would care to do them.

So yes Brilliant for Anet, but not so much for the long time or hardcore players around unless you're getting Gwamm on your 3rd character sorta speak. Like Longasc posted, once you start playing other games again, you see that GW is not really going forward. Telling the truth is actually seen as QQ on these forums, or at least by some. I understand that, they didn't reach the point yet where recycling stuff is not enough to gain that rich gaming experience anymore.

I bought 3 other games last month for a total of 150 euros for new content. I would be happy if I could have given it to Anet, but it's not my fault they don't come out with actual stuff.


It's good news they hire a designer, but it's not enough. They need a team of at least a dozen people to make new areas etc.

Gun, these new design features (forgot the pet menagerie!) are not only brilliant for Anet but also for people like me, who are not hardcore gamer (I simply don't have the time, you'd see my week schedule and you'd understand why). It is NOT a carrot for many of us, it's a direct addition to something we haven't done, contrarily to you. I perfectly understand and acknowledge your viewpoint and the one of Longasc, which I respect, but it still a good news. Who knows if what Linsey and the new designer (and IIRC there was a full time dev post a little while ago?) will come up with? Linsey clearly said she'd love a new realm.

Hope you're enjoying your 150euros games .

Uhm - no, actually, this is really good news, as it increases the manpower for GW1. This has no negative effect on GW2 whatsoever, no worries.

Tststs - that needs to get fixed, I am indeed part of the Live Team

Any game including Guild Wars is a business. It is meant to generate revenue. Understanding and respecting that notion eases a lot of frustration and pain when it comes to "pay to enjoy" optional stuff.

That said, it is indeed interesting to see Linsey leading a bigger team. It is good for her career and it is great for GW community. She has always delivered on what she promised. Title update was a huge success and so was the latest one.

Looking forward to see new "doable" things in GW. And, hopefully, a better approach to bot elimination. Last night in a JQ match, I faced a team of 6+ bots on Luxon side. And that's sad.

LMAO ... so next time you mother tells you to do something useful, let her know you are hard-core busy with preparing for future job opportunities ...

GW1 is a 10-year game which is why it will always need a large healthy team to support it. They still make just as much money off GW1 now as they did at release, which you can see in their own investor reports. GW1 is still selling strong, so why would they abandon that for GW2? They can easily do both at once like so many other companies have done before them.

The implication is they've already sold us all the optional junk they can (and made a pretty penny on it) - the next step is selling actual new content.

Damn... things like this make me sad that I already have a job.

Oh well, I'm more of a programmer anyway...

I am all for adding new areas to Tyria. Filling the empty spots on the map.

The new designer position at least gives hope that they plan to do a bit more till GW2. They probably got the idea that GW2 still needs quite some time.

Honestly, xanarot.
I can spin this the other way. The update was so successful, and generated so much money that ANet feels they should expand the Live Team's efforts to bring more content, more revenue, all the while allowing the GW2 team to stay focused on GW2. And the big upside is GW1 *might* be able to sustain itself without being a drain on ANet.

In my little world, though, I'm not interested in the micro-transactions. But, if it allows ANet to add additional free content, so be it.

-ANoid

**Edited for spelling

Not quite true, current GW1 sales are not as good as when the various campaigns were released, from millions down to hundreds of thousands. Last info I saw was through the end of 2008, with quarterly sales of around 200,000 each quater. Which is good, but nothing like the earlier sales when ArenaNet was releasing new campaigns. I haven't seen any breakdown of GW sales for 1st quarter 2009.

As I've said multiple times, hopefully a goodly share (after operating expenses) of the profit from that is going to GW1 and not all going to development of GW2, which NCSoft (several times) have mentioned is being funded from overall profits of all their games in support of their AAA title push. In other words, profits from the Lineage titles, City of Heroes/Villains, Guild Wars, Aion, etc., will be used to improve development of each new major title being released from now on (currently Aion, next GW2 hopefully) and so on.

All game sales increase during Sept, Oct, Nov, and Dec due to the holidays.

New God realms as free new content, a new BMP style buyable upgrade for optional.

And I'd be happy. /wishful

This and the daily quests was very brilliant design. Linsey rocks and is a decent Magic player too!

I've played them all and everything about Guild Wars is revolutionary and you can bank on Guild Wars 2 taking that to the next level. Jeff Strain broke it down best in the attached article. My favorite quote being:

"The primary design goal for Guild Wars is that you spend your time having fun, rather than preparing to have fun.." - Jeff Strain

I think Guild Wars was revoluntionary when it first came out and I think Guild Wars 2 will take it to the next level. I can hardly wait to play GW2. But make no mistake Stars Wars Old Republic will be the MMORPG that will shatter that level. Look at the news coming out of E3.

From what Linsey has said about what goes into level design, they'll need at least an artist as well to make sure all the textures work.

Of course, that might turn out to be the next thing they advertise for, but I'd guess an additional designer is more likely to mean more quests in existing zones than new zones.

I really wish I was up for "working for the man." Fact is, I hate what we've all become, and I no longer wish to contribute to our downfall...

Yeah I know, flame me at will...