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While developers are still trying to work out how to bring MMOs to consoles, Order & Chaos Online has managed to become a successful MMO on an even unlikelier platform: iOS. We talk to Gameloft community manager Callum Rowley about the future of MMOs on iOS.
Q: How many people are currently working on Order & Chaos Online?
Callum Rowley: During the development of Order & Chaos Online we had over 30 developers on the team, which is the biggest team we’ve had on a mobile title to date. That also wasn’t including Quality Assurance, Support etc. – so as you can see it was quite a large-scale project.
We currently have a scaled down team working on the post-launch updates for the title, with the intention of releasing regular updates to expand the world, the features and ensure everyone has something fresh and new to play on a regular basis.
Q: Developing MMOs for PCs is often very high-risk. Is the iOS MMO genre something that could appeal to large-scale developers as a lower-cost, lower-risk alternative?
CR: Potentially. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses and Order & Chaos Online was a very ambitious project for Gameloft to undertake. MMOs on the move are something we definitely believe we’ll see more of, especially as devices become more and more powerful and we see the likes of 4G connections made available worldwide.
Q: The game has already caught the attention of third party sites who are trying to undercut the official store. How has this affected the game?
CR: With Order & Chaos Online we don’t view it as having an effect on the game’s economy or players’ gameplay experience as it is with other, more traditional MMORPGs, because we offer players the opportunity to purchase in-game gold/runes as a in-app purchase, and so the game has been tailored and balanced to this sort of play style. However, we do see it as being detrimental to the life of the game – if players turn to 3rd party sellers rather than Gameloft’s own in-game store then the profitability of the game decreases, making it harder to justify future updates for the game.
Q: What are you doing to combat this?
CR: We have a dedicated team within Gameloft who are dealing with the problem of players trying to undercut the official store, and we actively encourage our players to report anyone who they suspect is involved in such transactions.
Q: Blizzard has attempted to counter-act gold farming schemes in Diablo 3 by creating a player-driven auction house. Is this a reasonable way to deter gold farming operations or will it only make it easier for gold farmers to sell items for real world money?
CR: I think it’s important to take a pro-active stance and try new ways to deter prohibited gold farming / real world money operations while maintaining an engaging and fun experience for the players, so we wish them all the best.
Q: With MMO titles like this being offered at such a low subscription rate, can you see bigger titles in the future lowering their own fees?
CR: It really comes down to player expectations. For example, with Order & Chaos Online we didn’t want to charge a £30 fee for the game and then £6.99 for the monthly subscription because, even though the game is comparable to a full MMORPG experience on your Mac/PC where you might expect to pay those prices, it’s not a pricing structure familiar to the app store.
Q: Are modern MMO players less willing to pay for things compared to in the past?
CR: With so much choice in the MMORPG market – from browser, social network, subscription, free to play and now mobile – I think players are just being more selective about what they choose to pay for. We’ve heard many stories about the successes of these different models in MMOs so we believe there is still a very active market out there.
Q: Is it reasonable to think we’ll be seeing other unexpected genres like FPS or establish console titles on new, rarely-explored platforms in the future?
CR: Absolutely. And we aim to be on the forefront when they arrive. For example, we have recently begun to release our games on set-top boxes (such as the FREE box in France) and Smart TVs (such as the Panasonic VIERA TVs) that have their own built-in app stores. It’s an exciting time for the digital market with lots of scope and new technology hitting consumer’s shelves.
Q: How often are updates and expansions expected?
CR: We are currently aiming to release updates on a monthly basis for Order & Chaos Online, with our second update – which introduces the first high-level instance (Relic Keys Dungeon) to the game, as well as a host of new items and gameplay tweaks – being released over the coming days. A second dungeon and more new features is then planned for the third official
update.
