Wildstar: Dodging the WoW Factor

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. A category of games dominated by Blizzard's 9 year-old behemoth World of Warcraft, but Wildstar isn't your atypical WoW killer. Perhaps because publisher NCsoft are experienced enough to realise the dangers of trying to go up against Blizzard. Developer Carbine Studios looks at the project as a golden opportunity to bring their own flavour to the MMO scene and break many of the genre conventions we've grown used to over the years.

"As we sat down to figure out the foundation of Wildstar we found inspiration in many places. We wanted to make a game that looked like a comic book, but still something that wasn't based solely on Disney Pixar. That's why we tried to be inspired by comic books aimed at young adults," says art director Matt Mocarski.

"It was important to us that we were able to tell a mature story without being held back by the art style we had chosen. Yes, my nephew can read Batman, but I have to be very careful with what I let him read. Not all Batman stories are suitable for small children. And I think we've found a style that fits very well with what we're trying to convey to the players."

When asked about where he personally took inspiration he mentions Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl, Gorillaz) among others. "I also love Joe Madureira's style, a personal friend of mine. He did a fantastic job with Darksiders."

It's easy to see what he's talking about when you take a look at Wildstar. A lot of the employees at Carbine, Mocarski included, have previously worked at Blizzard Entertainment. And a lot of people quickly make comparisons between their current project and World of Warcraft, and while it's a natural comparison to make, Wildstar clearly has its own style and universe.

"We're not locked down to a property that has existed for two decades. We can think outside the box and make something brand new from the ground up. This is what drives the team to come up with new ideas and stories. Everyone working at Carbine is required to voice their idea of what direction the game ought to take."

"All it takes is that someone in the design team creates a piece of concept art that looks fun, and someone on the writing team gets inspired by what they see. "I see that this has something to do with Chua. I'll write up a story about it now." That's how we work."

The first major difference compared to other games in the genre is the combat. Everything is very responsive and plays out in real-time. You can dodge incoming attacks, and markers on the ground signal where an enemy will strike and how long until it strikes. You need to focus a lot more, and it's a lot of fun once you get into it. It comes across as more alive and not as static as many other games. The days where you'd stand still and hammer a certain key are over. "Limited Action Set" allows the player to pick a set of passive and active abilities. By allowing players to pick a handful of abilities from a vast selection makes for very diverse player types - it's easy to create a build suited for the task at hand - whether it's PvE or PvP, or simply to accomodate your own playing style. Some may prefer to stay out of harm's way while still dealing damage, while others may want a build suited for being in the midst of battle.

As you can tell Wildstar still follows many of the conventions that we have grown to expect from an MMORPG. You have missions where you're tasked with slaying a set number of enemies, and you have missions where you go to point Y to pick up Z and back again. But that's fine. It's expected. And a lot has been done to break up the monotomy of these kind of missions. You're rewarded for exploring, but you're not penalised if you opt out of exploration. Everything has be done to tailor the game to your playstyle.

The game has also gone through a lot of changes over the years. Carbine started out on Wildstar in secret back in 2005, and after their acquisition by NCsoft in 2007 it was simply revealed that they worked on an MMO. It wasn't until 2011 that Wildstar got officially unveiled. The game was then meant to see release this year, but it was pushed back and will now be released during the first half of 2014. And player feedback is something they take very seriously.

"Each Monday we devote the entire day to take in feedback from our players, both those with access to the beta, and other websites that we follow closely. There has been many suggestions that have later made it into the game."

Carbine has made it very clear that they desire an open dialogue with players. They host livestreams where they show off new classes, areas and abilities they are working on. They answers questions posed by those watching and they've made entertaining and informative video features dubbed DevSpeak where the basic concepts, such as the Limited Action Set, or player housing, are covered. All of the videos end with the line "Remember, the devs are listening", and that's not just idle words, it's something Carbine live by.

"We've actually changed entire game mechanics based on feedback from fans. And we do all of this in order to make the best game we possibly can."

Having talked to Matt Mocarski, it's easy to tell there is a lot of enthusiasm. They truly love this game, and look forward to having players join in at launch. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and I leave with a good feeling about what Carbine are building towards. It's a great time to be an MMO player.