WildStar Preview

Over at PC Gamer there is a new preview for upcoming sci-fi MMO WildStar, based on some hands-on time the writer spent with the title from Carbine Studios. Snippet ahead:

I use a combination of grenades and regular sword attacks to wipe out a few monkey camps and yet another mission type pops up in this case, a challenge. Designed to keep players on their feet, challenges suddenly up the stakes, asking you to wipe out a set number of enemy camps within a time limit in return for a randomised reward. While working on one of these challenges I realise that there are multiple types of exclusive quests available to my chosen path as a soldier, I’m also capable of tracking down assassination targets or triggering pointdefence sequences out in the wilderness. Honestly, even with my determination to play as free-spiritedly as possible, this sudden onrush of options is paralysing.

I asked Gaffney if he anticipated this. (We fractured it out intentionally,) he explains. (What we do is fracture it until it seems like too much, and then condense it. You have to do that because otherwise you’ll never know when you should have added one more layer. It’s better to go too far and ratchet it back a notch than never take a step forward.) By splitting the life of a single character into distinct channels with different play styles and rewards, the team at Carbine hope to make the experience of playing an MMORPG more generous and consistently engaging than it has traditionally been. This basic level of mechanical complexity underscores the whole game. As a soldier, I’ve opted for an experience that focuses on combat. Were I a scientist or a settler, however, I may have other objectives to consider, or other reasons to be hunting specific species in Deradune’s wilds.

(We let the players do as much as they can simultaneously,) Gaffney explains, describing the ideal behaviour of a lategame WildStar player as a layer cake of complementary mechanics. (I’m in the middle of kicking dudes into mines while at the same time I’m scanning them and studying them, and I’m unlocking and questing and doing a timed challenge and I’m doing all of this stuff at once because I’m awesome. That’s very powerful, and if there’s a principle that impacts all of our designs, it’s that one.)

(It lets you choose what your critical path is,) he continues. (What do you want to do in this game session? Do you want to work on your path stuff, or do you want to try to get through the main story arc? That dilettante style is something that I personally find fun.)