Ce site requiert JavaScript pour fonctionner.
Veuillez activer JavaScript dans votre navigateur.
Live
RPT
11.0.2
RPT
11.0.5
Bêta
Player Housing with Taliesin & Evitel: Who Should WoW Copy To Make It Happen?
Live
Publié
05/03/2024 à 09:48
par
Wowhead
Taliesin & Evitel have released a video about Player Housing and how it could work in World of Warcraft, co-written by our own DiscordianKitty! Check it out below.
WoW's Failed Attempts at Player Housing
Before we can talk about what would make player housing succeed, we need to take a look at where it failed - and why.
Sunsong Ranch
Sunsong Ranch was a little farm that players gained access to through a series of quests in
Mists Pandaria
, and arguably World of Warcraft's first attempt at Player Housing.
Pros:
Since Sunsong Ranch was phased, individual players were alone on their farm, but there was always activity around the farmer’s market nearby.
Upgrades to the farm included items that made farming easier, a variety of aesthetic upgrades like various animals and some furniture, a mailbox, and a stove.
Ultimately, no one had to bother with the farm if they didn’t want to. Sunsong Ranch was not related to any player power. Though the farm did provide some reputation quests, none of its upgrades made it feel essential to the game.
This might have honestly been the farm’s strongest trait.
Rule: Player housing should always feel voluntary.
Cons:
Planting and harvesting crops couldn’t help but feel like a mobile-game style chore.
The aesthetic upgrades to the farm were minor, and customization was nonexistant.
Sunsong Ranch was very much tied to the expansion it featured in. The moment the rewards became obsolete, players lost any reason to return.
Garrisons
Garrisons from
Warlords of Draenor
were World of Warcraft's most serious attempt at Player Housing.
Pros:
A lot more customization. The stables and pet areas could display mounts and pets from players’ own collections. Pedestals around the Garrison could be used to display special monuments, unlockable through a variety of achievements
Garrisons had their own special holiday events, and they introduced Pepe - who has managed to remain evergreen for many players.
Garrisons were genuinely useful - to this day, the Garrison Hearthstone is one of the quickest and easiest ways to visit Warlords of Draenor zones.
Cons:
For player housing to succeed, it cannot be an expansion-defining feature. It has to be evergreen, and it has to be optional. Both Sunsong Ranch and Garrisons failed at both.
Spend enough time building up your Garrison and there was never any need to visit Stormwind or Orgrimmar. Warlords never even had a major city - there was no need for one. Garrisons ended up replacing cities in the worst posible way, isolating players and bringing a sense of inherent loneliness to the expansion.
Trade was badly affected - in their Garrison, every player could grow their own herbs and mine their own ore whether they had those professions or not, why bother to trade for them?
The work that went into them is said to have cost an entire raid tier, and that was just with the generic Human and Orc designs.
Even though Garrisons were a lot more customizable than Sunsong Ranch, upgrades and furniture were still largely predetermined.
Other MMOs
So what would work? Other MMOs have successfully implemented this feature, so we take a look at their examples.
Final Fantasy XIV
Pros:
It's possible to get to know your neighbours and your neighbourhood.
Cons:
A fantasy game that exists for escapism should not have a housing shortage.
World of Warcraft players probably don't want a new pocket area outside of Stormwind or Orgimmar, they want their little apartment in Stormwind or Orgrimmar.
Elder Scrolls Online
The model that World of Warcraft should follow.
Pros:
In Elder Scrolls Online, player housing ranges from simple single rooms within inns to sprawling mansions that are far more suited to guild housing.
The easiest homes to obtain are handed to you with a simple quest.
The housing system is entirely optional.
Houses are account-wide, the system is similar to mount collecting, but with a roof.
Most houses you can buy empty and decorate yourselves - or, if you’re willing to spend a little more, you can buy them fully furnished.
Furnishings can be crafted with professions, and encourages trade. It gives crafters a reason beyond player power to become skilled in their professions. (Imagine a Blood Elf tailor being able to create special Blood Elf tapestries)
Players can also place mounts and pets as decorations. (Imagine being able to also display World of Warcraft armor sets and toys.)
Houses work as portals - similar to the Garrison hearthstone.
Houses act as aspirational content - impressive houses can be locked behind achievements and other challenges.
Houses can be shared in guilds - with the largest houses acting as guild housing.
Fun, limited houses, like a house inside a snowglobe available during ESO's equivalent of Winter Veil.
Cons:
The ESO housing system is tied to the game's extremely predatory cash shop. This sort of monetization is not what we want to see in World of Warcraft.
S'abonner à Wowhead
Premium
2 $US
Un mois
[Enjoy an ad-free experience, unlock premium features, & support the site!]
Afficher les 0 commentaires
Masquer les 0 commentaires
Connectez-vous pour laisser un commentaire
Commentaire Anglais (169)
Poster un commentaire
Vous n'êtes pas connecté(e). Veuillez vous
connecter
ou vous
inscrire
pour ajouter votre commentaire.
Message précédent
Message suivant