Pages: 1 2  If you ask Scott Hartsmann, Executive Producer of the new MMORPG Rift, to compare his game with World of Warcraft, he won’t. Instead, he’ll passionately detail the Rift experience, leaving you to make your own comparisons. I had the opportunity to join several other games journalists in a Q&A session with Hartsmann to discuss the game’s beta testing and longevity. As expected, the session included a healthy dose of the standard PR rhetoric, but our primary focus was on the game’s ability to deliver on its promises. The MMO genre is full of promising games that launched successfully, only to suffer from lackluster content and ensuing player disappointment. So we gave Hartsmann the opportunity to convince us that Rift would succeed where other games have failed.
The interview began with a quick rundown of the game’s backstory and development team. Most of this information can be found here, so I’ll save you the recap. However, Hartsmann did mention a few things that caught my attention. Rift’s development team is composed of equal parts MMO experts and single-player console game developers. I can picture some readers cringing at the bastardization of their preferred genre, but to me, this diversity is the right step in ensuring that Rift will have a balanced gaming experience. My background is in single-player console games, but I’m quickly becoming addicted to MMORPGs, so the thought that Rift could combine the experiences of two seemingly incompatible genres is encouraging.
 Looking at the screenshots, you get the impression that the designers and developers aren’t catering to slower PCs in the hopes of expanding the user base. We were reassured that Rift would not only be accessible to slower systems, but if you’ve dropped the cash on a top-of-the-line PC, Rift will also make use of your superior CPUs and GPUs. This is accomplished by using two rendering engines, depending on which system you own. My gaming rig doesn’t suck, but it’s nothing to boast about, so I’m anxious to test Rift’s performance on my older machine.
At this point in the Q&A, the floor was opened up for us to question Hartsmann on everything from the game’s storyline to its ability to compete with WoW. I’ve picked the questions that I thought were the most relevant to the skeptics and cynics out there. If you still have unanswered questions, let me know; I’ll see if I can track down the answers for you.
Q: Rift is adhering to mature content and realistic graphics. Is this a response to complaints about the “dumbing down” and cartoonish nature of other MMOs? Is there a specific core audience that you’re looking to target?
Scott Hartsmann: The Rift developers and designers are some of the best at what they do, so it makes sense that the graphics and content reflect their technical prowess. Having said that, the game is meant to be as accessible as possible. There is content intended for players who are new to MMOs, but experienced fans of the genre will have plenty of content as well.
Q: In keeping with the question about different skill levels, will players that have different levels be able to enter zones and participate in world events together? For example, in WoW, friends who form a group need to essentially be the same level to quest together.
SH: Yes, players who are at different levels will be able to group together to participate in zone events. There are plans for post-launch modifications that will increase the ability of lower-level players to enter zones with high-level players for a wider range of events.
Q: Will Rift deliver when it comes to the quality and amount of end-game content?
SH: Rift will have a metric crap-ton of end-game content. Right now Rift probably has more end-game content than leveling content. When players reach higher levels of experience, additional story content and levels will be unlocked. Higher level players will also have access to 10 and 20-man raid instances as well as dedicated PvP warfronts.
Q: Will Rift have a persistent story progression and a logical conclusion to the rift events? In other words, right now the main goal of the game is to seal the rifts. Will rifts ever cease to be the focus?
SH: Without being too specific, yes, there is a persistent progression of the Rift story while players quest and level. And yes, there are plans for a logical conclusion to the rifts that are tearing Telara apart. The team at Trion Worlds has been planning the future of Rift and has mapped out future updates, events and plot points that will not only shape and change the world of Telara, but will [also] give players a progressive story that can be invested in.
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That last answer was brilliant.
Having messed around with the beta, witnessed the rift events, and experienced the soul system I am unimpressed. Just as we discussed here: http://www.avault.com/news/final-rift-betas/ and also on Facebook, I am under impression that RIFT is just another WoW remake, and nobody can beat WoW at being WoW. =)
I feel like I’ve been repeating the same few catch-phrases a lot in the past few days, but really that’s what it boils down to. =)
If you haven’t watched this brilliant video yet – please do! http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/1906-The-Future-of-MMOs
With that said, great job with those questions Booth! Thou art da man!
I am enjoying Rift beta. But I have never played WoW so I can’t compare it. It is much different then LOTRO, DDO, AoC. Not sure if I want to spend so much time in it. And I now have DCUO so who knows.
@ Remy – Yeah, that was a gem.
“Hey, I noticed the game gets boring after a while”
“Oh yeah, that. It’s supposed to.”
But he did bring up a good point about distinguishing between beta’s and the final product in terms of limited gaming experience.
@Alaric – I had written this before playing the beta and spent about 5-6 hours in the beta. My post-beta opinion is that the game has many generic MMO mechanics, many of which fit the WoW mold. I was able to enjoy some different experiences with this game, such as the rifts, invasions, and an overall sense that what I was doing was more serious/important than WoW. I also preferred RIFT’s graphics over WoW’s graphics.
In the end, my opinion is that RIFT is a better experience than WoW, but not by enough. If someone new to the genre asked me which one to invest in, I’d say RIFT. If someone was currently invested in WoW, unless they were bored and just wanted a change of pace, I’d say it’s toss up.
@Anthony – If you enjoyed RIFT it’s definitely worth investing in, especially if you have a beefier machine. But I’ve heard some good things about DCUO, although I’ve never played it. If you’re around during the 7th beta, hit me up. We can seal some rifts together.
Having played Rift now the last few betas and working with booth I must say I have been pleasantly surprised. I am actually looking forward to the next beta event. The game just feels very polished and with my system its running on the highest settings at min 40 fps always.. Its not doing many things new.. But what it is doing is successfully keeping me interested. Good job so far.
And I have to give Lasadorian a hand for weathering my fits of ADD while trying to drop some MMO knowledge on me.
He’s taken some awesome screen-shots that I hope to share with you all when I write my pre-launch beta review article.
two things:
1 – Other MMOs need to get it out of their heads that they are competing with WoW or that they will be the ‘next WoW.’ This aint going to happen. Ultima Online & Everquest 1 are still being played and have loyal subscribers amd the same will be… is true with WoW. I am not saying that WoW sub numbers will not eventually lower, but none of these so-called up & coming MMOs will ever be WoW. Once these designers get that out of their heads, maybe they will actually make a good and more importantly, economically viable, MMO
2 – WoW only true competition will come from the yet to be announced MMO from Blizzard itself, codenamed Titan. That is WoW’s one and only true heir.
Titan is supposedly a fps mmo.
I have a hard time seeing that be any competition with wow.
You have to ask yourself, why would blizzard make a game that would directly compete with WoW.
It won’t as long as they keep updating wow… or subscriptions drop…
I heard it Titan ‘supposedly’ was not a FPS…
‘Supposedly’ doesnt cut it. Until further details are released, all you or anyone else knows is that its a MMO, period. Dont spread rumors.
To answer your question:
1 – When one has reached the limits of what one can do, then just like Commander Dekker and V’Ger, one needs to evolve.
or
2 – if not compete, then compliment. Multiple players have mutliple subs to WoW itself as well as maintain active subs to other MMOs, so this is a good possibility as well (and could make your ‘supposed’ assumption more valid). Also, there could be in-game bonuses for keeping both accounts active.
Don’t be a noob Bob. How many hours have you put into the RIFT beta or even seeing what RIFT is about?
If you would have read the interview in it’s entirety, you’d know that RIFT is avoiding that “WoW competition” argument. That doesn’t mean that they don’t secretly hope to compete with it.
Of course the game has a lot in common with WoW. It also has a bit different, and most non-WoW-fanboys that I’ve talked to, who have played RIFT, really like it. Enough to invest in its future. The in-game chat was also full of people ready to commit to RIFT.
I like WoW, I just don’t see why people are so content with acting like a game that looks 7 years old is the best MMO in the foreseeable future.
Who cares if it’s like WoW or has a lot of similar mechanics. It looks WAY better than WoW, and if someone is having a better experience in RIFT, that’s all that matters.
I liked RIFT a lot, but I like WoW too. My buddy already bought me a 3 month subscription to WoW, so I have no desire to invest in a different game. But in 3 months I might change my mind.
Booth, that is one weak argument. Come on, man, what are you doing?
Yes, of course RIFT uses a newer graphical engine, no surprise there. So did Aion and a bunch of others. But it is still the same exact game as WoW. Sure, a few folks might switch to it because of the graphics, but other than that there is not a chance that it will achieve anywhere near WoW’s success. Not because WoW is so amazing, it’s not, but because RIFT (Aion, Allods Online, etc.) entered the arena with a “me too” mentality. And no matter what the developers may say, that is exactly what is happening.
And the in-game chat is not any indication whatsoever. All MMOs I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot) have a few dozen rabid fanboys in each channel, who can’t shut up about how this game is awesome and nothing at all like WoW, and so on and so forth. Every time someone dares to compare, they come down on that person like a pack of hyenas. But then, as you look at the numbers down the line, the player base still ends up being minuscule compared to WoW.
I think you missed my point, or I was unclear in expressing it.
Is RIFT a lot like WoW? Yes.
Is RIFT a great game so far? Yes.
Are most gamers really enjoying RIFT? From what I’ve seen, yes.
All any of us have to go off of is personal/anecdotal experience when it comes to RIFT, any concrete evidence won’t be available until after the game has been released.
RIFT had more in common with WoW than I was expecting, and it that was disappointing.
But when you look at RIFT without comparing it to WoW, it’s a great game. I can see players investing in RIFT if they have become bored with their current MMO. However, if a person isn’t invested in an mmorpg or is a newcomer to the genre, RIFT is a good choice, but not a hands-down winner.
If someone was to come to me and say, “Booth, I’m thinking of subscribing to an MMO, what should I try?” I’d probably recommend RIFT over WoW. But I know several seasoned WoW veterans who are planning on switching to RIFT when it comes out.
I mostly against the outright dismissal of any game when the opinion is absent of any experience with the particular game.
I understand that RIFT has little to no chance of really competing with WoW or putting a dent in its subscriber base. But I do think it has a fighting chance to have some longevity.
lol, Supposedly cuts it just fine in a comment section of a video game website.
While i agree with evolving i feel that Blizzard could keep evolving wow..
thus titan would hit a different market.
But who am i to tell them how to run their company.
This is all supposedly speculation anyways.
Even if RIFT isn’t saying they’re competing with WoW, I’m sure Blizzard is seeing them as direct competition, and as something that is already diverting subscription dollars.
lasadorian has a good point. It would be counter intuitive of Blizzard to make an MMORPG in the same vein as WoW. But as to what it actually is, that’s anyone’s guess. With the proliferation of FPS’s on the market these days, sure perhaps an MMOFPS would make sense in theory. But the main component of FPS’s these days is the competitive online multiplayer, it’s going to be very hard to take that same crowd and commit them to monthly subscriptions + expansions. From my experience, people are uptight enough when it comes to purchasing Map Packs and expansions as it is for FPS’s. Unless Blizzard re-invents the genre, which I wouldn’t put past them, I can’t see how it would work.
As far as RIFT goes. I played the beta periodically, but was never impressed. It was very similar to WoW in many ways, and I haven’t played WoW in years. People are always going to compare any new MMO to WoW, no matter what. Blizzard has created the gold standard to which everything else will be measured by.
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