The Return of the Jedi and the future of Galaxies

Like the endless battle between the Dark and Light sides, massively multiplayer games will always struggle to meet the needs of many different types of gamers. The saga of Star Wars: Galaxies is only just beginning.

Where will the game go in the future, though? The answer may lie in the third MMOG paradigm that we talked about in part one of this series: The "theme park" model. The first game to use it successfully was the expansion to Anarchy Online - Shadowlands. Shadowlands may be the first MMOG to have an actual goal. In the theme park model, much of a player's time is taken up in quests. Players follow instructions that relate to part of an advancing storyline, hunt through dungeons at the behest of NPCs, and compete with each other to conquer territory for various factions. The forthcoming City of Heroes makes extensive use of this model, and the upcoming World of Warcraft is almost entirely based on this philosophy. In fact, many features beloved by role-players (like the ability to own their own houses and businesses), won't be available in the initial release of Blizzard's MMOG.

Where does that leave Star Wars: Galaxies, then? For starters, there's a completely new Jedi system in the works:

"The second phase will be to rebuild the Jedi system to be quest-oriented, and to include the familiar elements of Force Sensitivity, Jedi-oriented quests, as well as many other elements the developers and the community feel should make up the process of becoming a Jedi."
- Official Sony Online Entertainment communiqu¿ to players
That, along with the proposed modifications to the game like "Imperial Crackdown," seem to embrace the theme park model much more than either a power-gaming or pure role-play model. Yet to be seen is whether the new system will appeal to both power-gamers and role-players, or if the players who toiled so hard to unlock a FSCS under the old system will be satisfied with the new system. Sony is confident they'll eventually work it out:

"The veteran Jedi are also going to benefit from new, Jedi-specific content. And, we're hoping to loop current Jedi into our design discussions; we want them involved so we don't miss any major concerns. Players who haven't yet experienced being a Jedi will have a clearer path for becoming one, and it's our hope that the path will keep them engaged and entertaining in it's own right -- we want getting there to be as much fun as actually being a Jedi."
- Haden Blackman
For many, though, such a system has been what they've been crying for since day one. Star Wars: Galaxies attracted many, many people to MMOGs who had never tried one before. Many were put off by the initial lack of content. Despite the oft-stated fantasy of "living in the Star Wars galaxy," what many players truly want is to have a Star Wars adventure. The proposed philosophical changes to the Jedi system, if implemented across the whole game, might entice a much larger segment of the gaming population to Galaxies for good. Work is definitely underway:

"Essentially, the developers recognize that the current Jedi system falls short of not only expectations, but also of what can be realized in Star Wars: Galaxies. They hear the players call for change and are heeding it. We aren't at the point of discussion about needing a change, one is already in motion.

Of course, I'm not allowed to talk about the revamp, but I can definitely say this is a major, major overhaul and not simply just rebalancing details…. The drawing board has been revisited, the current system is being ripped apart, and the inclusion of all the needed fixes, enhancements and changes are going to fade into the splendor of what is coming to Star Wars Galaxies. It's not about what needs to be fixed in the current system, it's the fact we are getting an entirely new system from top to bottom."
- Arjun, Jedi Correspondent
The lesson? Developing a massively multiplayer game is a unique challenge fraught with difficulties that are hard to foresee. The rewards for getting it right are tremendous: gamers engross themselves in a fantastic game and publishers enjoy recurring subscription revenues. The challenge is keeping players around while all the bugs are worked out: Even the patience of the Jedi isn't infinite!

"I'm sticking around a bit in hopes some things change, but I'm not sticking around forever."
- John D., Jedi, Naritus