Games I Want: MAG
Implementing massively multiplayer features in a game improves everything in theory. In practice, increasing the number of players frequently adds confusing and frustrating layers of complication, and the sacrifices required for optimization detract from better game elements. One of the genres that frequently defies developer intentions is First Person Shooter; MAG aims to change that.
In the past, developers have focused on simply adding players and geographic scale to the game without appropriately modifying mechanics. This has without fail resulted in confusion, oversimplification and flattening the skill curve.
MAG aims to use an incentive system to combine small scale warfare and grand battle tactics harmoniously. While there are still many question marks, a game this ambitious deserves our attention.
How has large failed in the past?
To know how MAG is changing the equation, we must analyze what games have done wrong in the past. What first comes to mind when thinking of the scattered MMOFPS genre is Planetside. When the game was announced, its ambition was staggering, and rightfully so: it was impossible to implement given the technology of the day.
Planetside was meant to achieve full FPS maps writ large with hundreds of players on each side in coordinated strikes. What the game ended up as was a cheap Tribes rip-off that traded even less detail than Tribes for increased map size (staggering if you’ve actually played Tribes and seen how barebones that game is).
The shooting mechanics were poor, the guns felt all wrong and details were sparse at best. Even considering that, network and system requirements were out of reach for many gamers. Needless to say, the game was a commercial failure in comparison to its ambitions. What SOE didn’t count on was that players are inherently selfish and if you want them to work together, you need incentive and direction.
Dodge this
Another interesting entrant into the hybrid FPS scene was the Half-Life mod Natural Selection. It introduced a top down ‘Commander’ viewpoint, where one player was in charge of his team’s strategy and could give direction as well as manage resources. This is a feature that MAG is implementing. The problem in Natural Selection was that there was no real incentive to follow instructions, and at the end of the day kill to death ratio is the ultimate motivator.
Many games tried similar features, such as Battlefield 2, and MAG is by no means reinventing the wheel. What they are doing is refining the wheel to streamline the system, creating some sort of super wheel. Hopefully this is finally the package to popularize grand scale FPS combat.
I count 8 guys and maybe 10 more in the background or maybe that's trash. You promised me 256!
Bigger is better?
The current king of online FPS combat, Modern Warfare 2, focuses on extremely small battles. In comparison to the usual 12v12 or 16v16 matchups, team deathmatch games are frequently 6v6. The maps are compact and combine tight corridors with expansive sniper fields. Their detail and individuality are a far cry from Planetside’s bland environments.
It is curious then that MAG is doing a 180 and supporting battles of up to 128v128, the largest yet in a non-persistent online FPS. Critically, Zipper Interactive is segmenting each side into 8 player squads. While some question the point of having 256 player battles if you’re going to constrain the focus, it’s hard enough to get 8 people to work together, let along 128.
This limitation on squad size will cut down on confusion and crystallize objectives. Zipper needs to ensure that the scale translates to each group, however, or else what’s the point of having all those players? Hopefully there will be payoff moments when your team’s commander coordinates pincer movements on a target and you both see your allied squads in action and the effectiveness of coordinated strategy so you understand the scale of the conflict.
90% of development time was spent on the skydiving engine
Do what I tell you!
First person shooters have historically had one mandate: everybody starts on a level playing field and skill sorts out the haves and the have-nots. That conventional logic was thrown out the window since Modern Warfare and gamers have shown developers that we love progression and unlocks. Variety is not the same as advantage, and the benefit of a Modern Warfare-esque progressive system is that even if you’re losing, you’re still accomplishing.
MAG, like all tactical games, has the daunting challenge of encouraging players to cooperate and follow orders. The difficulty is that sometimes effective strategy requires performing tasks that don’t result in kills, the one and only goal of playing online. Armies need support, defense and tactical distraction, and those aren’t fun.
What if you received an experience bonus for following the commands your squad receives from the commander? Might that encourage effective tactics? Zipper hopes so. The problem they have to deal with, and what I worry they won’t have the conviction to follow, is that the reward for following instructions needs to be massively higher than the reward for kills to overcome the stigma associated with a low kill to death ratio.
Call of Duty, which is still a kill hunt, has shown that match victory rewards on the order of 10x a single kill reward is not nearly enough to inspire role playing. To make MAG successful, Zipper should really make the only way to level up by following instructions, whatever they are, and I have extreme doubts that this will be the case. It’s too bad, because any player who has experienced effective strategic teamwork would know how rewarding it can be.
Furthermore, greater numbers of players frequently flatten skill curves. While in a small battle a single effective player can make a difference, when you’re faced with 100 opponents it doesn’t really matter how good you are, you’re not going to make much of a dent.
MAG has great potential, and also multiple potential pitfalls. I’m not going to lie: it’s probably going to be terrible. It could be a confused mess where nobody follows instructions and it turns out to be a 128v128 zerg fest with a few skilled snipers picking off hordes of terrible players. If they pull it off, however, it will be a revolutionary experience, one for which I have great anticipation.
