Scot Lane, New World Game Director, discusses how he and Amazon Games designed the game's various systems, handles live content pipeline, analyzes feedback to make decisions, and gives advice for developers working on live service games.
New World's stunning visuals enhance player immersion and balance realism with stylization.
The game's unique features, such as wars and invasions, provide intense PvP gameplay and a dynamic player experience.
Obtaining feedback from the team and players is crucial for game development and driving improvements in rewards, loot drops, and gameplay mechanics.
Deep dives
The Unique and Beautiful Aesthetic of New World
New World features a painterly realism aesthetic that combines realistic shapes and forms with hand-painted textures. The result is an authentic and immersive world that strikes a balance between realism and stylization. The game's stunning visuals, especially during sunrises and sunsets, enhance the player's experience and immersion in the game.
Evolving Features: Wars, Invasions, and the Marketplace
New World has introduced several unique features, such as wars and invasions, that have evolved over time. Wars, with up to 50 versus 50 battles, provide intense PvP gameplay, while invasions involve defending a fort against hordes of AI enemies. The game's marketplace plays a crucial role in the economy, allowing players to buy and sell items. The development team closely monitors player feedback and data to make balancing adjustments and provide an engaging and dynamic player experience.
Designing a Vast and Realistic World
New World's world design aims for a balance between realism and gameplay convenience. The game's engine, the A-Z engine, delivers a painterly realism aesthetic that creates an immersive and beautiful environment. The team has carefully considered distances and mobility options to ensure a sense of scale without tediousness, allowing players to traverse the expansive world comfortably. The attention to detail and the aesthetic choices contribute to the unique and captivating experience of exploring New World.
The importance of feedback and team communication
Obtaining feedback from the team is essential for game development. The speaker mentions various methods used for collecting feedback, such as team meetings, surveys, and individual discussions. They highlight the significance of personal connections and face-to-face interactions, though adapting to virtual communication during COVID-19 has been necessary. The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where team members feel comfortable giving feedback without fear of judgment or intimidation.
Lessons learned from launching a live service MMO
The podcast episode delves into the challenges faced during the launch of a live service MMO. The speaker acknowledges the difficulties encountered, including bugs, mistakes, and unexpected problems discovered by a large player base. They mention the importance of extensive testing and addressing issues promptly. The speaker also discusses the decision-making process behind the game's business model, opting for a premium plus microtransactions approach. They highlight the value of player feedback in driving improvements and iterate on the game experience, particularly in terms of rewards, loot drops, and gameplay mechanics.
Ted Price chats with New World Game Director, Scot Lane. Together they discuss how he and Amazon Games designed the various systems from crafting to combat; lessons they learned from building a such a massive game; how their team handles the live content pipeline; how they analyze internal and external feedback to make key decisions; and his advice for other developers working on live service games.
Listen now or watch the episode on our YouTube Channel
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode