Topics covered include the surprise of hardcore players trying out the game–and liking it–and the difficulties in designing a game that is at once both fun to play, but also easy to stop playing any time you want.

The MMO Gamer: The game’s been out now since the end of April. How’s it been meeting expectations, pre-release compared to now that’s in the hands of actual players?

Laralyn McWilliams: It’s always interesting when you’re making a game, you’re sort of placing bets on what you think people will like, and what you think people will do.

To some extent, it really exceeded our expectations because we hit over two million registered players before we’d been out a month, and we’re past three million, now.

So that’s really been tremendous. We’ve been getting great reviews, so we’re really happy about the response from that perspective.

From the perspective of the players in the game, that’s where it really gets interesting for us because we get to see where we were making the right bets and where we really weren’t.

We get feedback, and then we start responding to it. So we’re generally really pleased. We’re working out some technical issues still because 3 million is a lot of people to accommodate all at once.

But I think we’re doing pretty well, and I think people are really enjoying the game.

The MMO Gamer: I would think that too many people to accommodate would be one of those good problems to have.

Laralyn McWilliams: It is, actually, and we’re getting a lot of press as well; there’s a great New York Times article. It’s just been really fascinating for us as a team to watch and really exciting because for a long while we were the sort of little game nobody had heard of.

We were SOE’s small project, and so it’s really great for us to finally get it done and get it out in front of players and then have players enjoy it as much as they are.

The MMO Gamer: We talked briefly outside, before we sat down for the interview, and you said that the types of people playing the game actually surprised you… more of a hardcore demographic than you were expecting.

People bringing their WoW guilds over to play in between raid lockouts, things like that.

Laralyn McWilliams: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s what’s really interesting to us because when we first released Free Realms it was out for a couple of weeks before the TV ads started to run and all of that. So the people who had most heard about the game before we launched were MMO players.

MMO players are really quick to try every new game that comes out. And I’m one of them too, right? So I buy every new MMO that comes out, and I always try all of them.

So it was great for us was to get these MMO players – some of them in our beta, some of them not – really see them stick with the game and enjoy it.

It was great, for example, we launched very late in the evening on our launch date; I think it was probably 11:30 at night, the night of launch when we finally launched. And even though we’re on the West Coast, so obviously the furthest behind time zone other than like Hawaii, there was still a ton of players who had been waiting all night to play the game who just poured into the game as soon as we opened the doors.

So reading that people are…it’s interesting because we didn’t place a lot of focus going toward launch on some of the features that established MMO players really latch on to, because our primary focus was getting the mechanics fun [?] and getting the base of the game to play there.

But now we’re getting a lot of feedback from those more hardcore players of that they love the game and they want guilds and they want to be able to have more incentives to group and those sorts of social activities; which we always plan things like an auction house which we had always planned to do and in fact were developing before launch.

We just were focusing our priorities in making the game as solid as possible and as bug-free as possible.

The MMO Gamer: So there wasn’t really any, “Please put in a dragon to kill, and some epics, please!”?

Laralyn McWilliams: No, we’re actually not getting any of that, and it’s funny because some of our fans are our biggest supporters on the forums.

So every time there is a post from somebody on the forums saying, “I’m already level 20 on this job. I feel like I’m done,” somebody else says, “Have you tried racing? Do you have a pet? Have you tried cooking? There are so many different things to do, stop being so focused on trying to race to the maximum level as fast as possible, that’s not what Free Realms is about!”

And it’s really not; it’s really not about the race to the highest level possible. It’s all about doing what you want to do, and having fun. If you want to play and max out one job at a time, that’s cool. If you don’t want to do that, you don’t have to.

Even for the players who get all the way to level 20 there are all sorts of leader boards, which then becomes another race to get to the top of those.

The MMO Gamer: You said a very strange word in that answer: “fun.” Can you explain what you mean by “fun” in an MMO? I’m not very clear on the whole concept.

Laralyn McWilliams: [laughs] That’s really the heart of Free Realms.

Looking at all of the different things that you can do in the game, and not just providing you with variety but also making sure the activity itself is fun.

Our goal was that the activity you’re doing to level up is so fun that leveling up is just a side effect. You just want to play the game.

We’re seeing that now with a lot of our players. For example, a lot of the more casual players and some of the parents who play the mining game, which is sort of a Bejeweled, match three-style game, some of them are sort of accidentally leveling up because they just like playing the game.

So some of them will be level six or seven and then somebody will say, “Have you done this quest?” And they’ll be like, “There are quests?” Then somebody just turns them on to the idea of, “You mean there’s some dude who’s going to pay me to do this. Really?” And now they’re getting into the quest line.

The TCG is the same way, a lot of people play the TCG a lot and say, “What? There are scenarios? I can challenge NPCs?” That’s a whole new thing for them cause they just like playing the TCG.

That’s a part of what’s really revolutionary about Free Realms, creating a progression system and persistent characters around things that are actually genuinely fun to play.

Continued on next page…

• Two return flight tickets from any destination that Icelandair flies to for you and your EVE Online buddy.*
• Hotel Accommodation in Reykjavik from Sept, 30, 2009 to Oct, 04, 2009
• Airport – Hotel transport in Reykjavik
• Two Fanfest VIP passes
• Organized visit to CCP HQ offices in Reykjavik

For contest rules, visit the contest page.

Funcom will also be revealing the first expansion pack for Age of Conan at GamesCom later this year. For more information about the game, visit the official website.

New Player Class: Players can now create characters using DDO’s newest class, Favored Soul. Favored souls draw on divine magic to both heal and destroy. Like clerics, favored souls have access to powerful healing spells, but they are also more skilled with weapons than any other spell caster. Like sorcerers, they get a larger number of spell points than other spell casters and cannot freely switch spells at taverns or rest shrines.

Raised Level Cap: Players can now advance to 20th-level under the D&D® rules. This includes access to new arcane and divine spells, new character abilities, feats, and skills.

To find out more about this update, visit the official website.

I love in-game holidays. My friends and a lot of my family live too far away to get together, I’m not into bars and I don’t know many people where I live. Not only do I have a chance to meet some friends in-game, but I also get to celebrate with others. It works out well for me, and I don’t mind suspending my disbelief to enjoy the real life holidays. I’m sure everyone doesn’t share this sentiment.

There are many types of MMORPG players who feel differently at different times. I hardly feel I need to mention role players who don’t want to destroy immersion into imaginary worlds, but there’s also a whole real life world of people who gather into these games. This past 4th of July saw fireworks launched in Azeroth, but what about holidays from other countries?

Many games seem to draw distinctions in what real life holidays they decide to incorporate by where the games developers come from. Most free-to-play MMORPGs have been imports from Korea and surrounding areas, so they “naturally” celebrate holidays originating in the Far East. Yet these games aren’t only published in their home countries. There are other games that transcend that divide and have players from different countries together in the same servers. On top of this, there are players that may feel they don’t want any world holidays because of server lag or other personal annoyances.

With all the different people, cultures, and player types should anything be done that could improve player experiences, when it comes to celebrating real life holidays in MMORPGs?

For more information about APB, be sure to visit their official website.

Age of Conan was one of the highest selling MMORPGs of 2008 and for more information about the game, visit its official website or our latest interview with the game’s Director, Craig Morrison.

Realtime Worlds

• Account Support Lead at Realtime Worlds. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Game Operations Center Technician. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Game Support Lead. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Senior Java Developer. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Senior Systems Engineer – Windows. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Tech Support Lead. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Web Developer. (Boulder, CO. USA)
• Web Producer. (Boulder, CO. USA)

Via Chris Dye.

Mj’s Video Game collection.

ArenaNet

• Senior-Level Graphics Programmer at ArenaNet. (Bellevue, WA. USA)

Cryptic Studios Inc.

• Games Programmer at Cryptic Studios. (Los Gatos, CA. USA)

NCSoft

• Console Programmer at NCSoft West. (Seattle, WA. USA)

Trion World Network

• Network Engineer at Trion World Network. (Redwood City, CA. USA)

Artificial Mind & Movement

• Online Games Server Architect at A2M. (Montreal, PQ. Canada)

Via Gamasutra.

For those who need to be somewhere shortly and want to know if they can safely ignore this, I’m going to try and work through why it seems that MMO developers these days don’t really put much thought into the writing that goes into their games.

Now to be clear, I’m not talking specifically about the words that pop up on screen as a quest description or something, as sometimes those can be downright inspired, but rather the overarching motivation for our characters to do anything at all.

First things first: I was thinking I’d go over some of the reasons why I feel that this is important, and the first reason is not likely to surprise anyone. The first reason is almost purely practical, in that without some sort of narrative in this current state of MMO gaming, players simply won’t know what to do, and this problem is only getting worse as worlds continue to get larger and games more complex.

Simply put, the narrative of the game as separate from the individual quest texts is what allows your players to get a glimpse of what it is they are supposed to do next.

I’m sure we’ve all had that moment when playing certain games, where we turn in a quest and find suddenly that we don’t have any more in our quest log, and then we have to stand there dumbfounded for a few minutes trying to figure out what exactly the best course of action is, before you decide to go back to some area you’ve cleared and find out there was a whole other bunch of quests that opened up when you leveled last.

I’m likely going to be coming back to the whole “Living for the next quest” mentality at some point, but for now let’s move on.

My second thought on why this is important is that when there is such production value and quality behind most games these days, then I find out that there isn’t much behind the plot I personally find it to be kind of jarring. Essentially I’m saying that it breaks the immersion of the game at the meta level when you actually take a step back from the keyboard and think about what you spend your time doing.

I found that this wasn’t so bad when it happened with EverQuest, because there was just so much new to experience and do, the whole situation of the game being online was something to explore and was more or less the raison d’etre that filled in for the characters motivations.

The sad thing is that I find these days, things have not improved overly much. Granted with their new expansion World of Warcraft is doing a much better job of this, but in the first two packs I found myself running around killing things because people with magical exclamation marks told me to do so, and it all really seemed like it was for it’s own sake until the whole Lich King expansion. And that’s simply the exception to the rule.

EverQuest 2, City of Heroes, Warhammer Online. All these games have you running around doing a huge number of tasks for various quest givers, but it really is all for it’s own sake and you don’t feel like you’re really playing a character in a world, but rather are checking things off on a list in order to get to the next shiny object.

And the final reason, and it is the last one I promise, is that I feel that games can and should be treated artfully; even though Paul Barnett will disagree with me, I consider that games should require the same level of creative brilliance than any other form of media, this one simpy happens to be interactive.

Now before anyone gets too up in arms about that, I’m not saying that video games should be on display next to Rembrandts (though there are a few that I think would be fitting), but rather that there are certain aspects of creating games that carry very similar aspects to other forms of art and I think that we as gamers should not be willing to accept less from a game than we would from a film or book simply because it carries the title of “game”.

Now that I’ve gotten the pretentious “GAMEZ R AERT” diatribe out of my system I thought we might spend some time considering what can be done, or perhaps is already being done about getting players more involved with the game. Clearly the obvious solution is to get more people writing, but if there are any software people out there they’ll know what I’m talking about when I say that sounds a lot like the “Mythical Man Month.”

This to me, sounds like one of those situations where just throwing more money or people at the problem is not really all that likely to solve it, rather I think that this is the sort of situation that requires one to consider this differently than it has been up to this point. Unfortunately what that means is that there might be some great difficulties making the needed changes to existing games, not for lack of trying, but for the fact that it requires the current game flow to change, which is already quite entrenched and highly unlikely to move much no matter what sort of weight you throw at it.

To put my personal proposal into words it would sound something like this. What I believe needs to happen, is for a writer to be one of the first people to come onto a development team and receive more than simple lip service when he makes suggestions.

Also this writer needs to write, that’s what they need to be good at and what they should be doing constantly. Something to note is that they should not only be writing the text that appears on the screen but they should also take a very active role in deciding what should be considered as far as content goes.

I honestly think that something that seems like it happens far too often is some designers will have great mechanic and art ideas and then they bring the largely finished encounter to someone and say, “Justify this please”, and that leaves things feeling a little disjointed to me.

I honestly think that this simple concept could probably have some fairly far reaching effects as the games feel more like a consistent world while still retaining differentiation in zones rather than the way we have it today where you can see yourself crossing a line and everything changes to another persons vision entirely. Essentially if you want the long and short of it, I think that writers for games have been neglected for far too long and that’s a shame, because I think everything would improve by such a large margin if they were just taken a little more seriously during the design phase.

So that is what I think might be useful in improving the state of writing in MMOs, but if you want to hear my opinion on how you could take it one farther then I’ll tell you. All right, you asked for it though. I personally would love to see a game come out where the writers would come in and check to see what actions the players have been taking and actively write to what the players are causing to happen in the world.

I know this is sitting in more of the realm of pipe dream at the moment, but I can’t imagine how epic it would feel to know that your actions could actually truly have an effect on the direction that the story takes. Anyway, like I said, a guy can dream, can’t he?

I sure hope that at least someone made it through all that, and if you did thanks for reading, and you’re one of my new best friends. I also just want to say that I’m glad to be joining such a fine team, and hope that I can continue to rant about design decisions to you for a long time to come.

Until next time!

So go ahead! Become a Fan of The MMO Gamer on Facebook!

Summer is officially here and MapleStory rolled out its latest update with a sunny new set of features to provide its players more fun and adventures. The update offers an exciting new title system, time travel to battle the game’s biggest challenge, Pink Bean, work as a secret agent and the opportunity to be a hero as part of a party quest to save the polluted Ellin Forest.

These new features are available for free in MapleStory. For more information please visit: http://maplestory.nexon.net/

The MMO Gamer: Based on our previous conversation, I guess my first question is: What changes have been made to the game in this latest patch which embody the philosophy of fun over tedium?

Craig Morrison: We started the process with the previous updates that introduced content like Ymir’s Pass and Xibuluku, and I think the content in this update does continue the progress on that front we started with those updates. I think the experience in Tarantia Commons is a fun one, there are some great moments to be had in the area, from the ever evolving civil unrest that dynamically generates based on players interactions (or goes ahead on its own if they choose to stay out of it!), to the roof-top game-play that adds another element to an urban environment (in particular on a PVP server!) through to things like the boss encounters in the Crows Nest group instance that players seem to be reacting really well to!

So I don’t see those as much as ‘changes’ more of the focus that we ask the team to have. We ask our content designers to try and inject interesting and engaging elements to their designs so that they are interesting for the players. I am really proud of well the team approach this and that the game-play experience in these new areas is really interesting and feels fresh to players. Yes, the mechanics are largely the same, it is about how those mechanics are applied, with a little imagination the designers can take their tools and craft something a little different for the player. It is those little things that make the experiences memorable.

At the risk of a slight spoiler, the boss called Jovus in the Crows Nest is a great example. He uses a special powder in a fireplace to generate toxic gas. At certain points in the encounter, he runs over to the fireplace mid fight and throws something into the flames, that creates fumes around the room that applies a debuff of some kind… all pretty much standard sounding MMO mechanics so far.

The difference comes with how the players have to deal with the gas. In order to remove the clouds the players have to grab fire-side fans and actually fan the smoke out of the room. The fans are visible and have an animation, something visible the players can see and appreciate. So rather than just saying ‘have players apply X spell or item to remove debuff Y, the designers came up with an imaginative way for them to have to remove the debfuff. Something the players remember and react to…’oh this is the guy we have to do the thing with the fans’.

It is all about making those encounters have something to them that makes the player go ‘that’s cool’, and to be able to achieve it within the confines of our usual mechanics. Basically it’s just not accepting that the ‘standard’ thing to do here is have another player cast a spell that removes the debuff, or have them just use an inventory item to remove the debuff. Sure, some of the time you will do that as well, but it’s important to have the designers also come up with those moments that twist things a little and let the players have a little fun with it, even if technically the response is the same – they did after all use X to remove Y, just not in the way that the players might expect.

The MMO Gamer: You had quite awhile to get most of the kinks worked out on the test server, so there shouldn’t have been too many surprises. But now that it’s gone live, have you been taken aback by any reactions to it from the playerbase?

Craig Morrison: I don’t think surprised is the right word, at least not in any negative sense. We always knew, and told people quite clearly, that we fully expected there to be tweaks and adjustments we would have to make after the update went live, and that is the case.

If anything we have been encouraged that those issues haven’t been as serious or as difficult to address as you sometimes fear with your ‘worst case scenario’ head on, which as producer is pretty much my default state! There are of course some things we need to address, as we expected, but by and large, outside of the expected balance adjustments, the changes seem to have been quite well received.

The MMO Gamer: As a bookend to that last question: How do you respond to the derogatory “Age of Casters” label being applied to the patch on the boards and in global chat?

Craig Morrison: See, that why I said, ‘outside of the balance adjustments…’ above, as that is of course where our attention has to turn now. As we have already addressed on our forums, that is definitely one of the areas that we will be looking at in the post-update tweaks and adjustments mentioned above.

There are two factors here, the first in more of a general distinction between spell using classes and melee classes in our game. The spell using classes in Age of Conan are inherently easier to play, or rather more forgiving to play that leads to the opinion of them being easier to play, and they are certainly easier to master. That element won’t really change. Those classes are a deal more forgiving and easier to really master. That said I think that I think on the other hand a really well played melee character is a far more challenging foe and adversary at the hands of a skilled and experienced PVP player.

All that said, and to get down to the bare bones of it, No, the balance there isn’t quite right out of the gate as it were in respect with 1.05 and that is an area the subsequent balance adjustments will focus on. As I mentioned above we always knew there would be issues like that this that would come out of the changes as players adapted to the new power scales and abilities. It is something we were prepared to react to and already are preparing the follow-up update to address some of these issues.

The MMO Gamer: Has the reaction to the item stats changes been as positive as you hoped it would be? Or has a new vocal minority sprung up already, to pine about how things were better in the old days?

Craig Morrison: I think the item changes themselves have been pretty well received across the board. The majority of the issues people have are with the balance concerns, like those we have already discussed, that people have now they are getting used to the new system.

Of course there are a few players who preferred the ‘old way’ completely, but if you set aside the balance issues (only for the sake of this question, they are off course very important and being worked on…just to be clear before someone quotes that previous sentence out of context!), then I think those who don’t like the new items at all, are a very small minority, and by and large players understand and appreciate the benefits of the revamped RPG stats.

It would be great to be able to please everyone, all of the time, but alas in an MMO setting that is rarely possible. I think most though do see that these changes are very beneficial to the games continued success.

The MMO Gamer: When we last spoke, you cited the Tortage experience as an example of quality storytelling within the game. Having now had the chance to play it since our interview, I would tend to agree with you. But, it also seemed as through the story aspect ground to a screeching halt the moment you left the island, when the next step in your epic quest basically says, “Well, good luck, come back in ten levels!”

Is there anything in this patch, or a patch to come in the near future, that keeps the story at the forefront after you get out into the world?

Craig Morrison: I think it’s about bringing players into the rest of the quests, and leading them to the other areas where there are also other great quest lines. That’s an area we will keep improving on over time. Is there still a slight ‘step’ when they arrive in the mainland? Yes, that is probably still there to some degree, and is something we will be trying to improve further as time goes on.

The MMO Gamer: You are sitting across a table from someone who played Conan at launch. They quit after the first month, and vowed to never return without some serious changes being made to the game. What would you say to get them back?

Craig Morrison: Firstly I would say that there have been serious changes made to the game! Then I would say that they shouldn’t just take my word for it and to them come back and try it for themselves! I am of course a completely biased opinion in that respect!

There is a free trial available and there will soon be a reevaluation offer to previous players so they can come back and try it out for themselves. Try it, speak to people playing the game, and they might just find that the serious changes they wanted to see have been made!

The MMO Gamer: Word association. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the version number: “1.06”?

Craig Morrison: The first thing? That would have to be ‘guilds’, which doesn’t really do justice to everything else we will be looking at adding in the 1.06 cycle! Things like a new raid dungeon and another new dungeon for groups and multi-group activities, and new goals and objectives for PVP in the Border Kingdoms… but ‘guilds’ is certainly the area where you will see the major new addition to the game.

That’s something we will be talking more about very shortly once we have worked through these immediate post-1.05 updates!

The MMO Gamer: Thank you for your time, Craig.

Stay tuned to The MMO Gamer for more Age of Conan coverage in the days to come. In the meanwhile, as Craig mentioned, the game is currently offering a ten day free trial. If this, or our prior interview with him has whet your appetite, you can give the game a shot right over here: http://www.ageofconan.com/trial/

Wolf Team is a fast paced First Person Shooter (FPS) that features the ability for players to transform between playing as a human or as a werewolf.  With seven different game modes, players can fully explore the advantages of both forms, from the firepower of humans to the speed and brutality of wolves.

Wolf Team offers many exciting features including:

• Fast-paced FPS action for up to 16 players at a time!
• Large assortment of modern weaponry
• Transform into a werewolf for up-close combat and ability to run along walls
• Special competitions and benefits for clan members
• 7 exciting game modes including Death Match, Destruction, and Conquest
• 15 different maps in a variety of different shapes and sizes

Players are encouraged to find out more and sign up for the beta at the Wolf Team website

Aeria Games - Wolf Team

The ruling is likely to affect many of the more than 300 million Internet users in China, as well as those in other countries involved in virtual currency trading. In the context of online role playing games like World of Warcraft, virtual currency trading is often called gold farming.

The entire article can be read here.

Gargantuan Studios

• Senior Designer at Gargantuan Studios. (San Mateo, CA. USA)
• Lead Programmer at Gargantuan Studios. (San Mateo, CA. USA)
• Art Director at Gargantuan Studios. (San Mateo, CA. USA)

Gazillion Entertainment

• Build Master at Gazillion Entertainment. (San Mateo, CA. USA)

True Games Interactive

• Lead Designer at True Games Interactive. (Austin, TX. USA)
• Art Director at True Games Interactive. (Austin, TX. USA)

Via Gamasutra.

Today I am joined with Rob Alvarez, the community manager for Joymax USA. Joymax is not only the developers of the free MMORPG “Silkroad Online”, however they are known for others such as “Dark Eden”, as well as “Deco Online”. Now the primary focus for today is about their hit game “Silkroad Online”. So without further ado, I’d like to ask Mr. Alvarez some questions about the main concept and idea behind “Silkroad Online”.

The MMO Gamer: What was the main intention you had planned that Silkroad Online would bring to other MMORPG players?

Rob Alvarez: To set it apart from the the bevy of MMO titles already out there, Silkroad Online was intended to be a step back in time in terms of place setting and story. Silkroad Online was also intended to open players up to a new experience that differed from most traditional MMO games, starting with a broad set of unique and amazing skills and jobs. Silkroad Online has always been about the power of choice, especially in terms of character development and the constant struggle between the merchants and thieves along the Silk Road trade route. More than anything, we wanted the players to feel the constant, daily challenges facing the inhabitants of the Silk Road.

The MMO Gamer: What sets Silkroad Online aside and unique amongst other MMORPGs?

Rob Alvarez: I think Silkroad Online really brings historical elements and classic tales to the forefront of modern gameplay. Through the use of our triangular system, players have the option to walk the path of the merchant, thief, or hunter. Through this gameplay mechanic, players are able to see firsthand how their actions impact the trading economy in ways both negative and positive. The Fortress War system also makes players more inclined to guild up with other players, allowing them to control the grounds and taxes within each respective location as the conquering guild.

The MMO Gamer: What are some of the newer aspects that have been brought in Silkroad Online recently?

Rob Alvarez: A number of things have been added to Silkroad Online quite recently, including the Qin Shi dungeon, Magic POP system, and an increased level cap. In addition, our next expansion, Legend IV Plus, will be released later this year and will feature new weapon effects, new mobs, new quests, and an entirely new dungeon for users who are level 80 and above to explore.

The MMO Gamer: How strong has the game progressed from its original release?

Rob Alvarez: Originally we only had the Chinese race to play and a fraction of the land to cover. Since then, we have added the Europeans as a playable race and expanded to cover the lands between Europe and China with dangerous baddies and treacherous dungeons. We focused on giving our fans and dedicated players something fun, and Silkroad Online developed a strong following as a result. We anticipate that as time goes on, it will continue to pull in curious onlookers who are searching for something new.

The MMO Gamer: What changes do you hope to make, if any in the future?

Rob Alvarez: Our top priority at the moment is increasing Game Master support to combat the rise in botting issues that we’ve experienced. No online titles are ever completely free from hackers and cheaters, but we are continuously working towards implementing additional security measures that allow us to provide Silkroad Online players with the best possible experience.

The MMO Gamer: What in your opinion is the biggest accomplishment about Silkroad Online?

Rob Alvarez: Honestly, we see our biggest accomplishment as the continued growth and development of the community globally. Despite the trouble makers that are present in our servers, Silkroad Online really is a fun and entertaining game with so much to offer players who really engulf themselves into our world. Even with all of the other free to play games out there, we continue to maintain and grow our active base of players. It is truly a blessing that after all this time people still want to play Silkroad Online and see what new features and content we have in store for them.

The MMO Gamer: What do you foresee for Silkroad’s future within the upcoming year?

Rob Alvarez: Change. Like Obama, but with less political discussion and more action. This will mean a shift in direction and a better understanding of how to make Silkroad Online more and more enjoyable to play as time goes on. Also, the Legend IV Plus update will be released soon and it will bring with it a new dungeon. That means more mobs, new quests, and the potential for new unique drops, as well.

The MMO Gamer: Do you feel that if the game continues to expand, any additional monthly or service charge fees would be applied?

Rob Alvarez: No, I do not see that happening at any point. We would never do something that could upset the balance between faithful users and the continued development of the game. Our CEO wanted to develop something for everybody, not just the people who would pay to play. That said, there could be additional types of services offered in the future, but no plans are currently outlined in our product roadmap.

The MMO Gamer: What incentives are given to players from Silkroad Online?

Rob Alvarez: Our main incentive to players is providing high-quality content. Whether that means major web events or new skills and weapons, it is our duty to provide users with unique ways to enhance their Silkroad Online experience.

The MMO Gamer: In your opinion, is there going to be a lot more added to the game as time continues?

Rob Alvarez: Personally, I do not see an end in sight for the content and expansions we keep developing, but it really is up to the community. As long as we have the player interest and fan support, the possibilities of what we can add and build upon within Silkroad Online are endless.

The MMO Gamer: Thank you for answering our questions!

For readers who want to know more about Joymax and Silkroad Online, visit the official websites.