New Designer Has Ideas For Shadowbane

According to his own statement, new Shadowbane designer Ashen Temper has “some big shoes to fill.” This MMORPG, now being handled by Stray Bullet Games, has had some serious problems in the past, and a lot of uncertainty as its creator – the now defunct Wolfpack Studios – closed down and rumors started flying of Ubisoft discontinuing the game. Temper has some grand visions for Shadowbane. Recently, he talked about three of them.

The first involves player skill and PvP play. In most games, success seems to depend mostly on a character’s skill, not necessarily the player’s. Temper would like to change this. “Individuals who can identify a situation and react to it, adapting his or her tactics accordingly based on the enemyÂ’s strengths: theyÂ’re using player skill,” says Temper. He would like to see more emphasis on player tactics, not just the use of character skills.

To address these tactical situations, Temper wants to change the working of “buffs.” Some need to last longer, and others should not last as long. Temper feels that buffs rob players of opportunities to make their own decisions, participating more actively in combat situations and strategies.

Finally, Temper wants to force players to pay more attention to the game screen rather than just pushing keystrokes. “Being aware of your surroundings is essential in combat,” he says. “There are some current mechanics and features I consider ‘crutches,’ things that make auto pilot fighting too easy.” Hopefully, engaging players more actively (and interactively) will discourage “botting,” in which some unscrupulous (and usually bored) players use to “play” through the boring parts of games while they themselves are away from the computer.

Temper assures the community that any changes will be thoroughly tested before going live, and will not go live until they perform to expectations.

Temper says, “In the end, my goal is to make ShadowbaneÂ’s combat more interactive and fun. Some changes may seem drastic, but you have to look at them in the frame of what I am trying to accomplish…I would like to see a Shadowbane where the users with the best player skills are winning the fights, not the best typing or script skills.“

Via Ubisoft

According to his own statement, new Shadowbane designer Ashen Temper has “some big shoes to fill.” This MMORPG, now being handled by Stray Bullet Games, has had some serious problems in the past, and a lot of uncertainty as its creator – the now defunct Wolfpack Studios – closed down and rumors started flying of Ubisoft discontinuing the game. Temper has some grand visions for Shadowbane. Recently, he talked about three of them.

The first involves player skill and PvP play. In most games, success seems to depend mostly on a character’s skill, not necessarily the player’s. Temper would like to change this. “Individuals who can identify a situation and react to it, adapting his or her tactics accordingly based on the enemyÂ’s strengths: theyÂ’re using player skill,” says Temper. He would like to see more emphasis on player tactics, not just the use of character skills.

To address these tactical situations, Temper wants to change the working of “buffs.” Some need to last longer, and others should not last as long. Temper feels that buffs rob players of opportunities to make their own decisions, participating more actively in combat situations and strategies.

Finally, Temper wants to force players to pay more attention to the game screen rather than just pushing keystrokes. “Being aware of your surroundings is essential in combat,” he says. “There are some current mechanics and features I consider ‘crutches,’ things that make auto pilot fighting too easy.” Hopefully, engaging players more actively (and interactively) will discourage “botting,” in which some unscrupulous (and usually bored) players use to “play” through the boring parts of games while they themselves are away from the computer.

Temper assures the community that any changes will be thoroughly tested before going live, and will not go live until they perform to expectations.

Temper says, “In the end, my goal is to make ShadowbaneÂ’s combat more interactive and fun. Some changes may seem drastic, but you have to look at them in the frame of what I am trying to accomplish…I would like to see a Shadowbane where the users with the best player skills are winning the fights, not the best typing or script skills.“

Via Ubisoft