2012-08-29, 03:47 PM
Can't watch the video right now because I'm at work and don't have my headphones, but I'm pretty sure I know exactly what he's going to say. I'm not a big fan of Extra Credits because it's the usual sort of idealistic armchair theorizing about how games should be designed for sustainability and player enjoyment coming from someone who hasn't actually worked with the constraints involved in building a game.
That said, the issues discussed probably apply perfectly to MapleStory, because MS is one of the best examples of awful/outdated game design being successful. It uses every trick in the book to get you to spend more money. Limited time boosters to help hide the fact that the entire game is just a huge grind. Gambling systems with easy access (scrolls, potential, any other item upgrades that might have come out since I quit) and incredibly low odds. New, completely overpowered classes coming out frequently to encourage you to drop everything you've been working on and make all those purchases again.
They're not going to fix that pomegranate, because it's been working for the past 9 years. It doesn't matter that a ton of better designed games have come out since then.
That said, the issues discussed probably apply perfectly to MapleStory, because MS is one of the best examples of awful/outdated game design being successful. It uses every trick in the book to get you to spend more money. Limited time boosters to help hide the fact that the entire game is just a huge grind. Gambling systems with easy access (scrolls, potential, any other item upgrades that might have come out since I quit) and incredibly low odds. New, completely overpowered classes coming out frequently to encourage you to drop everything you've been working on and make all those purchases again.
They're not going to fix that pomegranate, because it's been working for the past 9 years. It doesn't matter that a ton of better designed games have come out since then.