EQ2 Lead Designer — Man of Mystery

Would EQ2 benefit from its Lead Designer (Rich Waters) having a presence on the EQ2 Forums?

This straightforward question is the subject of a colorful new forum thread on the EQ2 Forums.

The Lead Designer is as much a gatekeeper for the development of a game as the Senior Producer, and so they need to have a good working relationship. I’m sure it’s been too short a time to know how things are gelling on the current EQ2 team, but a more accurate term for the previous setup might be “curdled”.

Recent prominent departures which have shaken the EQ2 team have likely cleared the decks for a more “well-aligned” team. But at what cost? Brenlo must surely rue the day he ever considered leading the EQ2 team. At least he’ll never have to hear the question “How does WoW implement this?” in a meeting again. Timetravelling‘s stellar raid designs will also be hard to duplicate.

Update: Rich Waters posted on the EQ2 Forums regarding a bug with XP Potions.

Rumors aside, here are some good quotes from that thread (after the jump)…

From Pervis:

Trying to provide both a product and service in one package, in a market that is getting increasingly crowded with newer options is kind of hard to do if you don’t know what your players want.

EQ2X is a good example of this. They took information from previous discussions and just assumed it would hold true with what they had in mind. They were wrong.

From Sesketh:

Good communication is good business. Transparency and accountability are profitable in the hands of people who know how to manage.

If profits are depending on keeping customers ignorant, uninformed, or out of touch, there is a fundamental flaw in the business model. It might make a buck in the short term, but it’s not a sustainable, viable model for true profitability, and I’ll challenge anyone to point out an instance of a successful long-term customer-oriented business that has done well by keeping clients in the dark.

No, the playerbase isn’t united on every issue. But when there is talk on an issue, and the vast majority of talk on that issue is on one side, basic business and common sense says “gee, we should look at this again.” Indeed, Daesin accurately states that sometimes the squeakier wheels may need to be ignored for the betterment of the game.

From Rijacki:

Some of the development staff that doesn’t post on the forums (but does read them) do make themselves available at the Fan Faires both on panels and for one-on-ones. The particular individual being called out in this thread was at last year and this year’s Fan Faires.

Interestingly enough, at Fan Faire when I ran into him, I actually asked this particular individual directly why I never see him posting on the forums. He responded that he does read them but he’s just not much of a posting type person. I forget what he said his handle is, though.

From Sesketh:

Indeed it is unfair to say carte-blanche that the development team doesn’t listen. I’ve been very, very happy with some of the response we’ve seen from some developers over time. I think most of us who have been around since circa launch have seen some instances of great communication yielding great results.

I’m glad you related your convo at FF, Rij. Personally, I’d like more people higher up the food chain to be a little more visible, but that’s just my leadership style preference.

Obviously if you want the complete picture, bring your sunglasses (or reduce the color saturation in your web browser) and check out the EQ2 Forums thread.