Damion at Zen of Design touched on some of the reasons that Tabula Rasa (TR) failed. Once touted as the next brainchild of Ultima creator Richard Garriott, TR promised to bring an action-packed science-fiction backdrop to the MMORPG landscape. Sadly, TR is slated to close on February 28th, marking less than one year and four months of public accessibility.
Yes, the game’s development may have been rushed, and this was likely a large contributor to TR’s failure. However, we’re convinced that TR and many of its contemporaries failed not just because of their production shortcomings, but because their IP was simply not compelling. While Damion believes that TR was too niche, we disagree: MMORPG gamers have called for a science-fiction MMOG for years (ignoring, for the moment, EVE Online).
MMOGs fail for two primary reasons: the game mechanics suck, or the IP sucks. If you have a game where both of these traits succeed, you’re talking subscription gold: Ultima Online, Everquest, or World of Warcraft. Take only one of these away, however, and you run into problems: Star Wars Galaxies, Pirates of the Burning Sea, or Age of Conan. If both factors are in a terrible state, well, you end up with Auto Assault, at best.
Naturally, there are shades of gray with both factors, so there’s some room for adjustment: better IP can make up for more failures in gameplay, and vice versa. With TR, though, there was simply no saving grace. On TR’s gameplay, for example, 1up may have said it best:
[Tabula Rasa is] a color-by-numbers MMO. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you can cut the irony with a knife.TR’s Starship Troopers-ish setting does a lot to set the game apart from its peers. We haven’t had a really solid sci-fi MMO in ages, and TR is the best one out there right now. That is, however, a purely aesthetic difference; the nuts and bolts still haven’t changed much.
So TR did little to evolve traditional MMOG gameplay, which is arguably a much-needed focus for MMOG developers, particularly when the king-of-the-MMOGs, World of Warcraft (WoW) has had its faults pointed out for years now. Simply replicating WoW gameplay-wise should be simple, so why not more advancement? After all, if the competition isn’t going to push the envelope and offer something better mechanics-wise, then why would players consider switching, especially with WoW’s established, and fairly interesting, IP.
This leads us, of course, to the backdrop of TR. Sci-fi instead of fantasy. Logos instead of magic. Why is it that so many sci-fi games have to resort to a psychic-like power to emulate magic instead of ignoring the realm of fantasy altogether? It’s wannabe fantasy, is what it is, and TR’s adaptation of magic was too transparent. And really, this hints at the heart of it all: nothing about TR’s IP was compelling. When WoW was announced and there was some indication of what would be in the game, we became excited. Whether it was reading about the races, the classes, or any other component of WoW, we couldn’t wait to get out hands on a copy of the game. And as much as we wanted TR to dethrone WoW when it was announced, or at least challenge WoW on some level, even knowing nothing about the gameplay, we quickly lost sight of TR. From the factions to the Logos, there was simply nothing horribly interesting about the setting or the characters. In fact, other than the red-headed female avatar used to promote the game, everything about TR after the announcement was a big yawn.
Sadly, creating compelling IP is the most difficult part of creating a game, especially since good designers of gameplay and in-game mechanics may not be the best developers of lore, and vice versa. It’s like expecting Todd McFarlane to come up with a great story to match his art, or expecting George Lucas, a master of special effects, to come up with a story not a piece of shit now that he’s gone bat-shit crazy in his old age. Yes, maybe Richard Garriott once had the ability to create the genius that was Ultima Online, but George Lucas fucked up three Star Wars flicks back-to-back, and even screwed the pooch with the last Indiana Jones. So hey, getting old’s a bitch, so move on and focus on one of the few things you’re still good at.
The point is, TR didn’t fail because it was a niche product. It failed because it simply wasn’t good. Damion’s right when he points out that some games have an upper hand because they get to rely on existing IP, but those games are no different than the many sequels we see scattered throughout the gaming landscape. It’s the same phenomenon that haunts film: prequels and sequels already have half the formula right, because the basis for their very being was already successful.
For those entering the MMOG battlefield, remember the IP: it’s what can make or break your game. It’s why future titles like Star Trek Online, or the Fallout MMORPG already have fans lining up. And for developers without this post to lean on, it’s time to hire some great writers and thinkers who aren’t afraid of running their ideas by people before the ideas end up in the game. Beta test the lore itself, and you’ll build the security your game needs to prosper.
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