As part of a new blog focused on the game, ArenaNet’s Mike O’Brien has posted an extensive design manifesto detailing exactly what sort of direction that the upcoming Guild Wars 2 is intended to go in. Though their mantra of providing gamers with brand new experiences is key, this is more than an idle mission statement.
O’Brien states just how massive of a project that this is:
The first thing you should know about Guild Wars 2 is that, this time around, there’s no question that it’s an MMORPG. It’s an enormous, persistent, living, social world, filled with a wide variety of combat and non-combat activities. There’s so much depth here that you’re never going to run out of new things to discover.
Indeed, gone is the almost purely-instanced, PvP-focused gameplay. Not to say that it won’t be there in some form, of course, but rather that the scope is much grander than that of its predecessor. You may think this means that Guild Wars 2 is simply towing the line, following in the footsteps of the rest of the genre. Not so, says O’Brien! Peruse the following quote, and pay (or rather, don’t) careful attention the last bit:
So if you love MMORPGs, you should check out Guild Wars 2. But if you hate traditional MMORPGs, then you shouldreally check out Guild Wars 2. Because, like Guild Wars before it, GW2 doesn’t fall into the traps of traditional MMORPGs. It doesn’t suck your life away and force you onto a grinding treadmill; it doesn’t make you spend hours preparing to have fun rather than just having fun; and of course, it doesn’t have a monthly fee.
But it’s easy to say such things. How many MMORPGs have over-promised and under-delivered on their innovation? Or rather, how many have striven so hard to be different that they end up ignoring the core aspects of the game that keep players engaged? That’s where the rest of the design manifesto comes into play. Continue onward to see just how Guild Wars 2 plans on setting itself apart from its massively-multiplayer bretheren…
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ArenaNet has finally done it. The company has finally announced the release date for its upcoming subscription-less MMORPG Guild Wars 2. And that date is, wait for it…August 28, 2012! Considering that the true date is a full three months earlier than the previously-expected date of “before Thanksgiving” this gamer is jumping for joy. With the date finally official it is time to begin planning that “sick” day (week) and pack in the extra sleep hours to prepare for a caffeine fueled powerleveling session at the end of August.
