[MUD-Dev] Advertising Thread

[Koster]

From: Russ Whiteman
> From: "Brandon J. Van Every"

>> I also have a problem with thinking that MMORPG success/failure
>> is primarily a function of historical / game design expertise, as
>> opposed to marketing, funding, revenue model, artwork, and PC
>> technology of the day.
 
> I'd say you have a really good point there, Brandon.  With all due
> respect to Raph Koster (and anyone else on the original UO design
> team with a MUD background), its original design was pitifully
> inappropriate for a large-scale game (let the players handle the
> PK'ers without any help from the system?  Globally synchronized
> spawns of basic resources and mobs?  etc, etc)

It wasn't actually designed for 2800 players (capacity of each world
at launch). The game design was done for 300. Nine months or so
before ship, we got the order from on high to make more players fit
into the game, and Rick Delashmit basically made it happen by hook
or crook.

> ...yet due to the marketing, art, and PC technology of the
> product, it managed to make a relative killing.

It's sold over a million copies thus far, and is past "relative
killing" at this point. Indubitably a HUGE amount of its success is
attributable to the license. Had it not been an Ultima, I doubt it
would have had nearly the level of success that it did.

-Raph

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