EDIT: This post is about TEMPORARY content, not the Bi-Weekly updates. Please keep that in mind when posting.
TL:DR Section Below!
No misleading Title here guys. I honestly believe ArenaNet are shooting themselves in the foot with their focus on Temporary content or “Living Story”
The notion that constantly creating new temporary content in two week intivals will be good for anyone is fundimentally flawed.
So we stay on topic let me state this: This post is not implying that regular bi-weekly content over an expansion is fundimentaly flawed (Though I am personally against it.) or that it is impossible to create a compelling story in such a way. The purpose of this post is to go over why an MMO dedicated to temporary content, reguardless of that contents quality cannot succeed.
As a demontration. I’m going to throw out a scenario based on a recent real world Media Succes: Game of Thrones. (Feel free to sub in any Show/Book/Game/Media/Etc. if you don’t like Game Of Thrones!)
Imagine if HBO discovered a way to distribute the show that was 100% Pirate proof, and then deceides to run the show a limited number of times over a limited time frame to encourage more viewers. Their viewers are already invested in the show so they figure they’ll make the effort to watch it. Sure enough their viewership would rise AT FIRST. This is because by using this method HBO has stoped new viewers from getting into the show. Why would a new viewer want to jump into the story half way? Can you imagine how hard that would be to follow? Now put yourself into the shoes of the viewers who HAD been watching the show up until that point. What if, for some reason, say holidays or sickness, they missed a few episodes? Now they have the choice of either carrying on knowing they’ll not be able to experiance that part of the show or to stop watching it. Some will inevitablly choose to stop watching. Over time the viewerbase would drop off and in the long term it wpu;d be harmful to the show, Both for HBO and for the viewers.
This is EXACTLY what Guild Wars 2 is doing to itself with its focus on temporary content. By putting in and then removing content instead of constantly building apon previously relased content you are creating a barrier to new players that want to try your game. In Guild Wars 1 Anet successfully removed a barrier to new players wanting to try their product by eliminating the Subscription Fee model. By focusing on temporary content they are creating another barrier to new players wanting to try their game, and worse, this one cannot be circumvented by simply paying a monthly fee.
I may have missed something here, and that’s why I’m making this post, but what exactly are the benifits of focusing on temporary content? The only benifit I can think of that someone might put forwards is that temporary content makes the game more immersive.
Does realesing any media on a limited timeframe make it more immersive? I honestly do not belive it does. All it does is create a sense of urgancey to make it SEEM more immersive. And if Guild Wars 2 can’t realese content that is immersive and entertaining without rellying on creating a sense of urgancy to back it up is that content worth realeseing in the first place?
TL:DR
Video Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5SIPOg_sLQ
Temporary content, reguardless of the quality, would be better off being permentant so as not to alienate new and returning Guild Wars 2 players
