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Why GoIO is not for every one

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HamsterIV:
I have a theory as to why some people quit Guns of Icarus after a few games while others have played it for 1000+ hours:

The game is an incredibly niche product. It underemphasis individual accomplishment and rewards a different set of skills than people expect from this genera of game. There is very little skill transfer from other games to Guns of Icarus.

Regardless of a player's skill level it is next to impossible to carry a game solo. This runs in the face of what most single player games and many multiplayer games on the market do; which is cast the player as the big damn hero. Players who enter this game wanting to lead the server with the highest kill to death ratio are bound for disappointment.

Many gamers have become accustomed to thinking they are "good at video games" because they have a skill set that many games reward. A player can take the snap reflexes and movement techniques they learned in counterstrike and apply them to Call of Duty, Battle field, or Grand Theft Auto.

The ability to pick up a new game and be proficient at it in a very short period of time has been taken for granted by much of the gamer populous. AAA developers are not blind to this which is why most games play very similar to each other. Guns of Icarus looks superficially like the standard game that most gamers are good at, yet the the skills to make a snap head-shot or dodge bullets as an individual are essentially worthless in this game. This leads to further disappointment

These feeling of disappointment are the source of many requests for boarding, personal weapons, and player driven carrier launched planes. They are an attempt to make Guns of Icarus more like what the average gamer is already good at. I am glad Muse has resisted these requests and kept Guns of Icarus a unique if niche product. There are dozens of games released every year that cater to the standard FPS skill set, but only one (technically 2) Guns of Icarus.

We as a community should understand Guns of Icarus will never have the mass appeal of AAA games. The type of person who can get into this game is a very small subcategory of gamer. We should not expect every one to enjoy the game as we do. Anybody who has bought the 4 pack yet is the only active account can attest to this.

Dutch Vanya:
'Tis the truth.

RearAdmiralZill:
Who you callin' a subcategory gamer?!


I can live with this.

Tanya Phenole:
Generally people seek 2 things in multiplayer games. Competitiveness and interaction. Those desires realise themselves in 2 branches of gaming activity - PvP and PvE. Successfull PvP player and PvE player - are completely different gamers, with different desires, online hours and different demands to the game. First ones attached to their own stats and achievements, like win counts, kill/death ratio, etc . Second ones prefer being a part of group with clear role. That is why in classic MMOs we see lot of PvP activities for solo/small groups, and so much PvE realised as raids. Organised PvP raids are rare. PvE solo gamers are very inactive and generally not involved into game's community, as they play MMOs similarily to single.

 Current skrimish mode of GoI is a bit uncomfortable for both types of player. Stereotypical PvP gamer has to give up his interests for team, he is unable just leave the losing group, because he can't win alone. Stereotypical PvE gamer misses redemption from game - idea of fighting for the fight, without loot  and rewards, is pretty weird for him.

Of course, stereotypes are not living people, and people, who are balanced with both sides stayed in GoIO after mess of novice matches, ignoring difficulties of language barriers and social interactions.

Personally, I predict that adventure mode release would attract significantly more people, as it will be more standart  gaming activity - PvE for group of players. Tons of multiplayer games wih different mechanics succeeded on this model, they have high sales rate in steam.


Also, it is great that skirmish mode was released before adventure mode. If adventure mode would be released first, skirmish mode wouldn't have got it's recognition and had no chance to develop into some kind of e-sport we have now.

HamsterIV:
Tanya's right that GOI sits in a strange space, but I am not sure the diction is between PvP and PvE. As I have read gaming has 4 distinct draws: Social, Exploration, Competition, and Mastery.

Social - Interacting with other people in an interesting context
Exploration - Seeing new things for the first time
Competition - Besting others in fair (pseudo fair) competition
Mastery -  Being in the "Zone". Where a combination of twitch reflexes and muscle memory put you in an almost zen state.

The PvE games tend to be big on Social and Exploration where as PvP games tend to be big on Competition and Mastery. Guns of Icarus Skirmish sits on both the Social and Competition draws while having limited Exploration and Mastery. Adventure mode will probably add to the Exploration and lessen the Competition thus bringing it more in line with what the the PvE players expect.

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