As a huge fan of the development and design behind MMOs, I would like to start giving my thoughts and tips around building a large world for an even larger crowd, based just not on my experience with the genre, but also looking into the insights of experts in the MMO field. Designing an MMO is no small feat (the word MASSIVE is in the title!)
Building a large interactive world, adding puzzle and combat elements for a diverse player base, adding enough crafting and materials to engage a wide variety of creative output and balancing the economy is rough enough. On top of all that you need to give your players and environment that feels like a living, breathing world around them. (which is my favorite part!) Matt Firor is the Studio Director at ZeniMax Online Studios. He gives some great thoughts on designing a Modern MMO and a few reasons for the decisions they made while developing Elder Scrolls Online. I also encourage anyone interested in the development and design of MMOs to read the book The World of Warcraft Diary: A Journal in Computer Game Development by John Staats. It is a VERY indepth debrief on the development of World of Warcraft and I can tell you is it FULL of some very insightful discussions about why they took certain routes they did with design.
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Mastering the Art of Game Design: Intro to Designing an MMO
