Online Worlds Roundtable #15, Part Three
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The question of how to make an Asian-friendly MMO is something that has come to dominate the industry over the last couple of years, especially with the insane success of World of Warcraft in China. For American MMO developers, I think that maybe it has become too much of a distraction. Instead of focusing on making a great game, too much thought is given to "What will make this game successful in Asia?" and not enough to "What will make this a good, solid, fun game?" No game will ever be successful in Asia if it isn't good, no matter how much thought is given to art style and Asia-friendly mechanics.
WoW is a perfect example of many things that go right in the game development process, but in this context, it shows how a good game can transcend markets. Obviously, much thought was put into the art style to make it attractive to Asian gamers, but Blizzard never strayed from the "this is Warcraft" look that has dominated the series since the beginning. Because of this, it feels like Warcraft, not like a game that is a westerner's idea of what an Asian wants to play.
