More about Coobico

There were a few press-reactions to Coobico's start lately, for example from Developmag and Worlds in Motion.
This week I sat down with Worlds in Motion's editor Leigh Alexander to talk about casual MMOs:

"'More' is the typical game-industry's approach to everything: more levels, more graphic power, more customization and even moreso, intertwining features. Here is a lesson that the game-industry can learn from the Web 2.0-world -- less is more, really," Winter opined. "Less is what a casual audience of above-30-year-olds are looking for. They don't want to waste their time and money on upgrading graphic-hardware just to play Crysis in all its beauty. They are looking for some thirty minutes of ease and challenge besides their working-life, their family and hobbies, instead of spending endless hours of grinding in an online-game."

Communities are the key to online worlds, Winter says -- and the current community within MMOs currently reflects, he notes, the industry's "max-out principle," where the learning curve to fully engage in the virtual society is steep. "This doesn't mix well socially with the casual market," Winter says. "Such social discrepancies -- almost like culture shock -- are among the biggest shortcomings of recent multiplayer-products."

The whole interview can be found at Worlds in Motion: Linking People's Lutz Winter Talks Casual Adult MMO


Mehr über Coobico
Nach dem Start von Coobico gibt es bereits ein paar Pressestimmen zum Projekt, z.B. von Developmag und Worlds in Motion.
Mit dem Redakteur von Worlds in Motion, Leigh Alexander, habe ich mich diese Woche zu einem Interview über Casual MMOs zusammengesetzt:

"'More' is the typical game-industry's approach to everything: more levels, more graphic power, more customization and even moreso, intertwining features. Here is a lesson that the game-industry can learn from the Web 2.0-world -- less is more, really," Winter opined. "Less is what a casual audience of above-30-year-olds are looking for. They don't want to waste their time and money on upgrading graphic-hardware just to play Crysis in all its beauty. They are looking for some thirty minutes of ease and challenge besides their working-life, their family and hobbies, instead of spending endless hours of grinding in an online-game."

Communities are the key to online worlds, Winter says -- and the current community within MMOs currently reflects, he notes, the industry's "max-out principle," where the learning curve to fully engage in the virtual society is steep. "This doesn't mix well socially with the casual market," Winter says. "Such social discrepancies -- almost like culture shock -- are among the biggest shortcomings of recent multiplayer-products."

Das ganze Interview gibt es bei Worlds in Motion: Linking People's Lutz Winter Talks Casual Adult MMO.

:) <- Lutz