I haz new MMO toy!
After a week or so of playing Forsaken World, including checking out their cash shop and comparing prices, I've come to the conclusion that if you're currently playing WoW (or DDO, or LotRO, or EQ, or Aion, or... well... you get the idea), and want to tour other MMO places, but aren't really looking for something new, Forsaken World is just the ticket.
It's the least rapacious PWE game I've played, and it's very much tailored for the English-speaking market, which is reflected in every aspect of the game. Most of PWE's games are obviously developed for China, because that's where they always launch first - which is entirely reasonable considering China is their home base, then adapted for English-speaking markets. Forsaken World, however, was obviously developed from the ground up with the English-speaking market in mind, with nods to China, with full intentions of trying to grab a substantial piece of the English micro transactional pie. (I refuse to call it Free2Play, since that term covers so many styles.) And from 1 week of FW, I think they have a pretty good chance of succeeding.
FW is the first PWE game where I'm saying, "Hmm... This is good enough and I'll play it for long enough that I WANT to spend 15 dollars on it this month, because I'll get as much worth as a subscription. But... I don't know what I want to buy." All the other PWE games that I've tried are NOT like that.
What's more, FW has some interesting mechanics in and of itself for the classes. Unique mechanics - which is why I said it's sort of a WoW clone - but with different classes. For instance, the bard class actually *gasp* uses a rudimentary form of *GASP* music, actual music. Or, well, chords, anyway. XD Which is not the same as music, but still... Basically, you can play sets of different chords to trigger different effects, and the chords really are accurate. For example, C and D sound like C and D based chords. It's really quite cute. So, er yes, this is the new toy!
So while FW is not really something new - Guild Wars is something new, Eve Online is something new, Atlantica Online is something new. Forsaken World? Nahhhhhhh... But it is VERY polished, and PWE even wrote the quests all properly in English this time. (Most of PWE's quests, if you READ them, are bizarre when rendered in English - but in FW, are properly done.)
PWE is also experimenting with a triple currency system - important in a F2P game - which I've never seen done by another studio before. It's very impressive actually. It's what makes FW much more interesting (and playable) to me than the other PWE games I've played. Basically, there's your cash shop currency (which you can exchange for in game gold); there's in-game gold, which can be traded between players, is gotten from a very few quests, and is limited in circulation (at this point) because the control of the creation of it is intentionally highly limited - inflation is always a killer in F2P games because money in this genre of games literally falls from the sky; and the third currency - which makes the whole thing intriguing - soul coins - which are quest reward gold that you can ONLY use on NPCs and cannot ever be traded with other players. It's the third currency that holds all 3 together, and makes FW really playable.
In other F2P games from PWE newbieness is a horrible scraping hardship when it comes to gold, thereby pushing you towards the cash shop. But in FW, I'm actually enjoying it enough that I WANT to pay PWE money, I just haven't decided on what yet. And I find that fascinating. It's precisely because, unlike other PWE games, FW doesn't make you go through Hell and high water if you want - oh, a mount, for instance. You can get one through pure in-game means. Which in turn, leaves me feeling a lot less blackmailed than PWE games usually do, and reinforces my awe at PWE. I didn't think they could truly adapt to an APPEALING model for the English-speaking market, but FW is exactly that.
PWE is obviously experimenting with different degrees of monetisation thoughout all their games. They used to do a top down model - what works for the flagship, Perfect World, they then reproduce throughout all their other titles. But now, they're changing/tweaking for each title they publish, some to a greater extent, some to a lesser extent. Jade Dynasty is their apotheosis of the virtual lotto world, but not all of their games are like that. At least, not anymore.
By implementing the three currency system, PWE has given players a kind of welfare system - but not exactly because players still have to earn it. It definitely gives players a playability buffer. Which also makes me wonder what effect the third currency is having on their direct profits. Oh, they run the lotto system at the same time, but it also alleviates the OMGthisisunplayable without forking over cash initially. So I'm wondering if it brings more cash long term, because it eventually converts more freeloaders into paying customers. Certainly, it makes their games a lot more pleasant to play - the ones of theirs I've tried without it are a bit insane at lower levels due to the money issue. Not even having enough to buy basics from AI, or having to watch that like a hawk is no fun. Whereas in FW, I have almost no money I can trade to players, but I don't really care and am happily running around watching my vamp chick's boobs bounce (yay boobies), because I have a break-even-not-stressed amount I can trade with AI. This makes me a happy little noobie nugget.
Which leads me to the most interesting point. With FW, PWE has earned my goodwill for the first time. I want to pay for stuff from them, not because I feel forced to in order to progress, but because I think the game is entertaining enough that they deserve it. As someone who works in marketing, one of the things I've learned is that customer goodwill is invaluable. It'll be fascinating to see how FW, and other PWE titles continue to develop.
And for those of you who care about such ratings, in ze nuggetty opinion, Forsaken World is an AAA MMO title.