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ArenaNet discuss the life of Guild Wars 2 so far and its exciting future
On the sixth anniversary of Guild Wars 2, we speak to ArenaNet to learn how they introduced players to the world of Tyria, and how they plan to continue their stories into the future.
Guild Wars 2 has just reached a major milestone in its life, as the game turned six-years-old at the end of August. That's a significant achievement, especially in the world of MMORPGs, where success is far from guaranteed and maintaining a healthy player base is key to survival. It's even more remarkable when you consider that Guild Wars 2 has no recurring monthly subscriptions fees. Instead, the game is funded through one-off purchases and an in-game real money store selling cosmetics and other enhancements.
The money wouldn't flow in unless there’s something for players to keep coming back to month after month, year after year, though. For Guild Wars 2, that solution has been the Living World.
Setup much like a TV show, Living World has been developer ArenaNet's main method of delivering updates to the game that further the story of Tyria with new quests, encounters and a whole host of new content in each episode. Over the four seasons so far, players have taken on dramatic boss battles, witnessed the destruction of the game's home city of Lion's Arch and even shattered the fabric of reality itself. That's quite a lot in half a decade.
Seasonal events have also featured in Guild Wars 2
© ArenaNet
Considering how storytelling in MMOs has always been a bit of a challenge (really, how can all the millions of players running around be the chosen hero who'll save the world?), it's a testament to ArenaNet's skill that Living World has been such a compelling way for them to show the journey player characters have been on.
As game director, Mike Zadorojny explains, "We always knew that from the very beginning we wanted the story about the player character. Your choices in this world mattered. Your actions mattered, and the world should reflect that you're this hero. You're the centrepiece for everything going on and so we've tried to adjust that storytelling a little bit so that there are bigger monsters out there who have greater challenges or greater armies than you do."
Some of those big bads that players have faced together so far include a giant clockwork marionette, a whole elemental wheel of different Elder Dragons and even a god of war. No, sadly it wasn't Kratos. Anyway, these epic moments have only been part of the story, as alongside them players have adventured with a cast of recurring characters. And ArenaNet haven't been afraid to show how story events have impacted these lives – for better or for worse.
"Especially with this latest season, we've been tugging at some of those emotional heartstrings, because the players have gone on this journey now for five or six years," says Zadorojny. "Some of these allies have been with them for a very long time. As you see them grow and change so does your relationship with them."
ArenaNet has explored the likes of love and loss in equal measure here, ensuring players not only continue to talk about that epic raid encounter they only just managed to clear, but also the quiet times where long-time friends share a tender moment or are shockingly killed before them. It's all about keeping that discussion alive through a combination of exciting encounters and emotional story beats.
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ArenaNet discuss the life of Guild Wars 2
An interview with ArenaNet, developers of Guild Wars 2.
"For us, from the very beginning, it's been about how do we create the most social environment, because what's going to matter most is when the fans walk away is do they have those cool moments? Do they have those cool stories that they can talk about?"
It's a path they've looked to take, too, with the way the game's progression systems work. Many other MMORPGs look to pad the longevity of their game through increased level caps with each update or expansion. This added grind creates a new learning curve, as players earn additional skills and abilities that can fundamentally change how they play the game.
However, Guild Wars 2 has taken a different approach. Upon reaching Level 80, that's it. Now, your sense of growth needs to come from elsewhere, whether it's through the story or clearing a raid, defeating a world boss, learning secondary skills or discovering something new about the world of Tyria. All of these can be grouped together into something ArenaNet calls 'horizontal progression'.
"By doing a horizontal progression, it's not about how you can become more powerful. It's how you change the experience to explore or see the world in ways you didn't think possible before or from a different perspective," explains Zadorojny.
As well as the Living World updates, that ethos has played a fundamental part of the game's two expansions: Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire. Similar to the Living World, not only have these new releases added lots of additional story content to the game, but also new ways to interact and see the world of Tyria. It could be huge map-wide objectives that require all players to work together or more exploration-focused activities that make use of mounts to reach stunning vistas.
Now, with all that content available, it's interesting to hear how the team look back and reflect on all the work they've done on Guild Wars 2. It's been a six year journey so far for the players, but for everyone working on the game it all started long before the day of release – even back to when ArenaNet were developing the original Guild Wars.
Gliding became available in Heart of Thorns
© ArenaNet
"Looking ahead back then, I think we had planned out dozens of storylines and places, locations we had wanted to go. So we always knew that five or 10 years, this journey was always something we wanted to attain, but I think that the way the journey has unfolded has gone beyond our wildest dreams."
And so, onto the future. With Season 4 reaching its conclusion and the promise of a huge finale for players, what can be expected from Season 5? Well, there's the promise of even more significant content, including things that would usually be saved for an expansion, as well as another "amazing story" that will immediately kick off right from the conclusion of Season 4 and take them on a ride.
"Some of the stuff we're looking at as we move forward is being able to continue this promise in terms of the legacy of what it means to be part of Guild Wars 2, and to be true to our fans for all the dedication and the love that they've given us. We wanted to just give back to them and continue telling this amazing story."
So far, players have spent almost 120,000 years on Guild Wars 2. It sounds like AreaNet's plan to continue supporting the game is to have them stick around for 120,000 more.
