Interview of Joel (July 2013)

JeuxOnLine - Can you tell us your vision of this first year of exploitation of The Secret World?

Joel Bylos - The first year? It’s been a year of shifting and changing within Funcom as a company and that has permeated the game as well. It began with the release, the first issues which were mostly finishing content that we hoped to have finished for launch. Then we switched direction for the issues, switched payment model and started to hit our stride. When I look back at the year and the covers of the seven issues – I am amazed at what our team has accomplished. When I look at the games we released against, I think the quality and quantity of our updates holds up incredibly well. For the first year, I think you can almost smell the blood sweat and tears of the development team – and you can see the amazing community that has formed around the game. And we’re still doing things that nobody else in the MMO space does.

What was your best memory?

I think the best memory is just before the Christmas holidays – we had just released Issue #5 - Tyler Freeborn which was really the first of our new Issue Style, we had the End of the World event running, we had just switched the game over to a Buy to Play model and we were all very excited about the future of the game and the direction it was taking.

What was the element you added to the game during this year you like the most?

For myself, I like the shift in storytelling where we went from having missions scattered all across the game in every issue, to the singular story arcs. It changes the way the team works and it gives us a chance to do something a little different every issue which is also a great source of motivation for the team.

How do you see the second year of exploitation, what can we expect, and what is the feature that will be added you are the most excited about?

The second year will continue on the momentum we’ve gained now that the team has moved. We’ll build upon the issue structure, release some major endgame content and of course add a few new zones which people have been wanting for a while. Augment system, Scenarios, Tokyo…there is plenty of great stuff on the table.

There has been an evolution in the nature of the Issues. The first Issues included various unrelated missions. The latest evolve around an arc. What motivated this evolution ?

I think this shift was a necessary direction to take in order to keep the team focused and motivated and working towards a common goal. When we had missions scattered across the game, the designers were sitting in their own bubble, working on their mission. When we changed the issue structure, we all forged towards a common goal – and the team were collaborating across all aspects of the design. They still had their own section to work on, yes, but it felt like a part of a whole and the end result is a team effort that everybody can be proud of. In addition to that, it provides us with the opportunity to be creative in a way that you just cannot be on other games. People spend 3 years making a AAA shooter that is about secret agents. We spend a few months doing a spy themed issue, or an Indiana Jones themed issue, or a horror themed issue. Being able to jump around genres and game mechanics is refreshing for the team and hopefully, for the players as well. That really is the beauty of The Secret World, we can do anything!

Does it take more time to develop?

It’s hard to judge that at this point, as there have been so many external influences involved. With Issue #5 we got it done quickly, but with a larger team. Issue #6 came right in the middle of the company restructuring, which delayed it. And Issue #7 was delayed by the team move. My feeling is that the pace will pick up going forward, but I can’t say that the change in the issue structure has been the factor which slowed us down.

Those arcs are sold as DLC. Will there also be free new missions?

We generally offer new feature for free – but new missions are a part of the DLC structure. In issue #6, for example, we added the Lair raid which was free for all players. In Issue #7, we started out overhaul of the cabal interface and that is free for everybody.

The first arc on Tyler Freeborn lead us into the Mist. The following have a plot inspired by movies. Is it an evolution to make the DLC more attractive? Will there be arcs more around the lore again?

I think finding common themes and tropes is deliberate to make the arcs more accessible to people who might not have heard of TSW and also to give the Issues some unity that was lacking earlier. For example, when the team discussed making Issue #6 in Egypt and applying some Indiana Jones tropes, we then immediately have some ideas for the Auxiliary weapon and the clothing sets to give out. It creates a neat package that gives the team what they need, as well as being quite easy to communicate to the players. However, I want to stress that these things are only skin deep. The world and game is still very much The Secret World. Issue #7 might have some spy tropes and James Bond outfits – but it is a story about the Orochi Corporation, their exploitation of children and the filth.

There was no investigation mission in the last Issues. When can we expect a new one?

I believe there is one in Issue #7 and Tokyo will have a bunch more (Issue #9)

The life of TSW should have been divided in Seasons. Is the idea abandonned or just delayed because of the restructuration?

No, Season One still ends somewhere in Tokyo.

Before the launch of the game, there has been talks about EXODUS. Is it abandonned? Else, when will we see the first effect of this in the world?

It’s not abandoned, but it is a thing that is far off in the future of the game. I can’t say when we will get around to it.

The game has been divided in shards mainly because of the PvP and Fusang. With all the evolutions to the PvP, do you think it could be possible to return to the original desire of one unique server?

Possibly, though we haven’t really discussed it internally. The game still has plenty of people who PvP and the battlegroups still fill up on occasion so we wouldn’t want to make it impossible for people to access PvP (as we have seen in the Anniversary event).

When can we expect the housing?

This has never ever been promised as a feature.

And the tattoo parlor?

As soon as we can. This particular feature was delayed because we lost the coders who were working on it.

Any news about the utility of the Sanctuary of Secrets token?

It will be used in the Lair raids. When those are released, the purpose will become more obvious.

Is in-game advertising of real products still not an option for you? It would increase the immersion for the players and allow new incomes for the Devs.

It’s always an option – but right now it isn’t worth it. We wouldn’t make enough money to cover the cost of implementing it.