Orbus Gameworks

Allegiance

May 24, 01:33 PM

Hi, this is Craig. I’m the guy who does most of the measuring (as opposed to tool development or schmoozing).

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on modifying a game called Allegiance, an oldie but goodie in the world of marginally massively multiplayer online games. It’s basically a space fighter game that is all about team play.

Anyhow, we’ve collected data on a few games, but we don’t have much data on teamwork. Actually, nobody does. Most metrics measure things like kills and gold and xp. Rarely, someone will try to measure the optimal team balance or use trading information to track gold farmers. But it’s definitely an area of measurement that is underutilized.

What we’re trying to do with Allegiance is not simply measure the number of kills a given player has, but to measure the dynamics of a team. For example, most people have a preferred role in the game – a scout, or a bomber, or such. It is relatively easy to determine this by simply measuring how long they stay in a given type of ship… but that’s not a measurement their current metrics do. This is a fundamental part of how a team operates: how many of what kind of ships, when, doing what?

Also, Allegiance has a “command” system which actually lets people accept or turn down commands they receive. This allows us to track the commands given, and various player’s responses to them. This is also not something that is currently tracked, but can provide valuable insight into how a team operates.

Since Allegiance is a mature game, there is a significant player base. We’re hoping to measure the difference between how experienced players and relative newbies act on a team. This kind of data can be invaluable not only to the designers, but to people who want to train their play or command skills. (Given that Allegiance has community-run cadet and officer training schools, this could be very useful data.)

We believe this kind of information will become more and more critical in online games of the future: how your community plays together is a central piece to the longevity of any game. And, as Allegiance can attest, community can keep a game going long after the developers have given up and gone home.

What is it about Allegiance’s play that keeps players loyal for a decade?

Well, we’re hoping to find out.

-Craig

— CraigPerko