Pirates of the Burning Sea: The MMORPG for All?
Nicolas Jackson, 2006-05-10

I will be the first to admit that I prefer strategy games to Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. While they often appear to have large flexible game environments, a few hours of play usually reveals that there isn't much to do but perform a bunch of mindless repetitive tasks. Some will argue that this mimics the real world. And, to be fair, it does. The only difference is that you are paying to perform mindless repetitive tasks instead of being paid.

As a strategy gamer I play games to balance a complex series of choices that result in a change in the game environment. Simply put, most of the MMORPGs that I've tried haven't let me do this. I know other people who are more physical gamers that get a thrill out of trying to control their avatars in challenging situations. This is also something that can't be done in the standard MMORPG.

Although some may argue that the MMORPG genre won't see a major change until another crop of big titles is released, I believe that smaller games, like Flying Lab Software's upcoming Pirates of the Burning Sea (PotBS), will be the ones to alter the genre the most. At first glance, Pirates of the Burning Sea appears to rely on many of the core MMORPG game systems. However, Flying Lab is also devoting a significant amount of resources into altering these basic systems. Their aim is to change these systems enough to appeal to both casual and hardcore MMORPG gamers. Although their plans may seem risky and small in the grand scheme of things, this development approach could help the genre to evolve. If enough development companies begin to take this approach then perhaps more gamers like me can begin to identify with the MMORPG.

Although many MMORPGs loosely use the term "world" to describe their game environments, this term seems particularly appropriate for the planned environment of Pirates of the Burning Sea. Unlike other MMORPGs, which tend to limit their worlds to what the player immediately interacts with, PotBS is supposed to ship with a game world that models the entire Caribbean complete with interactive ports and towns. This seems like a wonderful idea at first. After all, what could be better for an MMORPG than a large area where players are free to wonder around? However, there is a problem with this basic design. Players can easily become overwhelmed by the sheer vastness and complexity of the game world. I can name countless MMORPGs where I quit playing the game simply because I got confused and ended up in a high level area.

Although there is no way to completely eliminate the potential for this problem, the planned world of PotBS's should suffer less from this problem because it is supposed to be broken up into easily understandable levels. The lowest level the town where players can wander about using an avatar. The next level planned is the battle level. This is an instanced zone where you can engage in ship-to-ship PvE and PvP battles. The highest level of the game world planned is the sailing map. This functions as the global connection between the towns and the instanced battle zones. Between all three levels of the game world and their planned interactions, it seems traveling through the world of PotBS will be relatively simple. This stands in stark contrast to many other MMORPGs, which tend to have large, confusing game worlds that are near impossible to navigate.

Flying Lab is also planning to give the game world a very specific feel. This in, and of itself isn't too unique, as most good games attempt to give their game world a distinct feel. But, unlike other MMORPGs, PotBS has a set time period in which it takes place. If this is carried out correctly, there should be a wonderful historical level to the game that can only help to establish its unique feel.

Gameplay

The idea of combining a historically-based setting with an easy-to-navigate and immersive environment is a good one. I applaud Flying Lab for taking the time to plan their game world out so well. Of course, a wonderfully designed game world doesn't mean much if it doesn't provide good gameplay. And even if there is good gameplay, the entire game could fall apart because is these two elements don't mesh well. So far, though, this doesn't seem to be the case with Pirates of the Burning Sea.

The gameplay in most MMORPGs is fairly simple. Since Pirates of the Burning Sea ia basing the heart of its game system on the standard template, the basic feel of play probably won't be much different. That said, there are a number of spots where the development team has chosen to drift away from the common MMORPG design.

Instead of using a class and level system (a la Ultima Online, EQ etc.), Flying Lab is planning to implement a skill system for PotBS. The end result might end up looking a lot like the game progression of Star Wars Galaxies. At the beginning of the game the developers plan to give you a choice of career and avatar - the game is designed to alter your play experience based on that initial choice, including giving you a basic ship and leading you to appropriate training quests. From this point on, you will choose your own fate.

At this point, it seems like the fate that you choose for yourself will dictate the rest of your play experience. If you choose to be a pirate, merchant or privateer, for instance, it seems you will be lending yourself to a mostly solo play experience. If you choose to pledge your allegiances to one of the countries' navies, on the other hand, it sounds like you will be lending yourself to a mostly group play experience.

For those that wish to survive on the high seas as a pirate, merchant or privateer it seems like the odds will be stacked against you. Most of your skills appear to be based on speed and survival - this does, of course, sound like it would acutely model the challenges that the real loners of the sea must have faced. But, it's also likely it will be much harder for just anyone to fulfill their life long dream of becoming a pirate.

For those that are seeking the safer, more social route, it seems your only real choice will be to join the navy of one of the established countries. As it is planned right now, it seems most of the players who choose this option will have it fairly easy. Instead of having to rely on your personal skills for survival, you will be able to rely on the skills of other members of your country. On the other hand, though, it the members of your country must work well together if you are to take full advantage of this play style. After all, the only real way the developer's plan on allowing players to change the game world is by completing group quests that destabilize your enemies' ports. And, you clearly can't complete group quests without a good group.

On the one hand, it seems like the idea of separating the game experience to provide for two different styles of play would be a very positive move and should allow players to choose how they want to interact with the game. On the other hand, though, this seems like it might make the more enjoyable careers, like being a pirate, a solo game experience. This could frustrate those that want to follow that career path. Of course, Flying Lab seems to be making this design choice because it will probably prevent the entire game community from becoming Pirates. By planning to reward players for not being Pirates with socially-based gameplay and challenging those that wish to have a solo game experience with the concept of having to rely on themselves for survival, Flying Lab is trying to make sure that they end up with a balanced group of players. Given the circumstances, having a balanced game world seems like the better option.

As for the battle system itself, it is undergoing an elaborate planning phase in an effort to make sure that any player can handle almost any battle situation. This approach should be able to handle both the adventurous and non-adventurous play-style by using the instanced zones to separate players that are traveling through the world in the sailing map, from players who are having a battle, which will allow the solitary gamers to enjoy their experience without being rudely interrupted. At the same time, the adventurous gamers should be able to sit back and enjoy the combat system without having to worry about ruining the solitary gamer's experience.

For an outright battle situation, the developers plan to initiate a combat system. The basic idea for this system should be that certain types of shots do damage to certain portions of the ship. This means that the player will probably have to use strategy to render their opponents ships defenseless so it can be dealt with as they see fit. Flying Lab is also planning to realistically model the dynamics of a battle based on the career that you've chosen in the beginning of the game. This means that a merchant, for example, probably won't be able to blow a pirate out of the water. However, this same merchant might be able to outrun the pirates' ship in an effort to get away. Although I had a hard time understanding this system when I played a demo of the game last August, the PotBS website claims that a series of instructional tutorials will be made to fully explain the system as the game grows closer to release.

There aren't many MMORPGs that appeal to me. I'm a strategy gamer at heart, so I want to feel like I can plan a way to make a difference in a game world that works to my advantage. I know there are many other gamers like myself out there that feel that the MMORPG isn't quite there type of game due to the way that most of them are structured. The good news is that while one type of game can never truly appeal to all gamers, the possibility space of the MMORPG has yet to be fully realized. As such, it seems short-sighted to dismiss smaller MMORPGs like Pirates of the Burning Sea.

Pirates of the Burning Sea has a lot of potential in the MMORPG space. If the initial release goes as planned, it will have a complex battle system that requires strategy and physical skills, separate environments within the game that allow players to have their preferred experiences and, if you choose to work as group, the opportunity to change the game world. These features seem to be the beginning of the solution to the problems that many non-MMORPG players express. The best part is PotBS also has enough traditional elements to keep regular MMORPG players happy.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is worth keeping an eye on - you may not be into pirates or the 1700s, but getting the chance to play with new game systems is always a good opportunity for anyone who considers themselves an avid gamer.