[MUD-Dev] "USPs" (was: Warhammer Online Cancelled -- Why?)

[Damion Schubert]

From: Derek Licciardi
> From: Michael Sellers

>> So: what are *your* games' USPs?

> USP's are interesting in that they help make your marketing plan a
> bit more appealing but in today's MMO genre, they also tend to
> make your design much more risky.  Whether it's more content than
> SWG, better graphics than AO or some other more advanced game-play
> mechanic, today's investors are still scared of the Dot.com era
> and look up new ideas with a very healthy dose of cynicism.  So
> you say you're going to do it better for less money??  Yeah right.
> From an investment point of view, a unique selling point is a good
> thing but on the other hand it is a bad thing because it is not
> proven and flies in the face of risk management.

Raph once did a talk at GDC where he pointed out that the games that
were most likely to create a devoted fan-base were the ones that you
could describe in a sentence -- or less.  Obvious examples:

  Shadowbane: Play to Crush.
  Ultima Online: A Virtual World.
  EverQuest: Classic Monty Haul D&D Online Gaming
  Star Wars Galaxies: It's Star Wars, only Online.
  Worlds of Warcraft: Blizzard Made This.
  City of Heroes: Feel Like A Superhero.

Of course, talking about USP' in MMPs is a very interesting
discussion to make.  All of the above games got very devoted
fanbases prior to ship, but some stumbled.  Of note, Shadowbane and
SWG built huge followings on their USPs, but stumbled out of the
gate due to not fulfilling them to their fanbases expectations of
what that USP really was.

Asheron's Call is an interesting case study because, even though
they had several interesting features (monthly content, fealty
system, their original spell research system), they never had
anything that you could sum up in three words or less.  As such, it
never seemed to build much buzz (although it did build a devoted
following).

EverQuest is interesting too, in that its USP was the simplest and
least, well, Unique.  They got a lot of mileage (and still do) from
'classic' gameplay (many on this list may call it 'derivative'), and
they also got a lot more from just plain _working_ at a time when UO
was still struggling with technical issues.

City of Heroes nailed its USP - it's not 'play EQ in a Superhero
universe' but rather 'FEEL like a superhero'.  The case study there
is whether or not that USP is deep enough to keep people for months
or years at a time.

I've played EQ2.  I'm not sure what the USP is there.  This is a
little troubling - usually, you would know by now.

One thing about our genre, though - while you can't ship an ugly
game and hope for a homer, graphics just aren't traditionally a USP
for this market.  It's not just that this market favors gameplay
over graphics (they do), but rather that any claims about graphics
are likely to be repeated by all of your competitors, and surpassed
by the next game that comes out 6 months later.  When you're hoping
for 5 year subscriptions, that's obviously building your house on
sand.

So, to take Mike's question to the next level: can you sum up your
game in 5 words?

--d
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