I’ve been thinking. (A dangerous pastime, I know!) And I think I have come up with a solution to a number of the things plaguing The Secret World. Now this isn’t a “what I want to see” list for my favorite conspiracy-laden horror game — I’ve shared those thoughts many times before — but an idea to build up the game and just keep its goodness coming for a good long while. Heck, this idea even addresses some of those long-desired features that players have clamored for.
So what are some of the issues? Well, everyone is concerned about Funcom’s financials. Add to that the fact that a number of folks are underwhelmed with the implementation of PvP; it also feels like the faction system has no meaning beyond clothing rewards and deck names. And then there’s the combat period, which plenty of players are unhappy with. Then there’s that painful downtime while fans wait for the next issue to dig into the awesome story. Feature-wise, we’re talking housing, pets, and even mounts.
What idea can possibly help fix all of these? A survival game! Now before your groan disturbs your coworkers or wakes the neighbors kids, hear me out.
More funds
Despite how awesome TSW is and how much we love it, if Funcom can’t get a nice flow of funds coming in, the game will ultimately go away. So something that brings in the cash and new players is good, yes? And all the better if it is chock-full of all that Secret World-y goodness! We already know The Park was successful enough, but that is only a single use, single-player experience. While I’d totally love many more games just like this, once I play through that adventure it would be done and over. There’s no replayability, and there aren’t others to share the experience with. I want to share the TSW world and keep diving into it over and over and over. As it turns out, I am not the only one thinking along the lines of new games: Funcom has just announced another TSW-spinoff title is in the works! Now the question is, why am I vying for a survival game?
Let’s look at survival games: They are hot right now! It seems like everyone is making one. Heck, Funcom is already in on the act with the upcoming Conan Exiles title (bonus: This should give the team some experience in the process). And if you look at a well-made one (eyeing ARK: Survival Evolved here), there’s obviously a large capacity for revenue. I think TSW has a leg up on the competition because the game already has assets, story, and — what so many other survival games are lacking — lore! The atmosphere in TSW is top-notch and lends itself to the high-adrenaline, am-I-or-am-I-not-going-to-die-right-here feeling. You can’t tell me you don’t want to delve into it in more places like this!
It would be so easy to fit the survival game straight into the MMO’s lore as well. Maybe a collection of bee-blessed were abducted by the The Orochi, old gods, or even the Nameless, and locked away in another land (cue Antarctica or Atlantis here!) or even dimension. It’s not like the Orochi aren’t into massive experiments, right? Perhaps those who are sent to this place are flawed irreparably and therefore the factions could not allow them out into the general populace without jeopardizing the Secret World. Maybe anima sickness for rezzing too many times is just too great for the psyche to handle! maybe you even get stuck in the grey-scale anima world and can’t even rez again. There are so many plausible ways to go, and so many ways to keep the story going through the survival game.
Better PvP
I am sure there are some folks out there who really enjoy The Secret World’s PvP. Unfortunately, it is one of those areas that was great in idea but didn’t weather implementation as well as hoped. Players want PvP to be meaningful. With that, they also want the factions to actually have meanings. A survival game can offer this.
Think of it: Players belong to a large, overarching organization that is relentlessly trying to gain the upper hand in power. Smaller groups/gangs can exist within this framework and work as guilds. You are literally trying to win control of the environment. It also so happens that the environment is trying to conquer you as well — go Filth! Conquer or be conquered, that’s the survival game way of PvP.
E-sports may not be exciting to everyone, but the thrill of competition is very real to many. Think of playing this in a survival of the fittest match, where winners earn accolades, rankings, and even prizes. This adds a new dimension that could pull in new players. And I honestly think it is thrill these folks want, so once they get a taste of the what-in-hades-can-be-around-that-dark-corner experiences that TSW is so good at, they will want more.
Related to combat is a fix for combat. While I’d love for the basic premise to stay the same, meaning the ability wheel, I know that many would like changes to make combat more visceral and stuff. Well, what better way to tweak a combat system than from the beginning? Making massive changes in an existing game are problematic, but there is a blank slate waiting if you start over.
Get your dream features
For everyone who wants housing in TSW, here’s your chance! You have to build/maintain/fortify structures to keep yourself and your belongings safe. A place to call home in The Secret World is something plenty want, and it makes perfect sense here. Not only that, but it would be easier to do. The devs have said that the best way to put housing into the game is at the beginning. Well, there you go! There’s no trying to shoehorn the feature in when game is built with it as a basic tenant. (Disclaimer: I still want housing in the MMO, but I would definitely revel in it in a survival environment.)
How about owning meaningful pets? Sure, we can love on the cute little ones that follow us around in the MMO, but who hasn’t contemplated having your own filth zombie to sick on your enemies? What about storming through the streets on a tamed draug mount? Imagine the danger of trying to keep these pets in line as well (I’m having TWD Michonne moments prance through my mind).
A companion to the MMO
As much as I love dinos, I am pretty sure a Secret World survival game would take over my life. You could have official servers and player-run servers with their own rule sets — people love that and show time and time again they are willing to pay for it! I’d totally host a private server and pay a sub fee for this experience. You can have some with permadeath, some without. Since story is not the ultimate goal here, I don’t think this would pull players away from the MMO, rather it would compliment it. What I do think is it will give a new place for folks to go when they are finished with TSW’s story, and want a place to go and soak up the atmosphere and feel of that sense of danger. And oh, how there will be danger!
Even better, there can be cross-promotions within the game, such as earning a title or clothing item in the MMO for winning a survival match, or going so long without a death of any kind. There are many ideas. There can be puzzle solving environmental mazes in this environment with cool loots for figuring it out, there can be bits of lore and story stashed throughout the world to find and piece together, and more. There can be mucho fun. I am so down for this idea that I want to to be announced now! I need this in my life. What about you — what do you think?
Is it real? In The Secret World, rarely is it not. Conspiracies, ancient legends, paranoia, secret societies, chaos — they all swirl together in a cacophony of reality. In Chaos Theory, MJ Guthrie infiltrates this secret world, exposing the truths that lurk beneath the surface. The big question is, can you handle the truth?
