a single click. All you need is Adobe Reader.
For use with either a modern browser, or an RSS program.
MAG: Interview with Ben Jones
Guns, networks and colossal player counts: we talk to MAG designer Ben Jones.
Written by David Scammell, 21 January 2010
With MAG launching across the UK and Europe next Friday, January 29th, we jumped at the chance to sit down with Zipper Interactive Designer Ben Jones and ask him a few questions about his upcoming online multiplayer shooter...
GamerZines: MAG seems a lot more in-depth than most other online shooters, but at the same time that makes it relatively more inaccessible. What have you done to ensure that MAG will be as accessible as possible to every type of player?
Ben Jones, Zipper Interactive: A couple of different things: one, when you begin the game the only two modes that you'll have access to are Training, which will take you through the core experience and get you familiar with the type of game that MAG is, and Suppression, which is our 64 player deathmatch that has no effect on the tournament that we call The Shadow War. So you start off in more of a safe environment, you can easily level up, get a couple of things for your character and be ready to go when you jump into the bigger battles. The second thing is that we've defined this loose class system within MAG so that people can play however you want. If they're comfortable just healing their teammates or repairing objectives they can do that, or they can jump right into the fray with the other 255 players.
GZ: One game that MAG will inevitably be compared with is Modern Warfare 2. That game's still riding high in the charts and you're coming out now - does the fact that MW2's still performing so well pose a problem for Zipper or do you expect MAG to come along and make a mark?
BJ: I don't expect that we'll come along and trounce anyone, but I think we'll be able to easily define ourselves within the marketplace because we're doing so many things differently. No one on a console has the scale that we are bringing the table; no one has the command structure, and the level of persistence exceeds what you might see in other games where you're focusing on yourself. Each battle that you're fighting in MAG actually contributes to the overall state of this war and the state of that war determines personal awards for you and your PMC. So you have an incentive to log in and fight in each of these battles and they actually have meaning.
GZ: MAG's biggest USP is that it does allow for 256 players, but is that number a design decision or more of a limitation within the architecture of PSN? Could we go higher than that on PS3?
BJ: We could. We optimised for 256 - what we have here runs well and we're happy with it - but we could give or take and probably push those numbers, but our goal was always 256. It's not an arbitrary number, it's actually based on the number of squads and platoons that we have within the game all coming together.
GZ: You've had a few phases of the beta, but in the two 256 player battles we played today there was still a slight bit of noticeable lag. Are you going to give continuing support for the game post-release, and are we going to see MAG continually evolve over time?
BJ: Absolutely. What we saw today was unfortunate because it was a network issue; it was not a game issue. Those crop up from time to time, especially when the people working on the universe are asleep! I mean, that's bound to happen and the game still hasn't launched yet, but yeah, we look to continue to support our game throughout, and I think testament to that is the progress that's not only been made throughout the beta but even in this final phase of the beta. We've continued to learn and we're continuing to patch the product so we'll be ready for the issues as they crop up.
GZ: Sony is putting a lot of weight behind MAG, as proven by events like today. Do you think that MAG has what it takes to become PSN's flagship multiplayer title?
BJ: We hope so. Obviously the numbers that we're looking to support are bigger than anything else available on PSN right now, so we're ready to support a massive universe, we're ready to support the big player counts and so we hope that everybody dives in and it does take it to the next level.
GZ: A key part of the game is communicating with other players, but the level of headset penetration on PSN isn't perhaps quite as high as it is on Xbox Live. Did you take that into account when developing the game?
P3Zine Issue 32
For our latest MAG coverage, click here to download P3Zine Issue 32 for free.BJ: Yeah, absolutely. I think what's nice about MAG is that the communication definitely lets you work more closely with your team mates. That's a very unique experience, not because it doesn't happen very often but because so few other games actually deliver that kind of experience. So what we've seen is, yeah, the penetration is a little limited, but moreover we've designed the game from the ground up so that you don't need a headset in order to be effective. You've got a baseline set of objectives and there are a number of ways that you can communicate with your teammates without having to use a mic.
GZ: Obviously you're owned by Sony now, but there are people out there who would perhaps consider Xbox Live as the more mature network of the two - it's been around for longer, it's slightly more established...
BJ: That's funny, because I actually consider Xbox Live the more juvenile of the two.
GZ: Why do you think that?
BJ: Just because of the things that are being said over Xbox Live.
GZ: By the users themselves you mean?
BJ: Yeah, but you know, each service has its own posse.
GZ: That's a fair point though. So you think a PlayStation audience is more suited to a game like MAG?
BJ: Yeah, I think the PlayStation audience definitely fits more to our game. As we saw in the beta we've got an audience that's willing to communicate and willing to organise and structure, and help other people to play the game. That's the most remarkable thing that I saw in the beta - random people helping other players along to try and familiarise themselves with this really cool experience.
GZ: Regarding the network itself, its functionality rather than its users, has that come along as well as you'd have liked over the past couple of years?
BJ: I don't know that I can say that there's anything lacking from the network. I think what's fantastic about it is that it's free right out of the box and the feature set has grown leaps and bounds since the launch of the PS3, and I think it will continue to do so. We'll see a continued maturity there but right now we're more than happy with what PSN allows us to do.
GZ: And finally, how have you found working with Sony as a first party studio?
BJ: It's been a fantastic experience. Our beta is a true testament to Sony's commitment not only to us as a studio but MAG as a product. To be able to have the longest public beta in PlayStation history... I mean, that's a huge amount of time and faith in us to deliver on the promise, and obviously events like this make it very clear that Sony is perfect for us.
MAG launches on 29th January exclusively on PlayStation 3.
MAG coverage available in P3Zine Issue 32 - click here to download it for free!
»View more MAG features...
