POTCO Interviews
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Greg Wiatroski
In the past year, we've seen many changes in the Caribbean, but what lies ahead? In response to your recent questions, we asked the man in charge of Pirates Online development for answers - here's what he had to say:
My name is Greg Wiatroski and I am the lead developer on Pirates of the Caribbean Online. My job is to oversee the development of all in-game features. I work very closely with the Community, Marketing, and Publishing teams to decide which of many great ideas we want to make happen. Then we have to decide how and when they will get done. I work with a great team of artists and engineers who are all really committed to making Pirates a truly great game.
Ship Customization
We know that being able to express yourself is a huge part of the online game experience. We've always planned on letting players be able to make their ships as unique as they are. We plan on letting players customize their sails, masthead, and many trim pieces and accessories for starters. We've been debating having different pieces affect the gameplay mechanics. This would let players customize their ships for the style of play they prefer.
Loot and Inventory System
We would love to add a more traditional inventory system to Pirates. Think something along the lines of bags and slots - like your traditional RPG. This would allow us to do lots of things - like player trading, for instance. Hand in hand with the new inventory system, we'd like to offer the players more rewards. Again, think of the more traditional RPG loot: weapons that boost certain attributes so the player has to make some decisions about what skills they want to be better at.
Basic vs. Unlimited
We are always re-evaluating the access for Basic Players. Traditionally we add features for Basic members when we add something more for Unlimited Members. So keep watching the release notes, we are constantly adding to the game!
GMs and GM Ships
Our Community team is really excited about the opportunity to make in-game appearances. I was able to participate in the event we did to announce the upcoming Halloween event. I can honestly say it was really fun and we learned a lot from all of you. I think the players can look forward to many more events like this including meeting some very famous Pirates, participating in treasure hunts, pirate bounties, and other exciting adventures.
Jason Yeung
So what's the deal with Davy Jones and the Kraken? Do you have plans to add them to the game? Any hints on when that might happen?
Yes, we are definitely planning on adding Davy Jones and the Kraken to the game, and along with them will be all new Quests. Stay tuned for more details!
Is it possible to solo your way through the game, or do you need to join a Crew and/or Guild? Which would you recommend?
It is possible to solo, but a core part of our game is the ability for players to assemble a crew of friends. Crews and Guilds are both useful in different ways. Joining a Crew is like playing a pickup basketball game, where you play with different people every time. Crews work together and treasure is split according to the Pirate Code. Joining a Guild is more like playing in a league - you play with the same people every time.
Will you be adding more Guild features to the game?
We do have plans to add more Guild features. We don't have a full design yet, but keep a lookout for more details in the future.
Any plans to add pets to the game? Possibly parrots? Or is that too Pirate-cliché?
We love the idea of adding pets to the game, and that is definitely an option for future expansions. However, we have other major features we are focusing on rolling out first that will introduce more gameplay.
What is the biggest challenge you, or the development team as a whole, has faced with Pirates Online?
The biggest challenge has been introducing new content fast enough for our really hardcore fans. We are constantly having to strike a balance among bug fixes, broadening the content offering (e.g. clothing/tattoos/jewelry shops), and introducing more content for advanced players (Black Pearl, Davy Jones, etc).
Do the developers actually read any of the feedback that players send in or does Customer Service handle all of that?
Yes, we definitely do! We are constantly shaping the game according to player feedback we receive through Customer Service and from what we read on fan forums.
Przemek
How did you land this internship with the VR Studio?
At the end of each fall semester, Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) hosts a BVW Show, which showcases the best student projects from the Building Virtual Worlds class offered at the ETC. Every year recruiters from several companies in the entertainment industry come seeking new talent. There were representatives from the VR Studio there, and a couple of days following the show I had a phone interview with the company. Interestingly enough, the phone interview took place while I was enjoying the holidays in my home country, Poland. A month later, I had another interview in the Los Angeles studio, which luckily followed with an internship offer.How long have you been playing games? What are your favorite games?
I have been playing games for as long as I can remember, initially on my brother's first computer – the Commodore 64. I was always infatuated with this form of entertainment and one day hoped to be involved in developing games people can enjoy. I am a huge fan of old school adventure games, but spend most of my time playing strategy games – my all–time favorite is the Civilization series.Describe a typical day working as an intern in the VR Studio.
One of the great things about interning here is that there are a lot of choices of what you can do. Because of that, I am able to learn something new every day and find out what I am most comfortable doing. Each day I look at the task list and choose the most suitable thing to work on for the day. After that, I consult with our lead on the details and get to work. Of course, some of the tasks take much more than a day to finish, but in case you get stuck, there are plenty of helpful teammates willing to help you if needed. Additionally, there are a number of interesting meetings they let interns participate in, as well as special intern activities, like the behind–the–scenes Disneyland tour. Therefore, not only do we have a great opportunity to learn, but we also have lots of fun here.What's your favorite thing about being an intern in the VR Studio?
It is incredible to work in an environment full of so many talented people and learn from their rich experience. Not to mention, I also have the opportunity to work on a great game based on such a successful franchise as the Pirates of the Caribbean.Describe your ideal job.
Being able to do what you love and enjoy for a living is really important, and should already be considered a great success. This way, every moment of work can give you a lot of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. On top of that, if you are given a lot of creative freedom, it is just perfect.What's the most challenging task you've faced since you began interning here?
I have never had the chance to work on such a complex project before. The fact that Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a network based game makes it much more difficult to develop. Therefore, it was a challenging task, in the beginning of an internship, to jump right into development and overcome the complexity of the code base.How often do you get to play Pirates Online? What's your favorite thing about the game?
I play the game every day, either for testing new features and tasks I am working on, or just for fun. My favorite feature of the game is being able to cruise the Caribbean seas on my pirate ship with my crew, and sinking all the sea scum out there.Who is your favorite character from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? Why?
Captain Davy Jones. He is truly unique and the history of this character dates back to even before the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Although he is portrayed as a merciless antagonist, the story of his life reveals his complex and passionate nature. Additionally, his incredible appearance in the movie makes him a very strong and memorable character.What is the most fun project you've gotten to work on for Pirates Online?
As a technical artist, I greatly enjoy working on visual effects for the game. It lets me combine my technical abilities with an artistic touch, which feels very rewarding.What makes someone a legend? Are you a legend?
For me, a legend is someone whose actions and/or creations inspire and influence people for generations to come. I still have a long way to go before anyone will be able to proclaim me a legend.Edumundo
How did you land this internship with the VR Studio?
One of the faculty members at Carnegie Mellon used to work at the VR Studio, so there was a connection between my school and the studio. In January, our class came to visit several companies in California, including the VR Studio, and I had a few interviews with various members of the team. I stayed in touch until the Game Developers Conference and soon after I got an offer for the internship!How long have you been playing games? What are your favorite games?
I started playing games when my dad bought our first family computer. I was around six years old, and for a while I played a lot of computer games, especially graphic adventures and car simulation games. I would also play a lot of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat at my friend's place. For a while, I wasn't playing many games, but then I got an XBOX and got back to playing more frequently. Some of my favorite games of all time include The Secret of Monkey Island, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Mario Kart DS, and The Sims 2.Describe a typical day working as an intern in the VR Studio.
I got a list of features from some of the people in charge of the various features of the game. Usually, I pick an item from the list and talk to the lead about how the result should be like, and I start working on it. A lot of it involves writing a lot of code, playing the game to see if it works, and making corrections. This part usually takes more than a day depending on how big the feature is, but when I'm done, I show my work for approval and start working on the next item on the list.What's your favorite thing about being an intern in the VR Studio?
One of the cool things about being an intern here is that they trust me enough to put my own ideas down. For example, the team tells me that they want a feature to be improved, and they give me some direction of what it should it be like, but the rest is for me to figure out. I can always suggest some of my ideas and if they like it they'll let me do it. And in the end, it's in the game for the whole world to see, so I can point to sections of the game to my friends and say, "I came up with this!"Describe your ideal job.
My ideal job would be a one where I can express myself creatively no matter what tools I'm working with. I like making things and contributing to the overall process of a project that is for entertainment or art. My internship at the VR Studio allows me to express myself creatively, so I think I'm in the right place for the things that I like to do.What's the most challenging task you've faced since you began interning here?
Every task that I get assigned is challenging in its own way because each deals with a different portion of the game, so there's always something new to learn. This is the first time for me working on a massively multiplayer online game and there is definitely a reason why these games are called massive. Every task involves thinking about what one player experiences and what the other people playing the game see that player do, and making sure that it works in different situations. When I started working, it was a lot more challenging because there was lot more to learn, but as I'm getting more familiar with the game and it's not as bad as it used to be.How often do you get to play Pirates Online? What's your favorite thing about the game?
I run the game every single day for as long as I'm at work, although I don't consider that to be playing because I'm more dissecting and trying out my work than having fun in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean. I played the game a lot during the first Beta and got far enough to get an idea of what the game is like. However, there are days where I have to be updated on how certain parts of the game work, so I actually play the game for a bit while writing down notes about what I'm doing for reference. I can't wait until the game is complete so that I can actually play it for fun again, though. One of my favorite things is that I could sail on a ship with my friends as part of my crew and go out to sea to battle Navy or East India Trading Company ships or visit some of the islands out in Pirates Online.Who is your favorite character from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? Why?
My favorite character is Captain Barbossa because he really represents the classic pirate in the franchise. While Jack Sparrow is the younger, more rebel pirate, Barbossa is the old experienced pirate who has been cursed and now has to deal with Jack constantly trying to take this ship, the Black Pearl. And he has a pet monkey! How cool is that?What is the most fun project you've gotten to work on for Pirates Online?
I started working on a few changes to the general store in the game where players can buy swords, grenades, and so on. It was a really small modification, but then I came up with an idea to make the store a lot better, so I made a mock-up image and showed it to the members of the team. They liked it enough that they let me work on it, so now the store is a lot better than it used to be.What makes someone a legend? Are you a legend?
To me, a legend is someone who can make what people think is impossible actually possible more than once in their life. I don't think I'm a legend, yet. Perhaps one day I might be one, but I'll leave it up to others to tell me if I am or not.Mike Goslin
What is a normal day for a VR Studio developer? How much time spent in meetings? Brainstorms? Coding? Is it true you live on soda and pizza?
Thankfully, we don't have too many meetings... but we do spend a lot of time debating in the hallways! Since most people in our group work in an open space, we tend to "prairie-dog" a lot. For example, if a discussion is going on, someone might hear and pop their head up to chime in with suggestions. How we spend our time also depends on where we are in the development cycle. Early stages are dominated by brainstorming and coming up with concepts and art. Later the focus is on prototyping and trying things out to see if they are fun. Eventually we build systems and start hooking things together. Finally, it's polishing, performance tuning, and bug-fixing. Occasionally, someone will eat a salad in addition to soda and pizza.What is the most fun thing about developing THIS game? What are some of the challenges?
We really enjoy being able to mine the richness of the world of Pirates of the Caribbean. There's a ton of great material, history, and humor to draw from. The huge success of the first film (Curse of the Black Pearl) makes it a real challenge to live up to people's expectations of what the game experience should be, but it's a challenge we are excited to take on. We know when to break the rules for fun's sake. For example, while developing the Pirates of the Caribbean virtual reality ride for DisneyQuest (Battle for Buccaneer Gold), we discovered that the real-world physics involved with steering a large ship doesn't exactly produce fun game play. As a solution, we amped up the physics to make the boats move and turn like high-speed yachts. When challenged with the need for thousands of Toontown players to interact together in the same world, we developed a new shard system that allows players to switch from one server to another on the fly - which I don't think anyone else was doing at the time. Because of our Imagineering background, we always look for creative solutions to any challenge.What differentiates this game from other MMOs and pirate games?
The biggest difference between this game and other MMOs is that the pirate-themed world we are designing will feature some supernatural elements that are unique to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise: defending your ship from sea monsters, fighting skeleton pirates, and casting voodoo spells. We will also include the classic pirate activities: epic sea battles, searching for buried treasure, playing dice and cards, and carousing in towns.What do you think fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will like most about the virtual world?
I think they'll really enjoy the chance to become a pirate and live out their own adventures in an expanded version of the world from the films. Casting voodoo spells is a lot of fun, too.Are there any special inside jokes that fans might look forward to?
Would any Pirates of the Caribbean game be complete without an appearance by the infamous prison dog?How will people play together? How will community form around this property/game? Tell me about some of the social systems.
Many of the game activities are designed to be played as a group, from playing cards in a tavern to battling ships at sea. We will support multiple types of groups from temporary "crews" to more permanent guild-like "bands" of pirates.What is the process of creating "virtual" Jack Sparrow?
We start by trying to create a likeness of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in the form of a computer model. Then we hand-animate the model to match his performance and mannerisms. Finally, we write and record dialog that captures the personality of the character. In order to do all this successfully, we have to spend some time "getting to know" the character by watching the film, reading the script, working with the theatrical team, and thinking about how he would react in a variety of new situations.How much game play will be on land? How much at sea?
The breakdown will depend on the player. We think being at sea is fun and different and captures the essence of what the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is about, so we're trying to have a lot of seafaring game play as well as numerous land-based adventures.What do you like most about the game?
I have a new favorite thing each week, but this week it's definitely battling the Kraken.Who is your favorite character from the franchise?
Captain Jack, of course!Does the game start where the movies leave off? How does the story work?
The game takes place in the same world as the movies, but is not locked to a particular point in time. Many characters, settings, and events from the movie will be featured and expanded upon. We will also introduce completely new characters, enemies, locales, and monsters. Many games based on movies are slaves to the original story and thus are creatively constrained. Fortunately, we were given the freedom to use the movie world as a setting and did not have a specific storyline forced upon us. The story unfolds as a unique experience for each player - your character has the freedom to go wherever, whenever, while staying immersed in the broader story arc. Players themselves help evolve the story of what happens to Jack Sparrow and the other characters in completely new adventures beyond what is depicted in the films.What will playing this game be like? What are the enemies like? The environments?
This is not a simulation of real life during the historical time period of pirates. This is not a confined recreation of the film. This game is about becoming and living as a pirate in a stylized Pirates of the Caribbean world. We are trying to capture the fun, excitement, humor, and sense of adventure that the movies convey but give the players full control as to how they participate. We will certainly feature some of the movie elements and locations, including Port Royal and Tortuga. We will also integrate components from the theme park attraction and even introduce some new characters to the franchise.What makes someone a legend? Are you a legend?
A legend is someone who has mastered something so completely that people tell stories about their ability, whether it be sword-fighting, captaining, card playing, or all of the above. As far as being a legend myself, I've got quite a way to go yet.Oren Aviv
