On the heels of my Alpha Hex paper beta announcement, I’ve been digging again into data mining. That’s a big part of why I made the paper beta, to get people playing so that I could pick their brains about the game. That’s why games even have beta periods to start with. (And why testing is so vital to game design, as I write about now and then.)
MMOs, of course, are a bit of a different animal, since they are more or less constantly being tweaked. Mining data is always hugely important, but when you’re always mucking around in the game design, it’s your lifeblood. You must have data from which to work, or else you’re just as likely to cause problems as you are to solve them.
Chris over on IHasPC noted a great little data mining blog over here:
And Mike Darga has a fantastic series of articles on data mining that he’s in the middle of at the moment:
Data Mining (with a link to the same blog Chris pointed out as well as another great one)
This is the sort of data that I love to poke around in, teasing out game design applications. I’d be a design theorycrafter, given the spare time. (As if I didn’t already do more than my fair share already, I’d love to geek out and dig into this data.) I think that such is vital to understanding how games work, and how to improve them.
…which is my cue to plug the Alpha Hex paper beta again. 
Statistics seem to support my impression about the viability of certain classes in the new AoE heavy WOTLK environment.
Rogues got a weak AoE, but this is as good as none. Not that I would support they get AoE at all…
Some interpretation: Dual speccing will make the trend even more visible: Classes like Rogue, Hunter, Mage and Warlock are DPS/DPS/DPS – Paladins can be all that, Druids and Shamans are hybrids, too, and have at least two viable specs in the DPS/Heal/Tank trinity.
Oh, he already said that on his page… good to see my fears confirmed. Longasc, Ex-Warlock and Ex-Paladin player. I was playing in times where Hunters told me their pets do more damage. :>
Hey thanks for the link Tesh. I’m face-meltingly busy, but I’m going to try and at least get one good post up this week. Of course now that I have actual readers, it only makes sense that I would suddenly slow my posting way down. Argh heh.
Thanks for the pingback =)
he’s currently working on getting a full spec spectrum with dual specs. Will be real interesting to see how many can now tank/heal in relation to the first set of numbers.
I just love the data, and going to check out those other links. I hate guessing, and hope that most MMO companies spend a lot of time perusing over metrics to find shortcomings in their own title.
It’s a gorgeous possibility. I know, it sounds like I want to date data, and gosh, I sure would if she were single =)
@Mike: That’s how it seems to work – now get back to posting! =)
Chris, Mike, I’m glad you guys pointed out those data mining sites. I love that sort of data, despite lacking time to really dig in like I wish I could.
Mike, indeed, the timing in blogging tends in that direction. Thankfully, those who appreciate good content and good discussions have a tendency to stick around, even through the lulls. I think it’s because those who carry on good conversations tend to have real lives as well, and understand that there are priorities above blogging.
Oh, and aye, Longasc, I’m curious as to what the dual spec system will do. I like it for personal play, but at the same time, I’d play a Druid multitasker anyway. I also like the “bring the player, not the spec” notion, since it fits with my design ethos of inclusion and choice. That said, this can indeed make the “pure” classes, like Rogues or Warlocks, somewhat underwhelming, at least in perception. That’s a pretty little pickle that I’m still not sure how to rectify without some core redesigning. Well, that, or having a tank/DPS/healer spec for each class. THAT would be wild. Warlock healers or Priest tanks? Eeeeeenteresting. I smell a theory post coming on.
Hehe, you know, there is the crowd that refuses to do “anything besides that what I am supposed to do”. But still asks for challenging, fun and diverse gameplay! :>
Heheh I’ve been contemplating that very idea. I think it has a lot of promise.
[...] 25, 2009 by Tesh Following up on an intriguing tangent from the Data Mining comments, I wanted to take a look at the notion of Dual Specs and the “Holy Trinity of [...]