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Curse.com Interview with Ryan Seabury, LEGO Universe Creative Director (and NetDevil Co-Founder)
Q: What were the greatest
obstacles during the development?
The potential of LEGO Universe is both one of its greatest strengths and
one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in the game’s development. When
you talk about a universe that can cover past, present and future, not to
mention any genre or setting imaginable, where do you start? Deciding where
to begin and what to include with such a massive array of options was the
first hurdle.
Another big technical challenge is
rendering LEGO bricks in real time, to a quality level that meets LEGO’s
exacting standards so they still look “LEGO enough”. Since Players can
build models in ways we cannot predict, dealing with hidden surface removal
and model optimization is non-trivial and must also happen in (or near) real
time. Combine that with a game that must be playable on a wide range of
computers, to accommodate younger audiences who don’t always come equipped
with the latest high-end systems like hardcore gamers… Luckily, I am
fortunate to be working with some of the smartest, most creative and
passionate people in the world on the LU team and all the teams that support
us.
Q: How much creative influence did the LEGO Group have over the development
of LEGO Universe?
NetDevil has been working hand-in-hand with the LEGO Group since day one
to ensure that LEGO Universe embodies the LEGO play experience, and that it
offers new ways for long-time fans to interact with the LEGO brick. LEGO
has been such a great partner in this regard; they have never really
dictated game design and have always supported us to explore and learn what
would make the best LEGO experience in an MMO context.
As I mentioned earlier, it would be impossible to include “everything LEGO” on day 1. So we’ve worked hard to carefully select the initial content available in the game to be a good starting point that sets the stage for lots of expansion over the years, both in terms of official content that NetDevil and LEGO release, as well as allowing for community content to flourish.
Having said that, LEGO Universe is
a game first, a full-featured MMOG. So there will be several worlds to
explore, each of which have their own local stories and events that tie into
the overall fiction of the universe on a larger scale, with replayable
minigames and instance scenarios branching off. There are plenty of nooks
and crannies with secrets to uncover, and loads of collectibles to find
along the way.
Q: What have you created for
players by way of end-game content?
LEGO Universe features an original, epic storyline – a quest to save
imagination from a malevolent force of chaos and destruction. Creativity is
the ultimate weapon against the baddies. As such, the ultimate goal of any
player minifig is to use their creativity, both literally in-game with the
Imagination stat, and figuratively with the player behind the keyboard and
the content they can dream up.
Usually when someone talks about MMO “end-games”, we start imagining large group raid content and the like… Our game loop will be different, and hopefully a refreshing change from the run of the mill MMO. I would describe it as follows: battle, adventure, play games, collect gear, models and bricks, build on your property, bring your creations to life, then rinse and repeat to keep making cooler stuff on your property (and playing in your friends’ properties as well).
Of course your minifig becomes
cooler and more powerful with all the gear you get along the way, not to
mention you can compete with your friends for high scores and achievements
in several of the replayable minigames and scenarios.
Personally, I sure hope so, as I’m a big console gamer. However, so far
we can only confirm a PC version launching later this year. We are
definitely exploring other platforms to make the game available to as many
players as possible, and hope to have more information soon.
Q: What is the upper limit on the size of player's creations?
We’re still working that one out.
J
It will certainly be large enough to do plenty of cool stuff.
Q: What are some features that were considered but did not make it into the
game?
Too many to count! When you talk about a LEGO MMO with anyone who is
even mildly interested in LEGO or games, the ideas never stop coming.
Suffice it to say, we’ve got a truly epic backlog of features and content
we’ll be rolling out over the next 10-20 years. 
Our general rule of thumb is- if we can’t do it great right now, postpone it to a later release. As anyone who plays MMOs knows, they are in reality an ongoing service. The nice thing about the MMO format is that nothing ever has to be truly cut, it’s just a question of how long until an idea can make it in. I will give you a specific example, though, so I don’t just answer the question in an annoyingly vague way.
We actually had a prototype running
for over a year of a really cool team based PvP scenario with time-based
objectives, where you got to either defend a pirate base or attack it on the
side of the ninjas. Despite it being pretty fun in rough form, we just
didn’t feel it would come together as polished enough for our initial
release given how ambitious the rest of the game is. Since it wasn’t really
core to the larger vision of the game, it got bumped in priority to an
undetermined future release.
Q: Will there be zones for PvP?
Although there are
ways to compete with your friends, the game will focus primarily on
cooperative play initially. We know at some point we’ll want to introduce
further PvP elements, and when we do it will certainly be agreed upon by all
players beforehand, so you know what you’re getting into.
Q: What are your thoughts about
showing the players statistics for items in the game? How important will
items be in combat both PvE and PvP?
Since a minifig should be a very
flexible avatar by nature, all of your minifig’s abilities come from the
items they have equipped. Thus, items aren’t just fun to collect and show
off, they are everything to your identity and role. We’re constantly
refining and streamlining UI for this, and I’m sure that effort will
continue well past our initial release.
Q: Will there be rare items,
both equip able and useable for home decorations?
Players can collect a massive
amount of items in the game- from bricks and coins to clothes and
collectibles, weapons, pets, and all kinds of models. Certainly, the
coolest minifig accessories will be much harder to get than others. Bricks
are probably the only category of loot that doesn’t really use the concept
of rarity, since it would be pretty frustrating in the build experience and
we want to encourage creativity, not hamper it.
Q: Can you tell us more about
the friend and "best-friend" system?
Friends is the casual concept of friending in MMOs that we are all familiar with. “Best Friends” is another level above that.We’re looking quite closely at a modern social networking model, in that your best friends are people you can prove you actually know in real life.
Since best friends know each other
(or their parents know each other), best friends can be more visible and
accessible than other players. After extensive research and testing, we
think this makes a lot of sense because people don’t really care as much
about what strangers are doing as they do about their friends. This helps
address a massive moderation challenge, encourages more meaningful social
play between real life friends and family, not to mention keeps the game a
vibrant creative and playful experience.
Q: Is there emphasis on trading
between players, and will players be able to craft objects/items and trade?
Funny question, building with LEGO
bricks *is* crafting isn’t it? 
And yes you’ll be able to trade and
share your creations with friends and other players in the game.
Q: You know we have to, is LEGO Universe something players will be able to
enjoy in 2010?
Yes! LEGO Universe is launching for
PC in the second half of 2010.
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