Mark Jacobs: Warhammer Online Fireman

May 16, 2008 – 3:22 pm

EA Mythic GM, Mark Jacobs, was putting out fires over at VN today. Not that the fires were big mind you, but he did address a few concerns surrounding the Teen vs. Mature ESRB rating, Radar/Cheating prevention, and Raising the Bar for the MMORPG Genre.

T vs. M rating

[Edited for length] DAoC was Teen and it did quite well as have every single other MMO that was Teen. Having an M rating means more governmental issues world-wide due to the rating as well as raising more concerns by parents (who have to pay for their kids’ subscriptions) about buying the game. Also, GW’s demographic for first-time players it under 18, and they offer a safe and friendly teen-oriented environment in their stores. Finally, for all the talk of darkness, battle, and blood, Warhammer is a strategy game first and foremost.

History will judge Age of Conan as to whether their M rating was a success or a limiting factor to greater success.

Radar and WAR

We take such things seriously and while we fought hard against the cheaters, I wish we could have done better. We will do even better this time because of our experience with DAoC. As to how/when/what, that’s for another time.

Raising the Bar

We raised the bar with DAoC (RvR, Battlegrounds, Herald system, etc.) and I expect we’ll raise the bar in certain areas again (Tome of Knowledge, Public Quests, etc.) and that works for me. If I had 5 years to do a game I’d raise it even more but in the end, I’ll settle for the same thing I said I wanted to do with DAoC, make an evolutionary game with some revolutionary features and make it a lot of fun. Like DAoC I don’t expect us to be perfect but if we can deliver on simply that, I’ll be quite content. DAoC was the number two subscription MMO in North America/Europe at its peak and if WAR ends up in the same position, much joy will ensue.

I try not to sound fan boyish on this site, but damn, the way this guy thinks, as displayed by these answers and others he’s given before, instills me with confidence that Warhammer Online will be a place I call home for a long time.

I don’t really follow other games, so maybe you can answer this: Do other high profile MMORPG general managers interact with the community as much as MJ?

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Post tags: EA Mythic, Mark Jacobs, Warhammer Online

5 Responses to “Mark Jacobs: Warhammer Online Fireman”
Professionally, there are two things I respect about Mark Jacobs. 1) As you mentioned, he is a high profile person who has no problems interacting with the community. 2) If he doesn’t know something (or if he can’t say something) he shoots straight and says so.

Mark hangs out at Warhammer Conflict quite a bit. He uses our shoutbox and answers any question that is thrown his way. But he does this in a personable manner - so much so that people end up talking with him about hockey, vacations and other real-world aspects of life.

He’s not only the President of EA Mythic, but he’s also a member of the community and a fan of the genre.

By Wrenn on May 16, 2008
MJ is a hockey fan? Wow… he just got even cooler!

One of my worries if WAR becomes insanely huge is that EA Mythic might not be as forthcoming with the community. Sure, they’ll communicate broadly, but we won’t see as much one on one because no-one could possibly keep up with all the requests…

By Snafzg on May 16, 2008
Mark is definitely one of the more visible ‘high profile’ game developers out there. His communication with the community transfers well into the games he designs.

By Keen on May 16, 2008
I think the whole forthrightness of many of the people behind WAR is key to how tight the whole community is, including “rival” fan sites, how we tend to share as opposed to compete.

By Orlock on May 19, 2008