Next up is another story that involves Sony Online Entertainment(SOE), but this time they're only publishing, not developing. Pirates of the Burning Sea is a game set in the Caribbean in 1720 centering around, you guessed it, pirates and ships. The MMO was developed Flying Lab Software(FLS) and was released in January 2008. At its core design, Pirates of the Burning Sea was meant to be a historically accurate, but fun, game in the Caribbean with a player-driven economy. Over the years its design has changed slightly, but overall sticks with what it promised. FLS came at this theme with a sturdy, but open, mindset. They wanted it to be historically accurate, there was no question about that and nothing was going to change it. There weren't going to be ghost ships or Jack Sparrows cruising around the Caribbean. The ships mimicked real life blue-prints and findings in scale and looks. All ports were based off of historical documents and designed to also look like the faction they belonged to. Speaking of factions, players could choose one of four. They could be Pirate, Spanish, French, or British, with the Dutch being a neutral non-playable nation. The design of each town and the people in it were based upon the nation, and they kept the most authentic feel they could. They kept this authenticity going on the seas as well. Ships travel faster along currents and careful attention must be paid to the wind in order to make the most of your time. Their authentic design hits a peak when it comes to the ship battles, their most toted feature. Ships control like they would in real life, and like real life the wind and positioning are the most important aspects of battle. Different strategies must be employed depending on the ship you're using and what you're fighting. It all feels very realistic; it feels how one would expect. This all sounds about right and how their design should be, but they change it up drastically in certain categories.
Very rarely does a developer truly listen to its user base. I can say that with confidence after witnessing many games destroy themselves because of the developers' arrogance or stubbornness. The devs at FLS frequently interacted and chatted with players on the forums, IRC rooms, and at conventions. That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. They designed POTBS to allow user-designed flags and ships. This was a huge catch for the game and really made the community come together. These designs were not taken without review, and developers, as well as players, would vote on whether or not to include them in the game. Many ships that were submitted to the review committee, ships completely modeled and rigged in 3D, were included in the game. At the game's launch almost half the ships that were attainable were created by players; with many people creating more than one. Flag designs were also included, and the only flags that weren't created by players were the nation flags, story flags, and a bunch of stock flags for those who didn't create one. Players could buy their flags in the game, or trade them, and sail with them on their ship. These developers not only designed a system for a high amount of customization, but one that literally allowed the players to help create the game. Developers also highly insisted on a completely player-driven economy. This meant players were responsible for making most ships, materials, and miscellaneous items. While there would still be unique items and recipes that would drop, players created and kept the economy flowing. Merchants offered basic supplies and ships, while players sold their items on the auction house. While this is a very unique design it requires a large user base as well as an active one. It's another example of their philosophy about listening and interacting with their players.
Like I mentioned before, its rare to see a design like this actually happen despite how logical it is. Sure it isn't the most successful game and doesn't have any huge breakthroughs, except maybe the user content, but it sticks a direction/design and sticks to it; a design centered around the player for the player.
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