"It's great that people confuse us with a big-budget studio," Davison says sardonically, and he's on the case. Of course, no MMO has a perfect launch, and Wander's only got a full team of three working on it. "After that I realized I could do something," Davison recalls, "something to play before bed, to remind me that no matter what the news told me that day, other people are actually pretty awesome." That creative potential is rooted in Davison's dreams of a beautiful environment that encouraged the serendipitous sense of shared discovery of his mountain treks, where "players didn't just trash talk newbs, but shared experiences and skills… Where I can ride on air currents, then meet someone who wants to skydive from my back instead of leap from the roof and silently kill me with a knife." So, Wander is also a subtle indictment of the over-abundance of games that enforce twitch reflex aggression as the only form of interaction, but unfortunately one that hasn't mapped out a core gameplay loop to lure players away from the bloody alternatives.ĭavison recounts an episode, when discussing with a friend what he loved about online multiplayer games, the satisfaction of "working as a team to accomplish a common goal." His friend asked why so much time is spent in these games shooting and stabbing other people. One review in particular sums up the feeling: "The Wander team is painfully kind, works tirelessly with the community, and is full of creative potential." It's a kind of booby prize moral sentiment echoed in many other user critiques. However, some gamers are more forgiving, and even a lot of the unfavorable reviews on Steam ameliorate the down-thumb with high praise for the team's ambition and community-minded approach. "Myself and the whole team have invested themselves in the game, so it's hard not to take some of the feedback personally." "We had some nasty bugs at launch that I didn't find before releasing it-I should have worked out a way to test it better."Īnyone with a public-facing persona has dealt with trolls at some point, and it's easier said than done shrugging that off. " Wander isn't for everyone, and I understand that," continues a seemingly sanguine Davison, who, to his credit, refuses to become defensive and accepts responsibility. (You can watch his video review of the game here.) It's also amazing and beautiful to see fan art and blogs dedicated to Wander." Thank goodness for small mercies, then-but what of the larger issue? When a journalist like Jim Sterling, with a massive profile and a shit-load of Twitter followers, calls your new game "creatively bankrupt" and "boring as fuck," that sends ripples throughout the wider community. One player bought Wander by accident and they have now spent 270 hours in it. "The great antidote is to read from the players who love it. I dunno, it looks pretty good in this official trailer. But how can any game, and its developers, possibly keep going after such a negative reception at launch? Making a game is a huge undertaking and an impressive commitment, and it's surely every developer's nightmare to see the brutally succinct "Mostly Negative" Steam review summary appear beneath their latest creation. While it's out there in the wild, it's still early days for Wander, and improvements are incoming. It was amazing, we could all be different things and explore and do stuff together." There have been plenty of games built to chill rather than thrill, including Proteus, Dear Esther, and Gone Home, but while we all have a favorite ambience-sim, few if any have been attempted on the scale of Wander. "That was with Ancient Anguish, a text-based MUD, the precursor to MMOs. "I wanted to create a game that was soothing and calming, and allowed you to interact with players in a positive environment," Davison says, recalling his isolated childhood and his first thrill of large-scale digital interaction. Wander is, if absolutely nothing else, a refreshing and brave concept, an MMO centered on Journey-like, non-verbal communication between players using a runic language called Rozhda, shape shifting (you begin as a tree!) and a luscious open world full of natural wonders. Just like the globetrotting expeditions that have inspired it, Davison is going to continue putting one foot in front of the other until he finds the path to Wander's redemption. Wander is the brainchild of travel-crazy Australian Loki Davison, and he, alongside a small team, is in no mood to give up on the game.
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