Today, we want to talk to you about how we manage DOFUS Touch. Read on to learn how we navigate from day to day between your expectations, our requirements, and our own goals for the game's future development!
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Have you ever wondered, "Why is the DOFUS Touch team giving us this update, when the community was hoping for something else?" If so, you've come to the right place to get answers!
Community expectations
Gauging the expectations of such a large community, for a game with such a rich range of content, isn't as easy as you might think. Everyone has their own vision and expectations for the game, as we've seen in some of the fierce debates that certain players sometimes get into in the forums or on Discord!
So it's hard to nail down any given expectation as an absolute truth for which we can find a single, undisputed solution for the whole community. This is the core challenge and paradox that our team is faced with: working on content that everyone will love, even though that's a goal that's inherently impossible to achieve.
A majority of players sometimes seem to share a favorable opinion on certain topics. So why don't we jump right on those issues immediately? It's certainly not because we want to disappoint our players! Stick with us here, and we'll explain.
Project Requirements
Technical Constraints
We already talked about the technical side of DOFUS Touch a few weeks ago in this article, which we encourage you to read to help you more fully understand what we have to say here.
Dependencies
Simplifying somewhat, development on the game is divided into multiple layers:
- Server development
- Client development
- Game design
- Level art (map design)
These layers depend on one another, regardless of what specific project we're talking about.
Let's look at the Inter-Server Kolossium, for example, which mainly involves server development.
It's important to correctly estimate the time we'll need to complete this task, and to remember that this time will have to be subtracted from the time available for other ongoing projects. Not to mention unexpected developments like bugs… or the impact of the COVID virus in 2020.
If a project is estimated to require several months of server development, for example, the other teams will be unable to move forward on other projects during that time (because the teams are interdependent).
Therefore, it seems preferable to prioritize a "balanced" project that distributes the workload more evenly, while still improving the game – like development work on Ascension Island, for example. This project required collaboration from all four of the teams mentioned above. Here's a partial list of the work involved:
- Server: scaling monsters, leaderboard functionality, distributing rewards…
- Client: developing all the new interfaces through the corresponding button (the volcano in your shortcut bar!)
- Game design: managing balancing issues, creating rewards and quests around the new functionality and Orado
- Level design: creating multiple (gorgeous!) maps for the entire dungeon and the area around it
All that is still just the tip of the iceberg, and it's important to coordinate with lots of other teams, each of which has its own requirements: testers, graphic designers, IT, web, translators, and more.
And that brings us to another essential point to keep in mind!
Availability
If one of the teams has more or less availability than another, we need to adjust the schedule accordingly.
For example, if we know that for one reason or another, the server development team will be very busy with core issues before the next update is released, it will be preferable to focus them on projects that will involve the other teams more.
And availability isn't always an easy thing to work out! Maintaining the DOFUS Touch project is (unfortunately!) not just a matter of working on new updates, as we briefly explained here. We have to constantly maintain all sorts of aspects of the game that are generally "invisible" to players.
Our Goals
Besides the issues we've already mentioned, our team also saves a bit of room in their decision-making for their own goals and visions, and makes sure to express their creativity as much as possible in our various updates.
It may turn out that our vision is different from what some players are expecting from the project, and that's not in any way a question of ego or a high-and-mighty attitude! We just have more information in hand to decide whether or not a given project will be achievable and beneficial for the game.
Our perspective is based on studying various data, on our knowledge of technical restrictions and the available resources, on our experience, and plenty of other points. All of that allows us to have a clearer overall vision of the project, and to make our decisions accordingly!
Frequently Asked Questions
"Thanks for the explanation. You guys are awesome! All flattery aside, how do you explain that the shop is always up to date with no problems, unlike other aspects of the game?"
The fact that the shop is up to date doesn't mean we've had to sacrifice a new in-game feature or gameplay balancing. In terms of the overall development of the game, it doesn't represent a very significant part of our work (or at least, not to the point where it would affect an update). So just because the shop regularly offers new content doesn't mean that we're sacrificing new features or other changes to the game itself.
In any case, this work is essential because, as you'll surely recall, DOFUS Touch is completely free to play. Besides offering fun new options for players, cosmetics (and other shop items) help to keep the game afloat!
"Why do you spend time organizing in-game events, or events on the official website, instead of developing real content?"
Our answer to this question is somewhat related to the previous one: community events have only a very (very!) small impact on game development.
The events presented in the game or outside of it are hosted by our community managers or game masters. Sometimes they're even presented by members of our own community, who we're always more than happy to support!
Here again, the fact that a community manager is hosting an event isn't slowing down progress on new content.
"So, just to be clear, we're never getting Inter-Server Kolossium, is that what you're saying?!"
No, that's not exactly what we're saying. There was a time when we couldn't imagine ever introducing class change potions, and then at some point, the tide turned. These things depend on the context and on all kinds of different factors, some of which we've talked about in this article. For now, and to finish with this example, Inter-Server Kolossium is still definitely a very important project for our team.
"Why not recruit more staff to eliminate some of these constraints?"
We already are recruiting, if for no other reason than to maintain a certain level of stability on the HR front! Sometimes we even share certain DOFUS Touch job openings with you.
For obvious reasons, however, recruitment can't be unlimited, and it's not a universal solution.
"Why not include the community in your decisions a little more?"
While an idea suggested by a player may be a fantastic one on paper, it's not necessarily achievable or appropriate for the game in the long term, for all the reasons explained above.
Gaining a community consensus is no easy task either, as we also explained at the start of this article.
That being said, we do plan to call on you a bit more in the weeks ahead, and to keep providing certain interesting information… so stay tuned!
The End
We hope that the information we've provided here will help give you a somewhat better understanding of the context for our team's work on DOFUS Touch!
One thing's for sure: we love this game every bit as much as you do, and our goal is definitely to guide it in the best possible direction, side by side with our players.
