Development Update #5: Who are we?
It feels like we’ve been so busy with development that we haven’t taken the opportunity to introduce some of our team members - so this blog is all about us!
Who are we? What were our motivations behind creating Starkeepers, and what are our favorite parts of the projects?
Our founders and team have a wealth of experience from working on other projects before Starkeepers. We approached some of them to find out a little more about their backgrounds and what drove them to build Starkeepers.
[h2]Who's behind Wolfpack Games Studio?[/h2]
Wolfpack Games was founded by Stephen Wang (CEO), Sheldon Wang (Studio Head), and Footman Liu (CTO). All who have extensive experience working on MMO projects and within the games industry as a whole. We approached Sheldon and Footman with some questions to find out more about their journeys in the games industry.
[h2]What were some of the previous projects our founders worked on?[/h2]
Sheldon, our Studio head, has been involved with a number of successful projects in the Chinese MMO industry. Here is what he had to say.
“The most successful project I have worked on was Dragon Oath which pulled in roughly 2 million daily active users at its peak. Some of my favorite parts from that project were the balanced in-game social system, easily approachable real-time PvP experience and the player-driven economy. A more recent project I led was Epic of Tia during my time at NetEase.” - Sheldon Wang
Footman, our CTO, produced a number of games based on traditional Chinese history and culture between the years 1995 and 2002. Three Kingdoms - Guandu and Three Kingdoms - Red Cliff between 1995 and 1997 with Qin Gothic being produced between 2000 and 2002 which sold over 60,000 copies.
“I have always been very interested in using games to express traditional Chinese culture, which is the motivation behind building some of my past game titles.
We produced Tian Jiao, an MMORPG between 2002 and 2004 which had a peak concurrent user count of 50,000 and has been operating for nearly twenty years. While in single-player games, the devs have more control over the narrative and storytelling, the good thing about multiplayer games is that you can create a virtual world in which players can write their own stories. This gives a huge sense of accomplishment.”- Footman Liu
[h2]What initially made you interested in the games industry?[/h2]
Sheldon shared his story from starting off in electronics hardware before moving into the games industry to pursue what he loved. Many of us get into the games industry due to our love of games. You will be sure to hear many stories from people you asked about how they grew up loving games and wanted to work in the industry.
“I was working with computer hardware in 2000, but didn’t find a job that suited me. I shut down my electronics repair store and turned to software development, finding that games development would be great to get into considering my love for video games.
I did also seriously think about what field would be more meaningful for me, and creating a world that people love must be it.” - Sheldon Wang
Footman had a different route into the industry but an equally interesting journey. One filled with a long-time passion for storytelling, worldbuilding and fantasy.
“From a young age I was exposed to a variety of western fantasy and wuxia-themed stories and movies. When I was sixteen years old, I had an idea, hoping that I could also create a wonderful virtual world. But at the time, I did not know how I would realise this idea. After I want to school, I finally was able to make my dream a reality. I hope to build a world by writing code, so I have been making games since then.” - Footman Liu
[h2]Where are we based?[/h2]
We are made up of a highly international team! While the core development team at Wolfpack Games Studio team is based in China, we have team members spread across the globe, including Netherlands, Scotland, and South Africa! Having the core team based in China does come with its own unique strengths such as having a deep understanding for designing social strategy, building in-game economic systems, and being highly agile.
[h2]What sets our team apart?[/h2]
MMOs are incredibly popular in China, and there is a very mature development scene for the genre. There are also differences that you will notice between Chinese-made MMOs compared to those made elsewhere. The differences have their respective positives and negatives. Sheldon briefly outlines a couple of the key differences that he has observed over the years.
“For example, Chinese MMOs typically have more in-depth social systems, while western ones on average have more creative worlds. We want to combine these strengths, which is also why we are working with a global team, to make a game that excels in both its creativity and social experience.” - Sheldon Wang
[h2]How has the MMO game dev landscape evolved over the last decade in China?[/h2]
The Chinese MMO scene has seen many changes over the last ten years brought about by macro changes - the availability of talent, and the explosion of mobile gaming. The market is still full of opportunities for new games to grow and find success. Sheldon is able to give his views on how the market has changed over the years.
"In the earlier days, a lack of game dev talent in China resulted in it being difficult to start large MMO projects. It was believed that finishing a project and getting it successfully online was a great success in itself already.
When more avenues for earlier funding became available to game studios, and more talent was coming out of universities, the industry was able to improve significantly when it came to technical aspects of game design and development. A trend that only continued with time!
In the more recent decade, the boom in mobile gaming have quickly surpassed MMOs, with large amounts of capital and development being attracted by the faster-moving mobile projects.
Regardless of all this, the MMO scene is still fertile soil! There are still huge opportunities here, including games that are able to go cross-platform. Once there are more quality products that are competitive globally, it would mean a lot for the MMO scene in China!" - Sheldon Wang
[h2]What is Starkeepers' positioning in the market?[/h2]
Arya is our Systems Design Team Lead, and she gave some of her insights about how Starkeepers fits in with the wider MMO market. What are we trying to do that’s different? What are the studio's ideals for wanting to create Starkeepers and what are we trying to achieve?
Every studio has a core vision and things that they always strive towards. Arya was willing to speak on behalf of the studio and talk about some of these core pillars at Wolfpack Games and how they have impacted the development of Starkeepers.
[h3]Easily approachable but with a high skill ceiling[/h3]
We’ve designed the game and combat systems to be friendly to new players and easy to pick up. This gives the opportunity for new players to access the core game experience faster. Players will be able to explore and experience a simplified version of what the game has to offer very early on.
Players who put in the time to hone their skills will realize that there is a high skill ceiling and with practice, will be able to string together various skill combos, or react quickly with attack blocks - gaining an upper hand in combat.
The high skill ceiling keeps the more dedicated players invested in improving their game, while the lower barrier to entry and balanced skills still allow newer players to remain competitive.
[h3]Multiple hero options[/h3]
Unlike most other MMOs, Starkeepers allows players to experience multiple heroes, each with different personalities and skill sets to level up individually. Players are Astrals in the world of Starkeepers. When a player unlocks a hero form, they start with a unique combination of traits for that hero, providing a different experience for each hero they play.
[h3]Many different options for players[/h3]
Players will be able to find fun in Starkeepers regardless of how they choose to play the game. PvP lovers have plenty of opportunities to battle it out. If you enjoy strategy, you will love planning your clan's warpath, or building up the defences of the Starkeeps, and of course, our vast world full of adventures and lore will keep our questers busy.
[h2]What makes Starkeepers unique?[/h2]
It is not unreasonable to draw parallels between Starkeepers and other games. So what makes Starkeepers unique and stand out against other MMOs that already exist? Arya gives her insight into how the player has an integral part to play in the world of Starkeepers. The choices that a player makes will affect their experience of the story each season.
"When questing, every single player can affect the progression of the main storyline each season. Player decisions will also impact the types of quests or events you encounter in the future. Giving players the additional agency results in a stronger sense of immersion, and making an impact within the game world. Different players will end up with unique encounters which can cause different quest endings to unfold. Players are encouraged to explore as much as possible and discover the unknown." - Arya Li
So that was a little about Wolfpack Games and some of the team here. Some of our developers can also be found in our Discord server and we are always willing to respond to your questions. If we can’t answer them at the time, we will make sure the right person comes back with an answer. You can join our discord here!
Catch you all in the next one!
Drew & Angela
Community & Marketing
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Wishlist Starkeepers on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2015760/Starkeepers/
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3mCSmsgMfv
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlayStarkeepers
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playstarkeepers
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playstarkeepers
Website (sign up for future playtests!): https://starkeepers.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtmRqaLdiusy5FKg4dk2New