Feedback:User/Rylinn/intergrate into mobile gaming into a new MMO community experience

Guild Wars 2 Facebook/ iPad/ Tablet app

This app involves the use of the in-game dynamic home instances and perhaps making a neutral dynamic city for the app within the game. For use when you are not in-game and away from your computer.

This would be an added gameplay element that both Guild Wars 2 players and casual gamers that don't play Guild Wars can get involved and participate. The app would offer a unique way to play within the community of the in-game Guild Wars 2 world, while never really having to step inside it and adding an extra benefit for those who do chose to play both in-game and use the app.

Much like several Facebook games (like Farmville, Cityville, etc), this Guild Wars 2 app could offer the same enjoying entertainment as those casual games but also lend to a bigger picture of a giant MMO community. This could potentially bring in casual gamers who enjoy Facebook type games to the world of Guild Wars 2 and perhaps get them involved enough that they are contributing to the overall game and may eventually pick up the full game for added enjoyment and investment. The reason Farmville gamers play and pay for these games is to ultimately invest in the game they have grown to enjoy.

As for the gameplay for this app, I have enjoyed hearing the concepts that you (Arenanet) have placed for the dynamic home instances. I love the idea that my personal story in-game will effect the outcome of my home instance. With that said, this app or the ideas for my app could potentially add another element to the home instance. Imagine yourself visiting your home instance and seeing it alive by the choices you have done while you were away and playing on your app. Imagine furthermore a dynamic city that is constantly evolving by the causal players that are playing on the app outside of Guildwars 2.

How can you link a Facebook type game to a dynamic in-game instance? One example could let's say be, there is an armorsmith within this instance that runs a shop. He sells armor of course and perhaps repairs your armor. Normally this armorsmith is an NPC and no one cares for where he gets the materials to do his job. Players just pay the fee and the players get what they want. What if we now enter an answer of how the armorsmith gets his materials. What if the games you play in the app help the armorsmith get such materials.

A Facebook game involving a bejeweled type puzzle game or a new unique mining mini game could get casual players to play and contribute what they mine to the armorsmith or the city in whole. That is only one example for casual players, but what about the real in-game Guild Wars 2 players. What added benefit could they get from playing such casual games? Well they could get the same added benefit of supplying their armorsmith within their home instance. Cheaper armor, cheaper repairs, unique unlock sets of armor, and much more could be rewards for playing both type of content.

Players could be told of the progress they have made by listening to the townspeople of their home instance, in the same manner they are told of their personal story. Players could be walking past their armorsmith and hear him shouting to you, "thanks for the help mining that ore earlier. I hear there is a rare ore being found on (such and such map/level), you should investigate that next time you go out for more ore."

Players in turn are rewarded for playing both types of content instead of paying for such items out of a online store and delivered to your inbox. There isn't much to be proud about with such rewards that are just simply bought. In turn, that doesn't mean there isn't a purchasing element that could be added for the hardcore casual players. Casual players that choose to continue playing on the app and want nothing to do with the full game could purchase extra content such as new maps, levels, or even items to help continue their casual game fun. Such items for full game players could be given with in-game rewards or daily quests so that they don't have to make such a purchase if they want to continue with extra new content on the app.

Playing both pieces of content could enter a unique economy within the in-game world and add a unique vision of what a future MMO could be. I already believe Guild Wars 2 is setting a new level of what an MMO can be and I would consider it as a true next-gen MMO for which all other MMO games may follow the design. This idea of mine may be something thought up on a whim to some but I couldn't imagine a better company to share it with and know that if anyone could make such a project from this whim real, it would be the folks at Arenanet.

I do hope that this idea if anything inspires you to new ideas that would better your game and make the overall experience that I am looking forward to playing with Guild Wars 2 a whole lot richer.