The Comeback of Andrew Gower: Reviving MMORPGs with Brighter Shores

A new game from Andrew Gower has been a long time in the making.

The British game design pioneer is best recognized for creating the successful 2001 MMORPG RuneScape – a title that remains quite popular today – and co-founding Jagex. In 2010, he left the studio and that same year formed a new company, Fen Research, with the objective of developing a new game engine.

This technology would be known as FenForge.

“I enjoy building engines, even more than developing games, believe it or not,” Gower chuckles. “I observed that the gaming industry was extremely competitive. I thought: ‘Well, there are only two or three major engines. Maybe I can carve out a niche there.’ I felt there was much I could do to elevate the standard of game engines.” However, there was one small challenge in Gower’s mind: in order to promote and sell a game engine, you typically need a project that demonstrates its capabilities.

“It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation,” he explains. “The only way to market an engine is to create a game that proves it works because developing games now requires a significant investment. No one is going to make that kind of investment on an untested engine.”

As a result, Fen began focusing on creating games that used the FenForge technology as it was being developed. Work on one such project commenced in 2013; ‘Chasm game’ was a real-time strategy settlement-building title with simulation elements.

“You had individuals you could direct to perform various tasks. It was a very, very different game,” Gower describes.

Over a span of three years, two employees at Fen developed assets for Chasm, although no programming was ever done for the project. The game ultimately halted when it became clear that many people wanted Andrew to return to his original roots. Therefore, much of the content created for Chasm was eventually repurposed for Brighter Shores, an MMORPG.

“[While we were working on Chasm] everyone I spoke with asked whether I was creating another MMO,” Gower recalls. “After hearing that so many times, I thought: ‘Clearly, no one is interested in this game I’m working on. I’m going to have to develop another MMORPG.’

Working on a new MMO allowed Gower to revisit a genre he cherished with the wealth of experience he gained while developing RuneScape. When development began on what would become Brighter Shores in 2016, it had been 18 years since he started working on RuneScape’s predecessor, DeviousMUD, and 17 years since Andrew and his brothers initiated the creation of RuneScape.

“A lot of the consideration was about what I would do differently if I could start fresh,” Gower mentions. “When you’re engaged on any large project, over the years you accumulate a certain amount of history, which influences the direction you follow. It was refreshing to step back and have none of that history, none of that baggage, and say from a completely clean slate, based on what I know now, how would I approach making an MMO? So it was nice to embark from scratch like that.”

“I thought: ‘Clearly, no one is interested in this game I’m making. I’m going to have to develop another MMORPG.'”

The landscape has evolved significantly since the launch of the latest RuneScape. For instance, there is far more competition than there once was, spanning from established MMOs to newer entries. Player expectations have also changed dramatically over the past twenty or so years.

“Back in 2000, there wasn’t really much else available; there certainly wasn’t anything that was free-to-play,” Gower notes.

“I invested far longer in creating this than I did on previous launches, and it still feels quite small at release, even though it’s significantly larger than anything I’ve created before. It’s just that games keep growing larger and larger, and it’s becoming increasingly challenging to craft a game of the scale that people expect.”

Fen Research launched Brighter Shores into Early Access on November 6th. The goal is to be in alpha for six months, although Gower admits he is somewhat optimistic regarding these estimations. As previously mentioned, the intention is to gather feedback early and utilize that to improve the game.

“I believe we are one of the few companies truly utilizing Early Access in the way it’s intended,” Gower states.

“We have now launched the game and received a wealth of feedback that is incredibly influential in shaping how we develop the game. I am pleased that we’re obtaining that feedback now before we’ve finalized too much content, allowing us to genuinely incorporate it and truly listen to our players. It’s beneficial to gradually enhance the game with player input and continuously evolve it.

“I’m anticipating to be engaged with this for many years ahead. It’s never going to be absolutely finished, so whenever we launch it, it will be a work in progress. I just wanted to make it available and begin seeing what works and what doesn’t.”

At first glance, the design of Brighter Shores appears to be made from the same fabric as RuneScape’s. British medieval fantasy setting? Check. A variety of skills to upgrade? Well, they’re referred to as professions now, but (mostly, kind of) check. A rock-paper-scissors-style combat triangle system? Check. However, despite these resemblances, Gower’s approach to game design has genuinely changed – and matured – a great deal over the past two decades.

“I plan much more comprehensively now. I am less likely to improvise as I go along,” he admits.

“I have designed this to be a second-screen game, because I’ve realized that’s what people want from my games.”

“I still remain quite iterative because that’s a great way to proceed; you create things, you experiment, you adjust things. But there are far more spreadsheets involved now, let’s put it that way. There’s a lot more thought into what the consequences of actions will be down the line, how various elements will interact, planning it out years in advance.