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Player Stratification
Kindelnol
Member Posts: 62
Whether it is through levels, techniques, ranks, gear, or skill, almost every online game is stratified. Sometimes, it is all of the above. Many people complain about the inequality, especially casual gamers who have an issue of time but also wish to obtain power and become the “hero”. The fact is a game rewards the amount of time that one puts into it.
Some might wonder why there has to be a form of advancement at all. First, many gamers need a goal; otherwise, they are lost in such a massive world as supplied by MMOs. I would also bet that a game that has no visible advancement system relies heavily on player skill. This creates elitists as they not only expect a certain level of expertise that some may not wield, but also place themselves at a higher status than others. Finally, if there is nothing that tethers a player to the game, I fail to see how that game keeps its subscriptions for a prolonged period of time (of course that is simply my perspective).
So, it seems to me that the problem is nearly unavoidable. A game will be stratified in some way or another. I question how bad this is though. With stratification we also get competition and, for some of us, that inspires us to try harder and seek a higher standard. This becomes a goal within itself – the goal of being the best. For others, it only displays their inferiority or superiority, which affects the individuals in a variety of ways.
The primary trouble I see with player stratification is the division of the players, as implied by the term stratification. Players obtain a sense of inequality and might even abuse it. Furthermore, the players seize a sense of “class” in which they participate with members of their own class and avert equal participation with others of a different class. An example of this is when one is of a higher level than another, that player does not wish to play with the other player because they are on different standards. Of course, this strengthens the feeling of inferiority and superiority.
Another trouble that generally comes at a later time of the games existence is it does not welcome newcomers. If I were to retry an older game that has a more developed and drawn out system than current MMOs, I would find myself placed in an inferior position in which I would never escape. It would not offer itself to lend me a hand and reach the same standard that other players practice. Some games have even dulled their difficulty in the earlier portion of development in order to aid newcomers. All this does is lower the quality of the game and allow high leveled newbies to run amok.
There are likely other issues that I did not even name.
Despite some of these flaws, is player stratification a bad thing? Do you think it is required to keep a game running or do you think that it is not as necessary as some make it out to be? Is there another way or perhaps there is a way to correct the problems that stratification poses?
Comments
Is this a thread complaining about inequality of MMOs?
Do you want to play Simulation games like Sims Online?
The driving need to play for rewards in MMOs has to be there or else players wont play the game. Is this a desire to import socialism in MMOs?
One thing that can be done to maintain the RPG flavor without creating such a huge rift is stop making level 20 twice as powerful as level 10, and then carry it on to level 70 or whatever. That is, each starting character might start off with 1000 in each stat, and instead of a "level", they earn 1 stat point (although "levels" would probably come a bit easier). Ideally starting characters could nearly anything and can go off and enjoy adventuring in any way they would like. Also, levelling can be made to be limitless, since people playing hardcore for a year or two might only have stats of 1500. Newbies wouldn't be totally overshadowed by old players.
I am not complaining. I am stating a common problem that I notice people mention.
I think some form of stratification is required for a good experience in an MMO, though, some corrections to current systems should be made. Some do not agree though and seem to carry an idea that MMOs do not require this.
This thread is dedicated to thoughts on the "problem" and to address solutions (if they are needed at all). I thought I made that fairly clear with the questions at the end of my post, oh well.
Oh, and no, I do not like simulation games hehe.
Stratification is human nature. When a group of 2 or more human beings get together, stratification begins. I believe it's been that way since we climbed down from the trees. It's only natural that it appear in our games as it does in every other aspect of our lives. Hierarchical systems that place people at different levels are evident in all forms of human endeavor, from military to governmental to educational to business to athletic to social. We always stratify. We always want some form of "I PWN'D JOO" in our lives. Why? Eh. Who knows. I'm neither a psychologist nor a sociologist. Doesn't really matter, though. We will stratify, and those at the lower end of whatever scale will have complaints with those at the higher end.
Even non-persistent competitive games like Unreal, etc., with no levelling and no skill development beyond real player skills will institute stratification in the form of ladders, brackets, etc. Is this bad? Well, not really. If movement through the different layers is allowed, then it gives folks goals for which to strive. It's only bad when there is no possibility of advancement to a different level within the stratified system.
RPGs are a specific genre of game with a few specific methods of providing stratification. Levelling or skill development are two of the more pervasive methods. We should understand that this will occur going in, and probably judge the game's quality on how smoothly movement through the different layers is. If I'm stuck in the depths of the layers for long periods of time, frustration will probably cause me to move to another game. If I'm allowed too rapidly to scale the heights, boredom will probably cause me to move to another game. So the methods of movement through the stratification are what become important, and how smoothly the transitions can occur.
In most games that I've played for significant periods of time, there has always been a group of higher level folks who are willing to help newcomers through. Some guilds are even set up specifically for the purpose of taking new players up to a certain higher level before allowing them entrance into a more powerful guild. In this way, we build not only our skillsets and playing skills, but our social interactions within the gaming universe. Groups of lower level folks will form friendships that will grow over time and move along at a similar pace to the higher levels. Again, if the game allows this to occur, it's probably going to be a successful game. If not, it will fade into obscurity.
So, no, I do not believe stratification is a bad thing. It provides goals and a framework for the virtual world that is similar to what we're used to in life anyway. And the complaints are the same. The boss is a jerk. The government doesn't know what it's doing. Why is SHE the prom queen and not me? He sucks as a QB; I could do better. I PWN'D JOO.
-- Xix
"I know what you're thinking: 'Why, oh WHY, didn't I take the BLUE pill?'"
However I do wonder if the power curve needs to be quite as steep as it is now. Sure - a level 20 should be better than a level 10, but instead of being 2 or 3 times more effective, why not just 50% more effective? If the power curve was flattened more people would be able to effectively work together (and could enjoy PvPing against each-other).
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
I am not complaining. I am stating a common problem that I notice people mention.
I think some form of stratification is required for a good experience in an MMO, though, some corrections to current systems should be made. Some do not agree though and seem to carry an idea that MMOs do not require this.
This thread is dedicated to thoughts on the "problem" and to address solutions (if they are needed at all). I thought I made that fairly clear with the questions at the end of my post, oh well.
Oh, and no, I do not like simulation games hehe.
Well, I think your first mistake was seeing it as a "problem".
It is not. It is a fact of life. That does not make it a "problem".
If it were a problem, then the easy way would be to make everyone exactly equal.
Now wouldn't that be fun.....
I am not complaining. I am stating a common problem that I notice people mention.
I think some form of stratification is required for a good experience in an MMO, though, some corrections to current systems should be made. Some do not agree though and seem to carry an idea that MMOs do not require this.
This thread is dedicated to thoughts on the "problem" and to address solutions (if they are needed at all). I thought I made that fairly clear with the questions at the end of my post, oh well.
Oh, and no, I do not like simulation games hehe.
Well, I think your first mistake was seeing it as a "problem".
It is not. It is a fact of life. That does not make it a "problem".
If it were a problem, then the easy way would be to make everyone exactly equal.
Now wouldn't that be fun.....
Nope, it was not a mistake at all. It is a problem in that it is a difficult matter for some people. Are you asserting that we blindly ignore it by not calling it what it is? The concept of equality always poses problems because there are different people that have different views on how it should be operated.
Just because you don't have a problem with it does not mean others don't have a problem with it.
I agree with you though, it would not be fun to have "everyone exactly equal".
I also agree with Xix that when you put people together it will inevitably happen. This is why I don't think the idea that people can be completely equal will work. Futhermore, it would be boring.
I have been in some debates with casuals on the concept of equality. I know some that hate how games are these days because they favor certain people (those with more time).
Now, I don't see a way to allow a casual to be on the top layer in that they do not put in enough effort. However, as opposed to the raiding game format, I think it would help if everyone had equal opportunity. That does not mean we are all the same level, but it means that we are not bound to a certain layer (because we cannot give the time required to advance). It should be accumulative time that matters, not consecutive hours.
That still does not cure the issue of age and stratification though. It also does not help with how others might perceive each other on an inferior/superior spectrum.
It seems to me that with age, a game will inevitably form a cradle that does not support newcomers (unless end game is nothing but a brick wall, which would allow people to catch up). Personally, I do not think it is wise to make a game hit a wall at end game.
I think the inferior/superior spectrum can be adjusted without imposing too much on individuals power. I am still considering ways to do this myself.
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TheCore
But from what we do know, I believe that what makes games fun is the developers' attempts at creating that equality in a MMORPG, or any genre for that matter. That's what derives into the numerous different systems of gameplay we all love to virtually bash each other in. In my opinion, stratification isn't needed, per se, in a game. It becomes a part of all those systems because they're the expression of what the creators of the games are trying to reach, of their very own concept of equality within their game. What we get from that, then, is simple stratification. Equality is the goal, stratification its expression, and gameplay its result, succeeded by whatever fun we have with it.
So, it's definitely not needed, but it's what compiles a group's attempts at creating an equal setting for players to get in. In that respect, I think we're a long time away from reaching that setting and starting to create new systems based on that new standard, if it becomes such. Or at least I'm not smart or creative enough to imagine what it could be like, hehe. In any case I think we're slowly experiencing the modifying of existing propositions of systems in order to achieve the want for equality... the new MMORPGs like AoC, WAR, and so on are the next step for that. Different server types, for example, were an earlier step; City of Heroes' exemplaring/sidekicking system was another big step as well. Whether they work or not doesn't matter, what matters is that the experiments are being made.