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What Does an MMO Need to Do in 2016 and Beyond to Retain Players?
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Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
- It needs to look forward graphically. I know that a few detractors will step in and say "gameplay first", but in 2016 there's really no reason we shouldn't have both. Wildstar had shit graphics and shit gameplay and failed miserably. BDO had incredible graphics, gameplay that most people liked and then failed in other departments, but it nailed the looks.
- It needs to have compelling gameplay that is easy to learn, but rewarding to master. Character development needs to have depth and choices, but not so much so that it drowns out other aspects of the game.
- Character creation should be highly advanced. Something like a mix between EVE Online, BDO and APB where players can make just about any archetype they can think of from short, fat and balding characters to The Rock and everything in between.
- It should be a Themebox MMO. What I mean by that, is that it should have elements of both an open world sandbox and a themepark game. There should be undeveloped lands, thousands of acres of it, for players to be able to build their own towns and economies. There should also be developer curated content in the form of raids of varying sizes from 4-24 person.
- Raids shouldn't drop equipment, they should drop the rare materials required to build equipment. Raiding should feed crafting and crafting should feed a complex and diverse market.
- Gear should not be permanent. There needs to be some system of replacement which gives the markets and therefore the crafters, a purpose to exist. Whether this system is full loot PVP in the far reaches of the game, or un-repairable gear degredation, but it shouldn't be pick up and keep forever. Players who never need to buy anything don't visit the markets and when no one visits the markets it makes crafting worthless.
- Crafting should be the deepest part of the game. From gear, to house construction to breeding animals to just about anything that can be pulled out of the earth and turned into something useful. It should have many steps to make a finished item and require team effort or a highly skilled single character.
- The UI needs be 100% configurable by the players. The one and only thing that SWTOR ever got right was the UI creation kit they introduced. Every modern MMO should have this without question.
- The grouping and social tools need to be top notch. Grouping should be easy, have optional voice comms included and be able to bring players together rapidly in order to complete content.
- The game should be buy to play with an optional subscription which provides progression speed related bonus's. No cash shop at all. Nothing at all locked behind a pay wall except the original game and progression boost.
- Anti-cheating initiatives need to be top notch. When it gets out that a lot of people are cheating, then fair players feel that their time and effort is wasted. Kill cheating and keep the honest players around.
Is all of this achievable? Yes, with either incredible investment or a long time to develop. Do I think anything like the games from 2004 will appear again? I'm hopeful. I think CU and CoE are pretty damn close if they both live up to their stated potential.거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
My opinion;
1. Be fun to play
2. Eliminate non-consensual PvP. If you gate any portion of the game thru PvP, you have failed.
3. Provide off-the-charts customization for gear and appearance.
4. Get rid of the "Leet Loot Rulz" mentality. Combat should be skills centric not loot or twitch based.
5. I must be the only gamer alive that actually thinks instancing dungeons is a good thing.
6. Certain skills should only belong to certain classes. (i.e. only magic users should be allowed to enchant; only melee should be allowed to blacksmith; only ranged should be allowed to bowyer/fletcher)
7. Seriously reduce fast travel. It only removes the necessity to explore.
8. Make taverns relevant or at least make them a great place for role play or finding a group.
9. Graphics, animations, art style are critical. Personally, I hate cartoony stuff.
10. Most importantly, see #1.
Again, only my opinion.
(My son speaking to his Japanese Grandmother) " Sorry Obaba, I don't speak Japanese, I only speak human."
To retain players that is, per the OP. For me to buy in to the game all the points above are valid.
And i have said before and ill say it again Archeage , SUb only server with Cosmetic shop only , If XL games let Trion open one it would be packed in 8 hours , and they would need to add others asap , There other servers would become ghost towns ...
If your making 20 million a month,you are ripping off your customers,put something back into the game,instead of just taking all the time.
If players point out several flaws and your making boatloads of money,then you darn well FIX IT,you don't keep turning out 20% effort and take all the money you can with no care about ripping off your customers.
The average person knows morals,they know wrong and right,but with game developers/publishers,it is always about GREED,misleading and sometimes lies.
So yeah just be fair to your player base,tell them the truth and i bet a lot more gets accepted.Other words,don't go feeding us bull crap marketing lines and don't go paying websites to be misleading about your product,tell it like it is.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
What? This is the problem right here imo. You want another type of game. In the RPG genre you are playing a character not yourself. If you need to show off your leet twitch skills you don't need an RPG.
Ex: My mage is casting a fireball not me.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
It seems like the makers of newer MMORPGs are focused on making their profits right away (like in the first few months the game is online and some even start trying to profit early via founder's packs and/or charging money for alpha/beta testing). If a developer is looking for instant profit a MMORPG is probably not the best way to go. Where the MMORPG genre shines is in the long term. They are games that, if done right, can generate a steady income for many years. The first thing any MMORPG developer needs to get out of their head is the expectation of instant profit.
I've also noticed most newer games are, either intentionally or not, focused on solo play. The biggest strength of the MMORPG genre is the potential for group/community play. I don't just mean PvP or raiding. Games that create an environment promoting (even rewarding) positive player interactions tend to have a longer lasting and more loyal fanbase. Automated dungeon matchmakers and random cross-server parties may seem like good ideas but they do nothing to help players get to know each other better. Loyalty to a game often starts with a player's attachment to the rest of the game's community.
Players crave fresh new content. After the first year (or less) there will be a sizeable population of max level, endgame players. They will likely become bored and begin begging for new content. In a MMORPG a developer's job is never done. Even after the initial release they need to keep working on the updates, additional content and expansion packs that players have come to expect from any game in the genre. There doesn't have to be a new expansion every month but having something new on a regular basis along with frequent in game events should keep the majority happy for a long time.
Lastly, the developers need to form a lasting positive relationship with their playerbase. They need to listen and take action when the community has a problem with the game. They should interact with the community as a part of it and not like lords ruling over peasants. GMs should do Q&A sessions in game often. There should be frequent live events where the game's staff directly interact with the players (even if it is something simple like random boss spawning, trivia or hide & seek with prizes). You get nowhere by ignoring the players, making unpopular changes to the game, telling players they are playing the game wrong, etc.
...But that's all about what developers can do differently. Players also need to do their part.
Established communities in games must embrace and welcome new players. Many new games I've tried you can't find anyone willing to even talk to you if you're a newbie let alone offer any help. By 'help' I don't mean powerleveling or giving out free items. Doing that teaches newbies nothing about the game except how to leech. Answering questions, sharing knowledge, giving advice without being impatient or condescending about it is much more appreciated and respected. First impressions are everything. If you want the game's community to thrive it is not just up to the developer it is up to you as a player too. So be nice, greet newbies when you have free time for it (they won't bite I promise) and ask if they need any help with anything. Point them toward guilds that specialize in helping new players get started. Do everything you can to make new players feel welcome. They are the future of the game after all
In conclusion it takes effort and a healthy relationship between players and developers alike to help a MMORPG survive for the long term.
WoW - for example - has not retained players. Remember Blizzard gave out the 100M+ number a while back. Ergo WoW has lost 95M+ or whatever players. What WoW has done is attract new players.
And what we don't know is how long people stuck around. Based on churn numbers EQ1 gave out years ago - which weren't much different from SWTOR numbers after it came out - the answer is only a few months. On average. With the 1% - or whatever - sticking around for years.
And what SWTOR failed to do of course was to garner new sales.
Some recent games however have managed to attract huge sales. Destiny passed 30M in a year - making more money than WoW in doing so. SW BF and The Division got off to 10M or whatever starts. And there are others. The key question is how long can they sustain sales.
So the question is not "how can mmos retain players" but "how can mmos continue to sell". And if you consider an mmo - for most people - to be just a short term experience - it becomes an even simpler question: "how can games continue to sell". Especially as marketing can only go so far.
What recent "big sellers" have in common is a steady stream of "new content additions" followed by some sort of Game of the Year edition. WoW is no different in this regard - following a trend that EQ1 adopted years ago. Wrap up the early stuff in a package and sell more game for the same price thereby attracting new players. And if theystick around and age gracefully EQ1, WoW etc. demonstrates that older players may return once or twice as well.
Beyond that ... shrug. Has to be a good game of course - whatever one of those is.
Be niche, concentrate on players over investors.
Build an unstructured themepark, such as classic EQ offered, and step back and allow for emergent gameplay.
Offer a robust trial, and then charge a sub. No cash shop.
Be happy with what you have, the profit that you are making, and don't chase the MOBA millions.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Like the WoW vanilla fanatics will probably never go back to WoW without it going back to the way it was because they are stubborn to the point Legion does not interest them regardless of what they do. And the SWG fanatics will never play an mmo again until they see a SWG clone. If the devs won't give those players what they want then they simply won't bother, its just simple as that.
Retaining those players is like an impossible task.
Well I guess I do know how to answer the thread's question....the game needs to be perfect. Nothings perfect in life though.
But the acronym MMMORPG now currently means Microscopic Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Kappa.
Funding can come from the same place that all funding comes from. Passion led game production has traditionally always found investment. If that ever stops being the case, then gaming itself is dead.
I agree with limited appeal, but that is the definition of niche, which I have already included.
I fully disagree with the 'sub with no cash shop is death' PoV... I think that's just lazy thinking born of received wisdom, usually spouted by Millennials that don't know better.
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
In first place , non of the MMO (aside from the very old MMO) design to keep player around . Most nowadays MMO games follow the short term formula , so they don't need to retain players .
BTW , said about archeage , i would love to go back to play if they remove the stupid labor system . I mean , i can pay extra gold instead of wait for the labor recover . At lest , i can play to get the gold , not wait for labor recover .