Well, based off the pic you threw together for this article, let's start with the fact you chose a Windows phone....No let's end there too.
Grouping in Old school mmo's: meeting someone at the bar and chatting, getting to know them before jumping into bed. Current mmo's grouping: tinder. swipe, hookup, hope you don't get herpes, never see them again.
I believe the title should've read: "Why aren't there any good MMOs for mobile devices?" And by good I mean games that get the same media attention as the block buster titles on PCs and consoles. So far, we have only games that are pseudo-MMOs in the way that you can only indirectly interact with other players, MMO-ports of older PC-titles (why would you want to play that on your mobile?) and sub-par MMOs that try to bring the same mechanics we've known for years on the PC to mobile devices - which obviously doesn't work well since the control scheme doesn't give you the same control over your character as on the PC.
So far, I haven't seen a single game that merges both worlds well together, although I am absolutely sure that it is possible. There just hasn't been a developer yet, that was able to pull that off. You just can't take a 10-year old game, port it over to mobile and expect people to like it.
I believe the title should've read: "Why aren't there any good MMOs for mobile devices?" And by good I mean games that get the same media attention as the block buster titles on PCs and consoles. So far, we have only games that are pseudo-MMOs in the way that you can only indirectly interact with other players, MMO-ports of older PC-titles (why would you want to play that on your mobile?) and sub-par MMOs that try to bring the same mechanics we've known for years on the PC to mobile devices - which obviously doesn't work well since the control scheme doesn't give you the same control over your character as on the PC.
So far, I haven't seen a single game that merges both worlds well together, although I am absolutely sure that it is possible. There just hasn't been a developer yet, that was able to pull that off. You just can't take a 10-year old game, port it over to mobile and expect people to like it.
Except that it can and does work very well in my experience.
If you were referring to UX, you are absolutely right that a 1:1 port is not the best approach; things like the UI will need to be adjusted, and I can't expect to win an intense PvP duel versus a PC player, at least without a Bluetooth gamepad.
That stated, see my signature for an example of a game that has made it work for the past 6 years. Let me tell you about what it was like back then (things have come a long way since):
To me, I think the two biggest hurdles companies face when deciding whether to go cross-platform are UI and storage space. A mobile app that takes up 10s of GB of space may not have mass market appeal (although we may be there soon); you're going to have to have a lean game to begin with, possibly relying on procedural generation. Also, a game that can be played with a gamepad will have a leg-up in getting ported to mobile.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
I don't think that the Mobile MMO market (as it stands right now) should appeal to PC MMO players. Many are saying they don't want to play on a small screen and want better control schemas than can be offered on a small mobile device(phone).
That's the reason I don't think they've taken off. They need to reconsider who their target market is and build the game for that. People don't sit on their phones for hours at a time running a graphically intensive app (heat, battery) and they certainly don't always have wifi access. Bathrooms, subways, airports are a few of the places many people are glued to their phones but don't always have connectivity. Any mobile MMO would need to be able to provide gaming access for such personal down-time.
Gaming sessions have to allow for short bursts of time that can be paused.
If think if we listed the use cases for a mobile MMO it would quickly show us that such a game is very very different than what we think of as MMOs. e.g.:
As a player on the subway, I want to be able to engage in boss battles which allow for loss of WiFi, pausing and don't take any longer than 15 mins.
Until the devs recognize they just can't port the genre to a different platform, we won't see any top of chart mobile titles be MMOs.
What every dev/pub should stand behind: "We're committed to creating a fair playing field for all players. You cannot gain gameplay advantage by spending real money in [INSERT GAME NAME]."
Despite my lack of "gaming street cred", I found this article to be informative and pertinent. I cannot find a mobile MMO that I want to play, and I've tried a bunch. It would be nice if someone could capture the WoW formula on handhelds but the medium is just too small. Maybe augmented reality MMOs will be the next big thing. I run like hell from zombies in my zombie jogging app.
While I agree with this sentiment.. I was surprised that some of these mobile MMO's are starting to hold their own. If you find yourself with and injury for a couple of weeks or you decide to support your wife while she's pregnant for a few monthes, bedtime MMO's have their place while you enjoy some games before sleepy.
Two questions: Did you pay for anything? Did you continue to play after those few months?
No. Not a chance. "Starting to hold their own", we have a ways to go.. and if I'm to invest long term it will have a buy to play option I hope. I don't do the pay nothing, milk you forever.
Happily playing Vanilla and BC WoW, again, since September 2016.
Can’t agree more with this article. I personally am an IOS user, however I’ve found the lack in “good” or any worthy MMORPG games in the past few years the only noticably good but bad are the westernized ones which have poor graphics and a low community and can be identified by most others, however the booming ones I’ve realized are the Asian inports which pay more attention to P2W, graphic, or fanservice aspects rather than good mechanics or a good fun game. We just need a good solid MMO gaming developer, guys like Pixonic who have the “know how” and have what it takes.
Comments
So far, I haven't seen a single game that merges both worlds well together, although I am absolutely sure that it is possible. There just hasn't been a developer yet, that was able to pull that off. You just can't take a 10-year old game, port it over to mobile and expect people to like it.
Except that it can and does work very well in my experience.
If you were referring to UX, you are absolutely right that a 1:1 port is not the best approach; things like the UI will need to be adjusted, and I can't expect to win an intense PvP duel versus a PC player, at least without a Bluetooth gamepad.
That stated, see my signature for an example of a game that has made it work for the past 6 years. Let me tell you about what it was like back then (things have come a long way since):
http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/332215/escapades-on-xperia-play
To me, I think the two biggest hurdles companies face when deciding whether to go cross-platform are UI and storage space. A mobile app that takes up 10s of GB of space may not have mass market appeal (although we may be there soon); you're going to have to have a lean game to begin with, possibly relying on procedural generation. Also, a game that can be played with a gamepad will have a leg-up in getting ported to mobile.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
That's the reason I don't think they've taken off. They need to reconsider who their target market is and build the game for that. People don't sit on their phones for hours at a time running a graphically intensive app (heat, battery) and they certainly don't always have wifi access. Bathrooms, subways, airports are a few of the places many people are glued to their phones but don't always have connectivity. Any mobile MMO would need to be able to provide gaming access for such personal down-time.
Gaming sessions have to allow for short bursts of time that can be paused.
If think if we listed the use cases for a mobile MMO it would quickly show us that such a game is very very different than what we think of as MMOs. e.g.:
As a player on the subway, I want to be able to engage in boss battles which allow for loss of WiFi, pausing and don't take any longer than 15 mins.
Until the devs recognize they just can't port the genre to a different platform, we won't see any top of chart mobile titles be MMOs.
No. Not a chance. "Starting to hold their own", we have a ways to go.. and if I'm to invest long term it will have a buy to play option I hope. I don't do the pay nothing, milk you forever.