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Current trends in MMO's (poll)
Stampede
Member Posts: 37
Am I detecting a trend toward forced grouping/raiding/guilding going on here? Or is it just my imagination?
I mean, AoC seems to be heading toward forced guilding, if you want to craft. DDO has forced grouping. FFXI has forced grouping. In WoW, you better raid if you want to compete end-game.
Comments
Yes, as it should be. i like to solo sometimes, and i think 1v1 PvP is awesome. However, MMORPGs should really shine when it comes to grouping. The major rewards should require coordination and cooperation.
Which FF Character Are You?
Believe me, I love to solo as much as the next guy, but the games are multiplayer after all. At some point you have to enjoy that aspect of the game, or the whole genere just isn't for you.
While i agree MMO is multiplayer and you should group, i dont agree with being forced to. Anyone and everyone should be able to have fun in a MMO, if it be solo or grouping by choice.
There is a trend towards forced grouping, and it irks me a little. Yes it is a multiplayer game, but you shouldn't need a group for everything. One of the primary complaints with WoW is the fact the endgame content requires huge groups.
There should be definite advantages to grouping, but it shouldn't be forced on the players.
When people will pay others to play a game for them it might be a sign the game isn't all that fun.
To tell you the truth I feel the new lineup of mmos is steering away from interaction. Sure the previous generation of games really tried to burry you with interaction, but the new trend seems to be solo-ability.
I think guild forcing is not that bad afterall. Of course most people take it as if someone trying to force it do what they don't necessarily want to, but looking deeper, If there is a game, networked clients, things to do together and players, who don't realize how much more fun it is to do things together than solo, just because thats what they are used to, why not try to force grouping ? Just take it easy, it might turn out alot more fun in the end.
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Emperium Online
People who solo in a MMORPG chose to do so. You have to remember that. Soloing and grouping has little to do with being hardcore or casual. There are plenty of casual-player friendly guilds out there or you can even start one yourself. Anyone who says "Yeah but I only have 1 hour to log on and do stuff" are just lazy to find like-minded people. As I mentioned in the Guild Favouritism post some smaller guilds form an alliance to tackle larger tasks.
I don't know if it is a trend, but what I do know is that game developers read from the same Game Development Book and take its information as "truth" -- whether or not studies confirm the information.
One page in the book which all Devs seem to have memorized and believe is that:
"If You Force Players To Group, This Will Create Social Relationships Within The Game, Which Will Cause An Emotional Bond To The Game, Which Will Increase Long-Term Player Retention, Which Will Keep Subscription Revenues High For A Long Period Of Time."
This, in a sense, is a trick.
Some of the oldest MMORPGs and even MUDs continue to exist NOT because they require forced grouping but because they are 1) complex 2) evolving and 3) flexible.
The best games are so complex as to give rise to "sub-games" within the game which are entirely player-created and sometimes completely unforeseen to the Developers.
Case in point:
Portal Bots (teleportation bots) existed in Asheron's Call for ages. The Developers never complained about them because they 1) provided a game service and 2) payment for use was voluntary. Some of these portal bots became so well known and so much a part of the game environment as to almost be considered a "mandatory" game service.
EQ PoK Buffers existed in EverQuest for ages. They would usually be sitting on a horse at a particular portal which became "their spot" and would provide mana regeneration buffs "for a donation." This also became almost a "mandatory" game service which players expected to be available to them.
In many of the best games, "player-created services" of this kind simply evolved in the game as a natural byproduct of players' needs.
"Forced" anything doesn't come into the picture.
Complexity, game evolution and flexibility created some of the best-remembered games ever.
~ Ancient Membership ~