"Center-of-the-masses" syndrome?

Vexin

I've been in these forums now for a while, and I've partaken in a number of discussions.  Having looked at other MMO's since leaving SWG (my first MMO), and having played WoW pretty regularly for about a year now (just cancelled...again), it occurs to me that SOE and LA's handling of the SWG franchise over the past year is an example of the direction in which most MMO's are heading today.

When you shoot something with a gun, your best chance of hitting it (and wounding or killing it) is to aim for the center.  There's no finesses in hitting the center mass; it's an odds shot.  You don't need expectional skill to find the mark, just a steady hand.  A successful shot at the head takes skill, and unless you have it, the odds are greatly lowered that you will miss the target, and scare it away.  By the same token, when you are looking for the (presumed) largest appeal for a product, you don't aim for the people who's tastes run toward quality and the exotic (the head).  You aim your shot at the "center of the masses" in hopes of acquiring the target.

In games (online or otherwise), this "center-of-the-masses" approach targets the personalities that are most common, or found in greater numbers, among a potential customer range  (which always seems to be emotional immaturity, short attention span, lack of ability to grasp complexities, etc.).  Certainly there are exceptions, but by and large, this is the audience you gain with this approach.  This type of customer base has a higher incidence of turnover for a game (people play for shorter amounts of time, and there are few, if any, "veterans" in the game), and due to their commonalities, they create a game experience that turns away the more-mature gamer.

Given the current technology used in developing these IPs, the sheer time and cost involved in developing an MMO today means that most companies cannot cater to the more mature gamer, the gamer that has the extended attention span, the emotional maturity, to play a game for long periods of time.  This is truly sad, because I firmly believe that having a player base that plays a game persistently for an extended period of time creates a game experience that is very different than one played by the "center-of-the-masses".

What is the solution?  I don't know, really.  I do suspect, though, that an evolution of the methods and tools used to develop MMO's, such that they can be created much, much faster than they are today, would greatly reduce the financial burden on companies to release too early and to develop content with an eye toward the "center-of-the-masses".  It would open up the possibility of having "Moderately Multiplayer Online" games that would not require huge, inefficient and uncaring corporations to develop and run them.  Care and attention could be paid by the owners of the IP, and the overall game experience would improve.  While some may still choose it if they wish, the driving force behind a game and its content need no longer be recovering the massive investment in development costs.  It can become an more artistic endeavor and achievement, instead of a financial one, with winners all around.

Anyway, just thought I'd toss that out there.

Discuss. 

Rekrul

Well, it's business.

Here's the problem. While there are clashing demographics out there, in the end they want the same. A quality, reliable game, with long term apeal and on-going development.

But in reality, production of MMOs is insanely expensive. And as such, to provide an AAA game by today's standards, they need to ensure (in advance) that they will bring in this and this many customers.

Many people would like to apeal to niche markets, but money doesn't work out. An MMO will quickly burn $5-15 mil upfront, and that's not even when starting from scratch. Finding angel investors is hard, and even those will not be able to provide full sum.

In the end it has nothing to do with what kind of personalities you apeal to. It's consumer society. Look around, you just need to take a closer look at Wal-Mart to see how it works.

But the bottom line is: To make a MMO, you need finances. Lots of them. And that is where games become a business, with ROI and other indices.

But one thing is true. If you make a quality product, you can sell anything. Or if you can sell anything, then you can get through with crappy product. First is the ethical choice. Second is how things really get done.

Kehn

It’s an interesting topic.  I believe your mainly referring to the dumbing down of SWG.  I think it’s a mistake to shift the focus towards the “the kiddies,” that is unless you plan to release your game on…a console.  I don’t have any studies to back this up but I’d guess the mid 20’s-mid 30’s group make up the largest current demographic of MMO players.  I’d also have to assume the majority of teens (as well as other people looking for instant gratification) won’t stick with a game as long as the more mature players that are looking for greater depth, and they’re less likely to have multiple accounts as well.  I’m probably not being fair by implying teens prefer simpler games (for PCs) in general, so present teen company excepted.

xPaladin

You guys are simultaneously right.. and wrong. What sells? Bottom line -- good games.

The whole problem with the MMORPG industry is just that - the overwhelming majority of games aren't really "good games." The ones that achieve a social status of being a "good game" (word of mouth) are games that break into ground that gamers consider "cool."

In fact, the whole single-player RPG has been a dying genre for years
now. Only a few titles can even claim to be RPGs, and the actual
definition of RPG itself is becoming debatable (compare the PS2 Kingdom Hearts 2 to the NES Dragon Warrior of olde). More or less, games are
going the way of Deus Ex 1 and incorporating action elements with
elements from role-playing games. The "new" industry think-tank for
such games are ARPGs, or Action Role-Playing Game (See: Mass Effect by
BioWare).

Think about the core RPG elements:
- PvE. It turns into farming instances or raid mobs for "PvP gear" endlessly -- nobody likes that. The majority of people who do this just want to PvP, but they need the gear to maintain leverage or gain advantage.
- Raw PvP. A fine element, but too much is a bad thing, because, the "common argument" states, if people just wanted raw PvP 24/7 they could just play Quake online.
- Socializing. It's a great element, but again, nobody likes to do too much of it, because it makes these expensive games seem like glorified chat rooms.
- Exploration. It has novelty for sure, but let's face it - exploration can only be enticing if there's interesting things to find and if new lands continually open up. And more unfortunately, the good things about exploration are cast aside within a month of play.
- Achievement. I personally think the whole "server first" think-tank ran out of gas a while ago. I can't imagine very many people even give a rats ass about it anymore. Furthermore, achievement is a bigger deal when a commodity is purposely scarce (pre-9 Jedi), but many game elements are becoming LCDs. This even includes single player titles like Oblivion, where the headmaster of the mages guild can become the headmaster of the theives and assassins guild as well, even though all three factions have totally different modus operandi and rules. (To quote the best line from The Incredibles, "When everyone is Super, nobody will be.")

As you can see, MMORPGs best (and ultimately definitive) qualities can easily turn into their worst. The problem is that MMORPGs and their players both (unilaterally even!) give mixed messages. A decade later and there are still absolutely no clear answers in the field. Warcraft, successful as it currently is, isn't even a complete answer to the mystery. SWG was about the closest answer to the mystery there was (IMO), except, its direction strayed and for the wrong reasons.

The formula won't be perfected for a while yet, but at least SWG/NGE is a clear example of how NOT to do things. Other studios will have to pick up the slack... if they can.

Echobe

Well said, xPaladin.

SWG had the greatest potential. It had variety; Combatants and non-combatants could build a world with more possibilities than the world we live in today. Pretty much the only thing you couldn't do in SWG was have kids and grow plants. However, you could go into space and travel more or less freely.

SWG had a system in place that could have catered to the widest demographic a game company could hope for with just one game. The things that were being promised or speculated were amazing. That's until the delays began, and then the lies and broken promises. Then the Jedi mess, then the expansions which aside from JTLS were nothing more than movie tie-ins, advertisements.

And now, SWG is just another failed attempt to try something new, and it failed with the CU and NGE revamps. And now what are we left with? WoW being considered the future of online gaming. How two dimensional is that?!

WoW is enjoyable for a little while. But once you max level, all there is to do is raid and PvP. It's mindless and boring and unfortunately it appeals to the dumbed down, instant gratification, no attention span audience...