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The Missing Link in MMORPGs
Mistick
Member Posts: 100
I find myself troubled with today’s MMOs. While a Vet UO, SWG, WOW and countless other online games. I feel like there is something missing that attracted me to these games. I come to this web site frantically looking to see what is open for testing. What new games are being developed? What games I have played, and which ones I haven’t! All this time I ask what is missing?
While there is no easy answer to this burning question that so many online gamers ask. I feel for myself I have discovered my answer. In todays market most of the games feel lifeless, bland, and another version of syndrome. New technology has given these games better graphics, sound effects, AI response, but they still lack something don’t they? For me I find myself realizing what has me torn away from my favorite hobby.
RPG has been striped from MMO! In today’s market companies that are creating newer online games are forgetting the RPG effect to their MMO. RPG games have a long history that has been transferred to the MMO games. Though back in the day stories, lore and content unfolded in these games making you feel like you were apart of them. Today more online games are without depth, and are finding themselves asking “why isn’t our game good?” A game may have the technical advancement to be a contender, but without the RPG they are without.
This has frustrated many online gamers looking for something new, unexplored, a sense of the unknown, and has replaced it with “this game is like that game.” Some games do well for a few months then subs start diminishing, and players find themselves retreating to the game that brought that love of online play to them, to begin with. This is why the older games have lasted so long. These games might not carry the newer advancements of their peers, but they still carry the RPG that most look for.
My advice to some of these companies is, don’t forget the roots that has brought you to develop your game. Take that one idea that is unique and bring it to life threw content, and lore. Stop playing the safe route. Bring that sense of something refreshing and untried to the market. In today’s market I see less of this, and though it might seem trivial a MMORPG without RPG is just another MMO.
Comments
Please don't analyze this heavily.
Just wanted to say that as a gamer of this time (being the last 5 years) that i got into gaming, (not hard-core), but enough so that family and friends notice, I agree with you, the RPG phase of MMO's died out with some of the games that you mentioned (that i never had the chance to experiance).
I think that games that continue to come out with the exception of a few try to manifest their profitability in PvP content, PvE aside (and role playing) recent games are devoid of flavor and variety all conforming to an established cash-cow. Competition between players seems to eclipse all attempts at role-playing, but in a sense the RPG did come first, and its why people play these games, in my opinion most play them to get away from competition (but not all(Surely)) Whether or not they're a PvP god or not shouldn't be relevent to having a good time.
-GS
Very well thought out, very well said!
Know what? Many times I ask posters on this here site to post not only what mmorpgs they have played, but name their character, server, guild, and put up screenshots. Two main reasons I do this - to understand where they are coming from (through seeing what mmorpgs they have played) - and to see exactly what experience they have/how varried their gaming experience is. Example, someone who has only played WoW does have some mmorpg experience, but not enough to talk about different mmorpgs.
After reading your post, maybe you, me, everyone at this site, should all go to the different official forums for the mmorpgs that are out, and that are in developement, and ask the game DEVs those same questions: 1. Exactly what mmorpgs, rpgs, have they played? Their character names? Guild names? Server names? And post screenshots as further proof.
I remember on the old cSWG forums, (around 2001?), their game DEVs posting how much fun they were having they were having playing Anarchy Online. A lot of cSWG fans were amazed! These game DEVs actually play other games?!? They actually are gamers?! It was incredible to see proof of it before our eyes.
With the majority of the current mmorpgs out, or in developement, it's obvious their game DEVs are not gamers, have played few, if any, other mmorpgs, and rpgs. Their investors and moneymen, and suites and ties guys are even worse. This means they are clueless to what a rpg is.
So very true. I haven't called an MMOG an MMORPG in years.
I understand that LOTRO has a lot of lore and storyline that unfolds before you as you level... and that you actually participate in the "plot" of the game's storyline. I personally found LOTRO to be boring, but it is very popular and I hear it's much more fun when played with others rather then solo.
I hope this helps! I agree with your points and I too am waiting for an MMORPG to come along that suits my needs.
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
Ok, I agree but I don't think players in general quite understand.
So I have to ask the question, what exactly is it about these games that leaves out the RPG and what needs to be done, in general or specifically, to fix this?
Once upon a time....
I agree, many MMOs are missing the RPG element. Great RPGs have secrets to discover, and story lines that draw you in. Most mmos today feel more like a theme park then an RPG.
True, sadly, when I wanna RP on my PC, I just pick some single-player game rated 8 or higher on IGN or other website - there's no way to do that in so called MMORPGs, at least if you don't enjoy random talking with the crowd.
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MMOs played-> UO: AoS, L2, GW, GW: F, HO, SoF, ToP
First of all I want to agree that the RPG is lacking.
Now in my opinion I would have to say it has a lot to do with the gear and items in games these days. I too am an OLD school MMO player and did as well play UO, EQ ,AC, and a few others but thats not really the point. I know this may sound crazy and may not be the case whatsoever but I did noticed a feeling of solidarity once the whole chat box apeared in MMO's. And for those to young to remember no not all games had chat windows. Expl.. Britan bank in UO had hundreds if not more people around sometimes at peak hours all selling items and the chat was all over the place when someone said something you knew it was that guy over there by the trash or that other one over by the dragons for sale Made me actually feel like I was in a market. Well in my opinion that created a market center per say and What a better way to buy something but to go to the market. (RP)
Another thing that most definatly has an effect on the RPG feel is GEAR. In more then just one way as well.
1. You get the god complex from people with Uberz loot.
Dont worry "you"still suck even though your gear is neat.
2. You become absorbed in getting the right "gear" for a particular task.And once you get it you realize there are better items out there.
that in essance is one of my biggest pet peeves in MMO's today. I want to enjoy the content not Torture myself trying to get the gear I need to enjoy content.( Thats when I stoped playing UO was when they really started messing with the gear mods.)
3. MY gear shoulden't define how good of a player I am. Put a 5 yr old in Tier 3 gear and duel him on a green item suit see who wins. ( not saying I've done this and lost or anything just describing the point)
In summery I just overall think the "player" is being removed from the game all together. For expl.. Addons!!!! WTF if you need addons to play the game and beat bosses your a damn BOZZO!!!
The game was developed to be played without so why in the hell would they allow that I don't know. (WoW) in case you didnt know who I was talking about. How about actually downing a boss through teamwork and not Macro mods. You might end up looking like 
for a while but it will be so much better when you do do it. not to mention the game will last longer in general. I'm not going to sit here and say I havent used em But I will add that I only got them due to the fact that if I didnt I didnt get to see end game content so whats a guy to do I pay for the game yet have to cheat to see the good stuff.
Fantastic freaking job on that one Blizz.
I haven't gotten the thrill I used to get from massive battles over harrowers on UO since Ive left UO but Im hoping a dev team out there knows what it will take to make a good MMO"RPG". I dont know if War is going to be the one but I like what I see so far. They seem to understand that if theres nothing to loose then the thrill wont be there so we will see. In the mean till I'll be hanging around the eve universe Blowing crap up and hopfully not getting BLOWED up.
"The most important thing is to have the design support the players in setting their own goals in both cooperative and competitive interaction with one another." - Ironore -
There should be more playable representations of the evolutionary process from semians to modern man, I mean...
A roleplaying game is one of those things that you can't actually make, you can just make a game that is conducent for roleplay, people can always choose to not roleplay, this is why we have roleplay servers. A vibrant, believable and seemingly living world is a good start, lore is also important for people to build stories around and for better understanding of the game world. Great hidden places to explore and other such covert things can offer a lot of roleplay opportunities as well.
But there should also be in-game tools to help those who wish to roleplay, simple solutions that can go a long way, like naming, first name, last name, middle, title. Build family ties with other players, or even marriage. have a place to write a biography for your character, easily incorporated features that can help out the roleplaying crowd and add a whole other demension of gameplay.
Perhaps the biggest challange is how to get people into the story, yet not have generic static quest lines. Perhaps a combination of several stories lines and multiple endings for each one (KOTOR style) would add diversity and interest. And/or objectives and missions that are spawned by the game and solve actual in-game problems in response to actual in game problems and you give players a more diverse and personalized experience to roleplay with. If a guard sation needs supplies and you take the mission to deliver them, you just solved a problem, the sation no longer needs supplies until they deminish later, this could also work for players attacking a city and the other faction getting a mission to stop them, it is ongoing because the world is based on variables that decay, increase and change. This could warrant enough material to roleplay small adventures with, and missions are constantly being completed and created so potentially endless roleplay. The KOTOR esque storyline is what provides longterm adventure.
But really roleplayers probably don't need quests to roleplay with, their imaginations can sustain them, it just doesn't help that MMOs usually don't offer many good reasons to roleplay.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
Well, to get the RPG back in MMO's the very first thing you have to realize is that you can't just add few things to Roleplay with. You need to design the entire game as a roleplay game. Otherwise the vast majority of players will play the main game and just not get time to get into the RP feel of things.
Currently, games are all about the level grind. When most player play, they are going to grind away, because that's what the game is about. Climb the stairs, get levels, new powers and abilities, and that never ending spiral of new items. If you want a game that's got RPG in it, and is actually used by players in general, you need to change the game play from level grind to something else.
Edit to add: I'm not saying completely remove levels or skill building, I'm saying the focus needs to shift so that other avenues of play are at least equal.
Once upon a time....
No thanks. I don't want more RPG in my MMORPG, in fact I want less.
MMORPG Maker
Don't you realize that "sandbox" and "roleplay" are the same thing?
Roleplay isn't the nazi-roleplay idea of Thee's and Thou's, it's playing in the game world, as in "sandbox".
Once upon a time....
I think what RPG means to me is setting the enviroment to set the state of mind that allows players to role play. This is done threw lore, content, and game enviroment. I don't think companies these days work on all these factors together. Pretty much it seems like the story and quests don't even relate half the time, or it is too repeative.
With MMOs now describing their character progression schemes as "business models" (Fury) I can only imagine the MMO genre straying farther from the RPG part of things.
I think the truth is the majority of gamers don't want to play a role and interact with the game world as if it were real. I and gamers like me play MMORPGs like puzzle games: just a new set of problems we have to solve to win. I don't really care about character development outside of allowing me to overcome the obstacles the devs have provided me in a way I find entertaining. Role players are the same way I suppose, in that they find overcoming the obstacles in character more entertaining than my way.
MMO consumer niches can expect to largely be ignored in favor of players that like to log in, do some easy but time consuming stuff, and log out and feel like they accomplished something. The ideal MMO subscribers also don't complain about game mechanics people like us view as important (suspension of disbelief, intriguing story, PvP balance, etc), and opt instead to buy the expansion packs because they raise the level cap and add new items to grind for.
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PM me when an MMO as good as UO was comes out.
I guess I'm not the only one feeling that the MMO-socalledRPG's have taken the route of "Gordon Freeman".
Instead of a gameworld with our own characters, the games are now so focuse on the "storytelling part", that we now become the rat in the maze, we've become Gordon Freeman all of us.
What happened to building your own story based on events that happend? Instead, we are forcefed this bullcrap about how YOU are the ONLY ONE, you are the SPECIAL ONE, You are the SAVIOUR... in a MMORPG thats' like making sure that everyone that plays the game is Gordon Freeman, and that making sure that everytime you create a character, you are Gordon Freeman.
MMO-socalledRPG's died when storytelling became the main content of the genre.
It might have survived if it instead had been the story of the world around you, and you're not the MAIN Character... Then I might not have called them MMO-socalledRPG's.