The MMORPG industry has taken a creative direction that less interesting and more predictable; it is designed to obtain the most amount of subscribers, in the USA, Europe, and Asia. Frankly, and this perhaps exposes my ignorance, I do not understand, comprehend, or even believe the "development costs" of today's MMORPGs. What in God's name are you people spending all of this (millions) money on? Where is the innovation? Where is the business strategy to distinguish yourself from your competitor (WoW)? Where is appeal that makes YOU different? Taking WoW features and elements, slapping a different name on it with some changes, ain't gonna make you different!
Is it me, though? I mean, really? Have I changed? Do I expect too much? I have no intention to make this personal, but I have never been less satisified, or happy, with MMORPGs in my life as I am right now. Most games I buy, today, are buggy, incomplete, and spy on me while I play (even GTA IV spies on me!).
But, what say you? Are you happy with your MMORPG, and if so what game(s)?
First off, yes it is you.
You started out playing MMO's and having fun with them. As you have become older, wiser, and more experienced with the MMO genre you are seeing the limitations that are inherent within the style of game.
I do not mean offense, I am not trying to belittle your view or feelings, and I cannot say that I disagree at all. What I am saying is the MMO world is funded by those looking for a return on their investment. There are also those who look forward to coming home and playing these games as a release or escape from the day to day reality yet, still enjoy socializing with peers. It is safer to put out a product that is familiar in play style but, has a different environment. One may enjoy killing Orks and Elves while another prefers Empires or Aliens. I see it more as different environments than actual inovations in game play.
Still, even in what is mostly a cookie cutter genre we get small gems of intelligence and design from games like WAR that introduced the Public Quest (which is being adopted by many new games coming out) or dare I say it WoW (in its inovative at the time instanced PvP arenas) or DAoC and their realms of PvP. Please note this was not in any chronological order.
MMO's, IMHO, are more about social gaming. If we did not like this socialization aspect (whether it is social interaction with friends or showing off new lewtz to anyone that looks at ya ) we would all be playing single player games and not have the emotional responses to what appear to be the cookie cutter products that are appearing on the market daily.
Do you expect too much? Maybe but, you can vote with your dollars (or whatever currency). Do not pay for something becuase you do not like it. Try waiting before you jump in on a new game. Let it breathe a bit after opening. Let those players that always want the FIRST! to go in and finish beta testing the game before you look into it. Pay attention to the hype and try to realize that hype is also a marketing ploy.
Good luck in finding your next game. :]
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
There are 2 that I enjoy but overall the industry has taken a serious nose dive! It's the same old, same old with a new shiny wrapper. What really sucks is when something different hits the market and it fails pretty badly thus continueing the vicious circle of getting more of the same old, same old. So who really is to blame? The developers or the players?
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
What bothers me is that I pay $50.00 for the box/ monthly fee and the level of polish is very poor. It is like I am paying for an unfinished product. Sorry but from now on I won't be paying for unfinished buggy games no matter who is making it.
Beside WOW, the only 2 MMO's i played for a long period, around 2 years each, have been released in 1999, Asheron's Call and 2002, Anarchy Online. Since then i've been jumping from mmo to mmo, can't find anything that hold my interest for more than a few weeks (not even months).
I think OP nailed it perfectly. All those game are WOW-wannabe. It's WOW all over, there is only 1 WOW and peoples are tired of it. Do you think making a clone with half the features would be a success ?
When will devs come up with something new and original ?
Beside WOW, the only 2 MMO's i played for a long period, around 2 years each, have been released in 1999, Asheron's Call and 2002, Anarchy Online. Since then i've been jumping from mmo to mmo, can't find anything that hold my interest for more than a few weeks (not even months). I think OP nailed it perfectly. All those game are WOW-wannabe. It's WOW all over, there is only 1 WOW and peoples are tired of it. Do you think making a clone with half the features would be a success ? When will devs come up with something new and original ?
At first sure but as ive noticed that i grow older and wanting more content its been one dicapointment after another, everything is the same, shallow content but diffrent graphics. Still waitinf for something more exiting and new.
When EQ and SWG came out there were games for geeks. People who played Warcaft II for entire nights and were in guilds; people who did pen & paper RPG; people who loved single player RPGs like Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment...
Back then because of the audience those games were pretty hard core. Camping for hours on that drop, or buliding a base on Tatooine and watching it being destroyed by Jedi scum. Those were the days...
And then (thanks to WoW) MMORPGs went mainstream... And the proverbial excrement hit the fan. All of the sudden a geeky niche entertainment started making hundreds of millions a year! More and more people who had no idea about RPGs started to sub. All kinds of people: old, young, professionals and unemployed, hippies, junkies... The flood gates were open.
Devs wanting to satisfy as much people as possible had to find a common denominator. Geek customer was cast aside for his worse enemy: an average customer.
And the worse part is: a lot of other dev companies jealous of the success soon followed. Of course the rule was: if it ain't broken don't fix it! WoW already dumbed down by the whinings of idiot spoiled teenagers; prickly housewives and many other eternally unsatisfied crowds started spawning his bastard children: LOTRO, WAR, EQ2 and more. SWG was redesigned to fit the WoW template which destroyed the best MMO to date.
Back in 2000 MMOs were for me a first step towards full virtual worlds where anything was possible. Right now MMORPGs seem to have taken a large step back to satisfy an average idiot, sorry customer...
There are beacons of hope like EVE Online which gives probably the closest kind of virtual world experience right now. Experiments like Darkfall although flawed are really what this industry needs.
Right now most MMORPGs shouldnt even be called like that. They're theme parks, where You are forced to follow a certain path predestined for You by the dev team. Theres no freedom, no building of your own cities (sorry AoC but a guild city in an instance dont count), just tons of stupid quests that change nothing. Look at EVE! The map of alliances and player owned territories changes every month ffs!
Anyways, i'm not happy that one of my favourite leisure activities is heading down the drain, while devs wanting to satisfy everybody just keep on making the hole bigger and bigger.
1. Challenge - In EQ fighting a creature that was your level ment that you were likely to loose (unless you were twinked). In Wow and most other games today you can fight creatures several levels higher than yourself without fear. Worst case you might have to drink a potion or run away. Even if you die its no biggie- you just run back (now at super-speed) and continue like nothing happened.
2. Quests suck - hard! Hey devs, let me tell ya something - I don't read the quest text. I don't give a damn about every NPC in the game having some grudge against someone else. None of it matters. I don't care. You're not the next Steven King, or Ann Rice. These stories are just an excuse to give me a pethetic errand. Here's the true story behind Wow: You are a character (race doesn't really matter) who goes around doing meaningless tasks that don't make a difference in order to get stuff that will make it easier to complete more meaningless tasks. The true story should be more interesting than this.
Here's some clues to a better system- if your going to have opposing factions locked in an endless struggle to defeat oneanother, they shouldn't be living together in the same cities doing the same quests! (That means you wow). In EQ the warring factions each had their own cities and quests to kill people from the other's cities. My guild was on Coldain faction and we did raids against the giants. People on giant faction wouldn't be able to get or turn in their quests because the quest-givers were dead Of course, in EQ turning in a quest was a big deal because it would take you hours or even days to complete one. In Wow, you have quests to deliver mugs of ale - what am I a waitress? One quest in particular required a ton of effort to complete and would cause a war to begin. You needed a good guild to fight the war and if your side won you got an amazing reward; if you failed you lost a great deal. Also, anyone on the server could come and join in on the war as well.
3. Remember, its an MMO, not MSO. If you end up playing the game alone (or with just one other person) then your not really playing an MMO. By requiring players to group to get things done you've added a player interaction element to the game that is vital. If you don't have this then the player is really playing a Massive Single Player game.
I think most of us would agree that MMORPG's are suffering the same fate RPG's in general did back in the day (as with any "fringe" thing that becomes mainstream).... Naturally, it's heartbreaking to watch..... ;>_<
The reality is that as something becomes mainstream, commodified, formulaic and cookie cutter... all the original charm, draw, and excitement it held for its fans disappears. Poof. Gone.
I liked the earlier comment that the geek factor of these games has up and died. And so with it dies our dreams...
On one hand, it is cool that a whole variety of people share the experience of gaming and enjoying a virtual world. I do somewhat agree with a "the more the merrier" mentality. However, there's still something to be said to being a part of a very dedicated/rabid group that is so into what they are doing, individual group members have a wonderful time because the group itself makes the experience so fun.
This move from fringe to mainstream happens everywhere. We saw the same thing happen to SP RPG's in the 80-90's... As game companies realized RPG's could spell profits comparable to more mainstream fare, the days of original, ground-breaking, "geeky" games were numbered. Now you have more kiddie RPG's than you can count, and while some ground-breaking stuff is still out there, most of what you find is watered down bunk that is merely following a formula in the pursuit of profits (just like your typical MMORPG).
It's not like there are NO great single player RPG's being made anymore, or that there aren't still some quality MMORPG's out there... but, they are rarer and rarer (while the vast majority = recycled crap).
Just like Hollywood blockbusters geared toward massive audiences that actually flop because they are so dumbed down and predictable, with the current "big money" atmosphere in gaming, you get bland, boring, predictable crap meant to make money in the mainstream.
The sad reality is that, more or less, the video game industry is Hollywood v2.0 and except for the indie houses, and some remaining evidence of *quality* programming still coming from some Japanese gaming houses, we should just get used to a huge pile of crap to dig through in hopes of finding a pony....
Almost anybody loves going to the movies to enjoy the new flashy CGI effects and stadium style seats, the amazing make up and technology that pushes the limits of what is possible... but, how often have you gone to some big blockbuster and left feeling empty, unsatisfied? Not exactly unstimulated, but unmoved. The pretty bells and whistles, the style, can only carry the work of art so far if what matters, its substance, is lacking.
Welcome to what it means when you, as with most halfway intelligent people, become desensitized to the smoke and mirrors of flashy gimmicks and sadly hunger for something, ANYTHING, of substance. We live in an empire burlesque. A mad world of parody and imitation. It's why those rare nuggets and flashes of brilliant originality become such popular games/series/etc.
The people are starved for substance, be it in MMO's or otherwise.
Here's my beef with most MMORPGs today: "cookie-cutter classes"
Almost every MMO has standard, generic, wash-and-repeat classes. You have your healer > healer can only wear robes and use staves > healer heals.... that's about it for the healer. You have your tank > tank uses one-hand weapon with shield and heavy armor > tank tanks. Everything is else is a mix of leather armor with heavy damage, or robes with heavy damage. That about sums up the classes in most of today's MMOs.
Here's what I want: I want to feel unique, I want to play a game where I create my own class. And not skill-based system either. Skill based system everyone is the same thing, you just level up whatever skills you want (or all of them).
How about in character creation, you design your class. You pick armor proficiency, weapon proficiency, archetype, race, and maybe a deity or some other thing to give your class some flavor.
Pick heavy-armor with two-hand weapon, spell-caster archetype, whatever race, and an evil deity. your class will be some kind of evil magic knight. you create your class, you decide what your class can and cant do, not the devs. that's what i want
"Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know." William Saroyan
It is this cookie-cutter, forced, linear, predictable, specialized class that are making today's MMORPGs dull.
We want immersion. We want the total experience that congruently combines a variety of MMORPG features that make you feel a part of an astonishing and bizarre world. You have a place in this world, and it is an important place.
I M M E R S I O N
It is not about reinventing the wheel; it is about - creativity and innovation.
Less predictability and more choices, options, and of course - freedom.
Fewer raid guilds and more variety of guilds - community.
Sure everyone gets all hot and angry and screams, " Yes we want Innovation!!!"
Yet when you look at their post history what MMOs are they playing? WoW!
Okay, to be fair some may not really play an MMO. Instead they look forward to others like Aion-- which looks like a gorgeous WoW/EQ clone
I want to see a more accurate poll that shows how many want change and really are playing an innovative MMO. It does not help the cause when you scream for change and still give Blizzard money. That is all investors look at guys- that pie chart that shows WoW has like huge chunk of the market share...
Action speaks louded than words.... EVE only has like what- 300k subs? Come on now something is up what are u guys playing be honest
I have been watching Firefly on Hulu and am amazed that a show so good was canceled (way to go Fox). So how about a sandbox game based on a western type Sci-fi show?
You could run a store on planet X, be a smuggler, be part of the establishment (military), or any number of things. The game could debut with a few worlds that are explorable and then expand from there. Reaver attacks would be frightening and maybe just maybe you would run across a little ship called Serenity (an NPC ship that would roam the universes). I can see all sorts of possiblities with this one.
What we need more than anything in games now is imagination. Stop copying each other and imagine something better.
I have been watching Firefly on Hulu and am amazed that a show so good was canceled (way to go Fox). So how about a sandbox game based on a western type Sci-fi show? You could run a store on planet X, be a smuggler, be part of the establishment (military), or any number of things. The game could debut with a few worlds that are explorable and then expand from there. Reaver attacks would be frightening and maybe just maybe you would run across a little ship called Serenity (an NPC ship that would roam the universes). I can see all sorts of possiblities with this one. What we need more than anything in games now is imagination. Stop copying each other and imagine something better.
we also need to probably stop copying established IPs this way Developer is free to use their imagination. Your ideas are good dont get me wrong. But it is ironic you say stop copying each other yet you suggest to copy Firefly.....
Good ideas just drop the firefly IP would stand well on its own
Sure everyone gets all hot and angry and screams, " Yes we want Innovation!!!" Yet when you look at their post history what MMOs are they playing? WoW! Okay, to be fair some may not really play an MMO. Instead they look forward to others like Aion-- which looks like a gorgeous WoW/EQ clone
I want to see a more accurate poll that shows how many want change and really are playing an innovative MMO. It does not help the cause when you scream for change and still give Blizzard money. That is all investors look at guys- that pie chart that shows WoW has like huge chunk of the market share...
Action speaks louded than words.... EVE only has like what- 300k subs? Come on now something is up what are u guys playing be honest
I play the MMORPG in my head, PatchDay.... (;-_-)
I know there are others like me. Waiting. Watching. Wondering when that weird, quirky, geek-compatible game will appear.
Oh, and EVE is a cool game. I've never had the time to properly devote myself to it, but what little I've played was impressive. 300k devoted and rabid maniacs = my kind of population.
Why are companies shooting for the stars? They need to do like indie film houses, spend a modest amount to make quality games that cater to specialized, though sizable groups of gamers. There is much more longevity and growth in that kind of a model vs. one size fits all redundancy...
Then again, I don't think a game like EVE was exactly planned with a specific marketing plan in mind =/
Sure everyone gets all hot and angry and screams, " Yes we want Innovation!!!" Yet when you look at their post history what MMOs are they playing? WoW! Okay, to be fair some may not really play an MMO. Instead they look forward to others like Aion-- which looks like a gorgeous WoW/EQ clone
I want to see a more accurate poll that shows how many want change and really are playing an innovative MMO. It does not help the cause when you scream for change and still give Blizzard money. That is all investors look at guys- that pie chart that shows WoW has like huge chunk of the market share...
Action speaks louded than words.... EVE only has like what- 300k subs? Come on now something is up what are u guys playing be honest
I play the MMORPG in my head, PatchDay.... (;-_-)
I know there are others like me. Waiting. Watching. Wondering when that weird, quirky, geek-compatible game will appear.
Oh, and EVE is a cool game. I've never had the time to properly devote myself to it, but what little I've played was impressive. 300k devoted and rabid maniacs = my kind of population.
Why are companies shooting for the stars? They need to do like indie film houses, spend a modest amount to make quality games that cater to specialized, though sizable groups of gamers. There is much more longevity and growth in that kind of a model vs. one size fits all redundancy...
Then again, I don't think a game like EVE was exactly planned with a specific marketing plan in mind =/
I'm actually saddened at the amount of "clone" MMOs out there. I most play the free Asian ones, but I have looked at the subscribable ones as well. You have a few catagories of MMO:
WoW: Which is a mindless kill quest fest. I played it for a bit and got bored of it after I looked at my quests and had to kill 3 "different" kinds of raptor mobs for the same kind of item... They were all the same!
WoW Clone: These guys don't do it right as the draw of wow is the ability to customize the UI. Why would you want to clone WoW anyways?
Cutesy MMO Grinder: Games like FlyFF, Rose Online and a few like their ilk, where it's very little questing and very much killing monsters over and over
Not Cutesy MMO Grinder: Like the former but hides itself in more realistic graphics. Both games play the same way.
PvP Fest: These games are based on the fact you kill other players. Gets very boring after a while. Usually a WoW clone.
2D Sidescroller Grindfest: Games like Maplestory and Pi Story. Only they play with instances. Still a grinder.
Grindfest in Spaaaaace: Games where you have to build you ships and attack people...and you go nowhere fast.
I think that's basically it for the categories. Some play off of each other but usually keep to these basics.
Games that I have found that have been "fun" were:
Final Fantasy XI: Realistic fantasy grindfest, however it forces you to group up instead of solo, so you meet new people. You can also change your job at almost any time if you get tired of being a mage or a warrior. Has lots of side "mini-games" like raise your chocobo, fishing and get an NPC partner. I spent the longest time with this game. Has a story going throughout the game.
Guild Wars: Nothing BUT story. That's what I like about this game, the whole thing is one long story. All the quests you do are usually part of the story. Not a true MMO in the sense, but still good.
Phantasy Star Online/Phantasy Star Universe/Monster Hunter Frontier: These are what I call "mission" games. Where everyone is in one big "lobby" and you group up with people and go off to complete some quest. In the case of Monster Hunter, you get items that you can improve yourself with. Unfortunately the powers that are have decided there is NO MARKET for Monster Hunter Frontier in the English speaking world To me I find it's a very fun game, and a very casual one...more casual than WoW, as you can log on, do a quest and log off. None of this endless grinding for levels. Every kill quest is likened to a raid boss. In the case of the Phantasy Stars, it's a bit similar, go do a quest and then log off if you want.
However nobody "clones" these games, the only real FFXI 'clone' is Dream of Mirror Online, but it doesn't really give the same feel as FFXI as getting a ridable pet is a grindfest too.
Games I'd like to see:
.hack//CLONE: A true action RPG like the PS2 games, no skills bar, everything can be done on a gamepad. Also a BBS with the whole package of having an "e-mail" (PM) system. Dragon Nest is looking like it might be one, but I'm not certain.
Monster Hunter Clone: If the game is that popular in Japan and Korea, where are the "free 2 play" clones?
I know I use the word clone, but I really mean "something along that vein" in terms of gameplay and how the game is laid out. These are the games I have fun with and look at in terms of what I want in an MMO.
Comments
First off, yes it is you.
You started out playing MMO's and having fun with them. As you have become older, wiser, and more experienced with the MMO genre you are seeing the limitations that are inherent within the style of game.
I do not mean offense, I am not trying to belittle your view or feelings, and I cannot say that I disagree at all. What I am saying is the MMO world is funded by those looking for a return on their investment. There are also those who look forward to coming home and playing these games as a release or escape from the day to day reality yet, still enjoy socializing with peers. It is safer to put out a product that is familiar in play style but, has a different environment. One may enjoy killing Orks and Elves while another prefers Empires or Aliens. I see it more as different environments than actual inovations in game play.
Still, even in what is mostly a cookie cutter genre we get small gems of intelligence and design from games like WAR that introduced the Public Quest (which is being adopted by many new games coming out) or dare I say it WoW (in its inovative at the time instanced PvP arenas) or DAoC and their realms of PvP. Please note this was not in any chronological order.
MMO's, IMHO, are more about social gaming. If we did not like this socialization aspect (whether it is social interaction with friends or showing off new lewtz to anyone that looks at ya ) we would all be playing single player games and not have the emotional responses to what appear to be the cookie cutter products that are appearing on the market daily.
Do you expect too much? Maybe but, you can vote with your dollars (or whatever currency). Do not pay for something becuase you do not like it. Try waiting before you jump in on a new game. Let it breathe a bit after opening. Let those players that always want the FIRST! to go in and finish beta testing the game before you look into it. Pay attention to the hype and try to realize that hype is also a marketing ploy.
Good luck in finding your next game. :]
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
There are 2 that I enjoy but overall the industry has taken a serious nose dive! It's the same old, same old with a new shiny wrapper. What really sucks is when something different hits the market and it fails pretty badly thus continueing the vicious circle of getting more of the same old, same old. So who really is to blame? The developers or the players?
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
I'm happy only with AoC
What bothers me is that I pay $50.00 for the box/ monthly fee and the level of polish is very poor. It is like I am paying for an unfinished product. Sorry but from now on I won't be paying for unfinished buggy games no matter who is making it.
Beside WOW, the only 2 MMO's i played for a long period, around 2 years each, have been released in 1999, Asheron's Call and 2002, Anarchy Online. Since then i've been jumping from mmo to mmo, can't find anything that hold my interest for more than a few weeks (not even months).
I think OP nailed it perfectly. All those game are WOW-wannabe. It's WOW all over, there is only 1 WOW and peoples are tired of it. Do you think making a clone with half the features would be a success ?
When will devs come up with something new and original ?
The secret world ..maybe
At first sure but as ive noticed that i grow older and wanting more content its been one dicapointment after another, everything is the same, shallow content but diffrent graphics. Still waitinf for something more exiting and new.
When EQ and SWG came out there were games for geeks. People who played Warcaft II for entire nights and were in guilds; people who did pen & paper RPG; people who loved single player RPGs like Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment...
Back then because of the audience those games were pretty hard core. Camping for hours on that drop, or buliding a base on Tatooine and watching it being destroyed by Jedi scum. Those were the days...
And then (thanks to WoW) MMORPGs went mainstream... And the proverbial excrement hit the fan. All of the sudden a geeky niche entertainment started making hundreds of millions a year! More and more people who had no idea about RPGs started to sub. All kinds of people: old, young, professionals and unemployed, hippies, junkies... The flood gates were open.
Devs wanting to satisfy as much people as possible had to find a common denominator. Geek customer was cast aside for his worse enemy: an average customer.
And the worse part is: a lot of other dev companies jealous of the success soon followed. Of course the rule was: if it ain't broken don't fix it! WoW already dumbed down by the whinings of idiot spoiled teenagers; prickly housewives and many other eternally unsatisfied crowds started spawning his bastard children: LOTRO, WAR, EQ2 and more. SWG was redesigned to fit the WoW template which destroyed the best MMO to date.
Back in 2000 MMOs were for me a first step towards full virtual worlds where anything was possible. Right now MMORPGs seem to have taken a large step back to satisfy an average idiot, sorry customer...
There are beacons of hope like EVE Online which gives probably the closest kind of virtual world experience right now. Experiments like Darkfall although flawed are really what this industry needs.
Right now most MMORPGs shouldnt even be called like that. They're theme parks, where You are forced to follow a certain path predestined for You by the dev team. Theres no freedom, no building of your own cities (sorry AoC but a guild city in an instance dont count), just tons of stupid quests that change nothing. Look at EVE! The map of alliances and player owned territories changes every month ffs!
Anyways, i'm not happy that one of my favourite leisure activities is heading down the drain, while devs wanting to satisfy everybody just keep on making the hole bigger and bigger.
For the most part you have 2 choices..
Lineage 2 style games
or WoW style games.
I personally rather play a WoW style game than a Lineage 2 style game.
By far my personal favorite game is FFXI, but my personal favorite game style is the Guild wars style lol. Casual and layed back.
Things that are missing from MMORPGS today:
1. Challenge - In EQ fighting a creature that was your level ment that you were likely to loose (unless you were twinked). In Wow and most other games today you can fight creatures several levels higher than yourself without fear. Worst case you might have to drink a potion or run away. Even if you die its no biggie- you just run back (now at super-speed) and continue like nothing happened.
2. Quests suck - hard! Hey devs, let me tell ya something - I don't read the quest text. I don't give a damn about every NPC in the game having some grudge against someone else. None of it matters. I don't care. You're not the next Steven King, or Ann Rice. These stories are just an excuse to give me a pethetic errand. Here's the true story behind Wow: You are a character (race doesn't really matter) who goes around doing meaningless tasks that don't make a difference in order to get stuff that will make it easier to complete more meaningless tasks. The true story should be more interesting than this.
Here's some clues to a better system- if your going to have opposing factions locked in an endless struggle to defeat oneanother, they shouldn't be living together in the same cities doing the same quests! (That means you wow). In EQ the warring factions each had their own cities and quests to kill people from the other's cities. My guild was on Coldain faction and we did raids against the giants. People on giant faction wouldn't be able to get or turn in their quests because the quest-givers were dead
Of course, in EQ turning in a quest was a big deal because it would take you hours or even days to complete one. In Wow, you have quests to deliver mugs of ale - what am I a waitress? One quest in particular required a ton of effort to complete and would cause a war to begin. You needed a good guild to fight the war and if your side won you got an amazing reward; if you failed you lost a great deal. Also, anyone on the server could come and join in on the war as well.
3. Remember, its an MMO, not MSO. If you end up playing the game alone (or with just one other person) then your not really playing an MMO. By requiring players to group to get things done you've added a player interaction element to the game that is vital. If you don't have this then the player is really playing a Massive Single Player game.
I think most of us would agree that MMORPG's are suffering the same fate RPG's in general did back in the day (as with any "fringe" thing that becomes mainstream).... Naturally, it's heartbreaking to watch..... ;>_<
The reality is that as something becomes mainstream, commodified, formulaic and cookie cutter... all the original charm, draw, and excitement it held for its fans disappears. Poof. Gone.
I liked the earlier comment that the geek factor of these games has up and died. And so with it dies our dreams...
On one hand, it is cool that a whole variety of people share the experience of gaming and enjoying a virtual world. I do somewhat agree with a "the more the merrier" mentality. However, there's still something to be said to being a part of a very dedicated/rabid group that is so into what they are doing, individual group members have a wonderful time because the group itself makes the experience so fun.
This move from fringe to mainstream happens everywhere. We saw the same thing happen to SP RPG's in the 80-90's... As game companies realized RPG's could spell profits comparable to more mainstream fare, the days of original, ground-breaking, "geeky" games were numbered. Now you have more kiddie RPG's than you can count, and while some ground-breaking stuff is still out there, most of what you find is watered down bunk that is merely following a formula in the pursuit of profits (just like your typical MMORPG).
It's not like there are NO great single player RPG's being made anymore, or that there aren't still some quality MMORPG's out there... but, they are rarer and rarer (while the vast majority = recycled crap).
Just like Hollywood blockbusters geared toward massive audiences that actually flop because they are so dumbed down and predictable, with the current "big money" atmosphere in gaming, you get bland, boring, predictable crap meant to make money in the mainstream.
The sad reality is that, more or less, the video game industry is Hollywood v2.0 and except for the indie houses, and some remaining evidence of *quality* programming still coming from some Japanese gaming houses, we should just get used to a huge pile of crap to dig through in hopes of finding a pony....
Almost anybody loves going to the movies to enjoy the new flashy CGI effects and stadium style seats, the amazing make up and technology that pushes the limits of what is possible... but, how often have you gone to some big blockbuster and left feeling empty, unsatisfied? Not exactly unstimulated, but unmoved. The pretty bells and whistles, the style, can only carry the work of art so far if what matters, its substance, is lacking.
Welcome to what it means when you, as with most halfway intelligent people, become desensitized to the smoke and mirrors of flashy gimmicks and sadly hunger for something, ANYTHING, of substance. We live in an empire burlesque. A mad world of parody and imitation. It's why those rare nuggets and flashes of brilliant originality become such popular games/series/etc.
The people are starved for substance, be it in MMO's or otherwise.
Here's my beef with most MMORPGs today: "cookie-cutter classes"
Almost every MMO has standard, generic, wash-and-repeat classes. You have your healer > healer can only wear robes and use staves > healer heals.... that's about it for the healer. You have your tank > tank uses one-hand weapon with shield and heavy armor > tank tanks. Everything is else is a mix of leather armor with heavy damage, or robes with heavy damage. That about sums up the classes in most of today's MMOs.
Here's what I want: I want to feel unique, I want to play a game where I create my own class. And not skill-based system either. Skill based system everyone is the same thing, you just level up whatever skills you want (or all of them).
How about in character creation, you design your class. You pick armor proficiency, weapon proficiency, archetype, race, and maybe a deity or some other thing to give your class some flavor.
Pick heavy-armor with two-hand weapon, spell-caster archetype, whatever race, and an evil deity. your class will be some kind of evil magic knight. you create your class, you decide what your class can and cant do, not the devs. that's what i want
"Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know." William Saroyan
Put it simple, no
When did you start playing "old school" MMO's. World Of Warcraft?
It is this cookie-cutter, forced, linear, predictable, specialized class that are making today's MMORPGs dull.
We want immersion. We want the total experience that congruently combines a variety of MMORPG features that make you feel a part of an astonishing and bizarre world. You have a place in this world, and it is an important place.
I M M E R S I O N
It is not about reinventing the wheel; it is about - creativity and innovation.
Less predictability and more choices, options, and of course - freedom.
Fewer raid guilds and more variety of guilds - community.
Sure everyone gets all hot and angry and screams, " Yes we want Innovation!!!"
Yet when you look at their post history what MMOs are they playing? WoW!
Okay, to be fair some may not really play an MMO. Instead they look forward to others like Aion-- which looks like a gorgeous WoW/EQ clone
I want to see a more accurate poll that shows how many want change and really are playing an innovative MMO. It does not help the cause when you scream for change and still give Blizzard money. That is all investors look at guys- that pie chart that shows WoW has like huge chunk of the market share...
Action speaks louded than words.... EVE only has like what- 300k subs? Come on now something is up what are u guys playing be honest
Ok here's an idea....
I have been watching Firefly on Hulu and am amazed that a show so good was canceled (way to go Fox). So how about a sandbox game based on a western type Sci-fi show?
You could run a store on planet X, be a smuggler, be part of the establishment (military), or any number of things. The game could debut with a few worlds that are explorable and then expand from there. Reaver attacks would be frightening and maybe just maybe you would run across a little ship called Serenity (an NPC ship that would roam the universes). I can see all sorts of possiblities with this one.
What we need more than anything in games now is imagination. Stop copying each other and imagine something better.
we also need to probably stop copying established IPs this way Developer is free to use their imagination. Your ideas are good dont get me wrong. But it is ironic you say stop copying each other yet you suggest to copy Firefly.....
Good ideas just drop the firefly IP would stand well on its own
I play the MMORPG in my head, PatchDay.... (;-_-)
I know there are others like me. Waiting. Watching. Wondering when that weird, quirky, geek-compatible game will appear.
Oh, and EVE is a cool game. I've never had the time to properly devote myself to it, but what little I've played was impressive. 300k devoted and rabid maniacs = my kind of population.
Why are companies shooting for the stars? They need to do like indie film houses, spend a modest amount to make quality games that cater to specialized, though sizable groups of gamers. There is much more longevity and growth in that kind of a model vs. one size fits all redundancy...
Then again, I don't think a game like EVE was exactly planned with a specific marketing plan in mind =/
I play the MMORPG in my head, PatchDay.... (;-_-)
I know there are others like me. Waiting. Watching. Wondering when that weird, quirky, geek-compatible game will appear.
Oh, and EVE is a cool game. I've never had the time to properly devote myself to it, but what little I've played was impressive. 300k devoted and rabid maniacs = my kind of population.
Why are companies shooting for the stars? They need to do like indie film houses, spend a modest amount to make quality games that cater to specialized, though sizable groups of gamers. There is much more longevity and growth in that kind of a model vs. one size fits all redundancy...
Then again, I don't think a game like EVE was exactly planned with a specific marketing plan in mind =/
You are very wise good post I concur.
I'm actually saddened at the amount of "clone" MMOs out there. I most play the free Asian ones, but I have looked at the subscribable ones as well. You have a few catagories of MMO:
WoW: Which is a mindless kill quest fest. I played it for a bit and got bored of it after I looked at my quests and had to kill 3 "different" kinds of raptor mobs for the same kind of item... They were all the same!
WoW Clone: These guys don't do it right as the draw of wow is the ability to customize the UI. Why would you want to clone WoW anyways?
Cutesy MMO Grinder: Games like FlyFF, Rose Online and a few like their ilk, where it's very little questing and very much killing monsters over and over
Not Cutesy MMO Grinder: Like the former but hides itself in more realistic graphics. Both games play the same way.
PvP Fest: These games are based on the fact you kill other players. Gets very boring after a while. Usually a WoW clone.
2D Sidescroller Grindfest: Games like Maplestory and Pi Story. Only they play with instances. Still a grinder.
Grindfest in Spaaaaace: Games where you have to build you ships and attack people...and you go nowhere fast.
I think that's basically it for the categories. Some play off of each other but usually keep to these basics.
Games that I have found that have been "fun" were:
Final Fantasy XI: Realistic fantasy grindfest, however it forces you to group up instead of solo, so you meet new people. You can also change your job at almost any time if you get tired of being a mage or a warrior. Has lots of side "mini-games" like raise your chocobo, fishing and get an NPC partner. I spent the longest time with this game. Has a story going throughout the game.
Guild Wars: Nothing BUT story. That's what I like about this game, the whole thing is one long story. All the quests you do are usually part of the story. Not a true MMO in the sense, but still good.
Phantasy Star Online/Phantasy Star Universe/Monster Hunter Frontier: These are what I call "mission" games. Where everyone is in one big "lobby" and you group up with people and go off to complete some quest. In the case of Monster Hunter, you get items that you can improve yourself with. Unfortunately the powers that are have decided there is NO MARKET for Monster Hunter Frontier in the English speaking world
To me I find it's a very fun game, and a very casual one...more casual than WoW, as you can log on, do a quest and log off. None of this endless grinding for levels. Every kill quest is likened to a raid boss. In the case of the Phantasy Stars, it's a bit similar, go do a quest and then log off if you want.
However nobody "clones" these games, the only real FFXI 'clone' is Dream of Mirror Online, but it doesn't really give the same feel as FFXI as getting a ridable pet is a grindfest too.
Games I'd like to see:
.hack//CLONE: A true action RPG like the PS2 games, no skills bar, everything can be done on a gamepad. Also a BBS with the whole package of having an "e-mail" (PM) system. Dragon Nest is looking like it might be one, but I'm not certain.
Monster Hunter Clone: If the game is that popular in Japan and Korea, where are the "free 2 play" clones?
I know I use the word clone, but I really mean "something along that vein" in terms of gameplay and how the game is laid out. These are the games I have fun with and look at in terms of what I want in an MMO.